The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) promotes international collaborations for arts and humanities research in universities and research institutes throughout the UK. We work with a range of funding agencies and organisations in the UK and overseas to ensure that the UK is the partner of choice for arts and humanities research.
Across our international research and innovation funding portfolio, we commit to:
- building partnerships and networks that generate the shared expertise and tools needed to deliver research of the highest standard with global impact
- finding global solutions to global challenges via collaborations that bring novel, international perspectives to some of today’s biggest questions
- enabling equitable global partnerships and uncovering new, more fair and inclusive ways of conducting international research so that more and different groups can engage, contribute and benefit
- taking a global approach to skills and capability that creates international opportunities for our researchers and sets international standards
Types of international funding
Bilateral partnerships
AHRC enables international research collaboration through bilateral partnerships and programmes with overseas research funding agencies. Through these partnerships we deliver a range of joint international funding opportunities which invite UK researchers to develop joint research proposals with collaborators based in another country.
With the aim of sustaining rich, diverse and creative research ecosystems within the UK and across the world, current bilateral programmes include:
- UK-German funding initiative in the humanities: delivered in partnership with the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, German Research Foundation
- UK-US new directions for digital scholarship in cultural institutions programme, delivered in partnership with the US National Endowment for the Humanities
- UK-Ireland collaboration in the digital humanities programme, delivered in partnership with the Irish Research Council
Multilateral partnerships
AHRC also promotes and supports international research collaboration through our participation in multilateral research funding agency partnerships.
We work with a wide range of partners to deliver joint multilateral funding opportunities which enable UK researchers to develop research consortia and research proposals with collaborators from multiple countries across the world. These opportunities combine national and international funding to support innovative arts and humanities research across borders.
AHRC is a member of several European and trans-Atlantic multilateral research funding initiatives including:
- Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA)
- Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change (JPI CH)
- Joint Programming Initiative on Urban Europe (JPI UE)
- International Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (IIRCC)
- Trans-Atlantic Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP)
Global development
AHRC remains committed to supporting research focused on global development. To date, we have supported over 350 international research projects through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund, each addressing different global development challenges.
Working collaboratively with partners in the Global South, these projects are providing interdisciplinary approaches to addressing a wide range of challenge areas, including:
- conflict prevention and resolution
- climate change
- sustainable cities
Further AHRC global development programmes and investments include:
- the collaborative humanitarian protection research programme, delivered in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
- the cultural heritage and climate change programme, delivered in partnership with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (International Cultural Heritage Protection team)
- 11 flagship Network Plus awards addressing global development challenges in areas including education in conflict and building sustainable and inclusive peace (and awarded through UKRI’s GCRF collective programme)
- international networks for disability-inclusive global development: part of wider UKRI collaborative activities with a range of partners, including the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD)
Accessing international research funding opportunities
AHRC offers a wide range of funding opportunities with built-in international collaborations. These include:
- UK-China research and innovation collaboration in the creative industries programme
- AHRC’s international placement scheme
New funding opportunities are published on the funding finder.
Embed international components in your proposal
There are multiple ways of embedding international components in proposals to AHRC funding opportunities.
Visit our embedding international elements into research proposals page for more information on:
- AHRC’s lead agency and money follows cooperation agreements
- how to include international components within responsive mode applications
Contact us
Ask a question about our international partnerships and programmes
AHRC International Partnerships and Engagement team
Email: international@ahrc.ukri.org