Opportunity status:
Open
Funders:
Co-funders:
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£5,900,000
Maximum award:
£420,000
Publication date:
16 October 2025
Opening date:
16 October 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
11 February 2026 4:00pm UK time
Last updated: 21 October 2025 -
Apply for funding to conduct arts and humanities research projects with German partners.
You must be:
* proposing research within the remit of Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
* based at a research organisation eligible to apply to AHRC
* working with a German team led by a researcher eligible to apply to DFG
Projects must be composed of two highly integrated national teams based in the UK and Germany. All proposals must demonstrate the added value of international collaboration to research objectives.
The full economic cost of the UK-component of your project can be up to £420,000. Your project can last between 24 to 36 months.
Who can apply
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
Applicants in the UK must meet AHRC eligibility requirements. Applicants in Germany must meet the eligibility requirements of DFG.
Funding will be distributed among the research partners according to the researchers’ place of work and, in general, according to the funding rules of each individual agency.
Project teams
Each joint research project must consist of two national teams, one based in the UK and one based in Germany. Both teams must have a project lead (PL). The inclusion of additional team members is optional.
The UK team must be led by a researcher who meets AHRC’s individual eligibility criteria, proposing research which falls within the remit of AHRC. They must be based at a research organisation eligible for AHRC funding.
The German team must be led by a researcher eligible to apply to DFG. German researchers from non-university research institutions must comply with. This duty to cooperate is not met if a researcher from a non-university research institution only cooperates with a UK partner.
In line with standard AHRC funding rules, PhD students cannot be funded by UK research team budgets for this funding opportunity.
International applicants
As all applications to this funding opportunity will involve international applicants, we encourage prospective applicants to visit for more information on effective and equitable international collaboration.
If undertaking research and innovation activities outside the UK and Germany, you must recognise and address the possible impact of contextual, societal and cultural differences on the ethical conduct of those activities.
You should evidence how partnerships are equitable, ethical, responsible and meaningful. Researchers should also follow the to address inherent power imbalances when working with partners in resource-poor settings.
AHRC’s provision to include (where relevant) international project co-leads will apply to the UK component of projects, allowing for the inclusion of eligible researchers not based in the UK or Germany. Researchers based in Germany cannot be included within the UK budget, as these individuals must be included within the German team under the DFG-supported component of the collaboration.
You can include more than one international project co-lead; however, the total costs for all international project co-lead involvement cannot exceed 30% of the overall 100% full economic cost of your application.
Please refer to the for further information on AHRC’s international project co-lead policy and which costs are eligible within a UK budget.
Researchers based in Germany can submit a joint proposal to fund domestic (German) and international project costs with colleagues from a developing country.
Resubmission
Immediate resubmission of unsuccessful applications from one funding opportunity to the next is not permitted. As such, resubmission of unsuccessful applications from the seventh round to the eighth round is not permitted. However, applicants involved in unsuccessful applications under the seventh round may submit, or be involved in, different or new applications for this funding opportunity.
A reworked resubmission from all DFG and AHRC funding opportunities prior to the seventh round will be allowed to submit to this funding opportunity, where the application has been revised, for example with changes to:
* research questions
* methodology
* the project team
Changes should be summarised under the resubmission heading.
A resubmission is only allowed once within the AHRC-DFG programme.
Multiple submissions
If your application has been submitted to any other funding opportunity or funding stream of any other funding agency, this must be clearly stated.
You need to also check the respective national agency’s rules regarding submission of a project to more than one funder or scheme.
There is no limit on how many applications can be submitted to this funding opportunity from any one research organisation.
Individual researchers may be involved in multiple submissions to this funding opportunity as long as their overall time commitment is supported by their research organisation.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
* career breaks
* support for people with caring responsibilities
* flexible working
* alternative working patterns
for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
Supporting early career researchers and technicians
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and DFG aim to enable a dynamic, diverse and inclusive system of research and innovation in the UK and Germany that is an integral part of society, giving everyone the opportunity to participate and to benefit.
We encourage the inclusion of early career researchers and technicians in applications to this funding opportunity. The suitability of support and management mechanisms for these members of project teams will be specifically considered as part of the assessment criteria for this opportunity as part of the feasibility of the project.
UKRI is a signatory to the, and AHRC has published its own .
UKRI has also published a, which includes guidance on our expectations towards research organisations in recognising and valuing the full diversity of technically skilled people and technical roles working in research teams at all career stages across our remit. This includes guidance on our expectations towards research organisations in recognising and valuing the full diversity of technically skilled people and technical roles working in research teams at all career stages across our remit.
If integrating early career researchers or technicians into your project team, please refer to the documents linked above for more information.
Under this funding opportunity the application of early career researchers on the German side for is possible.
What we're looking for
Aim
Both AHRC and DFG are aware that some of the best research can only be achieved by working with the best researchers internationally. Accordingly, the aims of the funding opportunity are:
* to support academic research of the highest quality in the humanities undertaken by UK-German teams, whose primary aim is to make fundamental advances in human knowledge
* to deepen and strengthen cooperation between UK and German researchers in the humanities, and to foster the growth of a transnational UK-German research culture
Scope
Only applications whose primary aim is to make fundamental advances in human knowledge in the relevant fields may be submitted in response to the funding opportunity. If you are uncertain as to whether your application would be eligible you should contact AHRC or DFG for clarification.
The funding opportunity will be open to applications addressing any research topic where there is significant potential to advance knowledge through collaborative research bringing together UK arts and humanities researchers whose research falls within the remit of the AHRC, and humanities researchers in Germany.
For this funding opportunity, the field of humanities is defined by the AHRC’s remit, not by the DFG’s classification of humanities.
See a full specification of:
* *
Both single-disciplinary and interdisciplinary applications can be considered provided that the UK component falls within the remit of the AHRC and the German component within the remit of the DFG. Applications may also overlap with other disciplines provided that they fall primarily within the remit of the AHRC and DFG.
Interdisciplinary applications must demonstrate how their project team fulfils the eligibility requirements.
This programme focuses on funding knowledge-driven research projects. However, AHRC also supports practice-led research. As such, the UK component of applications to this funding opportunity can include practice-led research and creative output can be produced, or practice undertaken, as an integral part of a research process as defined in the .
DFG also allows projects to include practice-led research provided that these methods do not exceed one third of the work proposed through the German component of each project.
Practice-led research must be accompanied by the documentation of the research process, as well as some form of textual analysis or explanation to support its position and as a record of your critical reflection. If this is not provided, applications with substantive practice-led research are ineligible for funding through this programme.
All projects must focus on substantive research and feature an integrated work programme. Academic infrastructure or networking activities can only be funded within projects with a substantive research focus. Stand-alone projects, infrastructure or networking projects will not be eligible.
If you are in doubt about the eligibility of your research proposal, please contact the respective organisation.
You should demonstrate the added value that cross-national collaboration will make to advancing the research topic by bringing together researchers based in the UK and Germany (and, where applicable, other countries).
We expect that each partner substantially contributes to the common project. This also includes taking on organisational responsibilities. This division of responsibilities should also be reflected in the amount of funds requested by each partner.
Please note that impact is not a criterion for this funding opportunity.
Duration
The maximum duration of this award is 36 months. The minimum duration is 24 months.
UK projects must start by 1 February 2027. German projects are expected to follow a similar schedule.
Funding available
The full economic cost of the UK component of your project can be up to £420,000. AHRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost (up to £336,000).
It is expected that 16 awards will be made under this funding opportunity (subject to applications meeting the criteria and quality standards).
Standard AHRC funding requirements apply to the UK component as outlined in AHRC’s research funding guide. Ineligible costs include funding for PhD students and items of equipment costing over £10,000. UK costs should be approved by an eligible UK research organisation in line with the requirements of full economic costing for applications to UK research councils.
In line with its Individual Research Grants Programme, DFG does not specify a maximum limit to the amount of funding that can be requested for the German component of applications to this funding opportunity.
Projects should be integrated but they do not have to be symmetrical. The sums and items requested do not have to be identical on the UK and German sides. However, we would expect the work packages to be delivered reasonably equally.
All budget items must conform to the national rules applicable to each applicant. You must note that AHRC and DFG retain the right to reject applications where they fail to comply with the procedures set out in the guidelines of the respective agency. If an application is ineligible with one national agency, the whole project will be rejected by both agencies.
A detailed justification of the requested budget will be required. For German costs, this should be included in the mandatory DFG budget form located at the bottom of this page.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
, including where applicants can find additional support.
How to apply
AHRC is running this funding opportunity in collaboration with DFG.
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. Only the lead UK research organisation can submit an application.
The UK Project Lead (PL) is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but all team members and project partners are expected to contribute to the application.
Only the UK project lead needs to register with the Funding Service directly. Project co-leads (both domestic and international) will receive an email notification when the project lead has entered their details into the system. This email will guide individuals to create an account on the Funding Service by verifying their details. This will allow them to view and read the application.
Please note that for administrative purposes, all named researchers from the German team must be listed as ‘project co-lead (international)’.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this funding opportunity, that you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
7. Save a PDF copy of your application and share this file with the German project lead, who then needs to submit this to DFG via ‘elan’ (instructions below).
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images, you must:
* provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
* insert each new image on a new line
* use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:
* sentences or paragraphs of text
* tables
* excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
* * *
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
* references are easily identifiable by the assessors
* references are formatted as appropriate to your research
* persistent identifiers are used where possible
General use of hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
Deadline
AHRC must receive your application by 11 February 2026 4:00pm UK time.
The UK project lead must provide a PDF copy of the Funding Service submission to the German project lead. Once the application has been submitted:
1. Go to the ‘read application’ tab.
2. Click ‘print this page’.
3. Save the file as a PDF.
4. Send this PDF and any other attachments (including project partner letters and Head of Department letters where applicable) to the German project lead.
5. The German project lead then needs to upload this PDF to the DFG’s submission portal ‘elan’ by 11:59pm German time on 11 February 2026.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Processing personal data
AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our .
AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with DFG so that they can participate in the assessment process. For more information on how DFG uses personal information, read .
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email
Include in the subject line: [AHRC-DFG; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
* individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
* declaration of interest
* additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
* conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
* the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read .
Publication of outcomes
AHRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity via in November 2026. DFG will publish the outcomes for this funding opportunity on. You can also find the outcomes from previous rounds on this page.
If your application is successful, AHRC will publish some personal information on the. DFG will publish information about funded projects on .
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
* opinion-formers
* policymakers
* the public
* the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
* context
* the challenge the project addresses
* aims and objectives
* potential applications and benefits
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
* project lead (PL)
* project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
* project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
* specialist
* grant manager
* professional enabling staff
* research and innovation associate
* technician
Only list one individual as project lead. This must be the UK project lead for the purpose of submission.
Please note that for administrative purposes, all applicants and co-applicants (Antragstellende und Mitverantwortliche) from the German team must be listed as ‘project co-lead (international)’ in this section. This will not determine the status of researchers within the German team, which must still have a project lead and can optionally include additional team members.
UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.