Apply

Postdoctoral Impact Fellowship

As part of its activities, the Warwick ESRC IAA will fund up to six fellowships to support students at the conclusion of their PhD to explore how their research could be applied to the needs and challenges of organisations across different sectors, and to develop plans and programmes of activity to put this into practice.

Examples of fundable activities fellows might undertake could include (but are not restricted to):

The creation of resources to engage specific stakeholders with your research and/or to improve their capacity to effectively utilise research
Establishing or developing a network between researchers and non-academic partners or research users
Knowledge exchange events with non-academic stakeholders
Secondments outside the University with non-academic organisations
Collaborative activities for or with key stakeholders such as workshops, training programmes, or behaviour-change interventions
Activities to inform policy or to engage policymakers with your research findings
Activities to improve or strengthen research-user engagement
Proof of concept and commercialisation activities
Partnerships and collaborations aimed at supporting evidence-based policy making

Applicants are encouraged to consider how the fellowship would enable them to utilise their PhD research to respond to clearly identified needs of non-academic stakeholders. Non-academic partners or stakeholders might include (but are not limited to): policymakers; businesses and social enterprises; third sector organisations; schools, teachers, their students and communities; service providers and practitioners; community groups; creative practitioners; NGOs and advocacy groups.

Projects concerned with innovating or creating change in the following areas are particularly encouraged:

Policy engagement - particularly that which aligns with University and UKRI/ESRC priorities
Work looking to support regional growth and development or ‘levelling-up’

Details:

For further information about this scheme, please read the guidance provided below. Prospective applicants are also strongly encouraged to get in touch with the Social Sciences Impact Team to discuss their proposals. Email us on ESRCImpactAccount@warwick.ac.uk with any questions.

The Award

The Fellowship is offered on a 1.0 FTE basis for twelve months in duration or part-time equivalent, and is based in the UK.

Successful candidates will receive a salary on Grade 6, Spine Point 27, along with a budget of £2,000 to spend on impact activities such as travel, resource development, and events. In your application you will be required to provide an outline of the proposed budget for your project, including justification of cost for each item.

Please note that if you are awaiting your results when your Fellowship commences, you will initially be awarded a salary on Grade 5, Spine Point 26, which will be increased upon the award of your PhD.

Applications must be supported by a named Project Mentor who should be an academic experienced in developing research impact - either within or outside the candidate’s own discipline - and be based at Warwick. The mentor will provide advice and guidance for the duration of the Fellowship to help develop the non-academic impact of the research. The Project Mentor does not need to be your PhD Supervisor.

The 2025-26 cohort of Postdoctoral Impact Fellows will begin their fellowships on 1 September 2025.

Applicant Eligibility

The fellowship is open to:

Researchers who will have submitted their PhD thesis for examination before the fellowship start date (the fellowship can commence whilst awaiting your viva voce examination); OR
Researchers who will be within one year of having been awarded their PhD by the fellowship start date.*

Your PhD must be in a Social Science discipline and have been undertaken at the University of Warwick.

Those with permanent academic posts are not eligible to apply.

*Prospective candidates who fall outside the standard 12-month post-PhD eligibility period will be considered in cases of exceptional mitigating circumstances. Please get in touch with the Social Sciences Impact Team on for further advice and guidance.

Application Form and the Application Process

When and how to apply:

Applications must be sent to ESRCImpactAccount@warwick.ac.uk by the deadline below to be considered for the September 2025 fellowship intake:

17:00 on Friday 21 March 2025

Applications will be reviewed by the ESRC IAA Management Committee. Decisions will be communicated by the end of May 2025.The 2025-26 cohort of Postdoctoral Impact Fellows will begin their fellowships on 1 September 2025.

Applicants are strongly advised to read and take note of the Assessment Criteria before compiling their proposal and to seek guidance from the Social Sciences Impact Team before applying.

The scheme will be closed to further applications once the available budget has been allocated.

Application Form: Postdoctoral Impact Fellowship

Please take note of the wordcount limits stated on each section of the application form. Bids which exceed the wordcount limits will be returned to applicants for editing before they can proceed through the review process.

Eligible Costs

The award cannot be used to support:

New research or associated activity
Patent filing or similar costs associated directly to registering intellectual property rights
Non-specific public engagement and communication/press activities; however, projects where public engagement is a critical pathway to achieving societal and/or economic impact will be considered.

Infrastructure and capital expenditure; no equipment over £10,000 is permitted
Indirect or estate costs at the research organisation
Undergraduate activities, core PhD training and research, masters degrees
Other costs not allowed in the ESRC/UKRI Standard Research Grant Terms and Conditions

If a Green Levy is incurred due to the use of air travel, this should be covered by the applicant’s department.

We welcome contributions towards overall project costs from project partners and other university sources.

Terms and Conditions of Award

For full terms and conditions of the fellowship, including reporting requirements and expenditure guidelines, please click here. Please note that if your application is successful, you will need to agree to these terms and conditions in order to accept your award.

Application Assessment Criteria

Impact can be defined as:

"…an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia."

Applications will be assessed by the ESRC IAA Management Committee against the following criteria:

1	Is there a clearly articulated, non-academic 'challenge' to be addressed?	E
2	Does the project have a clear and credible plan for achieving change for non-academic beneficiaries?	E
3	Does the project clearly link to the applicant’s underpinning research?	E
4	Will the planned evaluation measures adequately capture and assess the impact of the project?	E
5	Is the project’s plan to spend within the funding period clear, credible and feasible?	E
6	Will the planned activity contribute to the departmental impact environment and goals?	D
7	Concerned with innovating or creating change in either of the following areas:	D
	- Policy engagement - particularly that which aligns with University and UKRI priorities
	- Work looking to support regional growth and development and/or ‘levelling-up’
8	Applicant experience of engaging and developing research impact outside academia	D
9	Potential for proposed project to support and enhance applicant’s career progression	D
10	Commitment from a suitably experienced mentor (evidenced by signed declaration from the mentor on the application form)	E
11	Confirmation (via Head of Department signature on the application form) that the applicant has secured support in principle from the proposed ‘Home’ Department	E

E = Essential Criteria

D = Desirable Criteria