Early Career Researcher Seed Fund

About the project

Following the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Conference on 29 June 2026, we are piloting a ECR Seed Fund to give staff the opportunity to kick-start an interdisciplinary collaboration project with others at the University of Reading.

We invite staff who are working on a new collaborative project in an interdisciplinary group to submit a formal proposal to the Seed Fund, where you can secure up to £750 in funding.

Please complete and submit applications to DoctoralandResearcherCollege@reading.ac.uk .

• Seed Fund pilot 2026 application form (Word, 0.1 MB)

Eligibility

All ECRs are eligible. An ECR is normally defined as someone within 10 years of their PhD award, although we take account of career breaks and other relevant circumstances.

All participants (but especially project leads) must have a contract length that extends to the proposed project end date.

Timeline

Please submit your proposal by 11 September 2026 .

Proposals will be judged by a panel drawn from the Doctoral and Researcher College and ECR Committee members. Project leads will be notified of the outcome by the end of September 2026.

Projects to be completed (monies spent) by the end of March 2027.

With thanks to the research Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellors for generously contributing to the ECR Seed Fund pilot, and supporting all early career researchers:

• Environment: Professor Tom Oliver and Professor Sue Gray
• Heritage and Creativity: Professor Gail Marshall and Professor John Gibbs
• Prosperity and Resilience: Professor Adrian Bell
• Agriculture, Food and Health: Professor Lisa Methven
• Doctoral and Researcher College: Professor Adrian Williams.

Any questions?

Contact Sue Glover, Researcher Development Manager, Doctoral and Researcher College, by emailing s.c.glover@reading.ac.uk .

Research areas