CASRAI Dictionary

Tag: policy fellowships UK

  • UKRI Policy Internships vs Fellowships Compared

    UKRI policy internships are three-month placements for UKRI-funded doctoral students to gain policy experience inside an influential policy organisation, while UKRI policy fellowships are 18-month, separately funded engagements for early- to mid-career, post-PhD researchers who embed their expertise directly inside a government department or arm’s-length body. The two schemes sit at different career stages, run on different funding structures, and carry different levels of policy responsibility — conflating them leads applicants to the wrong scheme at the wrong time.

    A UKRI policy internship is a fixed three-month placement, funded as an extension of an existing UKRI doctoral studentship, in which a PhD researcher works inside a policy organisation such as a government department, parliamentary committee, or devolved administration body.

    What are UKRI policy internships?

    The UKRI Policy Internships scheme lets a doctoral student pause their thesis for three months to work inside a policy-relevant organisation. UKRI’s own scheme page describes it as an opportunity for UKRI-funded doctoral students “to gain training and experience for three months in one of a selected group of highly impactful organisations relevant to UK policy.”

    UKRI states the scheme supports an average of 125 internships per year across all host partners (UKRI, UKRI Policy Internships scheme page, last updated 23 April 2026). By the end of the placement, a student is typically expected to have produced a briefing paper, participated in a policy inquiry, and/or organised a policy event.

    • Duration: three months, taken as an extension of the student’s existing doctoral studentship
    • Eligibility: doctoral students funded by AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC or STFC — the seven UKRI research councils
    • Hosts: government departments, parliamentary bodies (including the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology), and other influential policy organisations
    • Application window: opportunities typically go live in summer via the UKRI Funding Service

    What are UKRI policy fellowships?

    A UKRI policy fellowship is a longer, dedicated funding award for a researcher who already holds a doctorate (or equivalent research standing) and is based at an organisation eligible for UKRI funding. Rather than gaining first exposure to policy work, a fellow applies established research expertise directly to a live policy problem.

    UKRI’s 2025 opportunity notice confirms fellows “spend 18 months as a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) core policy fellow, a Natural Hazards and Resilience policy fellow, or a What Works Innovation fellow” (UKRI, “UKRI policy fellowships 2025”). The 2026 round added a further strand — the Sector Transition fellowship — for researchers moving knowledge and skills between academic and policy sectors.

    • Duration: 18 months, embedded within a host government department, arm’s-length body, or What Works Centre
    • Eligibility: early- to mid-career researchers based at a UKRI-eligible organisation — not a current doctoral studentship
    • Funding value: the ESRC’s 2025 fellowship round was funded at between £180,000 and £280,000 per award, covering salary costs and research activity over the full term
    • Purpose: strengthening knowledge exchange between academia and government on major national and global policy challenges

    Policy internships vs fellowships: key differences

    The clearest way to separate the two schemes is side by side. Duration, funding structure, and career stage are the three factors that determine which route an applicant is even eligible for.

    Feature UKRI Policy Internships UKRI Policy Fellowships
    Duration 3 months 18 months
    Eligibility Current UKRI-funded doctoral students Early- to mid-career, post-PhD researchers at a UKRI-eligible organisation
    Funding basis Extension of existing studentship stipend Dedicated award (2025 ESRC round: £180,000–£280,000)
    Typical output Briefing paper, policy inquiry input, or policy event Embedded research programme informing live policy decisions
    Host settings Government departments, parliamentary bodies, influential policy organisations Government departments, arm’s-length bodies, What Works Centres
    Application route UKRI Funding Service, via the student’s training grant UKRI Funding Service, applied for directly by the researcher

    Which route suits which researcher?

    Eligibility, not preference, decides the starting point. A researcher who is still mid-PhD cannot apply for a policy fellowship, and a postdoctoral researcher cannot apply for a policy internship — the schemes are structurally separated by career stage.

    • Choose a policy internship if you are a current UKRI-funded doctoral student who wants a short, structured introduction to how research is converted into policy advice, without significantly disrupting your thesis timeline.
    • Choose a policy fellowship if you already hold a doctorate, are early- to mid-career, and want to commit 18 months to applying your specific research expertise to a live government or What Works Centre priority.
    • Neither route fits a researcher who is not UKRI-funded (internship) or not based at a UKRI-eligible organisation (fellowship) — check eligibility on the relevant UKRI Funding Service listing before drafting an application.

    How to apply for each scheme

    Both schemes are applied for through the UKRI Funding Service, accessed via UKRI’s Funding Finder, but the application route differs by who initiates it.

    • Policy internship applicants should first contact their doctoral training partnership or training grant administrator, since eligibility is confirmed against the student’s existing UKRI studentship.
    • Policy fellowship applicants apply directly as the named researcher, since the award is a standalone funding grant rather than an extension of an existing studentship.
    • Internship queries go to UKRI Talent and Skills at [email protected]; fellowship queries are handled per-strand by the relevant research council listed on each Funding Service opportunity page.
    • Both schemes publish annual opportunities — internships typically in summer, fellowships across the year as strand-specific rounds open (2025 and 2026 rounds have both run).

    Frequently asked questions

    What is the UKRI policy internship?

    The UKRI Policy Internships scheme is a three-month placement for UKRI-funded doctoral students at a selected policy organisation. Students gain training and experience converting research into policy advice, typically producing a briefing paper or supporting a policy inquiry before returning to their doctorate.

    What is a policy internship?

    A policy internship is a fixed-term placement in which an intern supports the analysis, drafting, or evaluation of public policy inside a government body, think tank, or advocacy organisation. UKRI’s version is restricted to doctoral researchers and structured as a short extension of an existing studentship.

    Who is eligible for UKRI policy internships and fellowships?

    Policy internships require current funding from one of UKRI’s seven research councils — AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC, or STFC. Policy fellowships require the applicant to be an early- to mid-career, post-doctoral researcher based at an organisation eligible for UKRI funding, rather than a current studentship.

    Are UKRI policy internships and fellowships paid?

    Yes. Policy internships continue the intern’s existing UKRI doctoral stipend for the three-month placement, and policy fellowships are funded as standalone awards — the ESRC’s 2025 round, for example, funded fellowships at £180,000 to £280,000 per award to cover salary and research costs.

    What this means for research careers

    For doctoral researchers, the internship route is a low-risk way to test whether policy work — rather than academia or industry — is the right long-term direction, without giving up studentship funding. For postdoctoral and faculty researchers, the fellowship route offers a rare, funded 18-month window to shape government decision-making directly, at a funding level (£180,000–£280,000 per the 2025 ESRC round) that reflects a serious secondment rather than a short placement.

    Institutions and research administration teams supporting applicants should track both schemes separately: internship eligibility sits with the doctoral training partnership, while fellowship eligibility sits with the individual researcher’s host organisation status. Treating the two as a single “UKRI policy scheme” risks steering applicants toward the wrong route — and, given the narrow eligibility windows on both sides, a missed cycle typically means a 12-month wait for the next round.

  • UKRI Policy Fellowships 2026: Embedding Researchers in Government

    What are the UKRI Policy Fellowships 2026

    UK Research and Innovation opened its 2026 call on 9 June 2026, and the UKRI Policy Fellowships 2026 now offer 50 embedded fellowship positions across 26 host partners spanning UK government departments, devolved administrations, arm’s-length bodies and the What Works Network. Each fellowship runs for 18 months and places a researcher directly inside a policy team, working alongside civil servants on live evidence needs rather than producing research at arm’s length.

    The scheme sits within UKRI’s wider fellowship investment framework, which funds researcher mobility between academia and non-academic settings. Unlike a conventional secondment negotiated bilaterally between a university and a government department, the policy fellowships route is a competitive, centrally administered funding call with fixed strands, published cost ceilings and a standard exemplar agreement — details that matter as much to research offices as to the applicants themselves.

    Applications close at 16:00 on Thursday 10 September 2026, submitted through the UKRI Funding Service by the applicant’s employing research organisation.

    Funding strands, amounts and cost-sharing

    The 2026 call is organised into three funding strands, each with its own focus, eligible career stage and full economic cost (FEC) ceiling. UKRI funds 80% of the FEC; the remaining 20% is met by the fellow’s employing research organisation, consistent with the standard UKRI research grant cost-sharing model rather than a fully funded secondment.

    Strand Focus FEC ceiling Career stage
    Core Policy Fellowships Priority areas across UK and devolved government Up to £180,000 Early or mid-career
    What Works Innovation Fellowships Homelessness, policing and place, via the What Works Network Up to £220,000 All career stages
    Natural Hazards and Resilience Fellowships System resilience and preparedness for environmental risk Up to £280,000 Early or mid-career

    Host partners named against these strands include the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Government, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, the Department for Education, the Cabinet Office, the Environment Agency, the Centre for Homelessness Impact and the Wales Centre for Public Policy, among others. Thematic clusters span economic growth and industrial strategy, health inequalities, justice and public safety, education, housing and place, and the use of data and AI in government.

    Eligibility, key dates and how to apply

    Applicants must hold a doctorate or equivalent research experience, be based at a UKRI-eligible research organisation, and demonstrate subject-matter expertise relevant to a specific fellowship position. UKRI is explicit that career stage is not time-bound by years since doctorate; a researcher without a PhD may still qualify if they can evidence an equivalent sustained research-focused role. Researchers who have already undertaken or are currently undertaking a UKRI policy fellowship are not eligible to reapply.

    • Call opened: 9 June 2026, 09:00
    • Applicant webinar: 25 June 2026
    • Deadline: 10 September 2026, 16:00
    • Shortlisting: October to November 2026
    • Interviews: January 2027
    • Decisions: February 2027
    • Fellowship start: 1 May 2027

    Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI, though the fellowship agreement itself is negotiated between three parties: the host partner, the fellow, and the employing research organisation. Fellows must also pass any security, nationality and clearance checks the specific host requires before the placement can begin.

    What is the deadline for UKRI Policy Fellowships 2026?

    Applications for the UKRI Policy Fellowships 2026 close at 16:00 on Thursday 10 September 2026, submitted via the UKRI Funding Service. Only the applicant’s lead employing research organisation can make the submission, so institutional sign-off must be secured well before this deadline.

    Who is eligible to apply for UKRI policy fellowships?

    Eligible applicants hold a doctorate or equivalent research experience, are based at a UKRI-eligible research organisation, and meet the early or mid-career descriptor for Core Policy and Natural Hazards strands. What Works Innovation Fellowships are open to researchers at all career stages, including those without a completed doctorate.

    How many UKRI policy fellowship positions are available in 2026?

    UKRI is funding 50 fellowship positions across 26 host partners in the 2026 call, spanning UK government departments, devolved administrations, arm’s-length bodies and What Works Network members. Positions are distributed unevenly across the three funding strands and named host organisations.

    How is UKRI policy fellowship funding structured?

    UKRI funds 80% of the full economic cost of each fellowship, up to strand-specific ceilings of £180,000, £220,000 or £280,000. The employing research organisation covers the remaining 20%, matching UKRI’s standard grant cost-sharing model rather than a fully externally funded secondment.

    How research offices administer secondment agreements and reporting

    For research administrators, the operational detail sits below the headline figures. UKRI requires a formal fellowship or secondment agreement between the host partner, the fellow and the employing research organisation before a placement starts. UKRI has published an exemplar agreement, developed in consultation with UKRI Legal, central government departments and the university sector, and advises institutions to review it well ahead of submission rather than treating it as a post-award formality.

    This has direct implications for how institutions resource the administration of placement schemes:

    • Costing and 20% co-funding sign-off: Because UKRI funds only 80% of FEC, finance teams must confirm the department or faculty can cover the balance before the application is submitted, not after the award is made.
    • Compliance checks: UKRI states plainly that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility, while ultimate responsibility for compliance remains with the applicant — a split of accountability research offices should document in their own sign-off workflow.
    • Host-specific clearance: Security and nationality checks vary by host department, so administrators cannot rely on a single institutional template; each placement’s clearance requirements need checking against the specific host’s published criteria.
    • Mentor and team roles: Early-career applicants must name a senior mentor from their employing organisation, adding a role that research offices need to track alongside the fellow and the host contact.
    • Reporting during placement: Fellows remain employed by their home institution throughout, so payroll, HR and reporting lines stay with the research organisation even while day-to-day line management sits with the host — a dual-reporting structure that research administration systems must be configured to reflect.

    This three-way agreement structure — host, fellow, employer — is the genuine administrative distinction of the UKRI scheme compared with informally negotiated academic-government exchanges, and it is the detail most coverage of the 2026 call omits in favour of headline position and funding counts.

    Implications for institutions and applicants

    Research offices supporting an applicant should treat the fellowship agreement review as a parallel workstream to the academic proposal, not a downstream task. Given the FEC ceilings scale with strand rather than individual placement complexity, institutions should also confirm early whether their standard overhead recovery models accommodate an 80/20 split embedded within a government host, rather than a conventional university-based grant.

    Applicants working with sensitive or linked administrative datasets should note that feasibility assessments — including secure data access approvals — need to be scoped against the 18-month fellowship window from the outset, since data access timelines can otherwise outrun the placement itself.

    Outlook: what happens after the September deadline

    With shortlisting running October to November 2026, interviews in January 2027 and a fellowship start date of 1 May 2027, institutions have a multi-month gap between submission and confirmed placement — a window research offices can use to finalise co-funding approvals, mentor arrangements and host-specific clearance paperwork rather than leaving them until decisions land. As UKRI continues to expand policy fellowship strands beyond their original remit, research administrators are likely to see this three-party agreement model applied to further embedded-researcher schemes, making early familiarity with the exemplar agreement a transferable skill rather than a one-off task.