The Leverhulme Trust

The Trust’s primary aim is to fund “original research that advances knowledge of the world and ourselves”. The Trust does not usually set strategic priorities or themes and funding decisions are made on the bases of quality, significance, and originality of the proposed research.

The Trust criteria implies "that there are categories of proposal which should be seen as less suited for submission to the Trust. These would include bids to support the ‘continuing activity’ of established research groups or teams, and proposals from established groups working on subjects, areas and themes where the Research Councils have a significant interest. The Trust is keen to avoid assuming the role of ‘funder of last resort’; that is, of routinely providing support for proposals which have been fully matched to the requirement of another funding agency, but have failed to win support on the grounds of either lack of quality or insufficient available funds (‘unfunded alphas’)."

It is important to indicate that the Trust funds high-quality research from any discipline except certain areas of medical research, neither

Policy-driven research where the principal objective is to assemble an evidence base for immediate policy initiatives
Research where advocacy is an explicit component
Research aimed principally at an immediate commercial application
Proposals in which the balance between assembling a data bank or database and the related subsequent research is heavily inclined to the former

Guidance on eligibility is provided by the Trust.

The Trust values

The Trust values:

Individual’s personal vision, aspiration or intellectual curiosity
Appropriate risks
Departure from established patterns of working
Transcend disciplinary boundaries

The Trust’s primary aim is to fund “original research that advances knowledge of the world and ourselves”.

The Trust does not usually set strategic priorities or themes and funding decisions are made on the basis of the quality, significance, and originality of the proposed research.

The Trust supports scholars pursuing higher-risk projects who are unlikely for that reason to secure funds from other sources: curiosity-driven research or that which straddles disciplinary boundaries or involves a personal vision. Further reading: The Leverhulme Trust’s Approach to Grant-making

Criteria

Prioritising outstanding scholarship

Originality: more than the incremental development of a single discipline
Importance: will enable further research or enquiry
Significance: relevance outside the field
Merit: quality of research design, methodology, suitability of researchers and institution

Schemes

Research Project Grants Leverhulme Research Centres Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships	Large grants
Early Career Fellowships Philip Leverhulme Prizes Research Leadership Awards	Leadership
Research Fellowships Major Research Fellowships Visiting Professorships International Professorships Emeritus Fellowships	Fellowships
Study Abroad Studentships International Fellowships	Abroad

The Leverhulme Trust

The Trust values

Criteria

Schemes

Links to relevant information