Collaboration and Innovation Grant
The Collaboration and Innovation Grant supports new collaborations of researchers, engagement professionals, and partners from cultural, creative, charity, and community sectors. It funds experimental, practice-led teams to co-design and deliver inclusive public engagement, with a key emphasis on cross-pollination, innovation, and relationship-building.
Successful projects will be vibrant sites for innovative practice, teambuilding, and knowledge exchange that cuts across sectors, disciplines and functions, and generates lasting connections.
Applications for the Collaboration and Innovation Grant are now open. Please complete your application via Survey Monkey Apply. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 26 May 2026, 5pm.
In response to valuable feedback and CPEP’s ambition to work responsively with our practitioner community, several key changes have been made to the grant funding amount and team composition.
The key changes are:
- The total funding available is increased from £10,000 to £15,000 (with institutional 25% match funding of £2,500 to £3,750). Applications at the £10,000 level remain welcome.
- The minimum number of team members overall is reduced from 7 to 5. The maximum number remains unchanged at 12. We continue to encourage ambitious applications which may involve teams of more than 5 members.
Changes to specific categories for team involvement:
- The minimum number of HEI/IRO researchers (‘category A’) is reduced from 3 to 2. This includes the lead applicant. The researchers involved must still be from different institutions and cannot have previous formal working relationships, such as being investigators on the same grant, holding a joint grant, or publishing together. Informal connections and relationships are both allowed and expected.
- The minimum requirement for 1 professional services colleague per team (‘category B’) is unchanged.
- The minimum number of non-institutional (i.e. non-HEI/IRO) partners (‘category C’) is reduced from 3 to 2. Partners can be organisations or individuals.
- Independent researchers and curators are now eligible in category C rather than A, which clarifies that they are eligible for payment from the grant, and allows a greater degree of previous working relationships between these team members.
Amount available
Funding of between £10,000 and £15,000 is available. The amount funded must be matched at 25% by the lead applicant’s institution, either directly or in kind. We anticipate making up to 5 awards in this year’s round of funding.
Applicants can request a contribution to personal access costs in addition to the funding outlined above (see the full guidance for further information).
Eligibility
Applications must be submitted by a lead applicant who is employed as a researcher by an Higher Education Institution (HEI) or UKRI-recognised Independent Research Organisation (IRO). This application will be made on behalf of a proposed team consisting of researchers employed at Higher Education Institutes (HEI)/UKRI-recognised Independent Research Organisations (IRO), professional services staff and non-institutional partners or individuals. All project team members should be based in the UK.
Details of eligible project team members can be found in the full guidance.
Grant pilot
The grant has been piloted through two projects: one exploring the theme of Walking, Power, and Inclusion, and the other centred on Community Gardening. These pilots have worked with researchers and public engagement practitioners from a broad range of disciplines, including history, literature, languages, and cultures, performance, human geography, and sociology.
Learning and insights from this pilot phase have shaped the grant open call.
Help to apply
Our Public Engagement Officers can support applicants with questions about the guidance or making an application. You can email [email protected] with questions or book in a 10-minute call.
The guidance is available in accessible formats, including formatted PDF, Plain Text and large print. If you require an alternative format please get in touch.
We will be hosting an application webinar on Monday 9 March 2026, 2-3pm. This webinar will include conversations with researchers who recently took part in the Collaboration and Innovation Grant pilot, including their reflections and tips for grant applicants. The webinar will be recorded and the recording will be shared with attendees afterwards.
Key documents
Please note: Applications can be prepared in advance using the Word document, but final applications must be submitted through Survey Monkey Apply
Key dates
| Call for applications | Tuesday 10 February |
| Application Deadline | Tuesday 26 May 5pm |
| Notification of outcomes | July 2026 |
| Grant starts | September 2026 |
| Grant ends | By the end of June 2027 |
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