2025 Annual Report
Grant Competitions
In September 2024, the ISRF launched its second First Book Fellowship competition, with a deadline of 1st November 2024. Following a round of external assessment, a selection panel met in April 2025 and voted to make seven awards.
In October 2024, the ISRF launched its eleventh Flexible Grants for Small Groups competition, with a deadline of 10th January 2025. A long-list was sent out for external assessment, and 17 awards were ultimately made in June 2025.
In December 2024, the ISRF launched its eighth Early Career Fellowship competition with a deadline of 14th February 2025. Having received a number of strong proposals, the Selection Panel met in September 2025, and voted to make five awards.
In September 2025 the ISRF launched its eleventh Independent Scholar Fellowship competition, with a deadline of 31st October 2025. A selection panel will meet in March 2026 to nominate awards.
In December 2025 the ISRF launched its eighth Mid-Career Fellowship competition, with a deadline of 30th January 2026. A selection panel will meet in July 2026 to nominate awards.
In October 2023, the ISRF launched its tenth Flexible Grants for Small Groups competition. The deadline for applications was 5pm GMT on 30th November 2023. A long-list was sent out for external assessment, and 19 awards were ultimately made in April 2024.
Topical Research
The ISRF engaged in several topical research projects, including:
Attention Studies & AI
Economics for the 2030s
EU Knowledge Strategies
Political Affect
Events
Book Launches
The ISRF Book Launch series continued in 2025, with events celebrating the launches of Like Lockdown Never Happened (Joy White), Spying on Muslims in Colonial Mozambique, 1964-74 (Sandra Araújo), The Politics of Unemployment Policy in Britain (Jay Wiggan), The Sound of Difference (Kristina Kolbe), Bordering Social Reproduction (Rachel Rosen & Eve Dickson), Threads of Labour (Lisa Taylor); and Neoliberalism and Race (Lars Cornelissen).
Conference
There was no ISRF conference in 2025.
Congress
The 6th ISRF Congress took place on 16th & 17th June 2025, at Gresham College, London, UK.
Lectures
The ISRF sponsored a series of lectures on Decolonisation, in partnership with Gresham College: Professor Martin Thomas on A World Remade by Decolonization? (9th April 2025), Professor Julia Laite on Shanawdithit: A Woman at the End of the World (30th April 2025), and Professor Adam Hanieh on Oil, Decolonisation, and the Future of the Climate Emergency (15th May 2025).
Seminars & Workshops
A seminar series - Redesigning Finance for Climate Justice - took place in London between 27th March and 13th November 2025.
Two closed workshops - Social & Cultural Frameworks for ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and Social & Cultural Frameworks for ‘Artificial Intelligence’ - Workshop II - took place in London, 10th & 11th March 2025 & 30th June to 2nd July 2025 respectively.
A closed workshop - Thinking Together: From Lines of Division to Common Ground - took place in Manchester on 26th March 2025.
A closed workshop - Political Affect Study Day: Drive - took place in London on 22nd April 2025.
A closed workshop - Decolonisation: Histories, Theories and Economies - took place in London on 5th June 2025.
A closed workshop - Reconstructing the British University - took place in York, 24th & 25th November 2025.
A closed workshop - Race, Gender, and Capitalism in the Present Conjuncture - took place in London, 8th & 9th December 2025.
Publications
Blog & Bulletin
The termly print bulletin continues to be accompanied by a regularly updated blog, which features scholarly contributions from ISRF Fellows, Advisors and Associates.
Newsletter
The monthly newsletter continued throughout 2025, distributed via the ISRF Mailing List. The Newsletter is sent out to over 8.500 subscribers and the average edition is read by over 4.000 recipients.
Universal Impact
Universal Impact (UI) - subsidiary of The Conversation UK - engages with the ISRF Executive Team, ISRF Fellows and other award recipients to generate accessible, short-form content both for the ISRF website and for wider dissemination.