Independent Scholar Fellowship (ISF11)

Eligible Applicants

Independent Scholars from within Europe^[1] are eligible to apply, and they will not hold an appointment – full-time or part-time, temporary or permanent – at an institution of higher education and research.

This category of Fellowship is intended for scholars who have not pursued - or have been obstructed from pursuing - a traditional academic career path.

An ‘Independent Scholar’ is understood as someone, whether or not currently in employment, who is engaged in intellectual work outside of academic employment of a nature and standard comparable to that of a professional academic scholar.

For the avoidance of doubt: newly qualified post-doctoral scholars, as-yet unemployed in academia, are not considered Independent Scholars for the purpose of this competition; nor are scholars who are actively seeking further academic employment; nor retired scholars whose careers were spent working within academia.^[2]

PLEASE NOTE: All applicants will be asked to describe their independent scholar status as part of the application form.

Applicants will usually hold a PhD but other equivalent academic or professional qualifications may be considered. Evidence of scholarly achievement at a sufficiently high level can include publications in academic journals, edited collections and monographs, as well as pieces for professional journals and the popular media.

Independent Scholars intending to pursue or complete a piece of independent research and desiring an affiliation to an institution of higher education and research within Europe are eligible to apply - arrangements for such affiliation need not be in place at the time of application, but applicants are asked to nominate a potential host institution if possible.

Applicants may be in professional (non-academic) employment, including in the arts, full- or part-time, or in an unpaid occupation.

The awards are intended as providing a stipend to allow applicants support for academic research and relief from non-academic work (including domestic care) for a period of up to one year.

[1] There is no limitation on nationality – however, the proposed institutional affiliation must be with a European institution.

[2] Other categories of award, namely First Book Fellowships, Early Career Fellowships and Mid-Career Fellowships are available for applicants who are - or have been until recently - working within an academic setting.

Eligible Research

Innovative research which breaks with existing explanatory frameworks so as to address afresh empirical problems with no currently adequate theory or investigative methodology. Innovation may also come from controversial theoretical approaches motivated by critical challenge of incumbent theories. Interdisciplinarity in the generation of new investigative initiatives may be achieved by combining, cross-fertilising, and so transforming empirical methods and theoretical insights from the social sciences. Projects ranging across the breadth of the social scientific disciplines and interdisciplinary research fields are welcome, and relevant applications from scholars working within the humanities are also encouraged.

The research proposed may include, but is not confined to: initiation of a project or of research level work intended to draw on or contribute to one of the professions, completion of a project, or preparation of an article or monograph for publication, based on existing work.

Duration & Timing

The awards are intended as providing a stipend to allow applicants full or partial relief from non-academic duties, for a period of up to one year; alternatively, the award may be sought by those who wish to be bought-out directly from their current (non-academic) employment contract (in whole or partially), with the prior consent of their current employer. The award period should begin no later than the end of December 2026.

Value

The amount of an award will depend on individual circumstances – the ISRF expects applications for grants up to a maximum of €40,500 (or GBP equivalent), of which no more than €33,250 may be allocated to the cost-of-living stipend. Up to €7,250 may be requested to cover reasonable research expenses. Reasonable childcare or other domestic costs may be considered.^[3]

[3] PLEASE NOTE: Applicants seeking an affiliation in the UK must apply in GBP (£), up to the limit of £35,000, of which no more than £28,750 may be allocated to the cost-of-living stipend. Applicants seeking an affiliation elsewhere in Europe, including non-Eurozone countries, must apply in EUR (€), up to the limit of €40,500, of which no more than €33,250 may be allocated to the cost-of-living stipend. These limits will not be adjusted in the event of GBP/EUR currency fluctuations.

Terms & Conditions

The ISRF reserves the right to extend the deadline for the competition. Awards will be conditional on the establishment of an institutional affiliation, to cover the duration of the proposed research project. Whilst the ISRF will take a lead in negotiating the terms of affiliation, it is the responsibility of the applicant to identify suitable institutions with which they would like to be affiliated. A short final report will be required at the end of the award period.^[4] Award holders may be invited to present their findings in person to the Foundation’s academic representatives. The ISRF’s support is to be acknowledged in all public presentation of research. Full Terms & Conditions governing awards will be provided to successful applicants in their formal offer, based on the draft general terms and conditions available on the ISRF website. Formal acceptance of the award should be completed by the end of June 2026.

[4] The ISRF does not require a lengthy report on your work, although reflections and comments are welcome as an addendum/appendix; for our records we require a short (no more than 500 words) report on the main features of your work: a short recap/outline of research aims and work plan; changes in research plans with reasons; new or surprising findings or results; what was achieved and how; outputs (presentations, publications etc); lessons learned; collaborations, partnerships, networks that have resulted; further plans/projects that arise from research.

Joint Applications

The competition is open to individuals who wish to undertake a piece of original research. Joint/group applications will not be considered.

Applications to Other Funding Bodies

Applicants may apply without prejudice to other funding bodies. If applications for identical projects were successful it would be expected that only one award (i.e. either the ISRF or another) would be accepted. If applications for either wholly or partly different projects are successful there should be no duplication in the budget headings funded by the ISRF and another body.

All awards are conditional upon acceptance of our Standard Award Terms & Conditions.

The Research Proposal

All applicants will be expected to provide the following details as part of their proposal:

• An Abstract of the research’s aims, methods, contribution to knowledge, and value in realising the goals of ISRF (300 words)

• The Research Topic: The project’s focus, problem, or question (250 words)

• Background: Established theses or paradigms in the field and their limitations in relation to the Research Topic (250 words)

• Project Thesis: In contrast to established theses, your hypotheses or innovative claims that the research will enable you to support (250 words)

• Methodology: Methods and procedures your research will employ, with description of your main disciplinary technique(s), including interactions across disciplines as required (250 words)

• Work Plan: How your methods and procedures will be structured over the period of the award (250 words)

• Outcomes: Describe project contribution, dissemination, any further steps and longer-term goals (250 words)

• Access & Ethics: If applicable, describe (i) how access to relevant data/participants will be secured (relating to, e.g., language skills, positionality, access restrictions) and (ii) any measures required for ethical conduct of the research, including needed regulatory compliance (300 words)

For example Research Proposals from previous Independent Scholar Fellows, see the project pages for Steve Graby, Alessandra Gribaldo, Larisa Jasarevic, Nina Moeller, Sarah Rosenberg-Jansen, Mike Waite & Joy White.

In support of the Research Proposal, applicants are also prompted to submit:

• A Bibliography listing all works cited in the proposal, limited to two sides of A4 (to be uploaded as an attachment)^[5]

• An anonymised Budget (to be entered in the relevant application form field, or uploaded as an attachment)^[6]

• An anonymised list of your own publications (or alternative outputs) relevant to the work proposed in your application (to be entered in the relevant application form field)^[6]

• An anonymised list of your previous experience or qualifications (e.g. PhD subject area, research specialism(s), language skills, completed research projects, methodological training etc.) relevant to this proposal (to be entered in the relevant application form field)^[6]

• An anonymised statement on your Independent Scholar Status (to be entered in the relevant application form field)^[7]

Each section of the proposal (including the Bibliography) should be anonymised, meaning that the identity of the applicant(s) cannot easily be deduced from the information provided. Applicants can cite their own previous publications, but these should be presented in such a way that they cannot be used to identify the author(s). For more guidance on how to anonymise your proposal, please refer to the relevant section of the FAQs.

[5] The submitted bibliography will be appended to your Research Proposal, visible at all stages of the selection process. Any self-citations should be anonymised as ‘Author, 2025’ or similar.

[6] Your budget, prior publications/outputs and previous experience/qualifications will only be appended to your Research Proposal, and therefore visible to reviewers, if your application reaches the final, Selection Panel stage.

[7] Your statement on your Independent Scholar Status will be reviewed separately to your Research Proposal to establish eligibility.

The Submitted Application

This will be read by academic evaluators who work in the social scientists, arts, or humanities but not necessarily in the applicant’s own field; applicants should bear this in mind when writing their application. To make the assessment procedure as fair as possible, we ask applicants to ensure their proposal has been anonymised. It may contain references to the applicant’s previous work but these should not be identifiable.

For more guidance on how to anonymise your proposal and bibliography, please refer to our FAQs.

Our Assessment Procedure is also set out online.

Employer Approval

Where applicants wish to be bought out from existing employment (either wholly or in part) they must confirm that their employer is aware of their application, and should provide the contact details for the relevant contact. Should your application progress, this contact will be asked to confirm, on behalf of your employer, that:

• You will be granted the period and proportion of time requested in the Duration and Timing section;

• If replacement costs are requested, you will be in receipt of your normal salary during tenure of the award and the institution will provide cover.

It is therefore advisable that you ensure that your Employer is in agreement with the content of your application before you submit.