(Episode 168) Navigating the Research Funding Crisis

In an environment of low success rates, rising research costs, and shrinking opportunities, the research funding system appears to be at a crisis point. This isn't just a funding crisis but a culture crisis, intensifying workloads, stress, and precarity, especially for early career researchers seeking funding to stay employed.

A complete overhaul of the funding system is needed - but seems unlikely at present. In lieu of this, what can funders, institutions and researchers actually do to face up to these pressures?

In this episode, host Taryn Bell considers some doable - yet still meaningful - changes that we could make at varying points within the system, including:

• Increasing transparency from funders when communicating calls and outcomes
• More intentional career conversations - including making space for difficult conversations
• Preparing our researchers to get ready to apply much earlier than they think

We'd love to hear your suggestions for what needs to change in the funding landscape. Get in touch - and perhaps you'll be on a future episode of the podcast!

Find out more:

• Isaac Barbosa - BBSRC caps fellowship bids mid-call after surge in applications.
• Geraint Rees and James Wilsdon - Could agentic AI topple grant-funding systems?
• Kirsty Grainger - Too Fast to Think? Why UKRI Calls Are So Rushed, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It.
• Harriet Swain - Can ‘high-stress’ interviews for grants save a system under pressure?
• UKRI timeline of 2026 funding opportunities

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