Springboard 2026 research grants with France, Germany & Spain provide funding for teams of early-career researchers from the United Kingdom and partner countries to collaborate and prepare joint research proposals. The grants support collaborative projects between research teams in the UK and France, Germany or Spain, with a focus on early-career researchers, mobility, and collaborative activities leading to joint research proposals – particularly under Horizon Europe – and collaborative publications.

Overview

Springboard grants support collaborations between research teams involving early-career researchers, with the aim of either submitting joint grant applications or working on joint publications. Grants are open to research teams at higher education institutions and not-for-profit research institutions. The programme fosters international partnerships and helps early-career researchers build networks and develop skills for large-scale collaborative research.

Funding and Benefits

Grant amounts are up to £10,000. Activities are expected to start from January 2027. The grant covers:

• A springboard team meeting (compulsory) for team members from the UK and partner country to initiate or reinforce the collaboration, exchange ideas, and define priorities for launching a joint project.
• Online communication skills training (optional) for the early-career researchers involved.
• One-week research placements (optional) in the partner’s lab for up to two participating PhD students from both countries.

Eligibility

Applicants must be from higher education institutions or not-for-profit research institutions. Each proposal must include one lead institution from the UK and one lead institution from France, Germany or Spain. Each application can include up to a maximum of ten participants, with a minimum of six early-career researchers – defined as those who obtained their PhD less than ten years ago. Full eligibility criteria are available in the Application Guidance document.

Research Areas

Priority will be given to projects aligned with the Horizon Europe thematic areas:

• Health
• Culture, creativity and inclusive society
• Civil security for society
• Digital, industry and space
• Climate, energy and mobility
• Food, bio-economy, natural resources, agriculture and environment

Application Process

The proposal must be prepared jointly by leaders from all institutions involved in the project but must be submitted by the UK Lead Institution on behalf of the partnership. Applications must be submitted via the online grant platform at https://goingglobalpartnerships.grantplatform.com/ (registration required). Once registered, applicants can access the ‘Going Global Partnerships – multi country - Springboard 2026’ form. Any application submitted by a non-UK institution will be ineligible. Application documents, including an offline sample of the application form, can be downloaded from the programme page.

Deadline: 30 September 2026, 16.00 BST

Contact Information

For enquiries related to specific country partnerships:

• UK-France collaborations: education@britishcouncil.fr
• UK-Germany collaborations: studyuk.germany@britishcouncil.org
• UK-Spain collaborations: education@britishcouncil.es

Further information is available on the British Council country websites for France, Germany, and Spain.