UK-KSA Research Collaboration grants will provide seed funding for collaborations between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) to:
- Initiate new research and innovation collaborations between academic groups, departments, and institutions in KSA and the UK
- Develop existing collaborations at group, departmental, and institutional level
- Encourage these collaborations to work with non-academic organisations and individuals to support the exchange of research and innovation expertise and the translation of research knowledge into tangible benefits
- Establish local hubs for joint UK-Saudi Arabia activity in a particular area, enabling engagement from the wider research and innovation community.
Applications must be submitted by 12pm (UK time) on 24 September 2025.
Please note that:
- In order to apply for this call, you will need to set up an account on the International Science Partnerships Fund to submit your application. Submission route is from the applicant directly to the funder with no approval route through departments or RS.
- This call has capped institutional applications – Oxford can be the lead institute on three applications only, with no more than two applications being submitted from within the same subtheme.
- Given the submission route and timeframe, RS cannot coordinate submission of our most competitive applications to this call. In the event that more applications are submitted from Oxford than are eligible (whether more than 3, or more than 2 from the same subtheme), the British Council will contact us and may ask us to prioritise submissions. Therefore, applications may still be subject to a cap after submission.
- Applicants will need to be mindful of any Trusted Research considerations. Please discuss this with your departmental team.
Please email researchgrants@admin.ox.ac.uk and your departmental team with a copy of your proposal for review and approval before you submit.
ISPF UK-KSA priority themes:
The bilateral priority themes identified for this call for proposals are:
- Resilient Planet - leading the green industrial revolution to protect the planet:
- Water efficiency, treatment, and engineering
- Environmental monitoring, modelling, and protection
- Healthy People – researching and innovating for secure and healthy populations:
- Antimicrobial resistance and tackling future epidemics
- Early diagnosis and precision medicine
- Genomics and genetic diseases
Resources and Help
Grants for UK-KSA research collaborations
If you would like to apply to this funding call please contact your departmental support in the first instance.
