Call Themes and theme-specific criteria
The 2026/27 call comprises three themes aligned with the University of Southampton Goals, Values, our Civic Agreement, the Public & Community Engagement Hubs and our wider commitments to Government Research and Development.
Proposals should relate to one of the three themes and demonstrate they meet the criteria within that
theme as listed below:
Theme 1: Supporting engagement and participation
Projects that will be considered for funding must:
Empower people to engage productively in the economy through the development of skills to be able
to meaningfully do this, including the generation of co-produced bids for larger grants, with the
expectation that a large proportion of this funding will be to pay for partner time.
Theme 2: Supporting local growth and regeneration
Projects that will be considered for funding must:
Support the social, environmental and economic resilience of a co-defined local area by engaging
with people to identify and deliver benefits that are most vital to them and their region with a prime
focus on local growth or regeneration.
Theme 3: Supporting an open curiosity-driven research culture
Projects that will be considered for funding must:
Demonstrate how learning and growth will develop from the creation or experimentation of novel
nation-wide and discipline/journey agnostic engagement approaches; breaking down silos, supporting
emerging talent and empowering people to participate in innovative delivery, distribution and bids for
larger grants or generation of private investment.