UK AHRC “Design Generators” Grants: Up to £200,000 for Green Transition Design Projects (2026 Guide)

If you’re a designer or arts and humanities researcher who looks at the climate crisis and thinks, “We can do better than business-as-usual,” this call has your name written all over it.

The Design Generators funding opportunity from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is all about backing ambitious, design-led projects that tackle the green transition—not just with technology or policy, but with imagination, culture, and human-centered thinking.

You’re not being asked to write yet another position paper on sustainability. You’re being invited to design interventions—things that actually happen in real places, with real people—and ground them in rigorous arts and humanities research. Think of it as a lab where prototypes, public engagement, storytelling, history, ethics, and practical design all sit at the same table.

A few big points up front:

• You can request up to £200,000 full economic cost (FEC) for a 9–12 month project.
• AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC, with the usual 20% covered by your UK research organisation.
• You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding.
• This call sits within the larger Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition programme, so you’re plugging into something much bigger than a one-off grant.
• It’s currently a pre-announcement. The call is expected to open on 2 February 2026, with a deadline of 9 April 2026 at 16:00 UK time.

This is the kind of opportunity that can move a project from “interesting idea in a slide deck” to “we piloted this in three cities, evaluated it properly, and have evidence it works.”

Let’s break it down.

Design Generators at a Glance

What This Opportunity Actually Offers (Beyond the Headline Number)

On paper, Design Generators is up to £200,000 FEC over 9–12 months. In practice, here’s what that really means.

1. Serious Money for Short, Intense, Applied Work

A 9–12 month window with up to £200k FEC is built for fast, focused experimentation, not a five-year theory-building exercise.

You can realistically fund things like:

• A small cross-disciplinary team (PI, Co-Is, research associates, design researchers, maybe a project manager)
• Co-design workshops with communities or stakeholders
• Prototype development and testing (physical, digital, or service design)
• Public exhibitions, performances, or installations linked to the green transition
• Documentation, evaluation, and dissemination (reports, toolkits, open resources, films, etc.)

This is “let’s actually try it” funding, not “let’s only talk about it” funding.

2. Design at the Core, Not as Decoration

Many climate or sustainability calls treat design as an afterthought: “we’ll get a designer at the end to make some icons.” This is different.

Here, design-led interventions are the main act. AHRC wants projects where:

• Design is driving the process: problem framing, prototyping, iteration, engagement.
• Arts and humanities methods (history, philosophy, cultural studies, critical theory, anthropology, etc.) aren’t added on later—they shape what’s being done and why.

Think:

• Using speculative design to explore low-carbon futures that people can actually imagine living in.
• Drawing on environmental history or heritage to redesign how a community adapts to climate change.
• Combining service design with ethics or political theory to rethink a “green” public service so it’s fair, not just efficient.

3. Connection to the Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition Programme

This isn’t a lonely grant floating in space. Design Generators sits inside the larger Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition initiative.

That likely brings:

• Visibility – your project is easier to profile, platform, and connect with others.
• Networks – opportunities to collaborate with other funded teams, museums, local authorities, or community partners.
• Knowledge exchange – events, showcases, or shared resources where your work can influence practice and policy.

If you care not just about a single project, but about shaping what “green transition” work looks like in the UK, this is strategically valuable.

4. A Space for Risky, Hybrid Ideas

Because this is design + arts & humanities, there’s room for projects that fall awkwardly between standard research council boxes.

For example:

• A speculative design practice working with historians and local communities to rethink coastal retreat.
• A theatre-maker and environmental philosopher co-creating performances about just transitions with workers in high-carbon industries.
• A UX designer, literary scholar, and archivist working together on new ways to communicate climate risk to the public.

If you’ve got a project that’s always been “too cultural” for an engineering call and “too applied” for a pure humanities scheme, this might finally be the right home.

Who Should Apply (and What “Good Fit” Really Looks Like)

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. Think:

• UK universities
• Certain research institutes
• Some IROs (Independent Research Organisations) recognised by AHRC

If you’re unsure whether your organisation is eligible, sort that out early with your research office.

Ideal Applicants

You’re probably in the right ballpark if:

• You’re a design researcher (architecture, product design, service design, interaction design, fashion, urban design, etc.) with an interest in climate, environment, or sustainability.
• You’re an arts or humanities academic who works on climate-related topics and is hungry to move beyond publications into real-world interventions.
• You’re already collaborating with practitioners (cultural organisations, local authorities, NGOs, community groups, industry partners) and want to scale that up.

Types of Projects That Make Sense

Here are a few plausible project flavours:

• Community-based design for low-carbon living

  • Co-designing tools, services, or spaces that make sustainable choices easier in specific neighbourhoods.
  • Evaluated through ethnography, participatory methods, and critical analysis.

• Reimagining green infrastructure through culture

  • Working with artists, architects, and cultural historians on how new green infrastructure can respond to local identities, not just engineering specs.

• Designing more just green transitions

  • Exploring how design can address inequalities (e.g. who gains and who loses from decarbonisation) by bringing together political theory, design, and lived experience.

• Creative communication of climate futures

  • Using storytelling, performance, or interactive installations to help publics engage with future climate scenarios and trade-offs.

If your project is strictly technical (“we’re optimising a hydrogen fuel cell”) or purely conceptual with no intervention component (“a theoretical model of eco-ethics” with no applied work), this call is probably not the right fit.

Early- and Mid-Career Researchers

Although the scheme doesn’t explicitly label itself as early-career focused, the 9–12 month format and project size make it very attractive for:

• Early-career researchers wanting a first substantial PI role.
• Mid-career researchers wanting to pivot into green transition work or test a new interdisciplinary direction.

Just make sure your experience and team composition match the ambition of the project. If you’re early-career, strong mentorship and practical partners will help.

Insider Tips for a Winning Design Generators Application

You’ll get the full scheme guidance when the call formally opens, but you can start sharpening your strategy now.

1. Nail the “Design-Led + Arts & Humanities” Combo

Don’t assume reviewers will infer how your project fits both sides. Spell it out:

• Where exactly is the design? (Methods, interventions, prototypes, co-design sessions, speculative artefacts, services, etc.)
• Which arts and humanities methodologies are you using, and why? (Ethnography, historical analysis, philosophy, literary analysis, art practice, cultural geography, etc.)

Avoid vague claims like “this is interdisciplinary.” Explain in plain terms how the disciplines are wired together in practice.

2. Be Specific About the Green Transition Problem

“Climate change is important” is not an argument; it’s background noise.

Define:

• The specific challenge you’re focusing on (e.g. heat adaptation in social housing, decarbonising cultural venues, sustainable food systems in one city).
• Why design is a sensible way in, rather than just more policy, tech, or funding.
• What success looks like in 9–12 months – not saving the planet, but concrete shifts, prototypes, evidence, or models.

3. Show Your Intervention Pathway

Don’t just list activities. Show how they add up.

For example:

1. Initial research and stakeholder mapping
2. Co-design workshops to explore alternative futures
3. Development of prototypes or pilot interventions
4. Testing and refinement in situ
5. Evaluation using arts/humanities methods
6. Public sharing (exhibition, open toolkit, policy brief)

Reviewers want to see that you’ve thought through how ideas become interventions, and how interventions become knowledge others can use.

4. Build a Credible, Complementary Team

If you’re doing:

• Service design
• Critical theory
• Community engagement
• Evaluation
• Visual communication

…you’re not doing that as one heroic individual.

Put together a team where:

• Each person’s role is crystal clear.
• You have at least one person who’s good at project delivery (timelines, budgets, partnerships).
• Non-academic partners (if involved) are treated as real collaborators with time budgeted for their input.

Weak applications often either under-resource the team or throw in too many Co-Is without clear purpose.

5. Think About Legacy From Day One

A 9–12 month project can’t do everything, but it can:

• Generate methods others can reuse.
• Trial a model that could be scaled later through another funder.
• Create open tools, resources, or frameworks.
• Inform policy debates or cultural-sector practice.

Use part of your case for support (and budget) to explain how your work outlives the grant.

6. Be Ruthless with Scope

The biggest killer of these short projects: overreach.

Ask yourself:

• Could we realistically do this, with this team, in 9–12 months?
• What can we remove and still have a strong, coherent project?
• Are we trying to fix an entire system when we should focus on one leverage point?

A focused, well-justified pilot beats an overambitious “everything everywhere” Frankenstein.

Application Timeline: Working Back from 9 April 2026

Even though the call is not open yet, you can map a realistic schedule.

Assuming a 9 April 2026, 16:00 submission deadline:

October – November 2025: Concept and Partnerships

• Define your core idea and green transition focus.
• Sound out potential collaborators (inside and outside academia).
• Confirm your institution’s AHRC eligibility if there’s any doubt.

December 2025 – January 2026: Early Design and Internal Buy-In

• Draft a 1–2 page concept note: aims, approach, team, rough budget.
• Share with your research office and at least one senior colleague.
• Identify any required institutional approvals or internal deadlines.

February 2026: Call Opens, Serious Drafting Begins

• As soon as the call opens on 2 February 2026, download the official guidance and check you’re compliant on all requirements.
• Adapt your concept note into the skeleton of the full application.
• Start detailed budgeting with your research office.

Early–Mid March 2026: Full Draft and Feedback

• Have a complete draft of all narrative sections by early March.
• Share with:
  • A design colleague
  • An arts/humanities colleague
  • Someone not in your field who can test clarity
• Refine based on feedback, especially around coherence and feasibility.

Late March – Early April 2026: Final Polish and Submission

• Finalise budget, partner letters, and institutional sign-off.
• Do a ruthless final edit for clarity and jargon.
• Aim to submit at least 48 hours before the 9 April deadline to avoid technical chaos.

Required Materials (and How to Prepare Them Well)

The precise list will appear when the call opens, but based on AHRC norms, expect something along these lines:

1. Case for Support / Project Description

This is your main narrative. It should cover:

• Aims and research questions
• Context and rationale (why this issue, why now)
• The design-led interventions you’ll carry out
• The arts and humanities methodologies you’ll use and why they’re appropriate
• Workplan and timeline
• Team roles and management plan
• Impact and legacy

Tip: Write for an intelligent person who may not be a specialist in your subfield. Avoid drowning them in jargon.

2. Summary and Abstract

You’ll probably need:

• A technical summary for specialist reviewers
• A plain-language public summary for non-experts

Don’t treat these as afterthoughts—they often frame how reviewers approach the whole proposal.

3. Budget and Justification of Resources

Because the FEC can be up to £200,000, your justification needs to be tight:

• Explain why you need each role, each trip, each bit of kit.
• Make sure costs match the activities in your workplan.
• Check that 80% AHRC funding / 20% institutional contribution is correctly calculated.

4. CVs / Track Records

Usually required for PI and Co-Is. Focus on:

• Prior relevant projects (design, green transition, community work, public engagement).
• Publications or outputs that show you can deliver and disseminate.
• Experience managing similar-scale projects.

5. Letters or Statements of Support (if partners are involved)

If you’re working with councils, NGOs, museums, or community organisations:

• Get specific letters explaining their role, commitment, and what they gain.
• Don’t submit generic “we support this” notes with no substance.

What Makes a Design Generators Application Stand Out

While we don’t have the formal assessment rubric yet, AHRC calls of this type usually care about:

1. Fit with Call Aims

Does your project:

• Clearly address the green transition?
• Put design at the heart of the intervention?
• Make serious use of arts and humanities methodologies, not just name-check them?

If a reviewer has to dig to see this fit, you’re already losing ground.

2. Originality and Contribution

They’ll ask:

• What is new here?
• How does it advance thinking or practice in design for sustainability?
• How will others benefit from your findings, methods, or models?

“Yet another awareness-raising campaign” with no clear conceptual or methodological contribution will struggle.

3. Feasibility and Credible Delivery

Reviewers are ruthless about whether you can actually do what you say.

They’ll look for:

• A realistic workplan for 9–12 months
• A sensible match between tasks, team size, and budget
• Evidence that your partners are genuinely engaged
• Risk awareness (what could go wrong, and what you’ll do about it)

4. Quality of Team and Partnerships

They’ll consider:

• Does the team cover the right mix of design and arts/humanities expertise?
• Is there experience with similar communities, sectors, or issues?
• Are non-academic partners used well, not just as logos on a slide?

5. Impact and Engagement

Even for a relatively short grant, AHRC will want to see:

• Who you’re engaging with during the project
• How you’ll share what you learn (beyond paywalled journal articles)
• How your work could be used, adapted, or scaled after the funding ends

Common Mistakes to Avoid (and How to Fix Them)

Mistake 1: Being Vague About Method

“Creative workshops” and “participatory methods” are not enough detail.

Fix:
Describe clearly:

• Who will be in the room
• What you’ll ask them to do
• How outputs will be captured, analysed, and turned into design decisions or research insights

Mistake 2: Treating Partners as an Afterthought

Dropping in a council or museum as a token partner without a clear role is a red flag.

Fix:
Involve partners early. Co-develop the project idea. In the application, show:

• What they contribute
• What they gain
• How you’ll work together in practice (meetings, decision-making, responsibilities)

Mistake 3: Overloading the 9–12 Month Window

Trying to do three countries, six pilots, and a full comparative analysis is a recipe for disaster.

Fix:
Pick a focused project that you can genuinely deliver in a year. You can always frame it as:

• A pilot
• A proving ground for methods
• One case study in a larger future programme

Mistake 4: No Clear Contribution Beyond the Project Context

If your application reads like “we’ll run a lovely local project” with no thought about what others can learn, it’ll score poorly.

Fix:
Explain:

• What knowledge, methods, or tools will transfer beyond your setting
• How you’ll package and share them
• Who else (e.g. other cities, sectors, disciplines) might care

Mistake 5: Leaving Writing and Budget to the Last Minute

AHRC applications take time. Rushing shows up in incoherent narratives and sloppy budgets.

Fix:
Treat the deadlines above as non-negotiable. Give yourself at least 6–8 weeks from call opening to submission, with your research office on board early.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to have a design degree to be PI?

Not necessarily. But the project must be design-led. That usually means:

• Either the PI is a design researcher
• Or there’s a strong design Co-I / named researcher who clearly leads the design dimension

If you’re an arts/humanities PI without design training, make the design leadership structure crystal clear.

2. Can I collaborate with non-UK partners?

Typically, AHRC funding must primarily support UK-based research organisations, but international collaborators can often be involved:

• They might participate in the research
• In some cases, limited costs may be allowed (check the final guidance)

The PI and host must be in the UK. If you plan major international elements, confirm rules with your research office or AHRC once the call opens.

3. Do I have to request the full £200,000 FEC?

No. You should request what you actually need.

A strong £150k project is better than a bloated £200k one full of padding. Reviewers can smell “we just maxed out the budget” from a mile away.

4. How applied can the project be?

Very applied—as long as the arts and humanities research is real and visible.

If your proposal reads like a consultancy project with “evaluation” stapled on, that’s a problem. Show:

• Conceptual depth
• Methodological clarity
• Contribution to wider knowledge, not just immediate problem-solving

5. Can early-career researchers apply as PI?

In principle, yes—if your institution allows it and you meet AHRC eligibility as PI.

If you’re early-career:

• Emphasise mentorship and support structures.
• Highlight any prior project leadership (even smaller ones).
• Build a team that fills in any gaps in your experience.

6. What happens after submission?

Typically:

• Proposals go through peer review and/or panel assessment.
• Decisions are usually announced a few months after the deadline (exact timings will be in the call text).
• Funded projects will then agree start dates with AHRC, often within a 6–12 month window.

How to Apply: Your Next Steps

You can’t hit “submit” yet—but you can do a lot now to give yourself an edge when the call opens.

1. Read the pre-announcement carefully
   Go to the official opportunity page and bookmark it:
   https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/design-generators/

2. Talk to your research office

   • Confirm that your organisation is AHRC-eligible.
   • Ask about internal deadlines and processes for UKRI submissions.
   • Let them know this call opens on 2 February 2026 with a 9 April 2026 deadline.

3. Shape your idea early

   • Define your specific green transition challenge.
   • Sketch how design and arts/humanities will work together.
   • Identify potential partners and start conversations now, not in March 2026.

4. Build your team on purpose, not by accident

   • Decide who leads design, who leads the arts/humanities framing, and who handles project management.
   • Make sure you’re not missing critical skills (like community engagement or evaluation).

5. When the call opens (2 February 2026)

   • Download the full guidance from the official page.
   • Check every eligibility point and assessment criterion.
   • Map your draft sections directly to what AHRC says it will assess.

6. Use the support contacts if you’re unsure

   • For technical questions about the UKRI Funding Service: [email protected]
   • For scheme-specific questions: [email protected]

Ready to get moving?

Get Started

The official details, updates, and application portal will all be available here once the call opens:

Visit the official opportunity page:
https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/design-generators/

If you care about designing a fair, imaginative, and practical green transition—and you’re based at a UK AHRC-eligible organisation—this is one of the most strategically useful pots of money you’ll see in the next couple of years. Start sketching.