BU Research Blog

The 24th annual ESRC Festival of Social Science will take place from Saturday 17 October to Saturday 7 November 2026, with the theme ‘Money, Finance and the Cost of Living’.

The festival offers researchers an excellent opportunity to take their work beyond the university, engage with diverse audiences, and present social science research in creative, accessible and meaningful ways.

Funding of up to £1,000 per event is available.

About the Festival of Social Science

The Festival of Social Science is an annual UK-wide celebration of research and knowledge about people and society. It is organised and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The festival provides a platform for researchers from UK universities to engage the public with social science research across a wide range of topics, including health and wellbeing, crime, equality, education, identity, finance and the cost of living.

Events can take many forms, including exhibitions, talks, panel discussions, performances, workshops, interactive activities and online sessions. The festival is free to attend, with most events open to everyone, although some may be designed for specific audiences.

What are the festival aims?

The aims of the festival are to:

• encourage, support and create opportunities for social science researchers to engage with the public and young people;
• promote and increase awareness of the social sciences, ESRC-funded research, and the contribution social science makes to the UK;
• enable the public to engage with social science research;
• engage with teachers and young people and raise their awareness of the social sciences.

How to apply

Deadline for applications EXTENDED to: 5pm THURSDAY 25 June 2026

To apply, please complete the online application form. 

We are particularly keen to receive applications from PGRs and early to mid-career researchers, and we also welcome applications from groups or teams.

If you are a PGR or have a supervisor, your application will need to be endorsed by your supervisor. They should email their endorsement to:

researchengagementandimpact@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Before submitting your application, we strongly recommend that you review the guidance documents below and use the working document to draft your responses.

Guidance documents and supporting materials

Please read the Festival Event Leader Pack before preparing your application. This is the key guidance document for anyone planning to lead an event. It explains the festival aims, event criteria, planning considerations, audience engagement expectations, evaluation requirements, and the support available.

We have also prepared a working document to help you draft your ideas before transferring your final responses into the official FoSS application form. This is intended to support your planning only. Please note that it is not the official application form and will not be accepted as a final submission.

You can also access the slides from the Information Session here. If you were unable to attend, or would like to revisit what was covered, you can watch the session recording here.

Need help with your application?

We will be holding an online drop-in session to discuss event ideas and answer questions about the application process.

Date: 1 June
Time: 11:00–13:00

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/318685295835515?p=n5B1rleHvqQTYdLcZk

Meeting ID: 318 685 295 835 515

Passcode: Vr9dL9nQ

You can also submit questions in advance via Padlet here.

Questions submitted via Padlet will be anonymous, and we will address them during the drop-in session.