Impact Acceleration Accounts

Impact Fund (maximum award £10k) open & responsive call:

Supports new impact opportunities, for projects with potential for high impact. Further information can be found in the guidance form.

• IAA Impact Fund Guidance
• IAA Impact Fund Application Form
• IAA Terms and Conditions
• IAA Costing Request Form

Proof of Market (maximum award £5k) open & responsive call:

Supports early-stage market validation to assess opportunities, and to ensure there is a clear need for a new technology/ process. Further information can be found in the guidance form.

• IAA Proof of Market Guidance
• IAA Proof of Market Application Form
• IAA Terms and Conditions
• IAA Costing Request Form

External Engagement (maximum award £5k) open & responsive call:

IAA funded workshops are devised to support impact culture and skills along with building partnerships & collaborations with external organisations. 

• IAA External Engagement Guidance
• IAA External Engagement Workshops Form

Rapid Response Fund (maximum award £9k) open & responsive call:

Supports researchers in responding swiftly and flexibly to emerging opportunities that have the potential to translate research into meaningful real-world impact.

• IAA Rapid Response Guidance
• IAA Rapid Response Fund
• IAA Terms and Conditions
• IAA Costing Request Form

Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (maximum award £10k) set call deadlines:

Supports secondment activities, where either a University of Huddersfield academic/researcher is seconded into an end-user organisation, or a member of a non-academic partner is seconded inwards to work on a University of Huddersfield project, while supervised by an academic. Further information can be found in the guidance form.

• IAA Knowledge Exchange Fellowship Guidance
• IAA Knowledge Exchange Fellowship Application Form
• IAA Terms and Conditions
• IAA Costing Request Form

Proof of Concept (maximum award £40k) with set call deadlines:

Supports early-stage exploitation of University of Huddersfield research to accelerate impact and societal benefit through engagement with external non-HEI partners. Further information can be found in the guidance form.

• IAA Proof of Concept Guidance
• IAA Proof of Concept Application Form
• IAA Terms and Conditions
• IAA Costing Request Form

Co-Creation Fund (maximum award £40k) with set call deadlines:

Co-Creation projects support the early-stage translation of University of Huddersfield’s research into commercial and/ or societal benefit, through collaboration with (non-academic) external partners.  Co-Creation seeks to collaborate with diverse partners and communities to generate economic and social value through new cultural activity. Further information can be found in the guidance form.

• IAA Co-Creation Fund Guidance
• IAA Co-Creation Fund Application Form
• IAA Terms and Conditions
• IAA Costing Request Form

ESRC Festival of Social Science - Call now open

17th October – 7th November 2026

The Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science is an annual showcase of social science research. Featuring a wide range of events - from exhibitions and panel discussions to performances, interactive workshops, and more - the festival offers something for everyone.

Led by researchers from across the UK’s higher education sector, the festival offers a valuable opportunity for both children and adults to engage with the latest developments in social science research.

The University of Huddersfield’s 2025 programme of Festival events is available on the ESRC Festival of Social Science webpage.

To register your interest in hosting an event as part of this year's ESRC Festival of Social Science please complete an expression of interest form, and return to iaa@hud.ac.uk by 1st June 2026.

Festival of Social Science - Expression of Interest

Event Leader Pack 2026

Contact Details

For further information or support, connected with:

• An IAA application
• Completing an Innovation Disclosure Statement

contact innovation@hud.ac.uk 

Arts & Humanities IAA programme marks major collaborative milstones

The University of Huddersfield's School of Arts and Humanities is celebrating the continued success of its Arts & Humanities Impact Accelerator Account, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

International book design award for Dr Yan Wang Preston

An innovative book from Dr Yan Wang Preston, senior lecturer in photography, has been recognized by one of the world’s most prestigious book design awards.

Place-Based Cultural Development in Kirklees

Place-Based Cultural Development in Kirklees is a University Research Funded Project exploring how universities, local authorities, and community partners can collaborate to strengthen local creative ecologies, particularly in places at risk of creative depletion under the pressures of austerity and reduced cultural funding.

Huddersfield archaeologists help to reveal Namibian genocide grave sits

Researchers from the University of Huddersfield’s Centre of Archaeology have travelled to Namibia to help uncover more evidence of atrocities from what has been called “the first genocide of the 20th Century”.

Huddersfield students map out future for York's medieval hidden gem

Architecture students from Huddersfield have collaborated with academics, archaeologists and counterparts from other universities on a project to showcase Barley Hall, the ‘hidden medieval gem’ in the centre of York.