Run the British Election Study 2027‑2032 Grant How UK Researchers Can Lead the Next Decade of Electoral Research

If you care about how democracy actually behaves between ballot boxes, this is one of the biggest prizes in UK political research.

The UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is gearing up to fund the next phase of the British Election Study (BES), covering 2027–2037, with core funding for the 2029 UK general election in Great Britain and survey work tied to local elections.

This is not a small side project or a one‑off survey. The BES is a piece of national research infrastructure – the dataset that scholars, journalists, pollsters, and parties endlessly mine when they argue about who votes, why they vote, and why they sometimes stop. Winning this grant means you and your team shape that infrastructure for years.

Right now, this is officially a pre‑announcement. That means the call is coming, the broad contours are clear, but the fine print is still being finalised. If you’re even vaguely thinking, “We could run that,” you need to start planning well before the full call goes live.

Below is a detailed guide to what this opportunity is, who it’s for, and how to get yourself into pole position to apply.

At a Glance

Because this is a pre‑announcement, some parameters may move slightly. But the essentials – ESRC, BES, 60‑month funding, UK‑based lead institution – are locked in enough to start serious internal conversations.

What This Opportunity Offers

Running the British Election Study is about far more than a tidy line on your CV. It combines big‑ticket research funding with the chance to shape how an entire field thinks about voting for a decade.

First, there’s the time horizon. ESRC is signalling up to 60 months of funding from October 2026. In research years, that’s a lifetime: you can recruit and develop a team, refine your survey instruments, build in methodological experiments, and iterate after early waves rather than firefighting every six months.

Second, the political moment is baked in. The funding specifically covers work for the 2029 UK general election in Great Britain. This is the flagship event: you’ll be expected to design, field, and analyse high‑quality election surveys that capture turnout, party choice, attitudes, identities, issue priorities, and whatever new political fault lines appear by then.

In addition to the general election, the call includes surveys aligned with local elections. That opens the door to richer designs: panel waves that track voters across electoral cycles, experiments embedded in local contests, or deep dives into turnout dynamics in different areas.

Third, there’s the data legacy. BES data are widely used far beyond narrow political science circles. Sociologists, data scientists, historians, economists, and the media all reach for these datasets. If you run the study well, your work becomes part of the standard arsenal of UK social science training – cited in textbooks, taught in methods classes, and quarrelled over on television.

There’s also a networking and leadership dimension. Acting as BES PI or co‑PI means working closely with ESRC, the UK Data Service, and a mix of national and international partners. You’ll be in the room for discussions about survey methods, data standards, and infrastructure priorities. That kind of visibility tends to echo into future grants, advisory roles, and collaborations.

Finally, don’t underestimate the training and capacity‑building angle. A 60‑month award of this scale almost certainly means opportunities for PhD studentships, postdocs, data scientists, and research software engineers. You’ll help train the next cohort of election scholars in proper survey design, fieldwork, and open data practices.

This is a demanding grant to manage – politically exposed, methodologically complex, and highly visible. But if your team gets it right, it’s career‑defining.

Who Should Apply (and Who Should Not)

This is not a “try your luck with a two‑person team and a Qualtrics license” situation. ESRC expects the BES to be run as serious national infrastructure.

You’re a realistic contender if:

• Your host institution is a UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding. Think universities or approved independent research organisations. If you’re not sure your institution qualifies, talk to your research office now, not the week before the call opens.

• You can assemble a multidisciplinary team. At minimum, you’re likely to need political scientists (or related social scientists), survey methodologists, statisticians or quantitative social scientists, data managers, and perhaps software or infrastructure specialists. A lone PI model will not be credible here.

• You have demonstrable experience with large‑scale survey projects. This could involve prior BES involvement, work on other national surveys, or equivalent international studies. Reviewers will look closely at whether you’ve actually fielded complex surveys at scale, not just published on them.

• Your institution can support open data, long‑term archiving, and secure handling of sensitive information. BES datasets feed into the UK Data Service and are used by thousands of secondary analysts; you’ll need processes that meet those standards.

For example, a strong applicant team might be a consortium of two universities: one with deep expertise in survey methodology and data infrastructure, another with a powerhouse elections group and strong qualitative add‑ons. One leads the grant, the other joins as co‑applicant institution with named co‑PIs and work packages.

You’re probably not ready to lead this if:

• You’ve never managed a grant larger than a modest project pot.
• Your experience with surveys is limited to student samples or one‑off polling.
• Your institution cannot guarantee proper administrative and IT support for large data projects.
• You’re a solo early‑career researcher without a credible senior partner.

That said, early‑career researchers can absolutely be central to a bid – as co‑investigators, work package leads, and methodological innovators. If this is you, think about joining or forming a consortium rather than fronting the bid alone.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

When the full call opens, you can safely assume competition will be fierce. Here’s how to stand out.

1. Treat this as infrastructure, not just a project

The BES is more like a national lab than a single paper. Your proposal needs that mindset. Don’t just describe a nice survey for 2029; articulate a coherent programme that spans years, builds panels, links to other data sources, and leaves behind documentation and tools others can use.

Reviewers will be asking: “Is this team building a resource the whole community can rely on?”

2. Show methodological ambition with realism

Everyone can say, “We’ll run large probability samples and innovative experiments.” Fewer can explain in concrete terms how they’ll sample, weight, minimise non‑response, and test new methods without compromising trend comparability.

Spell out:

• How you’ll maintain continuity with previous BES waves while still innovating.
• How you’ll handle online vs face‑to‑face vs mixed‑mode approaches.
• How you’ll deal with late‑announced elections or political shocks.

Be ambitious, but back every big idea with a practical implementation plan.

3. Make data sharing and documentation a first‑class citizen

ESRC is serious about open, well‑documented data. Treat this as central, not an afterthought.

Describe:

• Your pipeline from raw data to cleaned, documented datasets ready for the UK Data Service.
• How you’ll manage codebooks, variable naming conventions, and versioning.
• Plans for reproducible code (e.g. Git‑based workflows, public repositories once embargoes lift).

If you have previous experience producing widely used public datasets, flag it hard.

4. Prove your team can actually deliver on time

Election studies are unforgiving on timing. You cannot “slip the schedule” on fieldwork because the election date is inconvenient.

Your application should include:

• A tight but credible timeline for pre‑election, election, and post‑election waves.
• Contingency planning for snap elections or unexpected overlaps with other major events.
• Evidence that you’ve delivered time‑sensitive projects before.

Reviewers worry about feasibility more than about cleverness. Show them you’re boringly reliable when it counts.

5. Build in engagement with users, not just respondents

Think about your downstream users: academics, journalists, policymakers, teachers.

You could propose:

• User workshops to gather input on questionnaire priorities.
• Methods briefings for media and think tanks.
• Teaching resources based on BES data for undergraduate methods courses.

This proves you see BES as a shared asset, not just your private lab.

6. Clarify governance and decision‑making

With a project this big, reviewers will want to know: who decides what?

Outline:

• A governance structure (e.g. steering group, advisory board, method committee).
• How you’ll handle disagreements over questionnaire content or design choices.
• How external stakeholders (like the wider academic community) can feed in.

Vague statements about “working collaboratively” won’t cut it. Show that you’ve thought about internal politics as carefully as national politics.

Application Timeline: Working Back from October 2026

Even without a fixed deadline, we know the funding is expected to start in October 2026 and run up to 60 months. That gives you a rough structure for backwards planning.

Here’s a realistic preparation timeline:

• 18–24 months before start (late 2024 to late 2025)
  Start building the core consortium. Identify partner institutions, potential co‑PIs, and key support staff (data managers, survey methodologists). Have early conversations with your institution’s research office to confirm ESRC eligibility and internal approvals.

• 12–18 months before start (around when the call opens)
  Once UKRI publishes the full opportunity details, move fast. Clarify exact budget ceilings, required work packages, and evaluation criteria. Begin drafting the core scientific case and methodology. Book time with any external survey providers you plan to use, as their diaries fill fast around election years.

• 9–12 months before start
  Finalise the team CVs, governance structure, and letters of institutional support. Develop a line‑by‑line budget: staff, survey costs, software, travel, dissemination, overheads. Iterate your proposal with internal reviewers who understand infrastructure bids.

• 3–6 months before the submission deadline
  Polish the narrative, stress‑test timelines, and sanity‑check risks and mitigation plans. At this point you should not be inventing new ideas; you should be refining and tightening.

Because there is no fixed deadline yet, the key move now is to get your internal ducks in a row, so when the call opens you’re shaping a strong bid, not trying to assemble a team from scratch.

Required Materials (What You Should Expect to Prepare)

The final call text will spell out the exact documents, but for an ESRC infrastructure‑style opportunity like this, you should assume you’ll need:

• Case for Support / Project Description
  A substantial narrative laying out the scientific rationale, survey design, methodological innovation, data management, user engagement, and governance. Aim for clarity: reviewers are busy and sceptical.

• Je‑S or UKRI Funding Service Application Form Sections
  The usual blend of objectives, methodology, impact, ethics, and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) sections, adapted to the new UKRI Funding Service format.

• Detailed Budget and Justification
  Line items for staff at different grades, survey fieldwork costs, data management, software, dissemination, and overheads. For each category, you’ll need to justify why the spend is essential and proportionate.

• CVs / Résumés for Key Personnel
  Short CVs focused on experience running large projects, survey design, data infrastructure, and election research. Highlight relevant outputs and leadership roles.

• Institutional Letters or Statements of Support
  Evidence that your host institution(s) are committed: office space, IT support, server access, time buy‑out for senior staff, and so on.

• Data Management and Sharing Plan
  A clear, practical description of how you’ll collect, secure, document, and release data. Refer to UK Data Service standards if relevant.

• Governance and Risk Management Plan
  Structures for oversight, advisory input, and risk mitigation (technical, logistical, ethical, reputational).

Preparing drafts of these components before the call opens puts you miles ahead. You can then adapt to the specific word counts and headings once they’re published.

What Makes an Application Stand Out

In a field where everyone has clever survey ideas, what actually tips decisions?

1. Proven capacity to deliver complex surveys at scale
Panels will look hard at your track record. Have you run a national or large‑scale survey before? Published well‑received BES or similar data? Delivered infrastructure projects on time and on budget? Concrete examples here matter more than theoretical brilliance.

2. Thoughtful balance between continuity and innovation
The BES has a decades‑long time series that users rely on. Reviewers want to see you respect that continuity (core questions, key indicators) while still pushing methods forward: new question batteries, better measurement of identities, online panels, data linking where appropriate.

3. Strong, credible team composition
A winning bid usually combines seasoned election scholars, sharp methodologists, and technically capable data people. If your team is lopsided – all theory, no data management, or vice versa – it will show.

4. User‑centred design
Applications that actively involve the wider academic and policy community often score better. Propose advisory groups, community consultations on survey content, or open calls for question modules (within reason).

5. Rock‑solid data and documentation plans
Remember: the impact of BES depends on clean, well‑documented, well‑archived data. Show you understand that, and that you’ve done it before or can draw on those who have.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Several pitfalls tend to sink otherwise decent infrastructure proposals. Try not to fall into these.

Over‑promising on sample size without realistic costs
Saying you’ll survey “everyone” is easy; paying for it is not. If your sample plans or panel sizes look wildly ambitious relative to the likely budget, reviewers will lose confidence. Propose a design that’s big enough for robust inference but firmly costed.

Treating data sharing as an annoying add‑on
A single half‑hearted paragraph on data archiving will not cut it. If you treat data management as paperwork, reviewers will assume your outputs will be messy and late.

Underplaying operational logistics
Election timing is tricky. Polling day moves, campaigns are chaotic, news cycles are brutal. If you don’t address fieldwork timing, recruitment strategies, and contingency plans, reviewers will assume you haven’t thought it through.

Ignoring equality, diversity and inclusion
ESRC expects serious engagement with EDI, both in staffing and in the design of your surveys (e.g. accessibility, inclusive question design, representation of minoritised groups). Boilerplate text won’t impress.

Writing only for insiders
Yes, some reviewers will be election nerds like you. Others will be social scientists from adjacent areas. If your proposal reads like it requires a PhD in your subfield to understand, you’ll lose people. Aim for technical precision with plain English explanations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a confirmed call or just a possibility?
This is a pre‑announcement, which means ESRC fully intends to run the call, but the detailed specification may still shift. You can safely start planning, but you should check the official page regularly for updates.

Is there a fixed application deadline?
Not yet. The opportunity is flagged as “upcoming” with ongoing‑style status. Once the full call launches, it will almost certainly have a clear closing date. Assume a standard ESRC competition timetable (several months from launch to deadline) and plan accordingly.

How long will the funding last?
Funding is expected to be available for a maximum of 60 months from October 2026. The overall BES phase is 2027–2037, but this call targets a major slice of that, including preparations and follow‑up around the 2029 general election.

Who can be the lead organisation?
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding. Typically, that includes UK universities and a small number of approved independent research organisations. If in doubt, check your institution’s status or ask your research office.

Can multiple institutions apply together?
Very likely yes, and consortium bids are common for infrastructure projects of this scale. One eligible institution will need to act as the lead and hold the grant, but you can include co‑investigators and formal partners across multiple sites.

Do I need previous BES involvement to be competitive?
It helps, but it isn’t strictly required. What you do need is credible experience with large‑scale survey research, strong election‑related expertise, and demonstrable capacity to manage and disseminate complex datasets.

Will there be support for queries during the call?
Yes. UKRI and ESRC typically provide email support through addresses such as [email protected] and [email protected]. For data‑related aspects, [email protected] is also listed as a contact. Don’t hesitate to ask clarification questions once the full guidance is out.

What if our institution is not sure about ESRC eligibility?
Your first port of call is your internal research or grants office. If they’re unsure, they can contact ESRC directly via the addresses listed on the opportunity page to confirm.

How to Apply (Next Steps from a Standing Start)

You can’t submit yet – but if you wait until the call opens to start, you’ll be scrambling. Here’s how to use the pre‑announcement phase wisely.

1. Check institutional eligibility and interest
   Confirm that your university or research organisation is ESRC‑eligible and willing to host the BES. This usually involves senior management, not just your immediate colleagues.

2. Build your core team early
   Identify who would be PI, co‑investigators, and key professional services staff. Talk honestly about capacity and workload. BES is a long haul; you need people who can commit across years, not months.

3. Sketch a provisional survey and data strategy
   Without going into fine detail, outline your vision: panel vs cross‑sectional waves, main modes of data collection, possible partnerships with survey providers, and your approach to continuity with previous BES waves.

4. Engage with potential users
   Start informal conversations with other election scholars, policymakers, and data users. What do they want from the next BES? Which gaps do they see in existing data? You can later use this input to show your proposal is grounded in community needs.

5. Monitor the official call page
   Bookmark and regularly check the official UKRI opportunity listing:

   • Official opportunity page:
     https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/british-election-study-2027-2032/

   When the full guidance appears, download everything, read it carefully, and map your early plans onto the actual requirements.

6. Know where to send questions
   If you’re targeting data and archiving questions, note [email protected]. For general funding platform or call‑specific issues, use [email protected] or [email protected] as indicated on the page.

Get Started

Ready to position yourself for one of the most influential social science roles in the UK?

This is the time to plan, partner, and prepare, not to wait passively for the formal call. The teams that win opportunities like this usually had months of quiet groundwork behind them.

When you are ready to move from idea to proposal, go straight to the source:

Full details and official updates:
British Election Study 2027‑2032 Opportunity – UKRI

Keep an eye on that page, start your internal conversations now, and treat this pre‑announcement as the starting gun, not a vague future promise.