ALDinHE’s funding call will open again in June 2026. You can view previously funded projects below.
We have £8,000 available to distribute in funding and this opportunity is open to any individual or group whose principal investigator works at a UK member institution. Each year ALDinHE allocates funding for innovative research projects that focus on specific aspects of Learning Development.
Call for proposals 2026-2027
We will fund a number of small-scale research projects that promote research into Learning Development, and promote it as a scholarly field. The lead researcher should be from an ALDinHE member institution based in the United Kingdom. We invite a broad range of proposals, but would especially encourage applications that focus on five vital areas:
- empowering student partnerships, for example, improving collaboration with students and increasing student/staff partnerships*.
- evidencing how theories or pedagogies behind Learning Development impact student learning in Higher Education today
- exploring how Learning Development can support equality, equity, diversity and inclusion – in particular, where intersectionality is identified within the EDI domain;
- exploring links between Learning Development and students’ sense of belonging and/or mental health and wellbeing;
- how Learning Development in Higher Education links to sustainability for the future and lifelong learning.
This year, applicants may request up to £1250 for their project. As student partnerships are a key strategic objective for ALDinHE, an extended amount of £1500 can be applied for if student partnership can be demonstrated. Here, we define student partnership to mean a project where students are co-researchers and/or co-producers of resources.
We welcome proposals that explore how Learning Development plays an active role in tackling some of these key issues, remains sustainable in the long term, and helps to shape the future of higher education. This includes applications that specifically look at how the ALDinHE values are driving practice with students, and fostering learning. You may wish to apply this lens to any concepts contained within the five bullet points above, or another. In particular, please consider how you might bring students into that conversation.
We encourage applications that undertake exploration into the scholarship of Learning Development and actively build upon the existing body of literature in that area.
Additional notes:
- if your proposed project involves empirical research, we do not expect ethical approval to be in place in advance of the application, but we do expect you to be prepared to undertake a timely ethical approval process if your bid is successful.
- ALDinHE pays the agreed funds in a lump sum upon completion of the project (approximately 13 months after confirmation). Please check with appropriate departments in your institution (e.g. finance) on how to set up any necessary mechanisms for bridging aspects of the funding during that time.
Please consult with the applicant guidance for more details
ALDinHE’s funding call will open in June 2026.
Applicants will be notified in October 2026.
The ALDinHE grants are competitive bids, which are judged by the Research and Scholarship Development working group against the following criteria:
- The extent to which the research will directly impact or further enhance students’ experiences of Learning Development.
- Evidence of collaboration and clear implications for the field of Learning Development, beyond the individual’s immediate practice / subject field.
- Appropriate and achievable aims within the context of the project, including details as to how the project will be evaluated and shared with the LD community.
- Appropriate research question/s, methodology and breakdown of financial details and how this builds on the current literature within the field.
- Demonstration of how the project is aligned with the research team’s interest and experience in pedagogic research.
To apply for ALDinHE research funding, all guidance, application forms and templates are provided within the applicant guidance.
ALDinHE offers mentoring to support members who want to apply for research funding. If you would like to request a mentor to guide you through the submission process and preparation processes, please contact a mentor via the Mentor Directory or the wider network in the Networking and Expertise Directory. Contact directly and check if they have capacity to provide support. Please note that a mentor does not guarantee that an application will be accepted.
Project outcomes are disseminated to the wider community through the website and the annual ALDinHE conference. We also encourage all successful applicants to write up their project for publication in The Journal for Learning Development in Higher Education.
For further information, please email: admin@aldinhe.ac.uk
LD Research
Current and past ALDinHE funded research, in the field of learning development is listed below. If you’d like to know more detail about a particular research topic, please contact the individual researcher directly, using the details listed.