HASS Partnership and Collaboration Seed Funding Scheme 2026 - opens soon

The HASS Partnership and Collaboration Seed Funding Scheme (PCSFS) is designed to promote research collaboration through two complementary pathways:

• External partnerships: collaboration between HASS researchers and industry partners to conduct preliminary work that will support highly competitive proposals for external industry-focused funding opportunities.
• Inter/transdisciplinary collaboration: novel collaborative work between HASS researchers and researchers from other faculties or disciplines that breaks new ground and positions the team for competitive external funding.

Both pathways aim to strengthen research capability, build strategic networks, and enhance the competitiveness of HASS researchers for major external funding opportunities.

Why Both Pathways?

External partnerships remain crucial for engaged research and Category 2/3 funding opportunities. However, we recognise that groundbreaking inter/transdisciplinary work within the university can also position researchers for major competitive schemes while building rich cross-faculty networks.

Objectives

The objective of this scheme is to fund research or research development activities to:

• Improve the competitiveness of substantial research proposals to external funders.
• Encourage the establishment or development of active research partnerships with external industry partner(s) led by HASS researcher(s), OR
• Enable novel inter/transdisciplinary collaboration between HASS and non-HASS researchers at UQ that demonstrates potential for significant research outcomes and future competitive funding.

Funding Details

The HASS PCSFS is open for 2026, with up to $10,000 available per project. Expenditure of funds must be completed by the end of the year awarded.

Eligible budget items include research assistance, infrastructure equipment, industry workshops/meetings, and travel.

Ineligible budget items include teaching relief, investigator salaries, academic publication and dissemination costs, abstracting services, projects which consist substantially of conference travel, and student support (including stipends).

• The lead applicant must be employed in a continuing or fixed-term role within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
• The lead applicant must demonstrate (in the application) the capacity to undertake the project in their current role and the likelihood of being able to submit and undertake an externally funded project following the completion of the HASS Partnership and Collaboration project.
• For external partnership projects: applicants must identify a confirmed external industry partner.
• For inter/transdisciplinary collaboration projects: applicants must include at least one UQ co-investigator from outside HASS whose disciplinary expertise is demonstrably different from the lead applicant's.

• Step 1: Familiarise yourself with the documentation.
• Step 2: Discuss your application with your local units Directors of Research (DoR)/Representative and Head of School.
• Step 3: Complete the application form (below), along with the signature from your Head of School, or Institute/Centre Director.
• Step 4: Submit the application to the HASS Office of the ADR (research@hass.uq.edu.au) by Monday 9 March 2026 (Round 3).

Applications will be assessed by selected members of the HASS Faculty Research Committee and outcomes will be advised late March 2026 (Round 3).

The HASS Office of the ADR can be contacted on research@hass.uq.edu.au to provide advice on this scheme and the application process.

• Guidelines
• Application Form
• Conditions of Award

Round 1- 2024- Closed

Round 2- 2025- Closed

Round 3- 2026 (subject to change)

• Scheme opens: End of 2025
• Scheme closes: Monday 9 March 2026
• Outcome notification: Late March 2026
• Project Meeting- Progress Update 1* June 2026
• Project Meeting- Progress Update 2* September 2026
• Funds must be fully expended: 1 December 2026
• Reports* due: 15 February 2027