The RSA Knowledge and Policy Exchange Grant (KPEG) funds short, impactful collaborations between RSA members and non-academic organisations. If you have expertise relevant to a charity, local authority, community group, or policy body, KPEG provides the resources to make that exchange happen.
About the grant
KPEG is a pilot small-grants scheme open to RSA Individual and Early Career members affiliated to a Higher Education Institution. Awards of up to £2,500 support projects of 3–12 months that deliver direct, practical benefit to a non-academic beneficiary organisation.
Key facts
Grant value: Up to £2,500
Project duration: 3–12 months
Eligibility: RSA Individual or Early Career members at a recognised HEI
Applications open: May 2026 (Round 1) | October 2026 (Round 2)
Fund per round: £7,500
Decisions:Notified within one month + 5–15 days of application
Payment: 50% on award, 50% on completion
How to apply
- Read the KPEG Handbook
- Agree on the project with the non-academic beneficiary organisation
- Download the KPEG Project Application Sign Off and obtain signatures from your Head of Department/Unit and the named contact at the beneficiary organisation. Save this as a PDF.
- Find your RSA Membership number by logging into RSA Lounge and clicking on My Details.
- Complete the online application form here
- Upload the signed Project Application Sign Off to the online form
- Press Submit.
Applications are assessed in order of receipt.
What’s not funded
KPEG does not cover salary or on-costs, institutional overheads, conference fees, RSA membership, or insurance. See the Handbook for the full list of ineligible costs.
Further details about the grant
The Knowledge and Policy Exchange Grant (KPEG) is a pilot small-grants scheme supporting short-duration collaboration between RSA members affiliated to academic institutions and a non-academic organisation (the beneficiary). It aims to provide special support for rapid engagement projects with short duration of 3-12 months.
Engagement projects may relate to for- or not-for-profit organisations, as well as community organisations.
Engagement projects must relate to the development of valuable Knowledge and Policy Exchange outcomes.
Funds can NOT be used to backfill teaching or other duties and do not cover research activities (including conference attendance).
Application can be made for awards of up to £2500. Applications are considered at two points in the year. In 2026, this will be May and July and in subsequent years in February and July.
The value of the fund at each application point in 2026 is £7500 (a total of £15,000 across the year). We anticipate allocating 3 grants per application point (6 across the year).
Assessment and Awarding
Assessment and awarding decision are made on a first-come basis (date and time stamped) until the fund is fully allocated.
Budget release: 50% of the grant will be released at the start of the project and 50% on project completion against receipted expenditure (submitted via the Expenditure Claim Form).
All projects must be completed within 12 months of receipt of grant.
A case study is required one month after the conclusion of a project, evidencing outcomes.