Some of the most useful work in academic fields never quite reaches the people making decisions. It sits in journals and gets cited by other academics, but it rarely reaches government departments or international agencies. The RSA Policy Expo Grant Scheme is designed to change that, and applications for 2026 are now open to researchers and practitioners everywhere.
The question at the heart of every Expo is simple:
How can regional studies, regional science, urban studies and related fields help us respond to the challenges and opportunities societies around the world are facing now?
We are looking for international teams of RSA members (that include at least one PhD student or early career researcher) to work on issues that matter and already affect people’s lives. For the 2026 call, applications should address one of the following themes:
- Populations and health
- Climate and sustainability
- Inclusive strategies for regional development
- Regional planning for resilience
- Geopolitics and regional impact
- Tools, frameworks and capacities for regional policy
We particularly welcome proposals that work across borders or bring perspectives from regions that are often underrepresented in policy debates.
Each Expo produces two things. The first is an article in Regional Studies, Regional Science. It undergoes peer review as usual, and we cover the article processing charge from the withheld portion of your grant.
The second is a short, policy-facing book of 25,000 to 30,000 words for our Regional Studies Policy Impact series. It can be a report or a collection of edited papers with an introduction and conclusion. The main requirement is that a busy policymaker can pick it up and understand it, so it needs a clear executive summary setting out the policy implications. We provide templates and advice to help ensure it does its job.
Every RSA member gets a printed copy of each book, and everyone who subscribes to the RSA journals pack gets the e-book. We will not simply publish your book and leave it. The RSA staff can help you host a webinar and hold a book launch, as well as share the work across our social media, in the RSA e-bulletin, and on the RSA Blog.
You can also nominate up to 50 policymakers to receive free access to the e-book, so it reaches the people you most want to read it. Every RSA member and every library that subscribes to the RSA journals will also have access.
If you have been waiting for the right moment to get your research in front of the people who can act on it, this is it.
Submissions close at 5pm GMT, 24 November 2026. For more guidance, please see the handbook, and the FAQ. Find details about appplying here.