The Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) aims to advance the social sciences by fostering new modes of inquiry, developing interdisciplinary methods and expertise, and enhancing understanding of social entities and processes. Funded by private philanthropists since 2008, ISRF promotes social science development by offering funding opportunities, forming academic partnerships, and supporting research that ventures beyond existing explanations to refresh empirical problems with innovative theories or methodologies.
The ISRF focuses on funding innovative research that challenges existing explanatory frameworks to freshly address empirical problems lacking adequate theory or investigative methodology. It encourages innovation that comes from controversial theoretical approaches or critical challenges to incumbent theories. The foundation supports interdisciplinary initiatives that blend empirical methods and theoretical insights from the social sciences, welcoming projects from a broad range of social scientific disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. It also considers relevant applications from scholars within the humanities and natural sciences. The Independent Scholar Fellowships specifically target independent scholars in Europe unaffiliated with higher education or research institutions, providing stipends for up to one year to support academic research and relieve them from non-academic duties. The fellowship supports a wide range of research activities, including initiation, completion, or publication preparation for projects drawing on or contributing to professional disciplines. Funding amounts can be up to £28,750, with allowances for research expenses and reasonable childcare or other domestic costs.