About the opportunity
What this programme is offering
Applications are open for the Digital Science Catalyst Grant 2026, an international initiative supporting early-stage ideas that use technology to advance research and create meaningful impact.
The 2026 theme focuses on trusted agentic workflows — AI systems that can plan, execute and review multiple steps of a research task rather than simply responding to a single prompt.
Digital Science is looking for early-stage startups, research teams, students, founders and individual innovators developing AI tools that can operate within real research workflows while maintaining provenance, governance and accountability.
Successful applicants can receive up to £25,000, with the total award potentially shared among multiple recipients.
What Is the Digital Science Catalyst Grant?
The Digital Science Catalyst Grant supports innovation in software tools and technologies designed to advance research and increase its impact on society.
The program is intended to identify and support promising ideas at an early stage. Applicants do not necessarily need to have a completed product or established revenue.
For 2026, the focus is on AI systems that can actively support research processes while giving researchers and institutions confidence in how those systems operate.
2026 Theme: AI That Acts on Research
Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving beyond generating answers and summaries toward systems capable of carrying out complex, multi-step tasks.
The 2026 Catalyst Grant is looking for technologies that make these agentic research workflows practical and trustworthy.
The ideal solutions should combine automation with safeguards such as:
Audit trails
Governance controls
Research provenance
Accountability
Transparent workflows
Appropriate human oversight
The emphasis is therefore not simply on building an AI agent, but on developing an agent that can be responsibly integrated into real research environments.
Who Can Apply?
The Catalyst Grant welcomes early-stage ideas from a wide range of applicants, including:
Startups and founders
Research teams
Students
Individual innovators
Researchers developing new technology
Early-stage research projects
Applicants may submit a prototype, working product or well-developed concept.
Because the program supports ideas at an early stage, applicants do not need to have revenue or a finished product to apply.
What Types of Projects Are Digital Science Looking For?
Applicants should be developing agentic tools that address genuine challenges within the research ecosystem.
A strong proposal should demonstrate that the technology can:
Work across multiple steps rather than simply answer one prompt.
Fit into workflows already used by researchers, institutions or publishers.
Maintain appropriate audit trails, governance and provenance.
Address a real research-related problem.
Demonstrate a meaningful outcome that can be measured.
The 2026 theme specifically highlights several areas of the research lifecycle.
1. Trusted Authorship and Writing
Potential ideas could include:
AI co-writing systems with transparent contribution records
Autonomous citation and source-verification agents
Cryptographic systems for verifying authorship
AI tools designed for high-stakes academic writing
2. Enterprise Research Workflows
Examples include:
Evidence-synthesis agents for regulated environments
Knowledge-graph workflows with research provenance
Explainable drug discovery systems
Automated target-identification tools
3. Funding and Institutional Decisions
Possible applications include:
Researcher identity and disambiguation agents
Automated reviewer matching
Conflict-of-interest screening
Grant portfolio intelligence for program officers
4. Publication Integrity
Projects could focus on:
Auditable manuscript screening
Citation verification
Figure provenance
Multi-step editorial workflows
Comprehensive audit trails for publication processes
These examples illustrate the types of applications being considered rather than an exhaustive list of eligible projects.
What Makes an Idea Agentic?
One of the key questions applicants should ask is whether their technology genuinely requires multiple steps.
A conventional AI tool may respond to a single instruction. An agentic workflow, by contrast, can involve planning, carrying out actions, checking results and responding appropriately to what happens along the way.
Applicants should therefore consider whether their proposed system can demonstrate a meaningful sequence of actions.
If the entire task can be completed effectively through a single well-designed prompt, the project may not fit the 2026 theme.
How to Test Your Idea Before Applying
Digital Science recommends that applicants examine their ideas carefully before submitting.
Consider the following questions:
1. What research decision does your agent affect?
Identify the decision, who makes it, when it is made and how frequently it occurs.
2. Where does it fit in the research lifecycle?
The 2026 theme highlights:
Writing
Discovery
Evidence synthesis
Peer review
Funding decisions
Research integrity
3. Where will the technology be used?
Identify the software, platform or system in which your agent needs to operate and consider who already uses that system.
The grant is particularly interested in technology that can become part of real-world research workflows rather than remaining a standalone demonstration.
4. Does the workflow genuinely require multiple steps?
Determine whether your system needs to plan, execute and review actions rather than simply generate a response.
5. What happens when the system encounters a problem?
Test situations where the agent should refuse, flag an issue or escalate a task to a human.
Record what actually happens.
6. How will you measure success?
Define a clear outcome, such as:
Researcher hours saved
Reduced duplication of work
Faster funding decisions
Improved review efficiency
Better evidence synthesis
Improved research integrity
What Are the Benefits of Applying?
The main financial award is up to £25,000, but Digital Science emphasizes that the value of the program extends beyond the grant itself.
The organization says its team brings extensive experience in research and research software. Applicants may gain useful feedback, advice and introductions even if they are not selected for an award.
This makes the application process potentially useful for early-stage innovators who want to test and refine their ideas in the research technology ecosystem.
How to Apply
The application process is designed to be relatively short.
Applicants should be prepared to explain:
The problem they are addressing
Their proposed solution
Why the solution represents an agentic workflow
How the technology can operate within a trustworthy research environment
The current stage of development
Any prototype or demonstration available
If a demo or prototype exists, applicants are encouraged to show it as part of their submission.
How Applications Are Evaluated
Applications are assessed across seven areas:
Team
Problem
Solution
Competitors
Market
Progress to date
Fit with Digital Science
Applicants who progress further may be invited to a short interview involving a live demonstration where applicable, followed by questions about their project.
Catalyst Grant 2026 Key Dates
StageDateApplications openTuesday, 1 September 2026Applications closeMonday, 5 October 2026 at 17:00 BSTJudging period12 October – 20 November 2026Winners announcedWeek commencing 30 November 2026Maximum awardUp to £25,000
The available award may be split among more than one recipient.
Who Should Consider Applying?
The 2026 Catalyst Grant may be relevant to innovators developing AI-powered research technology where trust, transparency and integration into existing workflows are central to the solution.
Potential applicants include researchers building new tools, students developing research technology projects, startup founders, research teams and individuals with promising early-stage concepts.
A particularly important consideration is whether the proposed technology solves a genuine problem within the research lifecycle rather than simply adding AI to an existing process.
Final Note
The Digital Science Catalyst Grant 2026 is focused on a specific challenge: making AI capable of performing meaningful research tasks while maintaining the trust required by researchers, institutions and other stakeholders.
With awards of up to £25,000, the program offers early-stage innovators an opportunity to develop ideas around agentic AI, research workflows, provenance, governance and accountability.
Applicants should ensure their proposals clearly demonstrate the problem being solved, the multi-step nature of the workflow, how the technology fits into real research environments and how its impact can be measured.
Applications close on 5 October 2026 at 17:00 BST.
How to apply