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The Society is delighted to announce a new addition to its grant-giving programme this year – the Kensington Fieldwork Grant will support innovative geographical exploration and research projects that have the potential for significant positive change.

Thanks to the generous support of Jeff Willner, CEO and founder of Kensington, four annual grants of £25,000 each will be awarded by the Society to experienced individuals or teams of any nationality looking to undertake field research and expeditions around the world.

The Kensington Fieldwork Grant arrives at an important time and reflects a shared belief that geographical exploration and research has never been more vital than it is today – helping us to understand the world we live in and find solutions to the urgent challenges facing the world’s people, places and environments.

Geography plays an increasingly critical role in our understanding of human-environment interactions, and the very global systems we collectively rely upon... It is an honour to support the next generation of explorers through this grant... By investing in diverse voices at the frontier of geographic inquiry, we believe the possibility for systemic, lasting change is real. Jeff Willner, Founder of Kensington

With applications now open, these new grants will support experienced field scientists, expeditioners, and storytellers to undertake geographical investigations that will help protect our shared planet at both local and global levels. Funded projects will exemplify the values of curiosity, rigorous inquiry, critical thinking, ethical practice and the responsible sharing of knowledge that define exploration today.

This expansion of our grants offer is transformative. We’ll get great applications from academics but in addition, the grants are designed to invite a broader range of purposeful travellers. This is significant at a time when documentary and investigative journalism is seeing investment drying up. These grants can help people to dig into and tell vital stories about a changing world. Professor Joe Smith, Director of the Society 

Our grant-giving programme has grown substantially over the past four years. The latest funding round saw a record number of applications, with nearly £250,000 awarded across 98 grants, supporting a range of projects in more than 40 countries and demonstrating a continued level of need amid a challenging financial landscape.

The Kensington Fieldwork Grant is a significant boost to this area of work that will allow the Society to do much more – amplifying its positive impact and representing a continuing ambition to substantially grow the grants programme and support even more geographers to go out into the field.

Applications are now open and the deadline to apply is 8 January 2027.

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Applications from established researchers across geographical and related disciplines, as well as storytellers, are strongly encouraged.

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