The SSA funds one person each year through its post-doctoral transitional development funding scheme to support the successful candidate’s development of research applications and transition to a post-doctoral position.

About the scheme

The SSA makes available a defined budget each year to support an early-career researcher, providing salary support (including National Insurance and superannuation) for up to 12 months to facilitate the development of research applications and transition to a post-doctoral position.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must already be members or associates of the Society at the time of application.
  • Applicants must be resident in the UK and applications must be for a position within a UK university.
  • The successful applicant’s research proposal is relevant to, and supportive of, the aims and objectives of the SSA.
  • Applicants can submit up to one year before and one year after submitting their PhD.
  • Support will not be provided to candidates also in receipt of funding from the alcohol, tobacco, recreational cannabis and gambling industries.
  • Funding is intended to help committed researchers move into the early stage of their post-doctoral career, however it is not a requirement that they should be seeking their first post-doctoral post.
  • Applicants must arrange for the following supporting documents to be uploaded at the time of their application:
    • A letter of support from the selected host institution;
    • Reference* from the current supervisor;
    • Reference* from an external, uninvolved party.
  • If the successful applicant is still completing their PhD, funding will not begin until after their thesis has been submitted.
  • Applications will be accepted from Tuesday, 26 August until Friday, 3 October 2025.
  • This is a competitive scheme. Eligible applications will be reviewed by independent experts and subsequently shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview by an independent panel on a date to be confirmed (likely early December).

*References are required to address:

  • The application;
  • The applicant’s work to date;
  • The applicant’s longer-term contribution to the field;
  • The applicant’s potential contribution to the work of the Society.

Information on eligibility and conflicts of interest

You are ineligible for this scheme if you are an employee of the alcohol, cannabis, gambling, nicotine, pharmaceutical, or tobacco industries. This exclusion also applies if you are an employee of an Industry Social Aspect Organisation*.

You are ineligible for this scheme if you have received funding of any kind, either directly from, or through representatives of, the alcohol, cannabis (except pharmaceutical), gambling, nicotine (except pharmaceutical), or tobacco industries. This exclusion also applies if you have received funding from an Industry Social Aspect Organisation*.

To be eligible, you must provide details about all potential conflicts of interest when requested. This information will be used to inform decision-making and applications may be rejected if the SSA deems there to be a risk of bias, ethical concerns, or a risk to the reputation of the SSA.

*Industry Social Aspect Organisations are those that are funded by addictive product industries – sometimes through secondary organisations – that often have a stated purpose to reduce the harms of those addictive products.

Other details

  • London-weighting will be provided for, where applicable.
  • Matched-funding is not required.
  • Applications will only be accepted via submission of the standard application form, which will be available on this page during the application period.

Contractual information

Financial support under the post-doctoral transitional development scheme is provided subject to a contract between the SSA and the host institution. Therefore, any offer or agreement by the SSA to provide funding is subject to contract. Once funding has been discussed and agreed, the SSA will provide the host institution with a contract for the funding in the SSA’s standard form. The terms of this contract will only be amended under exceptional circumstances, and the SSA may withdraw any offer or agreement of funding if the contract terms are not agreed by all parties within a reasonable period. Agreed funding will only be disbursed direct to the host institution.

If you have any queries about the scheme, please contact the SSA’s Operations Officer, Graham Hunt, for more information.