Digital Science is running its 2026 Catalyst Grant, an international award of up to £25,000 for early-stage tools that put trustworthy AI to work on real research problems, with applications closing on 5 October 2026 at 17:00 BST. At Youth Works Hub, we went through the call in full because this is one of the few grants that publishes exactly how it evaluates you, and it names its past winners openly, which is worth checking before you assume the worst about an "AI grant" from an investment arm.
The 2026 theme has a specific shape: AI that acts on research, not AI that describes it.
The 2026 Theme
🤖 AI is starting to do research, not just describe it. Digital Science frames the next breakthroughs as coming from agentic workflows, autonomous and multi-step, that researchers, institutions and funders can actually rely on. For 2026, the Catalyst Grant is backing early-stage tools, agents and platforms making that real: AI that acts on research, embedded in the workflows it serves, with provenance, governance and accountability built in.
What the Catalyst Grant Is
💷 The Digital Science Catalyst Grant is an international initiative supporting innovation in new software tools and technologies to advance research and create meaningful change. The programme supports and invests in early-stage ideas in the novel use of technology, with an award of up to £25,000 for the most promising ideas that aid science and further its impact on society.
What They Are Actually Looking For
🔁 Tools that operate across multiple steps, planning, executing and reviewing, rather than answering a single prompt.
🔌 Tools that embed in the workflows researchers, institutions and publishers already use.
🧾 Tools that carry audit trails, governance controls and provenance, so the people who rely on them can trust them.
🎯 Tools that tackle a real problem across the research lifecycle: writing, discovery, evidence synthesis, peer review, funding decisions or research integrity.
Example areas named in the call: trusted authorship and writing, such as AI co-writers with transparent contribution logs, autonomous citation and source verification agents, or cryptographic authorship attestation for high-stakes academic work; enterprise research workflows, such as regulatory-grade evidence synthesis agents, governed knowledge graph workflows with provenance at every step, or explainable drug discovery and target identification tools; funding and institutional decisions, such as researcher identity and disambiguation agents, automated reviewer matching and conflict-of-interest screening, or grant-portfolio intelligence for programme officers; and publication integrity, such as auditable manuscript screening, citation and figure provenance verification, or multi-step editorial workflow agents with full audit trails.
📝 The organisers put it directly: if you're making AI safe to put in front of an institution, autonomous in service of researchers, with accountability built in, they want to hear from you.
A Six-Point Test Before You Apply
Digital Science publishes its own checklist for testing whether an idea fits, and it is worth running through honestly before you spend time on the form.
🎯 Name the research decision your agent affects, and who makes it today: who, when, how often.
🗺️ Say where it sits in the research lifecycle: writing, discovery, evidence synthesis, peer review, funding decisions or research integrity. If it isn't one of these, it probably isn't a fit this year.
🔧 Name the tool or system it has to live inside, and who already uses that tool every day. The organisers say they are more interested in something embedded in real work than a standalone demo.
🔢 Check the work genuinely needs more than one step. If a single well-written prompt does the job, it isn't an agentic workflow.
⚠️ Test where it breaks. Give it a task it should refuse, flag or escalate, and record what actually happened.
📊 Name your outcome metric, for example reviewer hours saved, time to funding decision, or duplicate work avoided.
Who Can Apply
🌍 Anyone with an early-stage idea: founders, research teams, students and individuals.
🛠️ Your tool can be a prototype, a working product or a well-formed concept. The programme funds early, so you do not need revenue or a finished build.
Why It's Worth Applying Even If You Don't Win
💬 The award is up to £25,000, but Digital Science is direct about where the grant's real value often lies: the conversations it starts. The team comes from research and research software, with decades of experience between them. Most applicants do not win an award, but they can come away with advice, introductions and a sharper idea.
A Track Record Worth Checking
🏆 The Catalyst Grant is not a new or untested programme. Past winners named publicly include FigureTwo, which launched with a State of Open Data showcase in 2026, and the 2019 cohort, BPT Analytics, Intoolab and MLprior, working on AI-powered innovations in pharmaceutical analytics and research tools. Earlier winners include sci.AI, an AI tool for hypothesis testing.
How to Enter
📝 Applying takes one short form and a few minutes.
📖 What to tell them: a clear description of the problem you are solving, your approach, why it fits an agentic, trustworthy workflow, and where you are today. If you have a demo or prototype, show it.
⚖️ How they choose: judges score each application across seven areas: team, problem, solution, competitors, market, progress to date, and fit with Digital Science. Strong applicants are invited to a short interview with a live demo, where applicable, and a few questions.
Key Dates
📅 Applications opened: Tuesday 1 September 2026.
⏳ Applications close: Monday 5 October 2026, 17:00 BST.
⚖️ Judging: Monday 12 October to Friday 20 November 2026.
🏆 Winners announced: week commencing Monday 30 November 2026.
The Award
💷 Up to £25,000, which can be split across more than one recipient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a finished product to apply?
No. The programme funds early-stage ideas, so a prototype, a working product or a well-formed concept are all accepted, and revenue is not required.
Does this year's theme rule out non-AI tools?
Yes, in practice. The 2026 theme is specifically agentic AI, meaning multi-step tools that plan, execute and review, embedded in real research workflows, rather than single-prompt AI assistants.
Can students apply, or only startups?
Yes. The call explicitly welcomes founders, research teams, students and individuals with an early-stage idea.
What happens if I don't win?
Most applicants do not win, but Digital Science frames strong applications as still worthwhile: applicants can come away with advice, introductions and a sharper idea, and some are invited to a short interview with a live demo regardless of the outcome.
How is the award judged?
Across seven areas: team, problem, solution, competitors, market, progress to date, and fit with Digital Science.
When will winners be announced?
The week commencing 30 November 2026, after judging that runs from 12 October to 20 November.
Deadline
⏳ 5 October 2026, 17:00 BST
Applications close on 5 October 2026 at 17:00 BST. Find more Others on Youth Works Hub.
Link
🔗 Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cnx5QCAix6ogwvo_P0SD0eUK5ETGg2NtKyACZY30hRQ/viewform
📄 Full call: https://www.digital-science.com/about-us/investment/catalyst-grant/
📧 Questions: Steve Scott, VP Portfolio Development, catalyst@digital-science.com
