GRC Seeking Host for 2028 Annual Meeting

The Global Research Council seeks hosts for the 2028 Annual Meeting.

GRC participating organisations are invited to submit bids to host the 16th Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council, scheduled to take place in May/early June 2028. Bids can be submitted to grc@ukri.org.

Deadline to submit bids to the Executive Secretariat: 05 February 2026

Announcement of co-hosts: during the 14th Annual Meeting, Bangkok, 18–22 May 2026.

The bid should include the following information:

• Application form
• A short narrative, including:
  • Background information about host and co-host(s)
  • Strategic advantage of the partnership, roles of host and co-host(s)
  • Vision and aim of the event / Motivation of the applicants to host the meeting
  • Optional: Proposal of topic(s) for the GRC cycle leading to the 2028 Annual Meeting, expanding on:
    • The relevance of the topic(s) for GRC participating organisations and the wider scientific community
    • Potential pre- or side-events
    • Potential linkages to other scientific activities

Requirements

Eligibility

• The co-hosts of the GRC Annual Meeting should be selected to reflect, over the years, the diversity of research councils worldwide.
• The co-hosts of the GRC Annual Meeting should come from different regions of the world.
• The co-hosts of the GRC Annual Meeting should be active participants in the past GRC Annual and Regional Meetings.

Costs

• Co-hosts are expected to cover the full local costs associated with hosting and arranging the Annual Meeting.
• It is expected that meeting participants will cover their own costs to attend the meeting.

Thematic focus

• Applicants are invited to propose a topic(s) for the GRC cycle leading to the 2028 Annual Meeting.
• Selected co-hosts will work together with the Programme Committee to develop the topics to be discussed within the GRC.
• Co-hosting organisations are responsible for developing the selected Annual Meeting topics. This includes:
  • Drafting the Discussion Paper(s) for the 2027 Regional Meetings
  • Drafting the Statement(s) of Principles

Additional involvement with the GRC

• Co-hosting organisations' are supported by the GRC Executive Support Group (ESG) and Executive Secretariat.
• Co-hosting organisations will each nominate one individual to serve on the ESG (ex-officio) for the 2027-2028 term.
• The Heads of the co-hosting research councils serve on the Governing Board (ex-officio) for the 2027-2028 term.

Reporting

Annual Meeting hosts are expected to produce a summary report of the Annual Meeting.

Selection process

Timeline to select 2028 Annual Meeting hosts:

Further information

• Application form
• Previous Annual Meeting hosts and locations
• GRC Foundational Document

Organisations interested in submitting a bid are invited to contact the Executive Secretariat at grc@ukri.org for further details.