Academy Research Projects scheme guidance notes

Funding is now available for new Academy Research Projects. The scheme funded new projects in 2014 and 2022 and now has additional funds to support new projects. Typically, projects supported through this programme obtain small-scale core funding and the kitemark of recognition that enables them to approach other funders with the Academy's endorsement of quality. The call is aimed at scholars in both Humanities and Social Sciences, and on this occasion the Academy is particularly interested in projects that have a strategic benefit by providing primary resources for other researchers and the wider public. We welcome applications which have a clear focus on longer term sustainability, and a clear plan to move to financial selfstability after a fixed period of core funding from the Academy.

The Academy Research Projects are intended to offer the kitemarking of academic excellence to ambitious long-term projects which aim to produce primary resources for research which will be accessible to the research community for collective benefit and fundamental works of scholarship, rather than to produce interpretative works or monographs.

The Academy grants the title of Academy Research Project to around 55 long-term enterprises, each organised and run by its own project committee. So long as the projects continue to work towards their agreed objectives and remain active and productive, the Academy expects to maintain long-term support. Current projects include some supported since the 1920s and 1930s but new projects should ideally aim to complete or to be self-financing within 10 years.

Applications for collaborative or discrete research projects are equally welcome under this scheme. Applications from international groups of scholars are welcome, provided there is a UK-based scholar as lead applicant.

Funds are available to facilitate initial project planning and development; to support the direct costs of research; and to enable the advancement of research through workshops or visits by or to partner scholars. Applicants may seek support for any combination of eligible activity and cost up to the overall limit of £5,000 per annum.

The Academy will assess applications equally on their merits, with no preference as to mode of enquiry. All applications should demonstrate that funds are sought for a clearly defined programme to develop primary research resources for collective benefit or research resources leading to fundamental works of scholarship.

NB - The British Academy welcomes proposals for high-quality research in all its subject areas. While all proposals should be situated in an appropriate field of study, they may vary considerably in their approach to conceptualisation, methodology and/or outputs, depending on the discipline. In some cases, creative and professional practice may play a significant role in shaping the methods and/or outcomes of research. In all proposals, whether practice-led or not, a clear scholarly rationale is required for the choice of research methods, processes and outputs.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Applicants should be at postdoctoral or equivalent level, in the fields of the humanities and/or the social sciences. Equivalent experience may include holding, or having held, an established post, having a record of publications in the field and/or having teaching experience.
• Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands (that is, classed as ‘ordinarily resident’ for tax purposes) or currently employed overseas by a recognised UK overseas research organisation.
• UK research organisations based overseas may apply to be recognised by demonstrating that they satisfy both the following conditions:

1. Organisations which are, or which are constituent parts of, charities registered with the Charity Commission.
2. Which must be able to demonstrate an independent capability to undertake research in the field or discipline in which they wish to be funded, and to lead the research for which funding is received.

Applications are welcome from existing collaborations/research infrastructure projects that are already in progress and have prepared or published material previously. Awards of funding under this scheme will, however, only be made to support new work, not retrospectively providing reimbursement for work already undertaken.

Please note the earliest point at which research can commence, and to help regulate the flow of applications, the latest starting date is 01/09/2025. The Academy is inviting proposals in this round with the closing date noted as 22/11/2024.

Funds may be sought to cover the direct expenses incurred in planning, conducting, and developing the research, including:

• project planning and development costs (cost of travel for discussion in the UK and overseas; initial workshops with potential partners)
• travel and maintenance for UK scholars; including travel to disseminate results of the research at conferences held either in the UK or abroad
• travel and maintenance for overseas scholars engaged in collaborative research activity with UK partner(s)
• research assistance (based in UK or abroad)
• workshops or conferences to advance the programme of research (principally the costs of travel and maintenance for key participants, though organisational costs may be considered)
• consumables
• specialist software including preparation of a website
• costs of interpreters in the field
• costs of editorial tasks, e.g Copy-editing, Proof reading etc.

Bids for the cost of child or parent care may be considered if the carer is conducting research away from home and it is not possible to make alternative arrangements. The costs of normal regular childcare whilst at home are not eligible for support. Consumables include the purchase of datasets, photocopies, microfilms, etc, and any other minor items that will be used up during the course of the project. Applicants may apply for short-term consultancy or salary costs for expert staff, or short periods of research assistance. Provided they are central to the research process and an adequate case is made, the costs of preparing illustrations (including photography, acquisition of images, draughtsmanship and cartography or other bespoke illustrative material) may be considered. The cost of reproduction rights for text or images may be considered provided there is a contract for publication in place. Costs associated with deposit of digital material in an appropriately accessible repository may be considered. If an application is purely for technical or practical work with no research objective, it is not eligible for funding. Incidental translation expenses may be considered.

Additional Needs Funding – The British Academy has set aside specific funding to support any additional needs that applicants and award holders may have. This funding is available both to applicants, to assist in making an application to British Academy schemes, and award holders. Funding is managed outside of the Projects application process. Further information can be found here: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/additional-needs/

The following items are not currently eligible for funding (applicants registered with special needs may consult the Academy about possible exceptions):

• Institutional overheads, or any element that should properly be ascribed to institutional overheads
• Computer hardware including laptops, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, etc; books and other permanent resources
• Payment to the principal researcher(s) in lieu of salary, or for personal maintenance at home
• Replacement teaching costs
• Travel and maintenance expenses for purposes such as lecture tours or to write up the results of research.

Up to £25,000 in the first instance (over 5 years) with the expectation that the projects will be reviewed for further funding if necessary. Applicants will be asked to specify the expected duration of their project, understanding that the projects should set out a clear plan to move to financial self-stability after a fixed period of core funding from the Academy.

An application cannot be accepted if there is a report outstanding on any previous research grant awarded by the Academy to the principal investigator or co-applicant(s) named in the current proposal. Failure to follow this guidance will result in your application being withdrawn from this round of competition.

If you have any queries about this, please contact us so that we can review your request prior to the application deadline.

Applicants are required to nominate one referee and ensure that the supporting statement from their chosen referee is submitted on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS) by the application submission deadline. Please note this deadline is final.

The reference must be submitted before the application can be approved. Any application without a supporting reference will not be able to be submitted. Please also note that the reference must be submitted in time to allow you to submit the application for approval by your employing organisation for the same deadline.

Your referee must be drawn from outside your own employing institution and from outside the employing institution of your co-applicant(s), if any. The referee must also not be involved in the project being proposed for support.

Before listing your referee on your application form you should seek permission from them that they are happy to provide this by the deadline. It is essential that you enter the correct email address for your referee, otherwise your referee will not receive the automated messages delivered from the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS. We strongly advise that you complete your application as early as possible to allow your referee enough time to provide their reference in the system. An application cannot be considered for an award unless the proposal and reference have been submitted on time.

Please note that references must be provided through Flexigrant. They cannot be provided as an email attachment nor sent by post in hard copy. Any references received after the deadline, or outside of the system, or by another academic at the same institution as you or a co-applicant(s) will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition

The Academy has a Code of Practice for assessing research applications, setting out the principles of equity, integrity and confidentiality governing the treatment of all applications for research support. The Code of Practice also covers Data Protection, the Academy’s ethics policy and the appeals procedure. The Code of Practice may be viewed on the Academy’s website at https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/code-practice/

Feedback is not a feature of the Academy Research Project scheme, and the Academy is, regretfully, unable to enter correspondence regarding the decisions of the awarding Committee, which are governed by the Code of Practice. Please note that by applying in this scheme, applicants undertake to accept the terms under which applications are assessed.

Any application which is incorrectly submitted will not be eligible

The application can be completed by using the navigation tabs on the application summary page, with each page categorised as follows:

Page 1: Eligibility Declaration Page

Page 2: Research Proposal

Page 3: Proposal Focus

Page 4: Contact Details

Page 5: Lead Applicant Career Summary

Page 6: Co-Applicant Career Summary

Page 7: Second Co-Applicant Career Summary

Page 8: Financial Details

Page 9: Equal Opportunities

Page 10: Lead Applicant Referee Statement

A full list of question fields to be completed as part of the application can be found in the following table. Each box in the table represents a page of the application form: the left-hand column contains the questions within each of these pages as set out in the form; the righthand column contains useful guidance on its completion. A red asterisk (*) indicates which questions are mandatory and therefore must be complete before the application can be submitted.

Please read the guidance notes carefully before completing the form.

When your application form is complete, all sections on this summary table will be marked as ‘Complete’. The ‘Complete’ status will only appear when all the mandatory fields in that section have been completed. All mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk ‘*’. Only then will a ‘Submit’ button appear for you to be able to submit your application.

UK Residency

Please note, you must be ordinarily resident in the UK - have a registered UK address - to be eligible for this scheme. If you answer No to this question, unfortunately your application is not eligible

Experience, PhD or Equivalent

Please note, PhD or equivalent experience is required for all applicants for for your application to be considered. Please select the relevant options in the dropdown menu.

Multiple Applications

Please note, only ONE application can be submitted (whether as Primary or Co-Applicant) per round of applications.

Outstanding Reports

Please note, any outstanding reports must be submitted by the earliest start date of your proposal, otherwise your application will be withdrawn. Please select Not Applicable if you or any co-applicants have not previously been granted an award and therefore do not have any reports to submit.

Lead Applicant Referee

Please note, if your referee is based at the same institution as any applicant on your proposal, your application will not be accepted. Please find an alternative referee if this is the case.

Project Costs

Please ensure your proposed costs are within budget, and please also refer to our eligible costs table (found as an appendix on this document page 16)

Subject Area

Please select the Subject Area from the drop-down menu that is most relevant to this proposal. Please ensure you have carefully considered the overall subject focus of your research.

Title of Research Proposal

In this field, please avoid using any unnecessary quotation or other punctuation marks (e.g. do not use quotation marks round the full title simply to indicate it is a title). Consider the presentation by checking the ‘print application’ option to ensure that the title appears as you wish it to.

Abstract

Please provide a short abstract summarising your proposed research in terms suitable for an informed general audience, not one specialised in your field. This is a mandatory field and the limit is 150 words

Project Progress

Please provide a short statement of any progress made on the project already. If the project has not been started then please leave this part blank or N/A.

Proposed programme/plan of action

The proposal must;

• clearly specify the context, and research objectives of the proposed study,
• describe the methodology to be used, and
• set out a realistic research programme, describing the activities that will take place, and explaining how they will contribute to the achievement of the research objectives

Applicants should give an account of their research which is complete of itself and should not depend on material facts being provided by their referees, nor rely on special prior knowledge on the part of assessors.

Where the bulk of funding sought is to finance a workshop(s) or conference(s), applicants should give a clear account of the overall research programme, provide a justification of the contribution of the event(s) to the achievement of the research objective, and give an account of the onward research planned.

It is essential that applicants clearly state the reasons why funds are needed. For example, it is not sufficient to state that the applicant will visit a particular archive: adequate details must be provided of sources to be consulted, and the length of visit must be clearly justified. The applicant should briefly explain why alternative access to material, such as microfilm or internet access, is not appropriate.

Grants are intended only for the planning and conduct of primary research. They are not available to cover the costs of spending time at another institution for purposes such as the writing up of primary research. All applications must clearly itemise the research programme to be undertaken at any location. Convenience is not a justification.

If support is sought for visits between UK and overseas scholars, applicants should clearly explain the purpose of the meeting(s).

If a research assistant is to be employed, applicants should provide a brief job description, clearly stating the nature of the work to be undertaken by the research assistant, and the arrangements for ensuring adequate supervision. If the research assistant has already been identified, details should be given under ‘other participants’, otherwise, applicants should state the skills and qualifications sought.

Applicants should justify the period of employment (or number of hours) for which funding is sought (e.g., has a pilot study or sample been conducted to show how long it will take the assistant to achieve the task in question?). Please note that PhD candidates employed as research assistants on projects funded by the Academy should work for no more than 10 hours per week on projects outside their own PhD research. British Academy research grants may not be used to fund work by PhD candidates that is directly related to their PhD thesis.

If the study will involve the use of a questionnaire as a research tool, a sample of the questionnaire (in English) should be submitted, if available at the time of application. Please note no other attachments can be uploaded. The PDF cannot exceed 3 Mb in size.

Independent researchers, not affiliated to an institution, should provide evidence of access to relevant facilities and resources.

If applicants wish to include a reference list/ bibliography then this should be included as part of the main text – you cannot upload this as an additional document. Please note it is not a mandatory requirement that you include a list of references.

Plans for Publication and Dissemination:

Under ‘planned research outputs’, please only state the type of output expected. Please give more detail about potential publishers etc. under plans for publication. In assessing value for money, the assessors may consider the intended outcome as compared with the amount of money sought, although it is fully appreciated that some modes of research are more expensive than others and proposals will not be discriminated against on grounds of cost alone

Significance and Context:

Please explain briefly the project's intended audience and explain what impact it has already made or its potential impact on the subject: Who uses the published results of the project’s work? How widely cited are the volumes? Has the project already made an impact on its field of research?

Sustainability:

The Academy is concerned about the long-term sustainability of the resources it supports. Please provide details about the approach taken to this in relation to the following areas: Sustainability of leadership, Ideas, Hosting institution, Research data. Sustainability of Access: Discoverability, long -term preservation and access

Project personnel and Committee:

Please confirm the names of the Project Chair, Director and Other committee members and indicate the number of staff who are involved in the project.

Future targets and Objectives:

Please confirm the names of the Project Chair, Director and Other committee members and indicate the number of staff who are involved in the project.

Scholarly Practices:

Please give details of the project's planning for the creation and maintenance of a database and/or website; rationale for editorial guidelines governing the work of the project; accessibility of the project to new scholars who might become involved in its work and any other information relevant to the scholarly practices governing the work of the project.

Project Start/End date:

To select a date in the future using the calendar feature, click on the month and year in between the two arrows at the top of the box. To change the year keep clicking on the box – a second click will produce a decade. Use the arrows to move back or forward in time. To change the month, a second box will appear where you can select the month you wish and then you can type the year you require in the box provided. Click on the date and the calendar will take you to the month and year you have selected where you can select the relevant date for display.

Host Department:

Please explain the extent of institutional support provided by the host. How closely is the project governed by or related to it’s institutional base (If it has one).

Primary and Secondary subjects:

Your application must be relevant to the Humanities and/or Social Sciences and you will need to select the relevant subject areas and fields from the drop-down list

Time Period, Audiences & Regional Interests

These fields provide the opportunity to give further indications of

the relevance of your subject area. They are optional fields.

Employing Organisation:

Please select your current employing organisation (or independent scholar if appropriate). The majority of appropriate establishments are registered in the system. If your employing organisation is not there, however, please contact the institution’s research support services, or equivalent, and ask them to provide the Research Awards Department with contact details of an appropriate person in the organisation to act as an approver on its behalf.

All applications must be approved by the employing organisation authorities e.g. research grants office, finance department, etc. The approving department will receive email notification once you have completed your application and submitted it. They will be asked to provide approval and then submit the application to the British Academy. The deadline for this round is the deadline by which approval must be given. Remember that the application cannot be submitted for approval before the referee has submitted their reference, so it is essential to obtain the reference well before the deadline.

It is strongly recommended that the applicant maintains an open dialogue with the approving department at your employing institution as the British Academy cannot be held responsible for emails being caught in spam filters or not being received.

It is recommended that you allow at least five working days for this process. Once they have checked your application, they will contact you if any changes are required, please note if changes need to be made these will have to be done before the deadline as they cannot be done afterwards.

Co-Applicants:

Please note that all applications must have one lead applicant, although applications on behalf of more than one person are welcome.

Please note that all correspondence is sent via the system only to the individual in whose name the application is submitted on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS.

The applicant is responsible for notifying any other parties. If there is more than one applicant, or the research involves other partners, please complete this section, and the relevant sections of the co-applicant personal details and co-applicant career summary. A ‘co-applicant’ is a joint director of the project with equal responsibility for the academic management of the project.

For the Academy Research Projects scheme up to a maximum of two co-applicants can be named.

Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and applicants (and co-applicants) are asked to confirm in the personal details section(s) that they are not currently working towards a PhD, nor awaiting the outcome of a viva voce examination, nor awaiting the acceptance of any corrections required by the examiners.

Other participants in a project, whose involvement does not equate to being a ‘co-applicant’ should be named in the relevant section (other participants) in the Research Proposal section.

Lead Applicant contact details

Please take care to review and complete your personal details accurately. Errors in this section can cause difficulties in the processing of your application. You can update your personal details by checking ‘my account’ and selecting the link to ‘my contact details’ and ‘my organisation’ and ensuring the relevant details are up to date.

Present Appointment, Employing Institution and Department:

Please give details of your current appointment.

Applications are welcomed from independent or retired scholars, and such applicants should indicate ‘independent scholar’ here and select this as their ‘organisation’ in the eligibility section. ‘Approval’ of their application will be given by the BA as appropriate

Personal Statement:

This field is optional, but may be used, for example, in providing information regarding interruptions to an academic career. The limit on this field is 150 words

Publications, Unpublished Research:

Please list up to 6 relevant publications to date in reverse chronological order under publications; and any unpublished studies previously funded by any agency, including but not restricted to the British Academy. Please give details of planned publication dates or explain why the research has not yet been published. Assessors may take backlogs of publication into account.

Co-applicant:

In this scheme up to a maximum of two co-applicants can be named.

Your co-applicant(s) will need to register themselves on the British Academy GMS before they are able to complete this section.

If applicable, please enter all the details of your co-applicant(s) by clicking ‘Contributors’ tab on the Application’s ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the co-applicant’s email address and then click ‘Send Invitation’. If necessary, it is possible to enter additional co-applicants by repeating the instructions above.

Once you have clicked on the ‘Send Invitation’ button, your coapplicant will be able to view your application amend the relevant coapplicant career summary page.

Financial details/Justification:

Applicants should prepare accurate costings for the proposed research expenses and should be particularly careful not to overestimate the resources required. Applicants are advised that competition for funds can be fierce, and proposals on the margin for award may have a greater chance of success if they are modestly costed.

Costs Should be clearly itemised and justified in terms of the research programme. If the Academy is being asked to support only a proportion of the total costs, please explain this clearly under proposed programme on the proposal tab.

It is advised that travel costs should be clearly justified; that the length of time for which subsistence is sought should be justified in the application; that per diem rates should be explained; that hourly or monthly rates of research assistants should be specified; and that the period of employment needed for a research assistant should be fully justified. If a claim for child or parental care is included, please supply sufficient justification for the case to be assessed.

Per diem rates: The Academy will normally offer no more than £2,000 per month for subsistence away from home, or a maximum daily rate of £100 for shorter visits, to include food, accommodation and local daily travel. If you are going to be requesting more than this, we ask that you make your case and explain the reasons for this.

Applicants are asked to quote realistic daily rates, bearing in mind that the Academy reserves the right to reduce the amount requested if it is thought excessive. In all cases the Academy is looking to ensure value for money.

In cases where funds are sought for the costs of illustrative material, please note that if there is an agreement for commercial publication, further information may be sought about the general finances for the volume(s). Requests for reproduction fees (for text or image) will only be considered if a publishing contract is in place.

Please note that no payments can be made to the principal investigator or co-applicant(s) either for their own salary costs or for replacement teaching.

Please note that grants are cash-limited, and there is no scope for supplementation of an award. Projects should be fully costed from the outset.

Please do not use ‘£’ signs in the amount boxes.

This section is optional; however, the Academy would greatly appreciate it if you can complete the details to assist us in our diversity monitoring.

The British Academy is committed to its policy of Equal Opportunity in the provision of its grants and awards. Please help us to monitor the effectiveness of this policy by providing information concerning your age, gender, ethnic origin and disabilities (if any).

This information will be kept separately from the rest of your application and will not be seen by those involved in making decisions in the selection process, including referees etc.

Referee

Applicants are required to nominate one referee and ensure that the supporting statement from their chosen referee is submitted on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS well in advance of the deadline for the submission of your application.

Please enter all the details of your referee by clicking ‘Contributors’ tab on the Application’s ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the referee’s email address and then click ‘Send Invitation’.

Please note that the reference must be submitted into the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS BEFORE you can formally submit the application for approval, and you are strongly advised to ensure that your referee submits the reference well in advance of the formal deadline for the submission of your application.

Please be aware that the deadline as it appears to the referee is the same deadline as the submission of your application, and you also need to allow time for approval to be given by your employing organisation. Please note this deadline is final.

Your referee should be familiar with your project and able to comment on its significance and feasibility, and on your abilities. The reference may be supplied by a scholar based outside the UK if you wish. Your referee must be drawn from outside your own employing institution and from outside the employing institution of your co-applicant(s), if any.

Before listing your referee on your application form, you should seek permission from them that they are happy to provide this by the deadline. It is essential that you enter the correct email address for your referee otherwise your referee will not receive the automated messages delivered from the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS.

We strongly advise that you alert your referee as early as possible to allow them enough time to provide their reference in the system. Note that the deadline shown to the referee is the deadline for the whole application to be submitted. The application needs to be approved before the same deadline, and it cannot be submitted for approval before the reference is submitted.

An application cannot be considered for an award unless the proposal and reference have been submitted on time.

Please note that references must be provided through the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, they cannot be provided as an email attachment nor sent by post in hard copy. Any references received after the deadline, or outside of the system, or by another academic at the same institution as you or a co-applicant(s) will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.

Please refer to the British Academy Flexi-Grant® Guidance Notes