BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants 2023 guidance notes

6 September 2023

8 November 2023

(5:00pm GMT)

No earlier than 16 April 2024

No later than 31 August 2024

15 April 2024

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.

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.

Please select a Subject from the drop-down menu. This can only be done once the ‘Subject Group’ has been selected.

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.

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.

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.

Please note that awards may be held over a period of up to 24 months from a starting date not earlier than 16 April 2024 and no later than 31 August 2024.

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), 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.

The limit for the proposed programme field is 2500 words, and for the plan of action is 800 words.

Under ‘planned research outputs’, please only state the type of output expected. Please give more detail about potential publishers etc. under plans for publication, for which the limit is 500 words. 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.

Digital resources created as a result of research funded by the Academy should be deposited in an appropriately accessible repository. Of course, we do not expect confidential data to be readily available.

If applicable to your project, you will need to provide details of how and where any electronic or digital data (including datasets) developed during the project will be stored, along with details on the appropriate methods of access.

Applicants should ensure that any necessary technical advice is obtained before commencing work that involves the creation of digital resources. Please confirm whether the primary product of the research will be a digital resource, and if so how and where it will be deposited.

Where overseas travel is to be undertaken, please list the most significant country (up to three can be chosen) to be visited under “Overseas travel – country”; and if your research involves working in a particular overseas institution, and/or working in other countries to which you will travel in connection with this application, please give details under ‘Overseas travel – institution’.

This information is used for monitoring purposes and may be provided to sister Academies or other organisations which have agreements or links with the British Academy, or the British International Research Institutes. Relevant information about the proposal, including, with the consent of the applicant, contact details, may be shared with the sister Academies or Institutes where this is part of the assessment process, or where joint funding is available.

If it is necessary for you to obtain research leave in order to undertake this research project, has this already been granted?

Please note that scholars may not apply for cash support from both the British Academy and the British International Research Institutes. There is no bar to applicants seeking cash support under the Small Research Grants scheme, and logistical, permit-related, or other non-cash assistance from an Institute or Society. If the project is funded by an Institute or Society, an application may not be submitted under the Small Research Grants scheme. If your research will take you to a country or region in which one of the British International Research Institutes operates, you are strongly encouraged to make contact with them before completing this form so that you can take account of any relevant expertise, facilities and logistical advice.

The Academy expects that applicants will have any language skills necessary to conduct the research. If relevant, please state the level of language competence of the applicant and other participants, or otherwise explain how the objectives of the research will be met.

Under ‘Other participants’ please give the names, appointments and institutional affiliation of any other participants in the proposed research. If detail is not known yet, please indicate numbers and status of people who might be involved. Please describe the contribution to the project to be made by other participants, citing any particular specialisms and expertise, under ‘role of other participants’; and under ‘Added value of collaboration’, please provide any comments you wish to make on the particular relevance, timeliness or other aspects of the collaboration, and the benefits envisaged.

Applicants for the Small Research Grants should be intending to pursue original, independent research in any field of study within the humanities or social sciences. There are no quotas for individual subject areas and no thematic priorities.

The primary factor in assessing applications will remain the excellence of the proposal. The Academy will however, where appropriate, take into account the aim of providing particular support for certain important fields, either emerging areas of scholarship or areas of research that are endangered or under threat.

This is an optional field and the limit is 300 words

This field is mandatory and must be addressed by all applicants.

Are there any special ethical issues arising from your proposal that are not covered by the relevant professional Code of Practice? Have you obtained, or will you obtain, ethical approval from your employing institution or other relevant authority?

It is not expected that any special ethical issues will arise that are not already covered by relevant professional Codes of Practice. The normal expectation, therefore, will be that applicants should answer the pair of questions with the answers no and no.

If there are any special issues arising, but they have already been cleared by approval from a relevant authority, please answer yes and yes.

If any special issues arise and approval has not yet been obtained, please answer yes and no, and provide more explanation.

Please provide details of other support given or applied for in connection with the current proposal.

Please indicate whether any other grant applications relating to this project have been submitted, either to the British Academy or to any other funder. Applications submitted to the Academy by separate applicants will not be accepted if it is considered that both (or all, if more than two) applications relate to the same project, whose components would not be viable as independent pieces of research.

The Academy has no objection to its grants being held in conjunction with awards from other bodies, if there is no duplication of expenditure. Applicants are requested to keep the Academy informed of the outcomes of any other applications by email to [email protected]. Failure to do so may jeopardise the application’s prospects of success. In cases where simultaneous applications to the Academy and to another funding agency covering the same elements of a project are both successful, the applicant will be asked to choose which award to accept.

Only if there is no duplication and no unnecessary inflation of a project will an applicant be permitted to retain both awards (subsequent requests to alter the plan of research simply to allow the applicant to retain both awards are unlikely to be considered favourably).

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

These fields provide the opportunity to give further indications of the relevance of your subject area. They are optional fields.

Please be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete your application in time for your employing institution to process it and provide their approval by the closing date.

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.

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 Small Grants Research grants 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.

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.

Please give details of up to 4 qualifications in reverse chronological order.

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 Academy as appropriate

Applicants working towards a PhD or awaiting the outcome of their viva/submission of corrections are not eligible to apply. Please therefore confirm that you have a PhD by answering yes. If you are an established scholar with relevant equivalent experience, but no doctorate, please select 'no' and indicate in the 'personal statement' field why you should be eligible for consideration.

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.

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.

An application will not be eligible for consideration if there is a report outstanding on any previous research grant awarded by the Academy to the applicant or any co-applicant. Failure to follow this guidance will result in your application being withdrawn from this round of competition.

Please give details of any research applications submitted to the British Academy within the last five years. In the case of a further application for continuing research which has received previous Academy support, please note that a full report and statement of expenditure for the previous grant must be submitted before further funding can be considered.

This field is optional. It helps the British Academy to target appropriate resources towards the promotion of the scheme to know where an applicant hears about it. As appropriate please state the British Academy website; British Academy literature; PhD supervisor; University Research Office; Twitter, other colleague etc.

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 co-applicant will be able to view your application amend the relevant co-applicant career summary page.

(If you include ineligible costs your application will be withdrawn from this competition. Please see Table 1 in the Appendix for a list of eligible costs.)

Please provide details of funding in the relevant fields.

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.

In terms of subsistence (food, accommodation and travel) away from home, 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.

The British Academy has established partnerships with a number of other funders (both government and other organisations) to provide support for specific areas of research. This support is delivered through the Small Grants programme. If your research is relevant to one of these areas, you can indicate the relevance of your proposal to the appropriate fund by entering the name in this field.

Please note that all applications are considered on their merits equally, and it is not guaranteed that awards will be made simply because of the suitability of the subject area.

In this round of competition for British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants, all applicants will automatically be considered for funding either from the public funding or the Leverhulme Trust funding, and no preference need be expressed by the applicant. The funding is expected to be equally available from both sources and no advantage may be obtained by indicating any preference.

The other funds available to be distributed in addition to these main sources of funding include the following special funds:

• National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan - collaborative research in any field of humanities or social sciences between a UK-based scholar and a Taiwanese-based scholar. Please note it is essential that intending applicants for support under this partnership also submit the application to the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan. Information about submitting applications to NSTC is available.
• EY – research in the fields of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies and their potential disruptive impact on trust, sustainability, future talent needs and broader issues relating to organisational or societal transformation.
• Wellcome Trust – research in the fields of health and wellbeing.
• British Accounting and Finance Association – research in the fields of accounting finance, broadly interpreted to cover all aspects of historical and contemporary research in relevant subjects.
• Honor Frost Foundation – research in the fields of maritime archaeology and cultural heritage.
• Journal of Moral Education Trust – research in the fields of moral education, moral psychology, moral philosophy and ethics, civics and citizenship education and subjects bearing on how human beings engage or disengage with moral life.
• Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain – research in the fields of philosophy that bears on educational questions and issues.
• Sino-British Fellowship Trust – funds individual or collaborative projects in Britain or China with preference to applications that will help to achieve sustainable development regarding environmental issues and pollution.
• Society for the Advancement of Management Studies – research in the fields of management and business studies.

The following endowed funds also provide support in this round:

• William Hepburn Buckler Memorial Fund – research in the history and antiquities of Asia Minor and Cyprus in the classical Greek, Roman, or Byzantine periods.
• Albert Reckitt Archaeological Fund – archaeological exploration and excavation of ancient sites in any part of the world.
• 44th International Congress of Americanists – research involving travel to/from Latin America.
• Ancient Persia Fund – research in the study of Ancient Persia and related areas in Central Asia in the period before the coming of Islam.
• Elisabeth Barker Fund – research in the field of recent European history, particularly the history of central and eastern Europe.
• Browning Fund – research, or its publication, in the field of British history in the early modern period and particularly the 17th Century.
• Gertrude Caton-Thompson Fund – archaeological research, in the field or in publication, by a Fellow of the British Academy.
• Neville Chittick Fund – archaeological research and discovery.
• Marc Fitch Fund – research in any area of the humanities or social sciences.
• Elie Kedourie Memorial Fund – research in the study of Middle Eastern and modern European history, and the history of political thought.
• Moir Fund – research in the field of scientific archaeology .

Please also continue to refer to the British Academy Special Funds as it is possible that further private funding may become available in future.

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. After your referee has registered on Flexigrant, 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.

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.

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