Evidence-informed policymaking grants: Scheme Guidance

1. The British Academy is inviting proposals related to evidence-informed policy-making in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.[1]
2. This programme is part of the £337m International Science Partnerships Fund, which is designed to enable potential and foster prosperity. It puts research and innovation at the heart of the UK’s international relationships, supporting UK researchers and innovators to work with peers around the world on the major themes of our time. It is managed by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology and delivered by a consortium of the UK’s leading research and innovation bodies. In the context of this call, funding from the International Science Partnerships Fund is funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) therefore applications for this funding must be ODA-eligible.
3. The Academy is able to offer awards of up to £150,000 for 12 months in duration. The Academy expects to make at least 20 awards.
4. Applications must be submitted by 19 February 2025, 17:00 (GMT).

5. Through this programme, the Academy wishes to develop and enhance the evidence base related to informing policymaking with research. The Academy is aware this is a broad field of research and activity with multiple intersecting and often, but not always, complementary disciplinary communities and policy sectors working on the issues either from a theoretical or practice perspective. It is an important aim for the Academy to start to establish mutually supporting communities of practice in the longer term so duplication of effort and overly siloed research and practice is avoided.

6. This funding opportunity was designed to be complementary with the efforts of the Transforming Evidence Funders Network’s Research on Research Use working group. The working group has been aligning research funders’ investments across sectors, issue areas, disciplines, and geographies to support studies that build knowledge about when and under what conditions research evidence is used in policy, practice, and community decision-making—and when research use contributes to improved outcomes.

7. The aim of this call is to support ODA-eligible international collaborations between researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the UK and those in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries on evidence-informed policymaking. Applications that are not considered ODA-eligible will not be taken forward through the assessment process.

8. The informing of policymaking through research and evidence is ideally an iterative process, however, the process is often not ideal with insights from research and evidence not brought in at the right moments in the policymaking cycle and only when those involved in the generation of evidence and the formulation and delivery of policy act to ensure this is the case. The idea behind informing policymaking through quality evidence and research from the beginning of the policymaking cycle, what scholars call ‘framing’ or ‘ideation’, through to policy design and policy implementation, learning, and adaptation is that it can enhance decisionmakers’ understanding of issues, helping to positively inform policy formation and creation, and service delivery, as well as supporting strategic planning and policy and programme improvements.

9. There is considerable interest in evidence-informed policymaking with much research aiming directly or indirectly to inform policy. This is supported by a broad field of evidence on how to foster the use of research evidence in specific conditions. There is, however, further work required on the effectiveness of interventions to develop, embed and sustain evidence-based policymaking. This call is therefore aiming to respond to questions, such as the following:

• What is needed to build structural, political and social conditions that value and support effective evidence use in policymaking?
• How do contextual factors and the political economy of evidence shape the substance of policies and the parameters regarding who is included or excluded, and who benefits more or less?
• How are policy outcomes (positively or negatively) affected when research evidence is used?

10. This programme will support grants in the following areas to develop this evidence base further. Applications can consider interventions across one or more of a variety of mechanisms of change, including awareness and attitudes, mutual understanding and agreement, communication of and access to, interaction between policymakers and researchers, skills development, and/or structure and processes related to evidence-informed policymaking.[2]

• Research related to how evidence use theory and research has been implemented in practice. The Academy expects these to be retrospective studies that interrogate the underlying factors and context that influenced decision-making and policy change, or lack thereof, or to be analyses of interventions that are being used to improve the use of evidence in policymaking. They could compare across different policy areas, or focus on a single policy area and offer analysis about different components of evidence use and policymaking related to that area at different points in time or implementation at place and scale. This could be in relation to the use or misuse/selective use of evidence and the Academy expects these studies to include a robust counterfactual approach. In addition, the Academy would welcome applications that can contribute to strengthening the evidence base on whether, and in what conditions, evidence use leads to improved policy decision-making and development/ODA outcomes.
• Research or research-based activities related to knowledge systems strengthening and/or organisational change to support evidence use in practice. Organisational change here can be understood in a formal sense such as a government department or more informally such as in terms of community capability to engage with and utilise evidence to help inform, design and create policy. The Academy expects these to be retrospective studies that interrogate the underlying factors and context in which such strengthening or change have taken place. They could compare across different contexts and sites, or focus on a single case. Applications would need to examine the aims of the original activity, the success or lack thereof to date, and provide conclusions on lessons learned and recommendations for the future.
• Knowledge systems strengthening and/or organisational change to support evidence use in practice. Organisational change here can be understood in a formal sense such as a government department or more informally such as in terms of community capability to engage with and utilise evidence to help inform, design and create policy. Applications would need to examine constraints to date, including in the specific context, and set out a research-informed approach for addressing them, demonstrating how they are building on applying prior knowledge. Applications would be expected to take a pilot approach that could include for example stakeholder dialogues, diagnostic exercises, training and knowledge brokering. The Academy would expect applications to set out a need for the pilot intervention and both how and why it would be impactful, including how it differs and/or reinforces and builds on learning from previous approaches, an appropriate and feasible approach to embedding the strengthening and/or change in future practice, and a clear pathway to sustainability well beyond the length of the grant.

11. Applications are welcome to focus on a specific level of policymaking, or compare across levels, such as at national, regional or local levels. There is not an expectation for applications to have to cover multiple levels unless it is desired and fits with the proposed aims of the application. In this programme, sites of policy decision-making can be situated in diverse situations from formal national and/or government structures to decision-making processes at local and community policy levels.

12. Applications must be based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.

13. The Academy is looking to support awards that work in the following fields:

• Environment, Sustainability & Nature: Applications are welcome that engage in evidence use in the broad areas of environment, sustainability and nature. This can include work related to climate change, environmental resilience, energy, biodiversity, just transitions, climate mitigation and adaptation, water, pollution, agriculture, conservation, food, and climate action for example.
• Transformative Technologies: Applications are welcome that engage in evidence use in the design, accessibility, development, regulation and implementation of responsible technologies. This can include work related to various technologies such as AI, quantum, vaccines, robotics, and augmented reality, as well as how such technologies will shape the future of work, ways of living, governance and economic development for example.
• Health & Wellbeing: Applications are welcome that engage in evidence use in the broad areas of health and wellbeing. This can include work related to the social determinants of health including social protection, education, employment, housing, food insecurity, early childhood development, social inclusion and health services; global health; pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance for example.
• Cities & Urbanisation: Applications are welcome that engage in evidence use in the broad areas of cities and urbanisation. This can include work related to urban space, city policymaking and planning, place-based policymaking, conflict, resilience and adaptation, governance, social inclusion, inequality and poverty, prosperity, climate action, lived experience and representation of the city for example.
• Global Order, Geopolitics and International Affairs: Applications are welcome that engage in evidence use in the broad areas of global order, geopolitics and international affairs. This can include work related to foreign policy, international trade and finance, conflict, security, governance, civil society, civic activism, international development, and regional and international institutions for example.

14. Successful awards will be required to work closely with the Academy in two respects. They are expected to:

• Engage with and involve Academy staff in the progress and development of their projects, including meetings with the Academy and the other grants supported through the programme in order to support cohort learning.
• Commit to work with the Academy and wider stakeholders through meetings and other engagements on appropriate measures and indicators for assessing evidence use in policymaking through the tracking of progress and evaluation initiatives. This includes participating in a meeting at the start of the award to discuss and agree the measures and indicators to be used across the projects supported.

15. It is expected that this application and the research it would undertake will be underpinned by partnerships between researchers, institutions and with wider stakeholders. Equity is key to ensuring that these partnerships are effective.

16. Applicants are required to justify the equity within their proposed partnerships. Any applications that are deemed to not support equitable partnerships will not be funded.

17. Applicants will be required to detail how their project will ensure equitable partnerships, including how it will take note that partnerships should: be transparent and based on mutual respect; should aim to have clearly articulated equitable distribution of resources, responsibilities, efforts and benefits; should recognise different inputs, different interests and different desired outcomes; and should ensure the ethical sharing and use of data which is responsive to the identified needs of society.

18. This programme is supported under the International Science Partnerships Fund and this call will fund only ODA-eligible projects.

19. Only research that has a primary objective which is directly and primarily relevant to the problems of developing countries may be counted as ODA. We will require applicants to demonstrate that the proposal is ODA eligible. ODA eligibility is an essential criterion – projects will only be deemed eligible for funding if they can demonstrate that they satisfy ODA eligibility criteria.

20. You should refer to this additional ODA guidance document for applicants when developing your proposal.

21. Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Each project will be led by a named Principal Investigator (PI). The PI must be a researcher in a discipline within the social sciences or the humanities. The PI is expected to direct the research and the management of the project and has responsibility for the overall project reporting requirements.
• The PI must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience). The PI must hold an established role in an eligible university or research institute in the UK, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries. The PI’s position must last at least the duration of the grant funded by the Academy. Please note that applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this round of the scheme.
• The PI can spend a minimum of 20 per cent of their time and a maximum of 100 per cent of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20 per cent across the duration of the award. Staff employed on the award may be employed full or part time regardless of the time the award holder spends on the award.
• PIs may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time.
• An individual cannot be the PI on more than one bid under this Programme.
• Applicants can be of any nationality but they must be based in the UK, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.
• Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (or have equivalent research experience).
• Awards are available to individuals, to be held in an institutional context.
• Applications under this call will not be accepted if the applicant or any collaborators have any outstanding reports or statements of expenditure which are still to be submitted to the Academy following previous awards.
• Duplicate applications to more than one British Academy funding programme will not be accepted.

22. Co-Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Must include at least one researcher who is based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries if the Principal Investigator is based in the UK or one researcher based in the UK if the Principal Investigator is based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.[3]
• Must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).
• Can include other researchers based in the UK or internationally at all career stages.
• No individual may be a Co-Applicant on more than two projects under this call (nor may a PI be additionally a Co-Applicant on more than one other project).

23. Other Participants: Projects may also include any number of specified ‘Other Participants’, who may, for example, be relevant stakeholders participating in networking or dissemination events, academic or policy advisers, practitioners, industry representatives, etc.

24. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and 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.

25. Research assistance is an eligible cost under this programme and it can be supported where a reasonable case is made in line with the type of work that is required to be undertaken. PhD studentships, however, are not an eligible cost.

26. Institutions: The award must be held at an institution recognised by the Academy. The following types of organisations will be eligible to apply to host the award:

• Higher Education Institutes that received funding from one of the UK higher education funding bodies.
• Research institutes (RIs), for which research councils have established a long-term involvement as major funder as part of the national research base.
• Approved relevant Independent Research Organisations.
• Public Sector Research Organisations.
• Research organisations based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries and approved as eligible by the British Academy no later than 2 weeks before the deadline of this call and who have responded to the question in the application form related to Due Diligence.

27. All grants will be paid to the employing institution of the PI, and not to the individual researchers involved. Institutions must be officially recognised by the British Academy prior to the proposal being submitted.

28. The International Science Partnerships Fund in the context of this call is funded by Official Development Assistance, therefore applications for this funding must be ODA-eligible.

29. Any host organisation is expected to follow the principles, standards and good practice for the management of research staff set out in the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (2019) and subsequent amendments. Research staff should be appointed on terms that are no less favourable than those of comparable posts in the host organisation.

30. Eligible costs are:

• the time of the PI and Co-Applicants
• research assistance
• travel, fieldwork and related expenses
• networking costs
• university costs in hosting and supporting the project, with award holders expected to base the division of spend on the Full Economic Costing basis at 80 per cent. The only exception to this understanding and 80 per cent FEC in general is the costing of international Principal Investigators or international Co-Applicants or partners in non-academic settings (in the UK or internationally) who demonstrably do not use and would not use FEC modelling. For such partners the costing regime used should be at 100 per cent for direct costs and a flat-rate of 25 per cent for indirect costs. UK-based institutions that would be expected to use FEC may not use this costing regime. It is only for institutions as described above. Institutions costed using this regime must be costed separately in the application budget table and clearly explained in the ‘Justification’ field.

31. Ineligible costs include:

• Purchasing of assets
• PhD studentships
• computer hardware including laptops, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, etc.
• books and other permanent resources
• the preparation of camera-ready copy, copy-editing, proof-reading, indexing, nor any other editorial task
• subventions for direct production costs (printing, binding, distribution, marketing etc.)
• costs of publication in electronic media
• travel and maintenance expenses for purposes such as lecture tours or to write up the results of research

32. The value of the award is set at a maximum of £150,000. Projects must be 12 months in duration. The call is expected to be able to support at least 20 awards.

33. Awards will be paid in full on acceptance of the award from March 2025. Payment will be made to the institution where the PI is based.

34. 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 Evidence-informed policymaking application process. Further information can be found here: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/additional-needs/

35. Research and innovation (R&I) activities funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), provided through Partner Organisations, comply with the requirements of the DSIT R&I Gender Equality Policy, which states that activities must tackle instances of underrepresentation, differential needs and systemic disadvantage to improve the relevance of R&I findings that support the inclusion, reduce the impact of bias, and ultimately, contribute to reducing inequalities among genders. This includes but is not limited to Official Development Assistance activities, in line with the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014.

36. All applications are strongly recommended to thoroughly review the above publication before designing and drafting their application.

37. All applicants must submit as part of their application a gender equality statement, which must meet compliance standards as set out in the above publication. All applications will be reviewed at the eligibility and assessment stages to ensure they meet the necessary requirements. Not meeting the necessary requirements will mean that applications are automatically not fundable.

38. Applicants must ensure that the proposed research will be carried out to a high ethical standard. They must confirm that any potential ethical issues have been considered and explain how these will be addressed. The Academy requires all research it funds to be conducted in an ethical manner, with due consideration given to ethical questions arising, including safeguarding and equitable partnerships.

39. The host institution is responsible for ensuring that ethical issues relating to the research project are identified and brought to the attention of the relevant approval or regulatory body.

40. Ethical approval to undertake the research must be granted by the relevant authority before any work requiring approval begins. Wherever necessary, appropriate consent should be obtained from or on behalf of participants or others affected by the research.

41. Applicants will be asked to indicate whether their proposed research raises any special ethical issues, and whether their application has been approved by the host institution’s Research Ethics Committee or other relevant authority.

42. Any host organisation should meet the requirements of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity (2019) and subsequent amendments and must have in place formal procedures for governing good research practice and for handling and reporting allegations of fraud or research misconduct.

43. Researchers funded under this programme may choose to undertake fieldwork in the course of the research project. We expect an assessment with appropriate mitigation suggested of any risks entailed within the research project to be outlined within the proposal (for example, risks associated with the delivery of the research, financial management and oversight/governance).

44. Research groups will be required to indicate if (and where) they intend to undertake research in the field. For countries/regions considered by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as a host nation of medium or high risk, the application will also require researchers to demonstrate that the PI (and the PI’s host institution) understands the risk management implications and can monitor and manage the risks effectively. This should include, but need not be limited to, any risks that researchers will encounter in an area of civil unrest, violence and/or crime. This aspect will be explicitly covered in the approval of any application by the appropriate authorities at the PI’s host institution, to confirm that the duty of care responsibility rests with the host institution.

45. Applications will be required to demonstrate the following:

• Evidence that the award is ODA eligible. Only projects that demonstrate that they satisfy ODA eligibility criteria will be eligible for funding;
• Whether the gender equality statement meets or exceeds the minimum standard as set out in the Gender Equality in Research and Innovation policy;

46. Applications will then also be assessed according to the following criteria:

• The quality and significance of the proposal, in particular in relation to making a significant contribution to evidence-informed policymaking in line with the programme aims and scope of the call, particularly paragraphs 9 and 12;
• The feasibility of the proposed activities within the timeframe of the award, including a clear track record and experience of working in this space and justification for the partners brought together in the proposal;
• Evidenced co-design and equitability through the proposal development and planned project delivery with a clear justification for the role of each partner throughout the project.
• Value for money.

47. All applicants must register in the British Academy’s online Flexi-Grant Grant Management System to enable the processing and assessment of their application. All applications must be submitted in English.

48. All applications will be subject to an eligibility check undertaken by appropriate British Academy staff before being put forward for assessment, and applications that are not completed correctly and on time will not be considered.

49. Applicants will not be able to submit their application on Flexi-Grant until they have completed each section in full. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that their application is submitted in good and sufficient time for it to be approved by the PI’s employing institution. Applicants should submit their application for approval by a designated approver at the host organisation at least five working days before the closing date to allow for the host organisation’s administrative procedures.

50. Proposals must be completed, submitted and approved by 19 February 2025, 17:00 (GMT).

51. The British Academy has a Code of Practice, setting out the principles of equity, integrity and confidentiality governing the treatment of all applications for funding. The Code of Practice also covers Data Protection, the British Academy’s ethics policy and the appeals procedure.

52. Feedback is not a feature of the British Academy’s Writing Workshops Programme and the Academy is, regretfully, unable to enter into correspondence regarding the decisions of the awarding committee, which are governed by the Code of Practice. Please note that by applying to this programme, applicants undertake to accept the terms under which applications are assessed.

53. Should you have any queries, please contact: [email protected]

Applications can only be submitted online using the British Academy’s online Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS) system via (https://britishacademy.flexigrant.com/). If you have not previously used the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® GMS, please follow the registration process from the Flexi-Grant® homepage. Applications cannot be submitted on paper or in any other format. The deadline for applications to be submitted is Wednesday 19 February 2025, 17:00 (GMT). The application will always be treated as confidential.

Before completing the online form, all applicants should check that they comply with the eligibility requirements and ensure all necessary information is presented in the application. These requirements are strictly adhered to, and applications without all the necessary information, or evidence to show the assessment criteria are met, will be rejected.

Registered approving organisations will be available in the search bar. If your organisation is not listed and is not affiliated with any organisations already in the system, then please contact us at [email protected] to request the addition of the organisation.

It is required that research organisations based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries that would require adding to the above list must be approved as eligible by the British Academy no later than two weeks before the deadline of this call (19 February). This means that they will need to be in touch with the Academy well before this date in order for the approval process to have been undertaken. We advise doing so as early as possible. In addition, these organisations must respond fully to the question in the application form related to Due Diligence when submitting their application to the call deadline.

The deadline for submissions and host organisation approval is 19 February 2025 17:00 (GMT). Applicants will not be allowed to make any changes to their applications or submit any additional information after the 19 February.

When completing your application on Flexi-Grant®, it is recommended that you take particular note of the following points:

• Personal details: When registered in the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system, a user has the option to add or update personal information such as contact details, log-in details (including email address and password), interests, research, and employment details, at any time. This does not form part of the specific application form for any individual scheme, but represents a personal record of your account in the system. It is useful if this information is kept up to date, but it is not essential to the progress of an application.
• Automatic log-out: You are strongly advised to save your work regularly to prevent accidental loss of information. In particular you should be aware that if the system does not detect any activity for two hours it will log out and save the application at that time. Please note that moving between pages within an application form will save the page that you are exiting but completing a field on a page is not considered an activity. It is recommended that you write the text for longer sections/fields in a word processor such as Word and then copy and paste into the relevant text box to avoid being timed out in this way.
• Multiple sessions: You should not have multiple browser windows/tabs of your application open at the same time as this may cause information to be lost. Only one user should edit an application at a time, otherwise changes might be lost.
• Word limits: When completing boxes that have a restricted length (note that it refers to words) you should note that if you exceed the specified amount you will not be able to save when you press the save button. You should type the text for the longer-length boxes in a word processor. You will then be able to check the word count and paste it into the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. You will then still have a copy of the text to return to in the word processor. The word limit applies to text boxes.
• Plain text: If entering plain text, please avoid using symbols as some may not be accepted by the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. You should generate and view a PDF of your application to check that the application appears as you want it to by clicking on ‘print form’.
• Email addresses: The British Academy Flexi-Grant® system relies heavily on automatic email contact. It is essential that you ensure you enter accurate email addresses where requested as it may cause considerable delay in the submission/processing of your application if any of these are incorrect. You cannot make changes to email addresses after your application has been submitted for approval.
• Submission: You will not be able to submit your application until you have completed each section in full. It is your responsibility to ensure that your application is submitted in good time, and in sufficient time, for it to be approved by your employing institution. You should submit your application for approval by a designated approver at your host organisation at least five working days before the closing date to allow for your host organisation’s administrative procedures. Please note that the institutional approver is a person within the host organisation, usually within the central research support office, who has authority for approving all applications submitted to the British Academy. The institutional approver should not be directly involved in the proposal. If you are the registered institutional approver for your host organisation and intend to apply as the proposal Lead or Co-Applicant, please contact the British Academy at [email protected]

Once you have submitted your application for approval by your host organisation, automatic emails will be sent to your host organisation approver asking them to log on to the system. You will not be able to edit your application after it has been submitted to your host organisation for approval. The host organisation approver will either: approve and submit your application, ‘send back’ your application and contact you to request modifications (if before the 10 October deadline) or decline your application and contact you.

Please be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete your application in time for your host organisation to process it (including requesting changes) and provide their approval by the closing date. It is recommended that you allow at least five working days for this process, but please check with your proposed host institution as their internal timetables may require earlier submission.

If your host organisation approver requests modifications through the British Academy GMS email facility, they can unlock your application, allowing you to edit it. They can do this by selecting ‘Return to Applicant’. An automatic e-mail will be sent to you alerting you of this fact. Once you have completed and saved the requested changes, please re-submit your application for approval by your host organisation.

Once your host organisation has approved your application and submitted it to the British Academy, it will not be possible to make any changes.

• Application deletion: You can delete your application at any time although it is often a lot easier to just re-edit your existing application. We will be able to recover a deleted application for a period of seven days after deletion. After this it will be permanently removed from the system.
• Application returned for editing: The approver can return your application to you for further editing. See ‘Submission of Application’ below.
• Guidance: In the tables below you will find in the left-hand column each question as set out in the application sections and in the right-hand column useful guidance on its completion.
• Further clarification: If any of this advice is unclear, or you need further information, please do not hesitate to seek clarification from the British Academy’s International Team (contact details below).

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

Page 1: Proposal

Page 2: Financial Details

Page 3: Due Diligence

Page 4: Primary Applicant Details

Page 4: Co-Applicant Details

Page 5: Equal Opportunities

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 right-hand 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.

SUMMARY

Summary table

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.

If you are unable to see the submit button but your application appears complete on the Summary page, you will need to check the Contributors tab to ensure that your invited contributors have completed their pages and marked them as complete. Once this has been done, and all the other pages have been completed, the ‘submit’ button should appear.

PAGE 1: PROPOSAL 

Title of Proposal*

Please state the title of your proposal

Abstract*

Please use the text box to provide a short abstract summarising your proposal in terms suitable for an informed general audience, not one specialised in your field.
(150 words)

Scope of proposal one*

Please select one of the following areas:

• Research related to how evidence use theory and research has been implemented in practice.
• Research or research-based activities related to knowledge systems strengthening and/or organisational change to support evidence use in practice.
• Knowledge systems strengthening and/or organisational change to support evidence use in practice.

Scope of proposal two*

Please select one of the following fields:

• Environment, Sustainability & Nature
• Transformative Technologies
• Health & Wellbeing
• Cities & Urbanisation
• Global Order, Geopolitics and International Affairs

Quality and Significance of Proposal*

Please use this field to detail the quality and significance of the proposal.

In particular, please set out explicitly in this field the ways in which the proposal makes a significant contribution to evidence-informed policymaking in line with the programme aims and scope of the call, particularly paragraphs 9 and 12.

(700 words)

Feasibility of the Proposal*

Please use this field to explain the feasibility of the proposed activities within the timeframe of the award, including a clear track record and experience of working in this space, and justification for the partners brought together in the proposal;

Please also use this field to describe the proposed programme of work over the course of any award, indicating a clear timetable for your project with an outline of how the programme of work will be organised and structured.

(700 words)

Equitable Partnerships*

Please use this field to evidence co-design and the equitability of the proposal development and planned project delivery with a clear justification for the role of each partner throughout the project.

Please detail how this project will ensure equitability in the collaboration, including how it will take note that partnerships should: be transparent and based on mutual respect; should aim to have clearly articulated equitable distribution of resources, responsibilities, efforts and benefits; should recognise different inputs, different interests and different desired outcomes; and should ensure the ethical sharing and use of any outcomes which is responsive to the identified needs.

(700 words)

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.

Projects may include any number of specified ‘Other Participants’, who may, for example, be relevant stakeholders participating in networking or dissemination events, academic or policy advisers, practitioners, industry representatives, etc.

Target Country/Countries*

Please use the drop-down lists to select which target country/countries as specified in this call will directly benefit from this proposal. You are able to choose up to six countries.

You may choose from: Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Yemen, Haiti, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

ODA Justification Statement*

Please use the text box to provide an ODA justification statement.

In this statement you should indicate whether the country/countries you have selected above will continue to be ODA eligible for the duration of the research. You must also set out how your proposal is directly and primarily relevant to the development challenges (Sustainable Development Goals) of these countries and must explain how you expect that the outcome of your proposed activities will promote the economic development and welfare of a country or countries as specified in this call.

(500 words)

Start and End Date Confirmation*

Please confirm that you will start your project by March 2025 and that your research will end no later than 12 months later.

Gender Equality Statement*

The British Academy is committed to supporting gender equality in the funding it provides in accordance with this statement from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Strategy’s publication on Gender Equality in Research and Innovation published in November 2022: “Research and innovation (R&I) activities funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), provided through Partner Organisations, complies with the requirements of the DSIT R&I Gender Equality Policy, which states that activities must tackle instances of underrepresentation, differential needs and systemic disadvantage to improve the relevance of R&I findings, that support the inclusion, reduce the impact of bias and ultimately, contribute to reducing inequalities among genders. This includes but is not limited to Overseas Development Assistance [sic] activities, in line with the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014.”

All applicants are strongly recommended to thoroughly review the above publication before designing and drafting their application.

Please detail how the application complies with the requirements of the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, evidencing the consideration of gender in the context of your research proposal, indicating clearly defined intended impacts and identified possible mitigations where appropriate, and demonstrating that you have met the required standards for compliance, as described in the Gender Equality Framework.

Is the activity Gender-specific? Please use the Yes/No question to let us know if the proposed activity relates to a specific issue of gender.

Please also answer each of the questions below. Each question is mandatory, meaning that each one requires a response, but you may enter ‘nil return’ if, depending on the nature of the project proposed, one or more questions are not applicable. Please note, however, that the questions are both an eligibility and an assessment criterion. The first five questions will be taken together to constitute a Gender Equality Statement as set out on page 37 of the Gender Equality in Research and Innovation document (additional criteria to consider in your statement can be found on pages 37-39).

Have measures been put in place to ensure equal and meaningful opportunities for people of different genders to be involved throughout the project? This includes the development of the project, the participants of the research, and the beneficiaries of the research. (250 words).

What are the expected impacts of the project (benefits and losses) on people of different genders, both throughout the project, and beyond? (250 words).

What are the expected impacts (benefits and losses) on the relations between people of different genders and people of the same gender? For example, changing roles and responsibilities in households, society, economy, politics, power, etc. (250 words).

Are there any risks and/or unintended negative consequences on gender equality that need to be avoided, mitigated against, and monitored? If yes, how. (250 words).

Are there any relevant outcomes and outputs being measured, with data disaggregated by age and gender (where disclosed)? (250 words).

What other structural inequalities (including, but not limited to: age, disability, ethnicity) have been identified in relation to project development, project participants and intended beneficiaries? Have measures been put in place to consider and mitigate against other structural inequalities in the course of the research? If so, what are these measures, and how will they be monitored and implemented to ensure mutual benefit? How will project participants and leaders ensure that the research will continue to address structural inequalities, including gender, beyond the lifetime of the project, across the outcomes and impacts expected? (250 words)

Trusted Research*

International research collaborations are fundamental to the equity, quality, diversity and impact of UK-based researchers and institutions. Most international collaborations will benefit all those involved and the expected usual status for this question is likely to be a null response, however, there will be cases where there are risks.

Research funded through this programme needs to take account of security-related considerations. UKRI, Universities UK (UUK) and the National Protective Security Authority amongst others have published relevant guidance in this area. It is important to ensure that the research funded through this programme has undertaken relevant assurance related to reputational, data, financial, ethical and security risks.

Please use this field to detail any research security risks that the application may encounter and how these will be mitigated. It should be noted that such risks could include the potential dual application of the research, the management of information, data and other knowledge sharing, and activities that could utilise the research to target people in other countries such as through internal surveillance and repression. A set of questions suggested by the NPSA to consider in relation to this issue is as follows:

• Are there any potential ethical or moral concerns for the application of the research? If so, what are they?
• Could the research be used to support activities in other countries with ethical standards different from the UK, such as internal surveillance and repression? If so, how might this be possible and how is it proposed this risk is mitigated?
• Could the research be of benefit to a hostile state military or be supplied to other state actors? If so, how might it be of such benefit and how is it proposed this risk is mitigated?
• Are there any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to the research? If so, what are they?
• Do you need to protect sensitive data or personally identifiable information? This may include genetic or medical information, population datasets, details of individuals or commercial test data. If so, how will you do so?
• Is your research likely to have a future commercial or patentable outcome which you or your organisation would want to benefit from? If so, what is this outcome?
• Is any of the research likely to be subject to UK or other countries' export licence controls? If so, what aspects of the research will be subject to such controls?

As highlighted by UUK in its above guidance it is important to be aware that failure to comply with export control legislation is a criminal offence and the terms ‘technology’ and ‘information’ have much broader definitions in legislation than might ordinarily or commonly be understood. To maximise compliance with export control legislation, individuals should:

• consider potential end-use possibilities of technology: it is the duty of researchers and their institutions to monitor potential end-uses of research, throughout the research life cycle. In some cases, research will have end-use applications that are unidentifiable in the early stages of development and continued monitoring is required
• inform researchers about the implications of intangible technology transfer: researchers must be aware that controlled sensitive information transmitted electronically (e.g. via social media, fax and email, videoconferencing, sharing screens remotely) and verbally (e.g. in telephone and face-to-face discussions) may still be subject to export controls.

There is also the Research Collaboration Advice Team, which is a collaboration between the UK Government and academia that can provide advice to institutions on national security risks to international research.

Applicants should be aware that government guidance and UK legislation may change, and they will need to take account of any such changes that may affect their proposed research. (750 words)

Ethical Issues*

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.

Risk Management*

Please use this section to address any issues related to risk management.

(750 words)

Other Relevant Information

Please use the text box to enter the details of any other relevant information.

PAGE 2: FINANCIAL DETAILS

Financial Details/ Justification*

Please use the table to indicate the figures for such costs (in GBP) between the various headings.

Please note that the maximum budget available is £150,000.

Eligible costs include:

1. The time of the PI and Co-Applicants
2. Research assistance
3. Travel, fieldwork and related expenses
4. Networking costs
5. University costs in hosting and supporting the project.

Applicants must input the funding requests in the financial details table above at 80 per cent FEC for Directly Incurred costs and Directly Allocated costs and at 100 per cent for Research Costs as outlined in the scheme guidance notes.

The only exception to this understanding and 80 per cent FEC in general is the costing of international Principal Investigators or international Co-Applicants or partners in non-academic settings (in the UK or internationally) who demonstrably do not use and would not use FEC modelling. For such partners the costing regime used should be at 100 per cent for direct costs and a flat-rate of 25 per cent for indirect costs. UK-based institutions that would be expected to use FEC may not use this costing regime. It is only for institutions as described above. Institutions costed using this regime must be costed separately in the application budget table and clearly explained in the ‘Justification’ field.

This budget table should be completed in collaboration with your host organisation's Research/Finance office. If a grant is awarded, the British Academy will provide funding at 80 per cent of the FEC for Directly Incurred costs and Directly Allocated costs. The UK host organisation must agree to fund the balance of FEC for the project from other resources.

Applicants should prepare accurate costings for the proposed expenses, and should be particularly careful not to overestimate the resources required. Costs should be clearly itemised and justified in terms of the proposed programme for this application.

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

Value Sought*

Please enter the total amount of funding sought. Please ensure that this matches the grand total of your budget table. The total amount requested must not exceed £150,000.

Applications to other funding bodies*

The British Academy does not require applicants to demonstrate that the research has also attracted funding from other bodies, but please use this space to indicate if it has done so.
(250 words)

Page 3: DUE DILIGENCE

Due Diligence Documentation

The British Academy overseas payment policy requires several supporting documents to be submitted for review. Individuals and organisations not based in the UK will be required to provide this information. Please ensure that these documents are uploaded via the file upload feature below. The documents required are listed as follows:

·       Evidence of legal status

·       Organogram

·       Anti-fraud, corruption & bribery policy

·       Travel & subsistence policy

·       Conflict of interest policy

·       Safeguarding policy

·       Health and Safety policy

·       Risk Management policy

·       Ethics policy

·       Recruitment and Selection policy

·       Financial Procedures

·       Research Misconduct policy

·       Previous three years audited financial statements

·       Delivery Chain Map regarding the management of incoming funds*

·       Letter from organisation bank account confirming the account details and individuals responsible.

Each of these documents should be provided from an overseas host institution.

*For the Delivery Chain Map, this will need to visually set out the full process flow. The ‘delivery chain’ refers to the full set of financial processes, from receiving funds, approving expenditure, recording expenditure and the institutions involved. Processes and individuals involved in the delivery chain will need to be clearly mapped out for our record. Once completed, the delivery chain mapping document will be signed and dated by the award-holder. This document will be reviewed annually and updated if there are any relevant personnel or process changes.

Research organisations based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries seeking to act as the host organisation must be approved as eligible by the British Academy no later than two weeks before the deadline of this call. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Page 4: PRIMARY APPLICANT DETAILS

Primary 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.

Primary Applicant Current Location*

Please select the country in which you are based from the drop-down list provided.

The PI must be based in the UK, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or one of the Least Developed Countries.

Employing Organisation*

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

Please use the search bar to find your home institution and add the organisation to your application. If your organisation is not available, then it may not be registered in our system. This will likely be the case if the home institution is based outside the UK. Before requesting the addition of a new organisation, please check that it is not affiliated with any organisation that is already registered. If it needs to be added, please email us at [email protected] as soon as possible. Any organisation being added must be approved as eligible by the British Academy no later than two weeks before the deadline of this call (i.e., by 5 February for the 19 February deadline). This means that they will need to be in touch with the Academy well before this date in order for the approval process to have been undertaken.

All applications must be approved by the host 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. It is strongly recommended that the applicant maintains an open dialogue with the approving department at the host 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 the host institution has checked your application, they will contact you if any changes are required; please note that if changes need to be made, these will have to be done before the deadline as they cannot be done afterwards.

Nationality*

Please use the drop-down list to select your nationality. Additional nationalities can be added after the initial selection if required by selecting ‘Add Row’.

Employment Status*

Please confirm that your current position is either permanent or that your current employment will extend beyond the lifetime of the award.

PhD Confirmation*

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 a 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.

Please enter the date of your viva voce examination in the ‘PhD Awarded Date’ field.

Present Appointment, Employing Institution and Department*

Please give details of your current appointment. The Lead must be based at an eligible university or research institute and must be either in a permanent position at the institution or have a fixed-term position for the duration of the award.

Personal Statement

The Academy is aware that individuals will have had different opportunities to balance their work with other commitments during their career or may come from diverse or non-traditional career backgrounds. For example, having taken extended leave including parental or medical leave, or having returned to work following time in other roles that may have impacted on the applicants’ career. Please use this question to provide further information, so that the Academy can take this into account when assessing applicants’ track record.

(400 words)

Principal Investigator Time Allocated*

Please indicate the amount of time the Principal Investigator will spend on the proposed project. The PI can spend a minimum of 20 per cent of their time and a maximum of 100 per cent of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20 per cent across the duration of the award.

Key Career Appointments and Posts*

Please provide your key career appointments and posts as a list.  (250 words)

Key Career Experience and other Career Highlights*

Please use this field to provide a list of key career highlights and other experience, particularly related to international research collaboration (250 words)

Where did you hear of this scheme? *

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: BA website; BA literature; PhD supervisor; Institution Research Office; Twitter, colleague, etc.

Page 4: CO-APPLICANT DETAILS

Co-Applicants*

Please note that it is mandatory to include at least one named Co-Applicant who is based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries if the Principal investigator is based in the UK or at least one named Co-Applicant who is based in the UK if the Principal Investigator is based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.

Please detail the title, name, employing institution and nationality of any co-applicant(s) on the project. You may include up to six co-applicants.

Please confirm that each Co-I’s current position is either permanent or will extend beyond the lifetime of the award.

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 Workshop Proposal section.

Personal Statement

The Academy is aware that individuals will have had different opportunities to balance their work with other commitments during their career or may come from diverse or non-traditional career backgrounds. For example, having taken extended leave including parental or medical leave, or having returned to work following time in other roles that may have impacted on the applicants’ career. Please use this question to provide further information, so that the Academy can take this into account when assessing applicants’ track record.

(400 words)

PAGE 5: EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Equal Opportunities

This page is not mandatory; however, the Academy is committed to supporting diversity in our funding and would appreciate applicants completing the following details to enable us to monitor and analyse how inclusive our processes are.

The information provided will be treated as strictly confidential and will be used for statistical purposed only. It will not be seen by those involved in the selection process and no information will be published or used in any way which allows any individual to be identified.