Innovation Fellowships 2024-25 – Route B: Policy-led (Digital Society), in collaboration with Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID), supported by DSIT and AHRC scheme notes
The following Scheme Guidance Notes set out the eligibility and application process of the British Academy’s Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route B: Policy-led (Digital Society) in the 2024-25 competition round, in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – AI Policy Directorate (AIPD); DSIT - the AI Safety Institute (AISI); the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF); Ofcom. The Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), will also be partnering with the Academy to co-fund this cohort of Innovation Fellowships. Please read these Scheme Guidance Notes carefully. Any application which is incorrectly submitted will not be eligible
Scheme guidance
Aims and Purpose of the Scheme
The British Academy has been funded by the UK Government, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) to continue its support for the Innovation Fellowships scheme. The Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), will also be partnering with the Academy to co-fund this cohort of Innovation Fellowships.
This scheme provides funding and support for established early-career and mid-career researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences (the SHAPE disciplines) to partner with organisations and businesses in the creative and cultural, public, private, commercial, or policy sectors that have a base in the UK, to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions that are relevant to the UK. Through the Innovation Fellowships, our researchers in the SHAPE community are supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development.
This call will enable researchers to partner with a range of central government departments or independent regulators for 12 months. Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas set out by their chosen partner. These policy areas broadly correlate to the British Academy’s own Digital Society policy programme, which cover similar themes.
Features of the Scheme
The Innovation Fellowships is a dual route scheme, consisting of Route A: Researcher-led and Route B: Policy-led. This call is for the Innovation Fellowships – Route B: Policy-Led (Digital Society).
Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellows will work with policy partners specified by the British Academy. For this round of the call, the partner are:
- The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
- The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), specifically the AI Policy Directorate (AIPD).
- The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), specifically the AI Safety Institute (AISI).
- The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF)
- Ofcom
Henceforth the term ‘partners’ signifies information applicable to the partners for this call listed above. Information that refers to a specific partner is signified by the relevant acronym.
This Fellowship scheme will also be administered in a complementary fashion to BRAID’s fellowship scheme, and we will wish to ensure that activities and support mechanisms are in place to ensure that Fellows across both schemes are connected and able to build on each other’s work and form a productive cohort together. As this call is supported by both British Academy and BRAID, Route B: Policy-Led (Digital Society) Innovation Fellows will also have access to the range of benefits provided in BRAID’s Fellowship programme. The BRAID programme is dedicated to integrating the whole range of arts and humanities research more fully into the responsible AI ecosystem, as well as bridging the divides between academic, industry, policy and regulatory work on responsible AI. BRAID also runs its own separate Fellowship scheme, which aims to build new partnerships between academia, industry, policymakers, and wider publics as well as to identify and lower barriers to the adoption of responsible AI frameworks and practices. The programme team work to connect funded projects and enable access to our network and activities, including regular cohort meetings and opportunities to present work and publish public-facing material.
Applying to the Scheme
For Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellowships, applicants should apply to work with one of the British Academy’s partners, as above, and select one policy area specified by the department they wish to apply for – e.g. an applicant for DCMS should apply only to DCMS and must choose one of DCMS’ policy areas. They should set out how their experience and proposed work meets the requirements of the partner, and how it relates to and would help bring innovative ideas to the policy area they are applying for.
The researcher’s employing institution must be a UK-based Higher Education Institution (HEI) or Independent Research Organisation (IRO). The partner, as outlined above, must be separate to the researcher’s employing institution. If successful, the relationship with the partner will be managed by the researcher, i.e. the Lead Applicant, with responsibility for the success of the award residing with the Lead Applicant’s employing institution. The relationship must be conducted in line with the Terms and Conditions of Award. Applications are welcome from researchers who consider themselves to be early-career or mid-career researchers.
Person Specification
Applicants must be an early or mid-career researcher based at a UK institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution or Independent Research Organisation) with expertise in a Humanities and/or Social Science discipline. A range of methodological approaches or perspectives may be appropriate – the requirements of each partner are listed below.
Through the Innovation Fellowships scheme, you will have the opportunity to work in an embedded way with policy and analytical teams, which will enable you to develop outcomes that enhance our understanding of, and response to, societal challenges, and offer solutions to shape policy and practice. You will be able to draw on the expertise and insights of policymakers and practitioners, and benefit from their continued engagement with your project. This is an opportunity for all participants to form new collaborations and draw on the insights these bring to inform and influence future policy and research.
Applicants should be open-minded, and willing to explore new perspectives and innovative approaches. They will have an appetite for working across academia and policy. They will be challenge-driven and receptive to integrating the perspectives, needs and priorities of the partner. They will be prepared to develop their programme of work with the department, allowing them to work in a collaborative manner, as opposed to undertaking an isolated programme of work.
Overview
These Fellowships are designed to ensure close interaction with policymakers, right at the heart of the partner’s work. Government departments and independent regulators operate in a context where timely access to high-quality evidence-based analysis might be the difference between success and failure. Exerting influence, negotiating, and leveraging others’ power at the right moment is crucial. This can make it difficult for researchers operating outside such organisations to influence policymaking – the Innovation Fellowship Route B: Policy-led Fellowships are designed to help change this. The British Academy, BRAID, and the partners for this call aim to support up to six Innovation Fellowships in this round (one in each of the six areas listed below). The opportunities and areas of policy interest for this call are discussed below. Fellows will remain in communication with the British Academy’s Digital Society programme team throughout the duration of the award and may be asked to sit upon a relevant expert Working Group in the Academy. The Fellows will also be willing to actively engage with the BRAID programme, attending online monthly cohort support sessions when possible, and attending an enrichment event in Scotland in May 2025. This will enable the Academy’s policy team and BRAID programme team to support the work of the Fellows by, for example, supporting pathways to impact and engagement across our wider policy activities and networks. This may also enable emerging insights from the Fellowship to be fed back to the Academy’s policy team and BRAID’s programme team. This will enable the Academy’s policy team to support the work of each Fellow by, for example, supporting pathways to impact and engagement across our wider policy activities. This will also enable emerging insights from the Fellowship to be fed back to the policy team. Prior to application submission, applicants must not contact the partner organisation regarding the application. Questions may be directed to [email protected].
Fellows with DCMS would work on one of two core policy areas: AI, Intellectual Property (IP) and the Creative Industries; and Fostering economic growth across the UK through digital innovation in DCMS Sectors. The requirements and working relationship with the Department for the Fellowships with DCMS vary slightly for each policy area, as set out below.
1a) AI, Intellectual Property (IP) and the Creative Industries.
The Fellow will work with the Creative Industries team within DCMS. This Fellowship will be working closely with analyst, strategy and science colleagues in the Creative Industries directorate, to enable valuable knowledge transfer, and will also be conducting independent research and analysis where relevant.
The central area that the Fellow will be working on is AI, Intellectual Property (IP) and the Creative Industries.
Understanding the impacts of generative AI, both beneficial and detrimental, will continue to be a key concern for DCMS over the coming two years. This Fellowships will focus on understanding the implications, impacts, and opportunities that AI can have for the creative industries, particularly around questions relating to intellectual property. Within their Fellowship proposal, prospective Innovation Fellows should detail an outline of how their research, expertise, and experience equip them to work on projects related to one or more of the topics listed below, including the kinds of methods that they would use to approach potential other topics. The Fellow working with DCMS will conduct research on topics such as:
1) AI and the creative and media industries: exploring the scope and scale of risks and opportunities generative AI poses for the creative industries, and the arguments for government intervention.
2) Generative AI, IP, and the Creative and Media Industries: conducting literature reviews and live monitoring of international approaches to policy, regulation, pertinent litigation and developments (including text and data mining, copyright, licensing, watermarking, personality rights, and deep fakes).
3) Horizon scanning for innovative regulatory frameworks, digital solutions and policy approaches to address the emerging challenges and opportunities at the intersection of AI, intellectual property, and innovation in the UK's evolving digital economy.
4) Understanding and modelling generative AI’s impacts on pay and availability of work across creative sub-sectors and career pathways.
5) Understanding how the use of generative AI by creators contributes to the creative process (including whether it increases efficiency in producing outputs, and how creatives are using AI).
It is expected that projects will produce findings that can inform policy questions and add value to the work of the Creative Industries team.
While the British Academy and DCMS do not have preconceived ideas about the disciplinary background of Fellows, applicants will need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the relevant policy areas. Strong research skills are required, and applicants would benefit from a background in relevant policy areas, although demonstration of relevant transferable skills and a desire to develop knowledge of a new policy area is sufficient.
This Fellow will be embedded within the creative industries team at DCMS. The Fellow must be based in either DCMS’s Manchester or London offices.
N.B. Please note that for security reasons, successful applicants will have to be security cleared before the final arrangements for a Fellowship can be confirmed. Fellows will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. If any candidate is based in London, they will have to obtain Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) clearance. For all DCMS Fellows, candidates must abide by the Civil Service citizen/nationality requirements. For more details, see the “Security Clearance and Nationality” section below.
1b. Fostering economic growth across the UK through digital innovation in DCMS Sectors.
The Fellow will work with the Analysis team within DCMS. This Fellowship will be working closely with analyst, strategy and science colleagues in the Analysis directorate, to enable valuable knowledge transfer, and will also be conducting independent research and analysis where relevant. London and the South East represent a focal point for the UK in terms of economic activity, and a significant proportion of current DCMS activity and investment is concentrated there. As we welcome a new government, we are particularly keen to understand the opportunities and barriers to fostering growth more equitably across regions, and the role that DCMS sectors can serve in facilitating and driving this, particularly through digital innovation. The central area that the Fellow will be working on is Fostering economic growth across the UK through digital innovation in DCMS Sectors. Closely aligning with the new government’s mission to kickstart economic growth, research could look to explore:
- the role of DCMS sectors in contributing to the current and potential economic growth of different regions and cities across the UK, and how the activity of creative businesses, our cultural institutions and the visitor economy interacts with other 8 sectors to foster a ‘growth-rich’ environment, particularly in the digital sphere and with the advent of new technologies using AI.
- the economic challenges or limitations associated with different place typologies, and the potential for DCMS sectors to mitigate these – including where government and non-government interventions have proved successful in reducing growth barriers across local economies. This includes considerations of how and where digital innovations can play a role in reducing these barriers.
- where different regions and cities hold comparative advantage with respect to different DCMS sector and sub-sector activity, particularly in relation to digital innovation, which could be built on further to help drive growth within local economies – including consideration of broader enablers (e.g. economic infrastructure), and how these might vary across case studies.
It is expected that projects will produce findings that can inform policy questions and add value to the work of the Analysis team.
While the British Academy and DCMS do not have preconceived ideas about the disciplinary background of the Fellow, applicants will need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the relevant policy areas. Strong research skills are required, although demonstration of relevant transferable skills and a desire to develop knowledge of a new policy area is sufficient. Policy relevant experience and a foundation in economic research and analysis are preferred.
The Fellow will at times work independently as well as alongside relevant staff, according to the needs of the project Work-planning will centre on the programme of work and analysis agreed at the outset. The Fellow will be at least partly embedded within the relevant teamat DCMS and will be partly based in DCMS’s Manchester or London offices, though specific arrangements may be worked out with the partner.
N.B. Please note that for security reasons, successful applicants will have to be security cleared before the final arrangements for a Fellowship can be confirmed. The Fellow will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. If any candidate is based in London, they will have to obtain Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) clearance. For all DCMS Fellows, candidates must abide by the Civil Service citizen/nationality requirements. For more details, see the “Security Clearance and Nationality” section below.
The Fellow will work with the AI Policy Directorate (AIPD), within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. AI is bringing about huge changes to society, and the AIPD team has responsibility for working out how the UK Government should respond. This includes regulating AI effectively, ensuring government is resilient, making the UK a good place to build AI, driving international cooperation, and getting people using AI.
The Fellowship will be working with, and alongside, policymakers and analysts to shape the Government’s response to AI. The central topic that Fellows will be working on is on understanding the effect of regulating AI on business and consumer adoption.
The Fellow, working with DSIT, will conduct research on topics such as (not exhaustive):
- The social and economic impacts of AI harms like discrimination, bias and fairness.
- The barriers to adoption and what policies have been proven to address them in the UK, internationally, and in other sectors.
- The extent to which different types of regulation will lead to increased adoption, perhaps by boosting trust in AI and increasing clarity on how to use AI.
It is expected that the project will produce findings that can inform policy questions around AI opportunities. Some non-exhaustive examples of questions the Fellowship could explore include:
- How does AI accentuate biases in model outcomes? Are certain demographic groups disproportionately affected, leading to increased inequality?
- How do other countries manage AI’s societal impact? How does their regulatory approach differ from the UK’s?
- In what ways does uncertainty around AI-specific and other types of regulations impact businesses and citizens? Are specific groups more vulnerable, and why?
- To what extent does the relationship between regulation and adoption vary across sectors, firm sizes, and business characteristics?
- How does public perception of regulation impact adoption rates? Are there misconceptions or fears that hinder adoption?
- What measurable effect does different types of regulation have on AI adoption? What is the time lag after implementing regulations?
- How does different types of regulation alter how businesses and citizens use AI technologies?
- Besides regulation certainty, what other barriers hinder AI adoption, and how can they be addressed?
- What incentives (financial, legal, or otherwise) encourage businesses to adopt AI technologies compliant with regulations?
- What tailored approaches can boost AI adoption in small and medium enterprises, considering their unique challenges and resources?
- What insights can we glean from other countries and sectors to boost AI adoption rates?
Within their Fellowship proposal, prospective Innovation Fellows should detail an outline of how their expertise and experience equip them to work on projects related to one or more of these topics and questions. This includes the kinds of methods that they would use to approach potential other topics and questions.
While the British Academy and DSIT do not have preconceived ideas about the disciplinary background of Fellows, applicants will need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the relevant policy areas. The individual will need to assess qualitative and quantitative evidence and apply data science/analytical expertise (with the use of Excel and/or a coding package such as R or Python) to produce evidence-based conclusions and/or policy advice/steers. Strong research and/or evaluation skills from a relevant disciplinary background are required, and applicants would benefit from a background in relevant policy areas, although demonstration of relevant transferable skills and a desire to develop knowledge of a new policy area is also encouraged.
The Fellow will conduct research and analysis in one or more areas of work to address a specified set of policy-driven research question(s), which are agreed at the outset of the Fellowship. This Fellowship will be working with and alongside teams within the AI Policy Directorate but will also be conducting independent research and analysis.
Work-planning will centre on the programme of work and analysis agreed at the outset. This Fellowship will be embedded within the AI Policy Directorate at DSIT and will be partly based in DSIT’s offices at 100 Parliament St, London, SW1A 2BQ. The Fellow will be expected to reserve some time for responsive and demand-led analysis.
An indicative list of tasks involved in this Fellowship might include:
- Providing policy research design advice for projects on the AI sector, skills and infrastructure
- Designing and conducting research studies or technical experiments to generate insights into the potentially dangerous capabilities of advanced AI systems
- Writing papers and shorter evidence and policy briefing notes
- Oral briefings for senior officials and ministers
- Meeting external and cross-government partners
- Organising and running masterclasses on evidence
The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, highlighting policy relevance to nonexperts is important to all work. So too is the ability to work collaboratively with others and to do so at pace, sometimes delivering to tight deadlines. The Fellow will need to agree to respect the department’s values and standards of behaviour, including following the Civil service code, and sign an agreement to that effect. Failure to do so may result in the termination of the Fellowship.
N.B. Please note that for security reasons, successful applicants will have to be security cleared before the final arrangements for a Fellowship can be confirmed. Fellows will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. For all DSIT Fellows, there are no nationality requirements. For more details, see below.
The Fellow will work with the AI Safety Institute (AISI), within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Governments have a key role to play in ensuring advanced AI is safe and beneficial, and the AI Safety Institute is the first state-backed organisation dedicated to advancing this goal.
AISI is working to:
- Test advanced AI systems and inform policymakers about their risks;
- Foster collaboration across companies, governments, and the wider research community to mitigate risks and advance publicly beneficial research; and
- Strengthen AI development practices and policy globally.
AISI conducts research and builds infrastructure to test the safety of advanced AI and to measure its impacts on people and society. The team also works with the wider research community, AI developers and other governments to affect how AI is developed and to shape global policymaking on this issue.
AISI has built a unique structure within the government so it can operate like a startup. The organisation has recruited over 30 technical staff, including senior alumni from OpenAI, Google DeepMind and the University of Oxford, and is continuing to scale rapidly. AISI staff are supported by substantial funding and computing resources, priority access to top models, partnerships with leading research organisations and an incredibly talented, closeknit and driven team.
The Fellowship will be working with and alongside policymakers and AI researchers/engineers to shape the Government’s approach to AI safety. Fellows can work on a broad range of topics, with the overall aim being to equip governments with an empirical understanding of the safety of advanced AI systems and their impacts on people and society.
The Fellow working with AISI will conduct research on topics such as (not exhaustive):
- Monitoring the fast-moving landscape of AI development
- Evaluating the risks AI poses to national security and public welfare
- Advancing the field of systemic safety to improve societal resilience
Some non-exhaustive examples of questions the Fellowship could explore include:
- What plausible scenarios exist for AI risks in the near future (e.g., 5–10 years)? How can we anticipate and prepare for these scenarios?
- How can society adapt to AI and mitigate its risks?
- How can we systematically analyse and understand the rapid capability increases in AI systems? What interdisciplinary methods can help us track and predict these advancements?
- What methodologies can we use to attribute specific harms to AI systems rather than other factors?
- What are public attitudes to any trade-offs that might exist in AI safety, such as between restricting harmful output and allowing useful capabilities?
- What factors contributed to the safe and successful adoption of previous technologies, and how can we apply those lessons to AI safety?
- How can we attribute the role that AI had in causing a particular harm, rather than something else?
- As AI becomes increasingly integrated into complex systems (e.g., healthcare, transportation, finance), what long-term safety challenges will arise?
Within their Fellowship proposal, prospective Innovation Fellows should detail an outline of how their research, expertise, and experience equip them to work on projects related to one or more of these topics and questions. This includes the kinds of methods that they would use to approach potential other topics and questions.
While the British Academy and DSIT do not have preconceived ideas about the disciplinary background of Fellows, applicants will need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the relevant policy areas. The individual will need to assess qualitative and quantitative evidence and apply data science/analytical expertise (with the use of Excel and a coding package such as R or Python) to produce evidence-based conclusions and/or policy advice/steers. Strong research and/or evaluation skills from a relevant disciplinary background are required, and applicants would benefit from a background in relevant policy areas, although demonstration of relevant transferable skills and a desire to develop knowledge of a new policy area is also encouraged.
The Fellow will conduct research and analysis in one or more areas of work to address a specified set of policy-driven research question(s), which are agreed at the outset of the Fellowship. This Fellowship will be working with and alongside teams within the AI Policy Directorate but will also be conducting independent research and analysis.
Work-planning will centre on the programme of work and analysis agreed at the outset. This Fellowship will be embedded within the AISI at DSIT and will be partly based in DSIT’s offices at 100 Parliament St, London, SW1A 2BQ. The Fellow will be expected to reserve some time for responsive and demand-led analysis.
The Fellow would finalise the outline of a work programme with DSIT after being awarded the Fellowship and applicants are asked to bear this in mind when putting their applications together. An indicative list of these tasks might include:
- Providing evidence and policy advice for projects related to the safety of advanced AI systems and their impacts on people and society 12
- Designing and conducting research studies or technical experiments to generate insights into the potentially dangerous or concerning capabilities of advanced AI systems
- Developing research programmes to explore new or emerging safety concerns of frontier AI systems, and identifying systemic interventions to address such concerns
- Data analysis – identifying and analysing datasets that may be relevant to enhancing understanding and framing new solutions;
- Case studies – exploring practical or policy-orientated solutions, engagement between academic and non-academic environments and the wider benefits to individuals/communities/regions;
- Briefings/blogs/presentations/podcasts/videos and other outputs to reach a variety of policy audiences and environments;
- Conferences/workshops/webinars/toolkits and other training opportunities which enable knowledge exchange with a wider academic and policy audience.
- Academic papers are encouraged, but will need to be discussed with the Department prior to writing up and publication.
The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, highlighting policy relevance to nonexperts is important to all work. So too is the ability to work collaboratively with others and to do so at pace, sometimes delivering to tight deadlines. The Fellow will need to agree to respect the department’s values and standards of behaviour, including following the Civil service code, and sign an agreement to that effect. Failure to do so may result in the termination of the Fellowship.
N.B. Please note that for security reasons, successful applicants will have to be security cleared before the final arrangements for a Fellowship can be confirmed. Fellows will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, but Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) is preferred. For all DSIT Fellows, there are no nationality requirements. For more details, see below.
The Fellow will work with the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF). The DRCF brings together four UK regulators with responsibilities for digital regulation – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Ofcom. These regulators established the DRCF together in 2020 to make it easier for each regulator to collaborate on digital regulatory matters.
The DRCF is a voluntary cooperation forum that facilitates engagement between member regulators on digital policy areas of mutual interest. The DRCF is not a statutory or incorporated entity and does not provide formal advice or direction to member regulators, who remain individually accountable for the delivery of their functions.
The DRCF supports cooperation and coordination between members and enables coherent, informed, and responsive regulation of the UK digital economy. This effective collaboration greatly benefits UK citizens and consumers online. This Fellowship will be working with and alongside the Core Team in the DRCF. The Core Team is a mix of colleagues from across the four member regulators.
The central area that the Fellow will be working on is AI Regulation and Auditing.
The DRCF aims to build a gateway for a wide range of cutting-edge AI and digital research. Future research will build upon projects completed to date. Within their Fellowship proposal, prospective Innovation Fellows for DRCF should detail an outline of how their research, expertise, and experience equip them to work on projects related to one or more of these topics listed below, including the kinds of methods that they would use to approach potential other topics. The Fellow working with DRCF will conduct research on topics such as:
1) Protecting people online through developing an in-depth understanding of frontier technology use, the consumer online journey, AI and digital touchpoints. Developing this understanding through cutting edge research will aid regulators in their identification of current and potential AI harms.
2) Helping to promote the safe adoption and growth of frontier technologies. Through our research we are developing an understanding of how firms have adopted AI technology, how those technologies are being used, and gathering views on the role for regulators to assist in the safe adoption of AI.
3) Developing an understanding of the third-party algorithmic auditing market. By conducting market research and interviewing auditors we can better understand their auditing tools, practices and principles, as well as the demand for their services.
It is expected that projects will produce findings that can inform policy questions and add value to the work of DRCF.
While the British Academy and DRCF do not have preconceived ideas about the disciplinary background of Fellows, applicants will need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the relevant policy areas. Strong research skills are required, and applicants would benefit from a background in relevant policy areas, although demonstration of relevant transferable skills and a desire to develop knowledge of a new policy area is sufficient.
This Fellowship will be working with and alongside the Core Team in DRCF. The fellow will be conducting independent research and analysis during the Fellowship with steers from the DRCF CEO and from the senior leaders among the DRCF member regulators.
N.B. Please note that for security reasons, successful applicants will have to be security cleared before the final arrangements for a Fellowship can be confirmed. Fellows will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. For DRCF Fellows, there are no nationality requirements. For more details, see below.
The Fellow will work with the team most relevant to their work at Ofcom. Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It regulates UK-established video sharing platforms and has recently taken on additional responsibilities as the UK’s online safety regulator under the Online Safety Act. It is an independent public authority and accountable to Parliament for its public duties. Ofcom carries out a regular programme of research and data collection to understand what people do online, what they experience, and how they feel about it, providing evidence on the online environment and how it is changing.
The central area that the Fellow will be working on is how AI impacts on public trust about information.
Within their Fellowship proposal, prospective Innovation Fellows for Ofcom should detail an outline of how their research, expertise, and experience equip them to work on projects related to one or more of these topics listed below, including the kinds of methods that they would use to approach potential other topics.
The Fellow working with Ofcom will conduct research on topics such as:
1) An assessment of the actual vs perceived current use of AI within the media industries, and the extent to which its use is being questioned, modified, rejected by the workforces within these industries, and for what reasons. Applicability to Ofcom:
- a) It will be of use to Ofcom’s cross-group strategic thinking about AI, through identifying core AI deployment issues and their real-world impact on workforces. This will help Ofcom’s horizon-scanning and modelling of future scenarios for the communications sector as a whole. Cross-country comparisons could also be valuable to gather lessons learnt from other contexts and inform understanding of successful strategies.
- b) This analysis will help Ofcom in its ongoing regulation of the public service media industry, and help it scope its future public service media and BBC reviews, enabling it to incorporate issues around AI and its impact on broadcasters.
2) What kinds of media literacy/critical understanding are needed to navigate AI-generated information, including news content. Applicability to Ofcom:
- a) This analysis will help Ofcom fulfil aspects of its media literacy strategy. One of the core aspects of Ofcom’s media literacy programme is finding effective ways of enabling adults and children to develop critical understanding skills, and this analysis will help identify the types of skill required.
- b) Ofcom’s media literacy programme also has a focus on identifying and understanding the media literacy dimensions of tech developments and platforms’ design/architecture, and this analysis will form part of this workstream. c. The analysis will be of benefit to the wider Online Safety programme and will help fulfil Ofcom’s online safety duties in relation to user empowerment.
3) What is the impact of AI-generated information upon levels of trust in news content, especially in relation to potentially susceptible groups. Applicability to Ofcom:
- a) This analysis will form part of the work of Ofcom’s focus on news provision and consumption habits. Understanding levels of trust in news content and how these change with new technological developments is a core part of ongoing monitoring, which in turn helps the policy development of our work on online news and media plurality, as well as the ongoing regulation of public service media.
- b) This analysis is also beneficial to the Online Safety programme, to build understanding of the wider impact of AI and machine learning upon different audiences.
It is expected that projects will produce findings that can inform policy questions and add value to the work of Ofcom. While the British Academy and Ofcom do not have preconceived ideas about the disciplinary background of Fellows, strong research skills are required, and applicants would benefit from a background in relevant policy areas, although demonstration of relevant transferable skills and a desire to develop knowledge of a new policy area is sufficient. Knowledge of interdisciplinary methods of working would be beneficial for this Fellowship, for example expertise in data science to understand the AI deployment and qualitative interviewing techniques to explore with staff members. Familiarity with quantitative survey methods as well as qualitative forms of research would be beneficial. The Ofcom fellow will at times work independently as well as alongside relevant staff, according to the needs of the project - the research and analysis is intended to be of active benefit to the organisation. Fellows will need to adhere to Ofcom’s Dignity and Respect at Work and Workplace Adjustments Policies. It is the responsibility of the academic’s manager to ensure that they have read and understood these policies on joining. Fellows will also be expected to adhere to a Confidentiality clause regarding sensitive information as part of their Fellowship agreement.
N.B. A basic criminal record check will need to be completed, which will be organised by Ofcom’s People Team. For Ofcom Fellows, there are no nationality requirements (though, 15 as with all Fellowships, prospective Fellows will be required to provide evidence that they have the right to work/study in the UK). For more details, see below.
Fellows will conduct research and analysis in one or more areas of work to address a specified set of policy-driven research question(s), which are agreed at the outset of the Fellowship. As set out above, the nature of the work to be undertaken during the Fellowship will vary according to which department and policy area a Fellowship focuses on, with some Fellows working relatively independently, and others more firmly embedded within a team within their partner.
Work-planning will centre on the programme of work and analysis agreed at the outset. However, those Fellows who are more embedded and integrated within teams will be expected to reserve some time for responsive and demand-led analysis. An indicative list of these tasks might include: providing evaluation or policy research design advice to departments, writing papers and shorter evidence and policy briefing notes, oral briefings for senior officials and ministers, meeting external and cross-government partners, as well as organising and running masterclasses on evidence and/or evaluation methodologies. The Fellows would finalise the outline of a work programme with their partner after being awarded the Fellowship and applicants are asked to bear this in mind when putting their applications together. Applicants are therefore not required to provide a specific research proposal as part of their application, and are rather expected to demonstrate how their skills and experience would make them a good fit to undertake research in the Fellowship topic.
The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, highlighting policy relevance to nonexperts is important to all work. So too is the ability to work collaboratively with others and to do so at pace, sometimes delivering to tight deadlines. The Fellows will need to agree to respect the department’s values and standards of behaviour and sign an agreement to that effect. Failure to do so may result in the termination of the Fellowship.
For security reasons, successful applicants will generally need to be security cleared before the final arrangements for a Fellowship can be confirmed. Security checks will need to be processed once an offer has been made to the successful candidate – the formal confirmation of the offer will be contingent on the person obtaining this level of clearance. Loss of clearance during the Fellowship period, for example, due to personal conduct, will risk termination of the Fellowship. All security clearance decisions are personal to the applicant and depend on a range of factors. For further information on security clearance, please view the gov.uk website.
1. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Fellows working with DCMS would need to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. If any candidate is based in London, they will have to obtain Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) clearance. For CTC clearance, candidates need to have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years, consecutively. Fellows working with DCMS must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules, which means they must be one of the following:
- UK nationals.
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland.
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK.
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or presettled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020.
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service.
2. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT): AI Policy Directorate
The Fellow working with DSIT’s AI Policy Directorate will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, but Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) is preferred. At Baseline Security Standard, there are no nationality requirements. Award holders are expected to provide information requested by the partner department in a timely manner.
CTC clearance would be preferable as it will allow Fellows to work unescorted in DSIT’s London building (100 Parliament St). There are some aspects of the AI Safety Institute’s work which are commercially or nationally sensitive. For applicants wishing to work in these areas, CTC would be required. In other cases, Fellows that would prefer to get BPSS as a minimum could still be considered.
Please note that, for CTC clearance, candidates need to have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years, consecutively. To receive CTC clearance, Fellows must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules, which means they must be one of the following:
- UK nationals.
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland.
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK.
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or presettled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020.
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service.
3. DSIT: AI Safety Institute (AISI)
The Fellow working with AISI will be required to receive security clearance at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, but Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) is preferred. At Baseline Security Standard, there are no nationality requirements. Award-holders are expected to provide information requested by the partner department in a timely manner.
CTC clearance would be preferable as it will allow Fellows to work unescorted in DSIT’s London building (100 Parliament St). There are some aspects of the AI Safety Institute’s work which are commercially or nationally sensitive. For applicants wishing to work in these areas, CTC would be required. In other cases, Fellows that would prefer to get BPSS as a minimum could still be considered.
Please note that, for CTC clearance, candidates need to have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years, consecutively. To receive CTC clearance, Fellows must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules, which means they must be one of the following:
- UK nationals.
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland.
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK.
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or presettled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020.
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service.
4. The Digital Regulatory Cooperation Forum (DRCF)
The Fellow working with DRCF would need to receive security at the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. For DRCF Fellows, there are no nationality requirements.
5. Ofcom
The Fellow working with Ofcom would need to have a basic criminal record check completed. This will be organised by Ofcom’s People Team. For Ofcom Fellows, there are no nationality requirements (though, as with all Fellowships, prospective Fellows will be required to provide evidence that they have the right to work/study in the UK). Please see the table below which lists the security clearance levels and nationality requirements according to the partners and policy areas.
DCMS: 1a. AI, Intellectual Property (IP) and the Creative Industries
Security Clearance Level
Counter Terrorism Clearance Level / Baseline Personnel Security Standard
Nationality Requirements
Must be UK nationals, Commonwealth/Irish nationals, British protected persons, EEA/Swiss Nationals, Turkish nationals, or qualifying family members of EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals, and otherwise be in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules – please see this flowchart explaining these rules for more information
DCMS: 1b. Driving Economic Growth through DCMS Sectors
Security Clearance Level
Counter Terrorism Clearance Level / Baseline Personnel Security Standard
Nationality Requirements
Must be UK nationals, Commonwealth/Irish nationals, British protected persons, EEA/Swiss Nationals, Turkish nationals, or qualifying family members of EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals, and otherwise be in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules – please see this flowchart explaining these rules for more information.
DSIT: AI Policy Directorate
Security Clearance Level
Counter Terrorism Clearance Level / Baseline Personnel Security Standard
Nationality Requirements
It would be preferable for applicants to have CTC to allow them to work unescorted in our London building (100 Parliament St).
CTC: Must be UK nationals, Commonwealth/Irish nationals, British protected persons, EEA/Swiss Nationals, Turkish nationals, or qualifying family members of EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals, and otherwise be in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules – please see this flowchart explaining these rules for more information.
There are some aspects of the AI Safety Institute’s work which are commercially or nationally sensitive. For applicants wishing to work in these areas, CTC would be required. In other cases, Fellows that would prefer to get BPSS as a minimum could still be considered.
DSIT: AISI
Security Clearance Level
Counter Terrorism Clearance Level / Baseline Personnel Security Standard
Nationality Requirements
It would be preferable for applicants to have CTC to allow them to work unescorted in our London building (100 Parliament St).
CTC: Must be UK nationals, Commonwealth/Irish nationals, British protected persons, EEA/Swiss Nationals, Turkish nationals, or qualifying family members of EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals, and otherwise be in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules – please see this flowchart explaining these rules for more information.
There are some aspects of the AI Safety Institute’s work which are commercially or nationally sensitive. For applicants wishing to work in these areas, CTC would be required. In other cases, Fellows that would prefer to get BPSS as a minimum could still be considered.
DRCF
Security Clearance Level
Baseline Personnel Security Standard
Nationality Requirements
No nationality requirements.
Ofcom
Security Clearance Level
Basic criminal record check
Nationality Requirements
No nationality requirements.
Successful candidates will be selected on the basis of the quality and relevance of the activity and outputs proposed in the application. Award-holders will be expected to play a role in promoting the approaches and methods that are the focus of their award in their own academic environments and the partner they are working in. Expected activities and outputs will be specific to the policy areas and partner teams the Fellow will be working with. Unless specified otherwise (for example, as in the AISI Fellowship), they may involve, but are not limited to:
- Evidence notes/policy briefings – reports, notes and responses to key challenges/approaches for developing connections with policy leaders or innovators;
- Data analysis – identifying and analysing datasets that may be relevant to enhancing understanding and framing new solutions;
- Case studies – exploring practical or policy-orientated solutions, engagement between academic and non-academic environments and the wider benefits to individuals/communities/regions;
- Briefings/blogs/presentations/podcasts/videos and other outputs to reach a variety of policy audiences and environments;
- Conferences/workshops/webinars/toolkits and other training opportunities which enable knowledge exchange with a wider academic and policy audience.
- Academic papers are encouraged, but will need to be discussed with the partner prior to writing up and publication.
All activities and outputs are subject to agreement from the partner, in line with their departmental policy.
The British Academy welcomes proposals for high-quality research in all its subject areas, i.e. disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences. 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.
Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellowship awards are offered on a Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC. The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100%, of which the Academy will pay 80% (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested).
There are four elements to the Full Economic Costing. The Directly Incurred Salary Costs are the costs of the time of the Lead Applicant as this is a Fellowship award. Directly Incurred Research Expenses include costs of travel and subsistence, as well as project costs. Note that there is a minimum spend expected on this research expense element of at least £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution). The other elements are Directly Allocated (Estates) Costs and Indirect Costs which cover costing for space, central support services and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution in supporting the Fellow.
The Academy recognises that the upper limit on the contribution that the Academy’s funding can make to this award – £120,000 – might not be sufficient to cover all of the costs up to 80% of the Full Economic Cost value required. In those cases, an employing institution may need to be willing to make additional contributions to the overhead costs involved.
The Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship, providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application, especially if the time commitment is below 0.5 FTE. All of the grants awarded are expected to be used for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
Awards can be held for 12 months. Awards are expected to commence between 1-31 March 2025.
Competition Opens
4 September 2024
Application Deadline
20 November 2024, 17:00 (UK time)
Interviews
Approx. Early February 2025
Decisions (notification via email)
By mid- February 2025
Starting period of Award(s)
Between 1-31 March 2025
Duration of Award(s)
A duration of 12 months
Award-holders will be expected to act as champions for academic-policy engagement within their institutions and partner organisations, and to liaise with and feed insights into relevant British Academy policy programmes, as well as through broader British Academy networks, including BRAID.
This is expected to involve:
- working within and across the partner organisation as required by the agreed programme of work and the role;
- discussing their analyses and insights with the British Academy and BRAID policy teams, engaging in regular catch-ups and discussions about their work;
- sitting upon a relevant British Academy policy advisory group;
- engaging with individuals both within and beyond academia as relevant to the programme of work;
- proactively identifying opportunities to promote and advance the role of the SHAPE subjects.
Reporting
In addition to the responsibilities above, award-holders are required to complete three reports:
1) A mid-term report from award holders at the half-way point of the project summarising progress of the activities in which they participated.
2) A final report from award holders within three months of the award’s end, detailing the progress of the activities in which they participated.
3) A post-award report three years after the award’s end showing the impact of the award on their subsequent career.
Lead Applicant Eligibility
All applications require one Lead Applicant. Eligible Lead Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom with a current long-term appointment that will continue for at least as long as the period of the award at a UK-based institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution or Independent Research Organisation). If your organisation is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, please contact us via [email protected] to discuss possible registration.
N.B. Lead Applicants must also meet the requirements set out above in the ‘Working at and with DCMS, DSIT, AISI, DRCF and Ofcom’ section; in particular, the requirements about security clearance.
Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Applicants must self-define their career stage in the application, providing further details about career breaks or other circumstances, if relevant. Applicants do not have to fit within a certain time-frame since their PhD in order to prove their career-stage. However, applicants must self-define their career stage and demonstrate this accordingly in their applications. Typically, these terms can be defined as within 15 years of being awarded your PhD (although this will be interpreted flexibly to accommodate any career breaks, parental/caring leave or non-traditional career trajectories). However, this typical definition is a guide only. Applicants may self-define their career stage as they see fit. Applicants should be aware that if they are more advanced in their career, the assessors may determine that they are not within the bounds of the scheme. Therefore, applicants should explain their career stage clearly in response to the question on career stage in the application form. Lead Applicants who do not have a doctorate may have equivalent experience, which they should define in the personal statement section.
Applicants for the Innovation Fellowships scheme should be intending to pursue challenges that can benefit from the contribution of Humanities or Social Sciences expertise.
N.B. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and Lead Applicants are asked to confirm in the personal details section 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. Please note that applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this scheme.
Employing Institution Eligibility
Lead Applicants must be based in an institution which must be listed as an approving-organisation in the British Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant. This institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution or Independent Research Organisation) must be based in the United Kingdom and will be issued the Terms and Conditions of Award, if successful.
Eligible Costs
Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellowship awards are offered on a Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis. The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100% FEC, of which the Academy will pay 80% FEC (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested). N.B. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC.
There are four elements to the Full Economic Costing. The Directly Incurred Salary Costs are the costs of the time of the Lead Applicant as this is a Fellowship award. Directly Incurred Research Expenses include costs of travel and subsistence, as well as project costs. N.B. Note that there is a minimum spend expected on this research expense element of at least £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution). The other elements are Directly Allocated (Estates) Costs and Indirect Costs which cover costing for space, central support services and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution in supporting the Fellow.
N.B. This is Fellowship award and not a project grant, therefore it is anticipated that most of the funding sought will be to support the costs associated with the Lead Applicant’s time (through direct salary contribution). It is expected that not more than 25% of the total budget and not less than £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution) will be used for Directly Incurred Research Expenses.
As applicants are not asked to submit a research proposal, the British Academy recognises that applicants cannot provide a full breakdown of their Directly Incurred Research Expenses. Applicants must provide an overall figure for the heading, a breakdown accounting for their anticipated travel and subsistence costs, with a further explanation of the broad types of activities that the remaining funds may be required for. Applicants must however specify their Directly Incurred Salary Costs and Indirect Costs.
Fellowships within this call are supported by BRAID, who will be hosting an enrichment event for Fellows in Edinburgh in May 2025. Applicants should therefore budget for travelling to and attending the BRAID enrichment event in Edinburgh in May 2025, including the costs of a return trip to Edinburgh in their application to support this collaboration.
Directly Incurred Salary Costs
This is a Fellowship award paying for the time of the person appointed as the Innovation Fellow. Therefore, the cost for the time of the Lead Applicant should be submitted as Directly Incurred Salary Costs. The award can be used to support the employing institution’s salary costs of the Lead Applicant for the duration of the award at between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE. It is expected that the majority of funding requested will cover the Lead Applicant’s salary costs.
Directly Incurred Research Expenses
A minimum of £12,500 at 100% FEC (BA contribution at 80% of £10,000) for each award must be used to cover engagement with the project and partner by the Fellow. Such costs include the following:
- Travel and subsistence within reasonable limits.
- Directly incurred project costs (e.g. workshops, website development, podcasts, transcription costs, specialist software).
Directly Allocated Costs (incl. Estates costs)
Standard Directly Allocated Costs (including Estates Costs) may be attributed to this award. However, it cannot include any directly allocated salary costs.
Indirect Costs
The award can include the employing institution’s indirect costs incurred as a result of direct staff costs. The Indirect Costs heading will be calculated by the institution according to TRAC and needs to be declared only by means of a single figure, with no need for information about its derivation or justification. These include nonspecific costs charged across all projects based on estimates not otherwise included as Directly Allocated Costs. They include costs of the institution’s administration such as personnel, finance, library and some departmental services.
Non-Eligible Costs
The following items are not eligible for funding: research assistance; purchasing of assets; equipment costs; 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; carbon offsetting; open access fees.
Applicants registered with special needs may consult the Academy about possible exceptions prior to application – alternatively application for this type of cost may be made to the British Academy’s Additional Needs Funding.
Nominated Referee and Reference
A reference must be provided by one nominated referee. The referee must be nominated by the Lead Applicant.
Nominated Referee Requirements and Guidelines
- The nominated referee must not be based at the same employing institution as the Lead Applicant or the partner organisation. The primary consideration is that they are able to comment independently and authoritatively on your application (i.e. someone in your field, who is independent from you, the Lead Applicant, and the partner). You do not need to know them personally, but you should make sure they are able to provide a reference before adding them to your application.
- They will be expected to comment on:
- The relevance of the applicant to the Scope of the Fellowship as defined above;
- The experience and suitability of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts and future colleagues in government departments, including but not limited to the partner, and/or experience in working with policymakers on similar topics or areas of interest previously;
- The anticipated benefit and impact on the partner department’s areas of interest as expressed above on pages 6-14 and the applicant’s future policy engagement ambitions;
- The anticipated benefit of the proposed partnership with regards to knowledge exchange between academic and non-academic environments;
- The anticipated contributions to the British Academy's and BRAIDS's wider policy work;
- The ability of the applicant to provide policy relevant, clear and succinct oral briefings (will be assessed at interview if applicants are invited to interview);
- Value for money;
- The career benefit to the Lead Applicant may also be considered at the final stage of assessment.
- Nominated references from the Lead Applicant’s former/current supervisor (including PhD supervisor) will not be accepted. The referee must not be a member of the British Academy’s Council.
- The reference may be obtained from a person based within or outside the UK, but must be submitted in English. If a reference is not submitted in English, it will not be accepted and may render the application ineligible.
- The statement submitted by the nominated referee should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the nominated referee.
- 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 they 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. The reference must be submitted before the application can be approved. Any application without the supporting reference will not be able to be submitted.
- Please note that the reference must be provided through the GMS, they cannot be provided as an email attachment nor sent by post in hard copy. Any reference received after the deadline, or outside of the system, will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
Head of Department Supporting Statement
The Lead Applicant is required to obtain a statement of support from their Head of Department as part of this application.
Head of Department Requirements and Guidelines
- The Head of Department should be the person who heads the Department, Faculty, Institute or other unit of an Independent Research Organisation in which you are currently working.
- As Head of Department, they will be expected to comment on:
- Their level of support for the application and the career development benefit to be gained by the Lead Applicant if the award is made.
- N.B. They will be expected to confirm that the Lead Applicant will be released from duties at the employing institution for the duration of the award and be able to return to the employing institution once the award ends.
- The statement submitted by the Head of Department should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the Head of Department.
- Please note that the Head of Department statement must be received before you can formally submit the application for approval, and you are strongly advised to ensure that your Head of Department submits the statement well in advance of the formal applicant deadline for this round of competition as noted above.
- If the Lead Applicant is also Head of Department, the statement must be provided by another suitable individual, e.g. Deputy Head or Head of School.
Inviting Participants to Contribute to Applications
Your nominated referee and Head of Department must be invited to contribute to your application via the Flexi-Grant system. Please see further guidance below:
- The participants will need to register for an account on the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS) via (https://britishacademy.flexigrant.com/), or have an account on Flexi-Grant, prior to being invited to contribute to the application.
- They can be invited through the ‘Contributors’ tab displayed on the application form summary page. Once they have been invited, they will receive an email notification with instructions on how to contribute.
- You can monitor the progress of your participant’s activity through this section of the application form, and issue reminders as required. Once the recipient has accepted your invitation, their status will be displayed as ‘active’. Upon completion of their section of the application form, their status will be displayed as ‘complete’.
- Once participants have completed all their sections of the application form, please remind them to select ‘Save & Submit’ on the application form page or select ‘Submit your contribution’ on the summary page.
- You will not be able to submit your application form until the status of all participants shows as ‘complete’ in the ‘Contributors’ tab.
Please also note that an application cannot be submitted until all required contributors have submitted their contribution first. We recommend your supporting participants fulfil their requirements at least 5 working days before the submission deadline to ensure there is sufficient time for organisational approval. The employing institution approver must approve the completed application by the submission deadline.
Assessment
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
- The relevance of the applicant to the Scope of the Fellowship as defined above;
- The experience and suitability of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts and future colleagues in government departments, including but not limited to the partner, and/or experience in working with policymakers on similar topics or areas of interest previously;
- The anticipated benefit and impact on the partner department’s areas of interest as expressed above on pages 6-14 and the applicant’s future policy engagement ambitions;
- The anticipated benefit of the proposed partnership with regards to knowledge exchange between academic and non-academic environments;
- The anticipated contributions to the British Academy’s and BRAID's wider policy work;
- The ability of the applicant to provide policy relevant, clear and succinct oral briefings (will be assessed at interview if applicants are invited to interview);
- Value for money;
- The career benefit to the Lead Applicant may also be considered at the final stage of assessment.
All eligible proposals submitted in response to this call will be peer-reviewed by reviewers with subject/sector-specific expertise, including representatives of the partner organisation. The peer review assessments will be considered by a Final Awarding Panel, which will conduct interviews with a shortlist of applicants. The Final Awarding Panel will meet after the call for applications is closed. When the Panel meets it will include an interview element as part of its assessment. Applicants who are shortlisted at this stage are required to be available to attend these interviews at the beginning of February as a mandatory part of the assessment process.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application by mid-February for immediate start in March 2025. The approving organisation will be asked to give its consent before the award is confirmed.
Opening date
4 September 2025
Closing date
20 November 2024
(17:00, UK time)
Notification of result
By mid-February 2025
Research to commence
Between 1-31 March 2025
Code of Practice
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.
Feedback
Feedback is not a feature of the Innovation Fellowships scheme and the Academy is, regretfully, unable to enter correspondence regarding the decisions of the Final Awarding Panel, which are governed by the Code of Practice. Please note that by applying to this scheme, applicants undertake to accept the terms under which applications are assessed.
There must be no duplication of funding for the same purpose. Applicants may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time. For example, it would not be possible to hold two British Academy grant awards or two British Academy Fellowship awards at the same time; but it may be possible to hold a British Academy grant (i.e. Talent Development Award or BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant) and a British Academy Fellowship at the same time, depending on the amount of time required for the Fellowship.
Please note that an application cannot be accepted if there is a report outstanding on any previous research grant awarded by the Academy to the Lead Applicant named in the current proposal. Failure to follow this guidance will result in your application being withdrawn from this round of competition. Duplicate applications for the same purpose to more than one Academy scheme will not be accepted.
Once you have submitted your application for approval by your employing institution, automatic emails will be sent to your employing institution 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 employing institution for approval. The employing institution approver will either: approve and submit your application, ‘send back’ your application and contact you to request modifications 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 employing institution 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 employing institution as their internal timetables may require earlier submission.
If your employing institution approver requests modifications through the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS email facility, they can unlock your application, allowing you to edit it. They can do this by selecting ‘Return to Applicant’. An automatic email 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 employing institution.
Once your employing institution has approved your application and submitted it to the British Academy it will not be possible to make any changes.
Please note that once the closing date has passed, employing institution approvers cannot approve applications and submit them to the British Academy; unapproved applications are removed from consideration. No late applications will be accepted.
It is recommended that you check that your application is submitted in time. To see the details of the employing institution approver and to check the status of your application, you should log into the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS and click on the link to the Application Portal where a summary of your application will be displayed.
N.B. Please see the additional Application Guidance Notes document for applicants applying to the Innovation Fellowships 2024-25 (Route B: Policy-led), which provides guidance on the application form.
Please see the flowchart below for an overview of the application to award process for a Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellowship.

Once your application has been submitted – complete with a reference from your nominated referee and a statement of support from your Head of Department – and it has been approved by your employing institution, you will not be contacted again by the British Academy until the decisions have been made. You can track the progress of your application by logging in again to the Flexi-Grant system at any time. Results are issued by email.
Applicants in any doubt about their eligibility or any other aspect of their application are advised to contact the Research Funding Office at the Academy, where staff will be pleased to assist.
The British Academy
Research Funding Office
10-11 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AH
Due to remote working we recommend contacting us by email only.
Email: [email protected]
Important Dates
Deadline for application submission and organisation approval: 20 November 2024, 17:00 (UK time)
Results announced by email to address on application: by mid-February 2025
British Academy 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. Further information can be found here.
Application guidance
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: Fellowship Proposal
Page 3: Lead Applicant Details
Page 4: Lead Applicant Career Summary
Page 5: Financial Details
Page 6: Equal Opportunities
Page 7: Nominated Referee Statement
Page 8: Head of Department 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. An asterisk (*) indicates which questions are mandatory and therefore must be complete before the application can be submitted.
Please read the scheme guidance notes carefully before completing the form.
Please see further guidance on making an application using the British Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, here: British Academy Flexi-Grant® Guidance Notes.
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.
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 in order for your application to be considered. Please select the relevant options in the dropdown menu. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy and lead applicants must not be currently working towards a PhD, nor awaiting the outcome of a viva voce examination.
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 have not previously been granted an Award and therefore do not have any reports to submit.
Lead Applicant Referee*
Please note, your nominated referee must not be based at the same employing institution as the Lead Applicant or the partner.
If your nominated referee is based at the same institution as the Lead Applicant or the partner, your application will not be accepted. Please find an alternative referee if this is the case.
Project Costs – FEC*
Please confirm your proposed costs are entered on the application form at 100% Full Economic Cost. N.B. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC.
The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100% FEC, of which the Academy will pay 80% FEC (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested).
Eligibility*
Please state the grounds in which you meet the eligibility criteria for the partner with which you wish to work. The requirements of the partners are listed in the ‘Security Clearance and Nationality Requirements’ section of the Scheme Guidance Notes. If the specific partner you have selected has no specific requirements, please indicate this.
Scope of Fellowships*
The Fellowships take place in the context of the Academy’s policy work. The partners will be the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – AI Policy Directorate (AIPD); DSIT - the AI Safety Institute (AISI); the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); the Digital Regulation and Cooperation Forum (DRCF); Ofcom. Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas set out by their chosen partner. These policy areas broadly correlate to the British Academy’s own Digital Society policy programme, which covers similar themes.
The Academy and the partners invite applications for Fellowships in any of the following areas:
- AI, Intellectual Property (IP) and the Creative Industries (DCMS).
- Fostering economic growth across the UK through digital innovation in DCMS sectors (DCMS).
- The effect of regulating AI on business and consumer adoption (DSIT - AIPD).
- Government’s approach to AI safety (DSIT - AISI).
- AI Regulation and Auditing (DRCF).
- How AI impacts on public trust about information (Ofcom).
Applicants should apply to work with one of the British Academy’s partners (ie. DRCF or Ofcom) and select one area specified by the partner they wish to apply for – e.g. an applicant for DCMS should only apply to DCMS and must choose one of the two policy areas listed
Start Date*/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. Please note that awards may be held for a period of 12 months from a starting date between 1-31 March 2025.
Research Expertise in Chosen Area of Interest*
Applicants are advised that they may apply to work with one of the British Academy’s partners and select one policy area specified by the partner they wish to apply for. Applicants should set out clearly how their proposed work meets the requirements of the partner, and how it relates to and would help bring innovative ideas to the policy area they are applying for as stated in the Scheme Guidance Notes.
The Fellows would finalise the outline of a work programme with their partner after being awarded the Fellowship. Applicants are therefore not required to provide a specific research proposal as part of their application, and are rather expected to demonstrate how their skills and experience would make them a good fit to undertake research in the Fellowship topic.
The limit for this field is 2000 words.
Experience of communicating and engaging with a wider audience*
Please outline your ability and experience of engaging with audiences outside your area of expertise and of communicating your work to non-specialists. This is a mandatory field and the limit is 300 words.
Policy Engagement*
Please explain your expertise, experience and interest in engaging closely with policy counterparts, and particularly the value you can bring to working with officials in the chosen partner. Please outline your ability and experience of working in teams involving interdisciplinary projects or policy or practice areas outside your usual role, and of contributing to interdisciplinary research. For example, if you are a researcher, please outline your ability and experience of working with policymakers or practitioners. The limit for this field is 1000 words.
Benefit and Impact – Policy*
Please explain what anticipated benefit and impact is envisaged that can be brought to bear on the chosen partner’s policymaking process, the contribution to the Academy’s policy work, and the applicant’s future policy engagement ambitions.
The limit for this field is 1000 words.
Planned Research Outputs*/Plans for Publication* and Dissemination*
Under ‘planned research outputs’, please only state the type of output expected. Expected activities and outputs will be specific to the policy areas and departmental teams the Fellow will be working with and can involve, but are not limited to:
- Evidence notes/policy briefings – reports, notes and responses to key challenges/approaches for developing connections with policy leaders or innovators;
- Data analysis – identifying and analysing datasets that may be relevant to enhancing understanding and framing new solutions;
- Case studies – exploring practical or policy-orientated solutions, engagement between academic and non-academic environments and the wider benefits to individuals/communities/regions;
- Briefings/blogs/presentations/podcasts/videos and other outputs to reach a variety of policy audiences and environments;
- Conferences/workshops/webinars/toolkits and other training opportunities which enable knowledge exchange with a wider academic and policy audience.
- Academic papers are encouraged, but will need to be discussed with the partner prior to writing up and publication.
Please note that all activities and outputs are subject to agreement from the partner, in line with the partner’s policy. Please refer to the scope of individual Fellowships in the Scheme Guidance Notes for any additional partner specific outputs.
The word limit is 300 words.
Please give detail about plans to disseminate findings from the Fellowship to wider audiences within and beyond academia under plans for publication/dissemination, 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.
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.
Multidisciplinary Proposal
If the proposed engagement is especially multidisciplinary in its approach, please explain more in detail. This is an optional field. The limit is 750 words.
Regional Interests*
This field provides the opportunity to give further indications of the relevance of your subject area.
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.
Source of Funding
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).
Lead Applicant Contact Details*/
Nationality*/
Eligibility*
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 state explicitly the grounds on which you meet the eligibility criteria for the partner department with which you wish to work. Please see the Scheme Guidance Notes for further information.
Employing Organisation*
N.B. 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 institution. The majority of appropriate establishments are registered in the system. If your employing institution is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, please contact us via [email protected] to discuss possible registration. Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Please note that applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this round of the scheme.
All applications must be approved by the employing institution 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 Head of Department has submitted their contribution, so it is essential to obtain the supporting statement well before the deadline.
It is strongly recommended that the applicant maintains an open dialogue with the approving department at their 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 the approving department has 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.
Statement of Qualifications and Career*
Please give details of up to 4 qualifications in reverse chronological order.
Present Appointment*, Employing Institution* and Department*
Please give details of your current appointment. All applications require one Lead Applicant. Eligible Lead Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom with a current long-term appointment that will continue for at least as long as the period of the award at a UK-based institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution or Independent Research Organisation). If your employing institution is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, please contact us via [email protected] to discuss possible registration.
Career Stage*
Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Applicants must self-define their career stage in the application, providing further details about career breaks or other circumstances, if relevant. Applicants do not have to fit within a certain time-frame since their PhD in order to prove their career-stage. However, applicants must self-define their career stage and demonstrate this accordingly in their applications. Typically, these terms can be defined as within 15 years of being awarded your PhD (although this will be interpreted flexibly to accommodate any career breaks, parental/caring leave or non-traditional career trajectories). However, this typical definition is a guide only. Applicants may self-define their career stage as they see fit. Applicants should be aware that if they are more advanced in their career, the assessors may determine that they are not within the bounds of the scheme. Therefore, applicants should explain their career stage clearly in response to the question on career stage in the application form. This is a mandatory field, the limit is 150 words.
Personal Statement
Applicants are invited to include any information relating to their professional career which they may wish to be taken into account in assessing this application. For example, details of a career break, or the effect of working on a part-time contract may be relevant. Lead Applicants who do not have a doctorate may have equivalent experience, which they should define in this section. This is an optional field, the limit is 500 words.
Publications*, Unpublished Research
Please list up to six relevant publications or outputs to date in reverse chronological order under publications/outputs which demonstrate the expertise in the relevant field and engagement with audiences including beyond academia; 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.
Previous Support Dates
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. 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.
Where did you hear of this scheme?
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 BA website; BA literature; PhD supervisor; University Research Office; Twitter, other colleague etc.
Financial Details*/ Justification*
If you include ineligible costs, your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
Please provide details of funding in the relevant fields:
- Directly Incurred Salary Costs;
- Directly Incurred Research Expenses;
- Directly Allocated Costs (including Estates Costs);
- Indirect Costs.
Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellowship awards are offered on a Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis. The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100% FEC, of which the Academy will pay 80% FEC (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested). N.B. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC.
There are four elements to the Full Economic Costing. The Directly Incurred Salary Costs are the costs of the time of the Lead Applicant as this is a Fellowship award. Directly Incurred Research Expenses include costs of travel and subsistence, as well as project costs. N.B. Note that there is a minimum spend expected on this research expense element of at least £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution). The other elements are Directly Allocated (Estates) Costs and Indirect Costs which cover costing for space, central support services and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution in supporting the Fellow.
N.B. This is Fellowship award and not a project grant, therefore it is anticipated that most of the funding sought will be to support the costs associated with the Lead Applicant’s time (through direct salary contribution). It is expected that not more than 25% of the total budget and not less than £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution) will be used for Directly Incurred Research Expenses.
As applicants are not asked to submit a research proposal, the British Academy recognises that applicants cannot provide a full breakdown of their Directly Incurred Research Expenses. Applicants must provide an overall figure for the heading, a breakdown accounting for their anticipated travel and subsistence costs, with a further explanation of the broad types of activities that the remaining funds may be required for. Applicants must however specify their Directly Incurred Salary Costs and Indirect Costs.
Fellowships within this call are supported by BRAID, who will be hosting an enrichment event for Fellows in Edinburgh in May 2025. Applicants should therefore budget for travelling to and attending the BRAID enrichment event in Edinburgh in May 2025, including the costs of a return trip to Edinburgh in their application to support this collaboration.
The Academy recognises that the upper limit on the contribution that the Academy’s funding can make to this award – £120,000 – might not be sufficient to cover all of the costs up to 80% of the Full Economic Cost value required. In those cases, an employing institution may need to be willing to make additional contributions to the overhead costs involved.
The Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship, providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application, especially if the time commitment is below 0.5 FTE. All of the grants awarded are expected to be used for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
Please be aware that if the Fellowship is offered, then there can be no viring of funds between each of these four budget headings, and no spending can take place outside the timeframe of the Fellowship.
Applicants should prepare accurate costings for the proposed project costs 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.
Where possible, 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.
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. If a claim for child or parental care, or additional needs, is included, please supply sufficient justification for the case to be assessed – alternatively, application may be made for this type of cost to the British Academy’s Additional Needs Funding.
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.
FTE Contribution*
Please state the proportion of time (FTE) to be committed to work on this award. For the Innovation Fellowships (Route B: Policy-led; Digital Society), the Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship. Providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application, especially if the time commitment is below 0.5 FTE. Please state in this field the proportion to be committed on this award as a figure.
Equal Opportunities
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.
Lead Applicant Referee Statement*
Lead Applicants are required to nominate one referee in total 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 the referee by clicking ‘Contributors’ tab on the Application’s ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the referee’s email addresses and then click ‘Send Invitation’.
Nominated referee
The nominated referee must not be based at the same employing institution as the Lead Applicant or the partner. The primary consideration is that they are able to comment independently and authoritatively on your application (i.e. someone in your field, who is independent from you, the Lead Applicant, and the partner). You do not need to know them personally, but you should make sure they are able to provide a reference before adding them to your application. They will be expected to comment on:
The statement submitted by the nominated referee should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the nominated referee.
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 they 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 and Head of Department statement of support are submitted.
An application cannot be considered for an award unless the proposal, reference and Head of Department statement of support 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, will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
Head of Department Statement*
Applicants are required to include a supporting statement from their Head of Department 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 Head of Department by clicking ‘Contributors’ tab on the Application’s ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the Head of Department’s email address and then click ‘Send Invitation’.
The Head of Department should be the person who heads the Department, Faculty, Institute or other unit of an Independent Research Organisation in which you are currently working.
As Head of Department, they will be expected to comment on:
- Their level of support for the application and the career development benefit to be gained by the Lead Applicant if the award is made.
- N.B. They will be expected to confirm that the Lead Applicant will be released from duties at the employing institution for the duration of the award and be able to return to the employing institution once the award ends.
The statement submitted by the Head of Department should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the Head of Department.
We strongly advise that you alert your Head of Department as early as possible to allow them enough time to provide their statement in the system. Note that the deadline shown to the Head of Department 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 HOD statement is submitted.
If the Lead Applicant is also Head of Department, the statement must be provided by another suitable individual, e.g. Deputy Head or Head of School.
An application cannot be considered for an award unless all contributions have been submitted on time.
Please note that statements 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 statements received after the deadline, or outside of the system will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
THE ACADEMY WILL ONLY PROCESS COMPLETE, SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS.
Flexi-Grant® guidance
Please refer to the British Academy Flexi-Grant® Guidance Notes