Innovation Fellowships Scheme 2023-24 Route B: Policy-Led (Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Strategic Coordination Hub) Scheme Guidance 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 (Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Strategic Coordination Hub) 2023-24 competition, in partnership with ESRC, AHRC, Innovate UK, UKRI and the Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Strategic Coordination Hub located at the University of Birmingham.
Please read these Scheme Guidance Notes carefully. Any application which is incorrectly submitted will not be eligible.
Aims and purpose of the scheme
The British Academy has been funded by the UK Government, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT, formerly known as BEIS) to continue its support for the Innovation Fellowships scheme.
The Academy’s Innovation Fellowship 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.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation have supported a £23 million Local Policy Innovation Partnerships programme, designed to support local and national policymakers in tackling levelling up challenges, driving sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and reducing regional disparities in the UK. The Local Policy Innovation Partnerships (LPIP) scheme will build cross-sector partnerships that aim to address policy challenges that matter to local people and communities by: generating insight and understanding into local challenges and opportunities, and working with stakeholders to implement evidence-informed, actionable solutions. There are two components to the LPIP scheme: Local Policy and Innovation Partnerships (the LPIPs) across the UK as well as a national, LPIP hub. The LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub is a national consortium, led by the City Region Economic and Development Institute, at the University of Birmingham. The LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub will work with the LPIPs to understand and solve local challenges around the UK through an innovative and effective service-driven approach to place-based policy making and public service delivery. It will also act as a gateway for national policymakers and government bodies to gain local insights from the LPIPs and interact with them.
ESRC, AHRC, Innovate UK and the British Academy are now collaborating to provide a 12 month Innovation Fellowship in support of the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub. The British Academy Policy Innovation Fellowship offered under this call will focus on how the UK can develop effective multi-level governance structures which encourage participation, engagement and cooperation to strengthen our capacity to identify and respond to local, regional and national needs and the major policy challenges ahead. The Strategic Coordination Hub will work with the British Academy to shape the requirements and participate in the recruitment of the Fellow. Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas set out by the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub. Further details about the scheme and the Hub are provided below. The closing date for applications is 28 February 2024.
Features of the scheme
The Innovation Fellowships scheme 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 (Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Strategic Coordination Hub). Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellows will work with policy partners specified by the British Academy, which in this case is the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub based at the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) at the University of Birmingham.
Applying to the Scheme
For Route B: Policy-led Innovation Fellowships, applicants should set out how their experience and proposed work meets the requirements of the LPIP Hub, and how it relates to and would help bring innovative ideas to the policy area successful applicants will be working on.
The researcher’s employing institution must be a UK-based Higher Education Institution (HEI) or Independent Research Organisation (IRO). The policy partner, as outlined above, must be separate to the researcher’s employing institution. For this call, applicants who already work with City-REDI are ineligible – applicants who work for another part of the University of Birmingham, however, are eligible. If successful, the relationship with the policy 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, and be conducted in line with the Terms and Conditions of Award. Only one application for this Route B: Policy-led call may be submitted. Applicants are permitted to apply for both Route A (Researcher-led) and Route B (Policy-led) Fellowships, but they cannot hold an Innovation Fellowship for both Route A and Route B simultaneously.
Person Specification
Applicants must be an early or mid-career researcher. Applicants must self-define their career stage in the application, providing further details about career breaks or other circumstances, if relevant. Applicants must be 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 the LPIP Hub are listed below.
Through the Innovation Fellowships scheme, you will have the opportunity to work in a deeply embedded way with policy and analytical teams at local, regional and national levels, across the breadth of the LPIPs, 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, researchers across disciplines and practitioners across sectors, and benefit from their continued engagement in the 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 LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub.
Overview
For this call, the British Academy, ESRC, AHRC and Innovate UK aim to support up to two Innovation Fellowships, placed within the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub. The opportunities and areas of policy interest for this funding call are discussed below. Prior to application submission, applicants must not contact the partner in the scheme regarding the application. Questions may be directed to [email protected].
The LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub is a national consortium, based at the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) at the University of Birmingham, convening stakeholders across the research and policy ecosystem. It is concerned with drawing together understanding of local economic, social and environmental challenges, and formulating solutions, across the UK through an innovative and effective service-driven approach to place-based policy making and public service delivery. It is designed to lead to a step-change in the quality and impact of the evidence created by universities and their local place partners.
Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas agreed with the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub. All fellowships should focus on theories, mechanisms and insights on how the UK can develop effective, participatory, multi-level governance structures. The focus is on those structures which can strengthen our capacity to identify and respond to local, regional and national needs and policy challenges.
A Fellowship in this area would explore what makes for successful local partnerships, supporting the development of understanding into place-based policies. It would seek to understand how to best enable and support innovation in policy by linking with policy makers at different geographical scales and across thematic policy domains. Specifically, it would support the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub in developing a suite of academic activities and outputs focused on the following policy topics, which are the main areas against which the experience and expertise of candidates will be assessed: (1) how to build confidence, capability and capacity in place, and (2) how collaborative capability is valued and can be enabled in different places. There is also a strong interest in evaluation. The Fellow would also have opportunities for networking at local, regional and national scales. Applicants are advised to review the scheme notes for the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub and the LPIPs prior to completing this application for a deeper understanding of the aims and objectives of the original scheme.
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. The Innovation Fellow would agree the outline of a work programme with the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub and the British Academy after being awarded the Fellowship. The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, highlighting policy relevance to non-experts 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 values and standards of behaviour within the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub and sign an agreement to that effect. Failure to do so may result in the termination of the Fellowship.
The Fellow would be attached to the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub Team, within City-REDI at the University of Birmingham while also working closely with the LPIPs, the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub partners, the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub Board and government. It will be possible to vary the links established according to the focus of the LPIPs (which is being determined at the time of writing) as well as the background/ research interest of the Fellow.
Expertise and experience in a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies is appropriate for this call. These could include, but are not limited to, Social Network Analysis, development of causal loop diagrams, arts-based methodologies, participant observation, participatory approaches, etc. Novel techniques that will complement interviews/case studies undertaken by Strategic Coordination Hub researchers are especially welcome. We would also welcome applicants with an interest in a range of different methodologies for evaluation.
Expected activities and outputs 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 LPIP Hub prior to writing up and publication.
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 as soon as possible after 31 March 2024.
Competition Opens 4 January 2024
Application Deadline 28 February 2024
Decisions (notification via email) By 29 March 2024
Starting period of Award(s) By 31 March 2024
Duration of Award(s) A duration of 12 months
It is expected that up to 2 awards will be made for the Route B: Policy-led (Local Partnership and Innovation Strategic Coordination Hub) strand. This is a new scheme and the strength of competition remains difficult to estimate. We are unable to give guidance on the likely success rate.
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. This is expected to involve:
- working within and across the policy partner as required by the agreed programme of work and the role;
- discussing their analyses and insights with the British Academy policy teams and engaging in regular catch-ups and discussions about their work;
- 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.
In addition to the responsibilities above, award-holders are required to complete two reports:
1) A final report from award holders within three months of the award’s end, detailing the
progress of the activities in which they participated.
2) 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 [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]). 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 the LPIP Hub section’.
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, early-career and mid-career 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.
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 LPIP Hub.
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 [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]) 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. 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 a 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.
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.
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).
Standard Directly Allocated Costs (including Estates Costs) may be attributed to this award. However, it cannot include any directly allocated salary 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.
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.
- The nominated referee must not be based at the same employing institution as the Lead Applicant or the policy 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 research expertise of the applicant as relevant and expressed in relation to their chosen area of interest from the section ‘Route B: Policy-led (Local Partnership and Innovation Hub) Innovation Fellowships’ on pages 4-9;
- The experience and suitability of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts and future colleagues, including but not limited to the LPIP Hub and/or experience in working with policymakers on similar topics or areas of interest previously;
- The anticipated benefit and impact on the LPIP Hub’s areas of interest as expressed above on pages 4-9 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 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.
- Heads of Department must be invited to contribute to your application via the Flexi-Grant system. Please see further guidance below:
- 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 participants’ 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.
- 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® Grant Management System. 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.
- The Head of Department should be the person who heads the Department, Faculty, Institute or other unit of an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) 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.
- Referees must be invited to contribute to your application via the Flexi-Grant system. Please see further guidance below:
- 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 participants’ 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 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.
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 research expertise of the applicant in relation to a chosen area of interest from the section ‘Route B: Policy-led (Local Policy and Innovation Partnership) Innovation Fellowships’ on pages 4-9;
- The experience and suitability of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts and future colleagues, including but not limited to the areas of interest and topics expressed by the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub, and/or experience in working with policymakers on similar topics or areas of interest previously;
- The anticipated benefit and impact on the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub’s areas of interest as expressed above on pages 4-9 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 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 LPIP Hub. A Final Awarding Panel, which will include representatives of the LPIP Hub, will conduct interviews with a shortlist of applicants. Applicants who are shortlisted at this stage are required to be available to attend these interviews as a mandatory part of the assessment process.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application by end of March 2024 for immediate start before the end of the first quarter of 2024. The approving organisation will be asked to give its consent before the award is confirmed.
Opening date 4 January 2024
Closing date 28 February 2023 (17:00, UK time)
Interviews W/C 25 March
Notification of result By 29 March 2024
Research to commence No earlier than and no later than 31 March 2024
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 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 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.
Making an Application via Flexi-Grant® GMS
Applications can only be submitted online using the British Academy Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS) via (https://britishacademy.flexigrant.com/). If you have not previously used the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® GMS and were not previously registered in the e-GAP system, please follow the registration process from the Flexi-Grant® homepage. Applications cannot be submitted on paper or in any other format. Before completing the online form, all applicants should check that they comply with the eligibility requirements and ensure all necessary information is presented in the application. These requirements are strictly adhered to, and applications without all the necessary information, or evidence to show the assessment criteria are met, will be rejected.
Approving Organisations on Flexi-Grant® GMS
Registered approving organisations will be available in the search bar. If your organisation is not listed, and is not affiliated with any organisations already in the system, then please contact us at [email protected] to request the addition of the organisation.
Assessment of Application Form
Applicants should be aware that this application form will be considered by appropriate peer reviewers and Panel Members who will be subject specialists, which will include representatives of the LPIP Hub. Applications assessed as being worthy of funding will be submitted to the Final Awarding Panel interviews and for final decision on awards. The application will be treated as confidential at all times.
Guidelines for Using Flexi-Grant® GMS
When completing your application, it is recommended that you take note of the following points:
- Personal details: When registered in the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, a user has the option to add or update personal information such as contact details, log-in details (including email address and password), interests, research and employment details, at any time. This does not form part of the specific application form for any individual scheme but represents a personal record of your account in the system. Please keep this information up to date.
- Automatic log-out: You are strongly advised to save your work regularly to prevent accidental loss of text. The Flexi-Grant website will automatically log people out if no activity is detected. It is recommended that you work offline in a separate word processor and copy and paste completed text online once complete.
- Multiple sessions: Do not have multiple browser windows/tabs of your application open at the same time as this may cause information to be lost. Only one user should edit an application at a time.
- Word limits: If you exceed the word limit, you will not be able to save the page you are working on. Longer-length text should be completed separately and backed up in a word processor.
- Plain text: If entering plain text, please avoid using symbols as some may not be accepted by the Flexi-Grant: This includes the following symbols: < >
- Email addresses: It is essential that you ensure your email address is up to date and actively monitored, or you may miss important notification emails.
- Submission: You will not be able to submit your application until you have completed each section in full. You should submit your application for approval by your employing institution at least five working days before the closing date to allow for your employing institution’s administrative procedures. You should also check whether your institution has its own internal deadlines. We strongly advise that you contact your Head of Department as early as possible to avoid any last-minute issues before the submission deadline.
- Application sharing: You can invite other contributors to join the application. All contributors must be registered on the Flexi-Grant management system and mark their work as ‘Complete’ before you can submit your application – including your Head of Department.
- Application deletion: You can delete your application at any time although it is often a lot easier to just re-edit your existing application. We will be able to recover a deleted application for a period of seven days after deletion. After this, it will be permanently removed from the system.
- Application returned for editing: The organisational approver can return your application to you for further editing, but the original deadline remains in place.
Please note that it is essential that you create a PDF of your completed application (by clicking ‘Print Application’) and check it thoroughly before submitting it for approval by your employing institution. It may not be possible to rectify mistakes in time for the deadline.
Word limits apply to plain text only. Page limits apply to PDFs only.
All fields marked with an asterisk* are mandatory.
You should not have multiple browser windows/tabs of your application open at the same time, as this may cause information to be lost. Only one user should edit an application at a time, otherwise changes might be lost.
The application can be completed by using the navigation tabs on the application summary page, with each page categorised as follows:
Page 1: Research Proposal
Page 2: Eligibility
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.
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.
Please read the scheme guidance notes carefully before completing the form.
Statement of Expertise in Relation to Scope of Fellowship / Chosen Area of Interest
Applicants should set out clearly how their experience and proposed work meets the requirements of the LPIP Hub, and how it relates to and would help bring innovative ideas to the policy area they are applying for.
The Fellowships take place in the context of the Academy’s policy work. The policy area for each Fellowship broadly correlate to the Academy's own programmes of policy work, but are selected by the policy partners and primarily contribute to the work of the policy partners (in this case, the LPIP Hub), as outlined in the Scheme Guidance Notes (see further details above).
Applicants must apply by indicating how they would support the wider aims of the LPIP Hub through illustrations using a policy area of their choice– e.g. Applicants should set out clearly how their experience and proposed work meets the requirements, aims and objectives of the LPIP Hub, especially in relation to the themes of (1) how to build confidence, capability and capacity in place, and (2) how collaborative capability is valued and can be enabled in different places. Applicants must also show how their experience and proposed work relates to and would help bring innovative ideas to the policy area set out by the LPIP Hub.
The limit for this field is 2000 words.
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 not earlier and not later than 31 March 2024.
Benefit and Impact – Policy*
Please explain what anticipated benefit and impact is envisaged that can be brought to bear on the LPIP Hub’s policymaking insights, 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 area and 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 LPIP Hub prior to writing up and publication.
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.
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.
Deposit of Datasets
Digital resources created as a result of research funded by the Academy should be deposited in an appropriately accessible repository. Of course, we do not expect confidential data to be made readily available.
If applicable to your project, you will need to provide details of how and where any electronic or digital data (including datasets) developed during the project will be stored, along with details on the appropriate methods of access.
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).
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.
Regional Interests*
This field provides the opportunity to give further indications of the relevance of your subject area.
Skills Competence
The Academy expects that applicants will have any skills necessary to conduct their activity. If relevant, please state the level of skills competence of the applicant and other participants, or otherwise explain how the objectives of the research will be met.
Employing Organisation*
Please use the search bar to find your home institution and add the organisation to your application. If your organisation is not available, then it may not be registered in our system. Before requesting the addition of a new organisation, please check that it is not affiliated with any organisation that is already registered. If it needs to be added, please email us.
Lead Applicant Contact Details*/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 LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub. Please see above in the Scheme Guidance Notes for further information.
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 [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]). If your employing institution is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, please contact us via [email protected] discuss possible registration. 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. Please note that applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this scheme.
PhD Confirmation*
Applicants working towards a PhD or awaiting the outcome of their viva/submission of corrections are not eligible to apply. Please therefore confirm that you have a PhD by answering yes. If you are an established scholar with relevant equivalent experience, but no doctorate, please select 'no' and indicate in the 'personal statement' field why you should be eligible for consideration.
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, it 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.
Experience of working in teams across different disciplines and across different areas of policy and practice*
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.
This a mandatory field and the limit is 300 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.
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; X (formerly known as 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 a 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.
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.
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. All of the grants awarded are expected to be used for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
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; Local Partnership Innovation Hub), 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 department. 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 research expertise of the applicant as relevant and expressed in relation to their chosen area of interest from the section ‘Route B: Policy led (Local Policy and Innovation Partnership) Innovation Fellowships’ on pages 4-9;
- The experience and suitability of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts and future colleagues 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 4-9 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 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.
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 in an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) which you are currently working. As Head of Department, they will be expected to comment their level of support for the application and on the career development benefit to be gained by the Applicant if the award is made. They will be expected to also confirm that the 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.
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.
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 17 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.
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.
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
- The research expertise of the applicant as relevant and expressed in relation to their chosen area of interest from the section ‘Route B: Policy-led (Local Policy and Innovation Partnership) Innovation Fellowships’ on pages 4-9;
- The experience and suitability of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts and future colleagues, including but not limited to the areas of interest and focus of the LPIP Strategic Coordination Hub, and/or experience in working with policymakers on similar topics or areas of interest previously;
- The anticipated benefit and impact on the LPIP Hub’s areas of interest as expressed above on pages 4-9 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 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 LPIP Hub. A Final Awarding Panel, which will include representatives of the LPIP Hub, will conduct interviews with a shortlist of applicants. Applicants who are shortlisted at this stage are required to be available to attend these interviews as a mandatory part of the assessment process.
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 Dr George Evans ([email protected]) The British Academy, Public Policy Team, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH.
Due to remote working we recommend contacting us by email only.
Important Dates:
Competition Opens 4 January 2024
Application Deadline 28 February 2024
Decisions (notification via email) By 29 March 2024
Starting period of Award(s) By 31 March 2024
Duration of Award(s) A duration of 12 months
British Academy Additional Needs Funding
The British Academy has set aside specific funding to support any additional needs that applicants and award holders may require. This funding would be in addition to the amount already requested for research expenses. Each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This additional financial support cannot be guaranteed but the British Academy is keen to be as inclusive as possible in supporting applicants and award-holders with any additional needs in order to facilitate the best possible research. Some examples of what may be considered for this funding are:
- Specific equipment to overcome barriers to people with disabilities undertaking research.
- Assistance to allow applicants living with sensory impairment to carry out their research.
- Bids for the cost of child, parent or other caring responsibilities may be considered if the carer is conducting research away from home and it is not possible to make alternative arrangements.
- The costs of normal regular care whilst at home are not eligible for support.
To find more information about British Academy Additional Needs Funding and apply, please visit our website.