Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research 2024 scheme guidance notes
PLEASE READ THESE SCHEME NOTES CAREFULLY
ANY APPLICATION INCORRECTLY SUBMITTED WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD
Applications should be submitted well in advance of the deadline; we recommend at least five days prior to allow for institutional approval.
1. The British Academy is inviting proposals from UK-based early career researchers working with international partners wishing to develop interdisciplinary projects involving both the humanities and the social sciences. The projects can focus on any interdisciplinary topic that involves both the humanities and the social sciences.
2. The Academy is able to offer awards of up to £300,000 for 24 months in duration (with Full Economic Costing at 80%). Applications must be submitted by 1 November 2023, 17.00 (GMT).
3. This round of the programme is supported, as in previous years, by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. Funding through this stream is available for UK-based early career researchers to work with international partners anywhere in the world.
4. In addition, this round has further funding from the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund managed by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. This additional funding is focused on enabling UK-based early career researchers to work with early career researchers in the USA, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, India, Israel and Canada. In the context of this call, funding from the International Science Partnerships Fund is NOT funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA), therefore applications for this funding are not to be ODA-eligible.
5. The purpose of each project will be to develop new international interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences. Research may be problem-focused, creatively innovative and exploratory, and should bring together relevant disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, where appropriate, for maximum impact/effect. The Academy requires all applications to fundamentally involve and integrate both the humanities and social sciences. If this is not clearly demonstrated by applicants, applications will be considered ineligible and will not be taken forward through the assessment process.
6. Furthermore, whilst it is not a requirement, applications are welcome to work across the humanities and social sciences AND the natural, medical and engineering sciences. The Academy particularly encourages applications led from the humanities.
7. The aim of this call is to support international collaborations between early career researchers in the UK and elsewhere on internationally focused research projects of an interdisciplinary nature involving the humanities AND social sciences. Other than this framing of international interdisciplinary research led by early career researchers, the research itself can be focused on any issue or topic. There are no themes to this call. It is open to any research focus if it meets the international interdisciplinary nature as set out here.
8. The Academy sees this broad scope as essential in bringing together the range of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences which are required for an award under this programme. The Academy expects awards under the programme to engage deeply with the values, heritage, justice, languages, vocabularies, traditions, cultures, literatures, histories and self-understandings that are essential to international interdisciplinary research between the humanities and social sciences.
9. The Academy is keen to support new thinking and novel research by early career researchers.
10. The Academy envisages the awards made through the Programme will:
- Provide opportunities for early career researchers based in the UK and internationally to lead and manage international interdisciplinary research projects and teams;
- Enable early career researchers based in the UK and internationally to gain experience and develop their skills in international research, international collaboration and cross- and interdisciplinary research developing their research and career for the future;
- Advance the research field, knowledge exchange, practice and/or policy development in their chosen area;
- Develop ways of communicating and collaborating in cross-disciplinary and multilingual working, in partnership with colleagues internationally.
11. It is expected that this application and the research it would undertake will be underpinned by partnerships between researchers, institutions and with wider stakeholders. Equity is key to ensuring that these partnerships are effective.
12. Applicants are required to justify the equity within their proposed partnerships. Any applications that are deemed to not support equitable partnerships will not be funded.
13. Applicants will be required to detail how their project will ensure equitable partnerships, including how it will take note that partnerships should: be transparent and based on mutual respect; should aim to have clearly articulated equitable distribution of resources, responsibilities, efforts and benefits; should recognise different inputs, different interests and different desired outcomes; and should ensure the ethical sharing and use of data which is responsive to the identified needs of society.
14. Projects must be 24 months in duration and are expected to commence between March/April 2024.
15. The call is expected to be able to support approximately 15-20 awards.
16. The total funding available per award in this call is up to £300,000 over 2 years. Within that limit of £300,000 over 2 years the award is offered at 80% FEC (i.e. the total contribution requested from the Academy may not exceed £300,000 and the total project value at 100% FEC may not exceed £375,000). Applicants should put the 80% FEC figure into the application form.
17. 80% FEC is understood in the following manner:
18. The only exception to this understanding and 80% FEC in general is the costing of international Co-Applicants or partners in non-academic settings (in the UK or internationally) who demonstrably do not use and would not use FEC modelling. For such partners the costing regime used should be at 100% for direct costs and a flat-rate of 25% for indirect costs. UK-based institutions that would be expected to use FEC may not use this costing regime. It is only for institutions as described above. Institutions costed using this regime must be costed separately in the application budget table and clearly explained in the ‘Justification’ field.
19. The British Academy has set aside specific funding to support any additional needs that applicants and award holders may have. This funding is available both to applicants, to assist in making an application to British Academy schemes, and award holders. Funding is managed outside of the Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2024 application process. Further information can be found here.
20. These awards are intended to be highly flexible. The following guidelines will normally apply. However, in exceptional circumstances, additional flexibility may be available. Please contact [email protected] for further information.
a) Career background and history – The Academy is aware that individuals will have had different opportunities to balance their research with other commitments during their career or may come from diverse or non-traditional career backgrounds. For example, having taken extended leave including parental or medical leave, or having returned to research following time in other roles or having had periods of significant teaching or administrative workload that may have impacted on the applicants’ research. There is a question in the application form (the personal statement) that will enable applicants to provide further information so that the Academy can take this into account when assessing applicants’ track record.
b) Reasonable adjustments – Applications from researchers with disabilities are welcome and encouraged. The Academy will provide adjustments to ensure they can participate fully in the selection process. If an adjustment is required when accessing the application form or for any other part of the application process then please contact [email protected]. In addition, costs that are required for the researcher to undertake their award will be considered eligible regardless to what is set out in paragraph 32 below. The Academy welcomes any questions applicants may have on this matter. The costs of reasonable adjustments required to support researchers with disabilities will also be an eligible cost throughout the duration of the award.
c) Maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, adoptive or extended sick leave - There is provision for maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, adoptive or extended sick leave for the Principal Investigator funded through the grant as defined in the UK host organisation’s standard organisational policy. An extension will be added to account for any time lost within the original period of the award and an additional amount of time will be added on top for up to 6 months.
d) Childcare arrangements - Provision for the cost of childcare support will be considered as part of the allowable research expenses during the award for the Principal Investigator funded through the grant when undertaking activity related to the grant, such as travel to conferences. This includes instances where the award holder wishes to support their child(ren) themselves, such as travelling with them whilst undertaking their research.
e) Portability of awards – If the Principal Investigator moves UK host organisation before the start or during the award, the award will be moved to the new UK host organisation (provided that the new host organisation is in the UK and meets the host organisation eligibility criteria as specified in paragraph 27).
f) Time on grant – The award holder can spend a minimum of 20% of their time and a maximum of 100% of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20% across the duration of the award. The duration of the award will not be extended if the award holder does spend less than 100% of their time on the grant. Staff employed on the award may be employed full or part time regardless of the time the award holder spends on the award.
g) Field research – As appropriate, the award holder will be able to undertake as much field research, in the UK and/or internationally, as necessary for the conduct of their award.
h) UK host organisation – The award holder must be contracted for at least 50% of their time at their UK host organisation, however, beyond that they can hold other appointments, including internationally, with joint international appointments being eligible.
21. Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Each project will be led by a named Principal Investigator (PI). The PI must be a researcher in a discipline within the social sciences or the humanities. The PI is expected to direct the research and the management of the project and has responsibility for the overall project reporting requirements.
- The PI must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience). The PI must hold an established role in an eligible UK university or research institute. The PI’s position must last at least the duration of the grant funded by the Academy.
- The PI can spend a minimum of 20% of their time and a maximum of 100% of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20% across the duration of the award. Staff employed on the award may be employed full or part time regardless of the time the award holder spends on the award.
- PIs may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time.
- An individual cannot be the PI on more than one bid under the British Academy’s Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research programme.
- Awards are available for PIs who are UK-based early career researchers in any discipline within the humanities and social sciences. An early career researcher is defined as 0-7 years post-PhD. However, as noted in the ‘career background and history’ section above the Academy is aware that individuals will have had different opportunities to balance their research with other commitments during their career or may come from diverse or non-traditional career backgrounds. For example, having taken extended leave including parental or medical leave, or having returned to research following time in other roles or having had periods of significant teaching or administrative workload that may have impacted on the applicant’s research. If such circumstances apply, applicants are recommended to contact the Academy in advance of applying so that the Academy can confirm that they will be eligible despite the 0-7 years requirement stated here.
- These awards are aimed at Principal Investigators who are UK-based early career researchers who are yet to have the opportunity to lead and manage international interdisciplinary research projects. The Academy sees this as a career development opportunity and therefore would not expect to support applications that are led by PIs who already have had the experience of leading and managing such projects. The Academy will expect applicants to articulate why the award will have a demonstrable impact on their career trajectory.
- Applicants can be of any nationality.
- Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (or have equivalent research experience).
- Awards are available to individuals, to be held in an institutional context.
- Awards will not be made retrospectively: this means that the work for which support is requested must not have commenced before the award is announced. Applications must be for new research ideas that are coherent on their own and are cutting-edge.
- Applications under this call will not be accepted if the applicant or any collaborators have any outstanding reports or statements of expenditure which are still to be submitted to the Academy following previous awards.
- Duplicate applications to more than one British Academy funding programme will not be accepted.
22. It is required that amongst the PI and Co-Applicant(s) there is representation of disciplines from both the humanities AND the social sciences.
23. Co-Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Must include at least one early career researcher who is based internationally.
- Must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).
- Can include other researchers based in the UK or internationally at all career stages.
- No individual may be a Co-Applicant on more than two projects under this call (nor may a PI be additionally a Co-Applicant on more than one other project)
24. Other Participants: Projects may also include any number of specified ‘Other Participants’, who may, for example, be relevant stakeholders participating in networking or dissemination events, academic or policy advisers, practitioners, industry representatives, etc.
25. Research assistance is an eligible cost under this programme and it can be supported where a reasonable case is made in line with the type of work that is required to be undertaken. PhD studentships, however, are not an eligible cost.
26. Disciplines: Applicants are reminded that the Academy expects all applications to fundamentally involve and integrate both the humanities and social sciences.
27. Institutions: The award must be held at a UK-based institution recognised by the Academy. The following types of organisations will be eligible to apply to host the Fellowship:
- Higher Education Institutes that received funding from one of the UK higher education funding bodies.
- Research institutes (RIs), for which research councils have established a long-term involvement as major funder as part of the national research base.
- Approved relevant Independent Research Organisations.
- Public Sector Research Organisations.
28. All grants will be paid to the employing institution of the PI, and not to the individual researchers involved. Institutions must be officially recognised by the British Academy prior to the proposal being submitted.
29. The International Science Partnerships Fund in the context of this call is not funded by Official Development Assistance, therefore applications for this funding are not to be ODA-eligible.
30. The UK host organisation is expected to adopt the principles, standards and good practice for the management of research staff set out in the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (2019) and subsequent amendments. Research staff should be appointed on terms that are no less favourable than those of comparable posts in the host organisation.
31. Eligible costs are:
a) the time of the PI and Co-Applicants
b) research assistance
c) training and development for the PI and early career researcher Co-Applicants
d) travel, fieldwork and related expenses
e) networking costs
f) university costs in hosting and supporting the project, with award holders expected to base the division of spend on the Full Economic Costing basis at 80%
32. Ineligible costs include:
a) Purchasing of assets
b) PhD studentships
c) computer hardware including laptops, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, etc.
d) books and other permanent resources
e) the preparation of camera-ready copy, copy-editing, proof-reading, indexing, nor any other editorial task
f) subventions for direct production costs (printing, binding, distribution, marketing etc.)
g) costs of publication in electronic media
h) travel and maintenance expenses for purposes such as lecture tours or to write up the results of research
33. Successful projects will be likely to employ a variety of research methods, and to include a collaborative group of researchers across relevant disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, aiming to develop ways of communicating and collaborating in cross-disciplinary and multilingual working, in partnership with colleagues internationally. In all cases, it is for the applicants to demonstrate the feasibility and relevance of their proposed research methodology. Applicants should also demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of their proposed programme of research.
34. All proposals must include relevant plans for the appropriate communication and dissemination of findings.
35. The UK host organisation is expected to adopt the principles, standards and good practice for public engagement with research set out in the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research (2010) and subsequent amendments.
36. Research and innovation (R&I) activities funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), provided through Partner Organisations, comply with the requirements of the DSIT R&I Gender Equality Policy, which states that activities must tackle instances of underrepresentation, differential needs and systemic disadvantage to improve the relevance of R&I findings that support the inclusion, reduce the impact of bias, and ultimately, contribute to reducing inequalities among genders. This includes but is not limited to Official Development Assistance activities, in line with the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014.
37. All applications are strongly recommended to thoroughly review the above publication before designing and drafting their application.
38. All applicants must submit as part of their application a gender equality statement, which must meet compliance standards as set out in the above publication. All applications will be reviewed at the eligibility and assessment stages to ensure they meet the necessary requirements. Not meeting the necessary requirements will mean that applications are automatically not fundable.
39. International research collaborations are fundamental to the equity, quality, diversity and impact of UK-based researchers and institutions. Most international collaborations will benefit all those involved, however, there will be cases where there are risks.
40. Research funded through this programme needs to take account of security-related considerations. UKRI, Universities UK and the National Protective Security Authority amongst others have published relevant guidance in this area. It is important to ensure that the research funded through this programme has undertaken relevant assurance related to reputational, data, financial, ethical and security risks.
41. The application should detail any research security risks that the project may encounter and how these will be mitigated. It should be noted that such risks could include the potential dual application of the research, the management of information, data and other knowledge sharing, and activities that could utilise the research to target people in other countries such as through internal surveillance and repression. A set of questions suggested by the NPSA to consider in relation to this issue is as follows:
- Are there any potential ethical or moral concerns for the application of the research? If so, what are they?
- Could the research be used to support activities in other countries with ethical standards different from the UK, such as internal surveillance and repression? If so, how might this be possible and how is it proposed this risk is mitigated?
- Could the research be of benefit to a hostile state military or be supplied to other state actors? If so, how might it be of such benefit and how is it proposed this risk is mitigated?
- Are there any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to the research? If so, what are they?
- Do you need to protect sensitive data or personally identifiable information? This may include genetic or medical information, population datasets, details of individuals or commercial test data. If so, how will you do so?
- Is your research likely to have a future commercial or patentable outcome which you or your organisation would want to benefit from? If so, what is this outcome?
- Is any of the research likely to be subject to UK or other countries' export licence controls? If so, what aspects of the research will be subject to such controls?
42. As highlighted by UUK in its above guidance, it is important to be aware that failure to comply with export control legislation is a criminal offence and the terms ‘technology’ and ‘information’ have much broader definitions in legislation than might ordinarily or commonly be understood. To maximise compliance with export control legislation, individuals should:
- consider potential end-use possibilities of technology: it is the duty of researchers and their institutions to monitor potential end-uses of research, throughout the research life cycle. In some cases, research will have end-use applications that are unidentifiable in the early stages of development and continued monitoring is required.
- inform researchers about the implications of intangible technology transfer: researchers must be aware that controlled sensitive information transmitted electronically (e.g. via social media, fax and email, videoconferencing, sharing screens remotely) and verbally (e.g. in telephone and face-to-face discussions) may still be subject to export controls.
43. There is also the Research Collaboration Advice Team, which is a collaboration between the UK Government and academia, that can provide advice to institutions on national security risks to international research.
44. Applicants should be aware that government guidance and UK legislation may change, and they will need to take account of any such changes that may affect their proposed research.
45. Applicants must ensure that the proposed research will be carried out to a high ethical standard. They must confirm that any potential ethical issues have been considered and explain how these will be addressed. The Academy requires all research it funds to be conducted in an ethical manner, with due consideration given to ethical questions arising, including safeguarding and equitable partnerships.
46. The UK host institution is responsible for ensuring that ethical issues relating to the research project are identified and brought to the attention of the relevant approval or regulatory body.
47. Ethical approval to undertake the research must be granted by the relevant authority before any work requiring approval begins. Wherever necessary, appropriate consent should be obtained from or on behalf of participants or others affected by the research.
48. Applicants will be asked to indicate whether their proposed research raises any special ethical issues, and whether their application has been approved by the host institution’s Research Ethics Committee or other relevant authority.
49. The UK host organisation should meet the requirements of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity (2012) and subsequent amendments and must have in place formal procedures for governing good research practice and for handling and reporting allegations of fraud or research misconduct.
50. Researchers funded under this programme may choose to undertake fieldwork in the course of the research project. We expect an assessment with appropriate mitigation suggested of any risks entailed within the research project to be outlined within the proposal (for example, risks associated with the delivery of the research, financial management and oversight/governance).
51. Research groups will be required to indicate if (and where) they intend to undertake research in the field. For countries/regions considered by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as a host nation of medium or high risk, the application will also require researchers to demonstrate that the PI (and the PI’s host institution) understands the risk management implications and can monitor and manage the risks effectively. This should include, but need not be limited to, any risks that researchers will encounter in an area of civil unrest, violence and/or crime. This aspect will be explicitly covered in the approval of any application by the appropriate authorities at the PI’s host institution, to confirm that the duty of care responsibility rests with the host institution.
52. All eligible proposals submitted in response to this call will be assessed by relevant British Academy peer reviewers and then considered by a final selection panel.
53. Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
a) The demonstrable value of the application to the career development of the Principal Investigator and the Co-Applicants who are early career researchers;
b) The quality, significance and originality of the proposal, in particular its ability to break new international research ground;
c) Evidence of how international interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary approaches between both the humanities and social sciences are providing new insights into the topic of study;
d) The feasibility of the proposal in terms of appropriate and robust methodology and appropriate timing and plan of action;
e) Whether the gender equality statement meets or exceeds the minimum standard as set out in the Gender Equality in Research and Innovation policy;
f) Value for money.
54. All applicants must register in the British Academy’s online Flexi-Grant system to enable the processing and assessment of their application. All applications must be submitted in English.
55. All applications will be subject to an eligibility check undertaken by appropriate British Academy staff before being put forward for assessment, and applications that are not completed correctly and on time will not be considered.
56. The deadline for submissions and UK institutional approval is 1 November 2023 at 17.00 (GMT). Applicants will not be allowed to make any changes to their applications or submit any additional information after the 1 November deadline.
57. The British Academy has a Code of Practice for assessing 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.
58. Feedback is not a feature of this programme and the Academy is, regretfully, unable to enter into correspondence regarding the decisions of the awarding committee, which are governed by the Code of Practice. Please note that by applying to this programme, applicants undertake to accept the terms under which applications are assessed.
59. Please contact [email protected] for further information.
Applications can only be submitted online using the British Academy Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS). If you have not previously used the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® GMS and were not registered in the previous 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.
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.
The deadline for submissions and UK host organisation approval is 1 November 2023, 17.00 (GMT). Applicants will not be allowed to make any changes to their applications or submit any additional information after the 1 November deadline.
When completing your application on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, it is recommended that you take particular 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 represents a personal record of your account in the system and will help to populate the contact details in any application form you complete. It is useful if this information is kept up to date, but it is not essential to the progress of an application.
- Automatic log-out: You are strongly advised to save your work regularly to prevent accidental loss of information. In particular, you should be aware that if the system does not detect any activity for 1 hour it will log out and save the application at that time. Please note that moving between pages within an application form will save the page that you are exiting but completing a field on a page is not considered an activity. It is recommended that you write the text for longer sections/fields in a word processor such as Word and then copy and paste into the relevant text box to avoid being timed out in this way.
- Multiple sessions: You should not have multiple browser windows/tabs of your application open at the same time as this may cause information to be lost. Only one user should edit an application at a time, otherwise changes might be lost.
- Word limits: When completing boxes that have a restricted length (note that it refers to words) you should note that if you exceed the specified amount you will not be able to save when you press the save button. You should type the text for the longer-length boxes in a word processor. You will then be able to check the word count and paste it into the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. You will then still have a copy of the text to return to in the word processor. The word limit applies to text boxes.
- Plain text: If entering plain text, please avoid using symbols as some may not be accepted by the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. You should generate and view a PDF of your application to check that the application appears as you want it to by clicking on ‘print application’.
- Email addresses: The British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS relies heavily on automatic email contact. It is essential that you ensure you enter accurate email addresses where requested as it may cause considerable delay in the submission/processing of your application if any of these are incorrect. You cannot make changes to email addresses after your application has been submitted for approval.
- Submission of application: 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 a designated approver at your host organisation at least 5 working days before the closing date to allow for your host organisation’s administrative procedures. Please note that the institutional approver is a person within the UK host organisation, usually within the central research support office, who has authority for approving all applications submitted to the British Academy. Please be aware that any Co-Applicants or other contributors will need to mark their sections as ‘complete’ before you will be able to submit your completed application form.
Once you have submitted your application for approval by your host UK organisation, automatic emails will be sent to your host UK organisation approver asking them to log on to the system. You will not be able to edit your application after it has been submitted to your host UK organisation for approval. The host UK organisation approver will either: approve and submit your application, ‘send back’ your application and contact you to request modifications (if before the 1 November deadline) or decline your application and contact you.
Please be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete your application in time for your host UK organisation to process it (including requesting changes) and provide their approval by the closing date. It is recommended that you allow at least five working days for this process, but please check with your proposed host UK institution as their internal timetables may require earlier submission.
If your host UK organisation approver requests modifications through the British Academy GMS email facility, they can unlock your application, allowing you to edit it. They can do this by selecting ‘Return to Applicant’. An automatic e-mail will be sent to you alerting you of this fact. Once you have completed and saved the requested changes, please re-submit your application for approval by your host UK organisation.
Once your host UK organisation has approved your application and submitted it to the British Academy, it will not be possible to make any changes.
- Application sharing: All applications must be started by the applicant who is to be the Principal Investigator (PI) on the award. You can invite other contributors to join the application (e.g. Finance Office contact), but in order to do so your contributor will need to be registered in the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® system first. You will need to ensure you have their registered email address to invite them to participate in your application. You can let other British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS users view your draft application in advance of submission by providing their email address. They will be able to log in using their existing password and see your application and, depending on permissions, amend your application.
- 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 7 days after deletion. After this, it will be permanently removed from the system.
- Application returned for editing: The approver can return your application to you for further editing before the closing deadline of the call. See ‘Submission of Application’ above.
- Guidance: In the tables below you will find in the left-hand column each question as set out in the application form and in the right-hand column useful guidance on its completion.
- Further clarification: If any of this advice is unclear, or you need further information, please do not hesitate to seek clarification from the British Academy’s International Team (contact details at the end of these notes).
PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU CREATE A PDF OF YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION (by clicking ‘Print Application’), AND CHECK IT THOROUGHLY, INCLUDING EMAIL ADDRESSES AND UPLOADED PDF FILES, BEFORE SUBMITTING IT FOR APPROVAL BY YOUR UK HOST ORGANISATION. 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: Financial Details
Page 3: Primary Applicant Details
Page 4: Co-Applicant Details
Page 5: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
A full list of question fields to be completed as part of the application can be found in the following table. Each box in the table represents a page of the application form: the left-hand column contains the questions within each of these pages as set out in the form; the right-hand column contains useful guidance on its completion. A red asterisk (*) indicates which questions are mandatory and therefore must be complete before the application can be submitted. Not all questions have a word limit; only those questions which have a maximum word count noted are subject to a word limit.
Please read the guidance notes carefully before completing the form.
Summary Table
When your application form is complete, all sections on this summary table will be marked as ‘Complete’. Only once all mandatory fields are marked as “Complete”, and all Contributors are all marked as “Complete” will a ‘Submit’ button appear for you to be able to submit your application. All mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk ‘*’.
Title of Research Proposal*
Please state the title of your proposed research.
Abstract*
Please provide a short abstract summarising your proposed research in terms suitable for an informed general audience, not one specialised in your field. (150 words)
Principal Aims of Project*
Please describe the principal aims of your project. Please state also how the application demonstrates the new thinking and novel research that the Academy is keen to support.
Proposed Programme and Plan of Action*
Please give a detailed description of the research programme, including its methodology and timeline. Applicants should be aware of the importance that assessors place on the viability, specificity and originality of the research programme and of its achievability within the timescale.
The plan of action should be as detailed as is practicable, but suitable allowance may be made for variation in the event of an award being offered. (2,000 words)
Career Development*
Please outline how the proposed project will aid the career development of the Principal Investigator and any Co-Applicants who are early career researchers. (500 words)
Equitable Partnerships*
Please detail how this project will ensure equitable partnerships, including how it will take note that partnerships should: be transparent and based on mutual respect; should aim to have clearly articulated equitable distribution of resources, responsibilities, efforts and benefits; should recognise different inputs, different interests and different desired outcomes; and should ensure the ethical sharing and use of data which is responsive to the identified needs of society. (300 words)
Dissemination, Outreach, and Publications*
Please describe your plans for outputs and publications and how you plan to disseminate them, including details of potential publishers, journals, and conferences etc.
Primary*/Secondary Subject
Please select the subject(s) most relevant to your research.
Interdisciplinary Proposal*
Proposals under this scheme must be interdisciplinary, forming collaborations between researchers in the humanities and the social sciences.
Please describe how your proposal meets this criterion. (750 words)
Research Country*
Please select the relevant country/countries that your research is based on.
Team Members and Other Participants*
Please describe the rationale for the involvement of members of the research team and the added value that will bring to the project, citing any particular specialisms and expertise. Please also list any other participants in the research team not named in the Co-Applicants section. (500 words)
Start and End Date Confirmation*
Please confirm that you will start your research in March or April 2024, and that your research will end 24 months later.
Gender Equality Statement*
The British Academy is committed to supporting gender equality in the funding it provides in accordance with this statement from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Strategy’s publication on Gender Equality in Research and Innovation published in November 2022: “Research and innovation (R&I) activities funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), provided through Partner Organisations, complies with the requirements of the DSIT R&I Gender Equality Policy, which states that activities must tackle instances of underrepresentation, differential needs and systemic disadvantage to improve the relevance of R&I findings, that support the inclusion, reduce the impact of bias and ultimately, contribute to reducing inequalities among genders. This includes but is not limited to Overseas Development Assistance [sic] activities, in line with the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014.”
All applicants are strongly recommended to thoroughly review the above publication before designing and drafting their application.
Please detail how the application complies with the requirements of the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, evidencing the consideration of gender in the context of your research proposal, indicating clearly defined intended impacts and identified possible mitigations where appropriate, and demonstrating that you have met the required standards for compliance, as described in the Gender Equality Framework.
Is the activity Gender-specific? Please use the Yes/No question to let us know if the proposed activity relates to a specific issue of gender.
Please also answer each of the questions below. Each question is mandatory, meaning that each one requires a response, but you may enter ‘nil return’ if, depending on the nature of the project proposed, one or more questions are not applicable. Please note, however, that the questions are both an eligibility and an assessment criterion. The first 5 questions will be taken together to constitute a Gender Equality Statement as set out on page 37 of the Gender Equality in Research and Innovation document (additional criteria to consider in your statement can be found on pages 37-39).
Have measures been put in place to ensure equal and meaningful opportunities for people of different genders to be involved throughout the project? This includes the development of the project, the participants of the research, and the beneficiaries of the research. (250 words).
What are the expected impacts of the project (benefits and losses) on people of different genders, both throughout the project, and beyond? (250 words).
What are the expected impacts (benefits and losses) on the relations between people of different genders and people of the same gender? For example, changing roles and responsibilities in households, society, economy, politics, power, etc. (250 words).
Are there any risks and/or unintended negative consequences on gender equality that need to be avoided, mitigated against, and monitored? If yes, how. (250 words).
Are there any relevant outcomes and outputs being measured, with data disaggregated by age and gender (where disclosed)? (250 words).
What other structural inequalities (including, but not limited to: age, disability, ethnicity) have been identified in relation to project development, project participants and intended beneficiaries? Have measures been put in place to consider and mitigate against other structural inequalities in the course of the research? If so, what are these measures, and how will they be monitored and implemented to ensure mutual benefit? How will project participants and leaders ensure that the research will continue to address structural inequalities, including gender, beyond the lifetime of the project, across the outcomes and impacts expected? (250 words)
Research Security*
International research collaborations are fundamental to the equity, quality, diversity and impact of UK-based researchers and institutions. Most international collaborations will benefit all those involved and the expected usual status for this question is likely to be a null response, however, there will be cases where there are risks.
Research funded through this programme needs to take account of security-related considerations. UKRI, Universities UK and the National Protective Security Authority amongst others have published relevant guidance in this area. It is important to ensure that the research funded through this programme has undertaken relevant assurance related to reputational, data, financial, ethical and security risks.
Please use this field to detail any research security risks that the application may encounter and how these will be mitigated. It should be noted that such risks could include the potential dual application of the research, the management of information, data and other knowledge sharing, and activities that could utilise the research to target people in other countries such as through internal surveillance and repression. A set of questions suggested by the NPSA to consider in relation to this issue is as follows:
- Are there any potential ethical or moral concerns for the application of the research? If so, what are they?
- Could the research be used to support activities in other countries with ethical standards different from the UK, such as internal surveillance and repression? If so, how might this be possible and how is it proposed this risk is mitigated?
- Could the research be of benefit to a hostile state military or be supplied to other state actors? If so, how might it be of such benefit and how is it proposed this risk is mitigated?
- Are there any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to the research? If so, what are they?
- Do you need to protect sensitive data or personally identifiable information? This may include genetic or medical information, population datasets, details of individuals or commercial test data. If so, how will you do so?
- Is your research likely to have a future commercial or patentable outcome which you or your organisation would want to benefit from? If so, what is this outcome?
- Is any of the research likely to be subject to UK or other countries' export licence controls? If so, what aspects of the research will be subject to such controls?
As highlighted by UUK in its above guidance it is important to be aware that failure to comply with export control legislation is a criminal offence and the terms ‘technology’ and ‘information’ have much broader definitions in legislation than might ordinarily or commonly be understood. To maximise compliance with export control legislation, individuals should:
- consider potential end-use possibilities of technology: it is the duty of researchers and their institutions to monitor potential end-uses of research, throughout the research life cycle. In some cases, research will have end-use applications that are unidentifiable in the early stages of development and continued monitoring is required
- inform researchers about the implications of intangible technology transfer: researchers must be aware that controlled sensitive information transmitted electronically (e.g. via social media, fax and email, videoconferencing, sharing screens remotely) and verbally (e.g. in telephone and face-to-face discussions) may still be subject to export controls.
There is also the Research Collaboration Advice Team, which is a collaboration between the UK Government and academia that can provide advice to institutions on national security risks to international research.
Applicants should be aware that government guidance and UK legislation may change, and they will need to take account of any such changes that may affect their proposed research. (750 words)
Deposit of Datasets*
Please 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. It is a condition of award that all data be freely accessible during, and beyond, the lifetime of the project. If it is anticipated that no electronic data of any sort will emanate from the award in question, then please state this in the field along with any justification for this. (500 words)
Ethical Issues*
This field is mandatory and must be addressed by all applicants.
Are there any special ethical issues arising from your proposal that are not covered by the relevant professional Code of Practice? Have you obtained, or will you obtain, ethical approval from your employing institution or other relevant authority?
It is not expected that any special ethical issues will arise that are not already covered by relevant professional Codes of Practice. The normal expectation, therefore, will be that applicants should answer the pair of questions with the answers ‘no’ and ‘no’.
If there are any special issues arising, but they have already been cleared by approval from a relevant authority, please answer ‘yes’ and ‘yes’.
If any special issues arise and approval has not yet been obtained, please answer ‘yes’ and ‘no’, and provide an explanation.
If the answers are yes to special ethical issues and no to having obtained prior approval, please describe in the available space the non-standard ethical issues arising from your research and how you will address them. Applicants must ensure the proposed research will be carried out to a high ethical standard and must ensure that any potential ethical issues have been considered and explain how these will be addressed. The British Academy requires the research it funds to be conducted in an ethical manner. The host institution is responsible for ensuring that ethical issues relating to the research project are identified and brought to the attention of the relevant approval or regulatory body. Ethical approval to undertake the research must be granted by the relevant authority before any work requiring approval begins. Wherever necessary, appropriate consent should be obtained from or on behalf of participants or others affected by the research.
Safeguarding*
Please use this section to outline any safeguarding and/or child protection issues which may occur in relation to or as a result of your project. (250 words)
Risk Management*
Researchers funded under this programme may choose to undertake fieldwork in the course of the research project. We expect an assessment of any risks entailed within the research project to be outlined within the proposal. For example, risks associated with delivery of the research, financial management, and oversight/governance.
Depending on the country/region concerned, there is a risk that the researchers will be in an area of civil unrest, violence/crime. At this stage, all research groups are required to indicate if (and where) they intend to undertake research in the field. For countries/regions considered by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as a host nation of medium or high risk, applicants are also required to demonstrate that the PI (and the PI’s host institution) understand the risk management implications and can monitor and manage the risks effectively. This aspect will be explicitly covered in the approval of any application by the appropriate authorities at the PI’s host institution, to confirm that the duty of care responsibility rests with the host institution. (750 words)
Other Relevant Information
Please use this space to provide details of any other relevant information.
Financial Details/Justification*
*Please refer to the Scheme Notes above for a full list of eligible costs.
Eligible purposes for the funding include the time of the PI, and any Co-Applicants involved in directing the project (the PI can spend a minimum of 20% of their time and a maximum of 100% of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20% across the duration of the award); postdoctoral research assistance; travel and related expenses; networking costs; and a contribution to university costs in hosting and supporting the research team. Awards are offered at 80% FEC.
Please use the table to indicate the figures for such costs (in GBP) between the various headings.
The only exception to this understanding and 80% FEC in general is the costing of international Co-Applicants or partners in non-academic settings (in the UK or internationally) who demonstrably do not use and would not use FEC modelling. For such partners the costing regime used should be at 100% for direct costs and a flat rate of 25% for indirect costs. UK-based institutions that would be expected to use FEC may not use this costing regime. It is only for institutions as described above. Institutions costed using this regime must be costed separately in the application budget table and clearly explained in the ‘Justification’ field.
Consumables include the purchase of specialist software (not readily available in the UK host organisation), datasets, photocopies, microfilms, etc., and any other minor items that will be used up during the course of the project. Applicants may apply for short-term consultancy or salary costs for expert staff, or short periods of research assistance.
The following items are not eligible for funding (applicants registered with additional needs may consult the Academy about possible exceptions): 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.
Applicants should prepare accurate costings for the proposed research expenses and should be particularly careful not to overestimate the resources required.
Costs should be clearly itemised and justified in terms of the research programme.
If a claim for childcare is included, please supply sufficient justification for the case to be assessed.
Please note that awards 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.
Value Sought*
Please state the total amount of funding requested. Please ensure that this matches the total set out in the budget table. The total funding available per award in this call is up to £300,000 over 2 years. Within that limit of £300,000 over 2 years the award is offered at 80% FEC (i.e. the total contribution requested from the Academy may not exceed £300,000 and the total project value at 100% FEC may not exceed £375,000). Applicants should put the 80% FEC figure into the application form.
Previous British Academy Applications*
Please use this space to provide details of any applications (successful or unsuccessful) that you have made to any British Academy funding calls.
Applications to Other Funding Bodies*
Please tell us here if you have made any other applications in connection with this project? If so, with what results?
Primary Applicant Contact Details*
Please take care to review and complete your personal details accurately. Errors in this section can cause difficulties in the processing of your application.
You can update your personal details by checking ‘my account’ and selecting the link to ‘my contact details’ and ‘my organisation’ and ensuring the relevant details are up to date.
Employing Organisation*
Please be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete your application in time for your UK host institution to process it and provide their approval by the closing date.
Please use the search bar to find your home institution and add the organisation to your application. If your organisation is not available, then it may not be registered in our system. Before requesting the addition of a new organisation, please check that it is not affiliated with any organisation that is already registered. If it needs to be added, please email us at [email protected].
All applications must be approved by the UK host organisation authorities e.g. research grants office, finance department, etc. The approving department will receive email notification once you have completed your application and submitted it. They will be asked to provide approval and then submit the application to the British Academy. It is strongly recommended that the applicant maintains an open dialogue with the approving department at the UK host institution as the British Academy cannot be held responsible for emails being caught in spam filters or not being received. It is recommended that you allow at least five working days for this process. Once the UK host institution has checked your application, they will contact you if any changes are required; please note that if changes need to be made, these will have to be done before the 1 November deadline as they cannot be done afterwards.
Nationality*
Please use the drop-down list to select your nationality. Additional nationalities can be added after the initial selection if required, by selecting ‘add row’.
Employment Status*
Please confirm that your current position is either permanent or that your current employment will extend beyond the lifetime of the award.
Present Appointment*, Department*, Employing Institution*
Please give details of your current appointment. The Principal Investigator must be a researcher within the humanities and social sciences, must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, and must be of postdoctoral (or above) or equivalent status. The Principal Investigator must either be in permanent position at the institution or have a fixed-term position for the duration of the award.
PhD Confirmation*/ Awarded Date
Applicants working towards a PhD or awaiting the outcome of their viva/submission of corrections are not eligible to apply. Please therefore confirm that you have a PhD by answering yes. If you are a scholar with relevant equivalent experience, but no doctorate, please select 'no' and indicate in the 'personal statement' field why you should be eligible for consideration.
Please enter the date of your viva voce examination in the ‘PhD Awarded Date’ field.
Early Career Eligibility *
Please detail how you meet the Early Career requirements of the scheme, including details of any career breaks. (250 words)
Personal Statement
This field is optional, but may be used, for example, in providing information regarding interruptions to an academic career or your equivalent research experience. (500 words)
Principal Investigator Time Allocated*
Please indicate the amount of time the Principal Investigator will spend on the proposed project. The PI can spend a minimum of 20% of their time and a maximum of 100% of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20% across the duration of the award.
Key Career Appointments and Posts*
Please use this field to provide a list of your key career appointments and posts. (250 words)
Key Career Publications, Grants, and other Career Highlights*
Please use this field to provide a list of key relevant publications, grants, and highlights that you think most appropriate for an award under this scheme (250 words)
Where did you hear of this scheme? *
It helps the British Academy to target appropriate resources towards the promotion of the scheme to know where an applicant hears about it. As appropriate, please state: BA website; BA literature; PhD supervisor; Institution Research Office; Twitter, colleague, etc.
Co-Applicants*
Please note that it is mandatory to include at least one named Co-Applicant who is an early career researcher and based internationally.
Please detail the title, name, employing institution, nationality, discipline, PhD confirmation and early career researcher status of any co-applicant(s) on the project. You may include up to six co-applicants.
Please use the text box to provide brief details as to how the project’s Co-Applicant(s), where relevant, meet the early career eligibility requirement.
Co-Applicants must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience). If the Co-Applicant has a PhD, please include the date it was awarded. If the Co-Applicant does not have a PhD, it is strongly recommended that you get in touch with British Academy staff at [email protected] to check their eligibility before submitting the application form.
Please note that only UK-based Co-Applicants would be able to take over the leadership of a project should the PI not be able to continue in this role.
Other participants in a project, whose involvement does not equate to being a ‘co-applicant’, should be named in the relevant section (‘Team Members and Other Participants’) in the Research Proposal section.
Co-Applicant ECR Status*
It is a requirement that each project must include at least one early career researcher who is based internationally. Please use the text box to provide brief details as to how the project’s Co-Applicant(s), where relevant, meet this early career eligibility requirement - for example, by providing information relating to any career breaks or other circumstances which would allow them to meet the eligibility criteria. (250 words)
Equal Opportunities
This section is optional. However, the British Academy would greatly appreciate it if you can complete the details to assist us in our equality, diversity and inclusion 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. It will also not be seen by others contributing to your application.