Policy Insight Case Studies: scheme guidance notes for applicants

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.

Projects should specify which of the two policy areas their case study work will address:

Technology and Inequality, or
Environmental Sustainability and Place.

We expect most proposals to engage with only one of these areas. However, where projects will provide policy insight into both areas, applicants should clearly explain how they will do so in their proposal.

We suggest that in either of the two policy areas, policy insights should be considered along one or more of the following dimensions: place (physical and social context, locality), scale (individual, community, regional, national) and time (past, present, future; short, medium, and long term). The British Academy previously used these dimensions within its report Shaping the COVID Decade:

Place (locality, physical and social context) is an essential part of grounding the policy response, harnessing crucial knowledge from citizens, communities and cultures, to improve the sensitivity of decision-making to the distinct challenges and opportunities for different places.
Scale (individual, community, regional, national, global) features in our analysis of the complex interconnections between the levels of decisionmaking – from individual choices and behaviours right up to international and global relations – and the relations of power and influence within and between them and what this means for UK policy making.
Time (past, present, future; short-, medium-, long-term) is embedded in our commentary on how we acknowledge and learn from history, and how we consider over what timescale different interventions should be made and how the future may be different from the past.

Projects should apply the cross-cutting dimensions suggested above to draw out practical insights from their research findings and case studies. Projects should explain and justify to what extent insights can be generalised to other UK policy contexts, and where possible synthesise insights within a coherent framework to support future evidence-based policy development.

Further information on the two policy areas, in turn, is below.

Technology and Inequality

We recently completed a project on digital poverty in the UK and are now working on a project on technology and inequality. This project was prompted by a request from the Government Office for Science for the British Academy to conduct an independent project on the topic of technology and inequality. This project aims to improve our understanding of how government can play a key role in supporting access to, uptake of, and investment in digital technologies that can be critical to delivering broad public objectives, in a way that ensure inequalities do not become entrenched.

The first stage of work undertaken in this project focused on the relationship between digital technology and inequality and examined how advances in digital technology can mitigate or exacerbate existing inequalities, as well as how existing inequalities pose challenges for access and skills related to digital technology.

The project has so far focused upon the three questions: (1) In what ways does the landscape of digital technological provision currently shape social inequality in the UK, and vice versa? (2) What mechanisms are available for government to support access, uptake, and investment in digital technology in a way that doesn’t entrench or exacerbate inequality? (3) How can digital technologies be harnessed to improve policies that tackle inequality, their design, and the equitable delivery of public services?

With this call, the Academy is now seeking to build on and address some of the gaps in the evidence base by commissioning a series of projects that can provide practical and policy-focused insights from the SHAPE disciplines to help policymakers better understand how technology can be used to address inequality and identify and develop the right incentives and approaches to deliver successful outcomes and avoid unintended consequences. We are therefore calling for work relevant to at least one of the three points outlined below, in turn.

We are interested in case studies that can provide insights into the ways in which government can support access to, uptake of, and investment in technologies to deliver public objectives, in ways that alleviate rather than exacerbate or entrench inequalities. This could include examples from a range of sectors (e.g. the energy, health, transport, community sector), or studies that provide insight into specific policy challenges that society may face in the future, such as the transition involved in the upcoming public switched telephone network (PSTN) switch off. We welcome submissions from those working on topics such as, but not limited to:

Artificial intelligence (AI), data mining technologies and predictive analytics, including distributed ledger technologies
Smart cities and networked systems
Clean energy technologies
New innovations in transport and mobility
Biotechnology, bioinformatics, and genetic technologies

Secondly, we are interested in examples of how governments and policymakers at different scales have either (a) tackled digital inequality or (b) used digital means (such as data science tools or AI) to tackle inequality. We welcome international examples of interventions as well as national or regional ones, and comparative studies that can provide practical insights for UK policymakers. The case study examples need not be limited to government initiatives, and we welcome evidence and lessons from relevant initiatives outside of government, particularly regarding where, how and to what extent these might be scaled up or transposed into public sector contexts. Topics of interest might include, but are not limited to:

Interventions that guarantee universal access to broadband (or that conceive of broadband or the internet as a utility or right)
Efforts to providing citizens with digital devices to access local services such as education or healthcare (e.g. wearable devices);
Digital literacy campaigns;
The use of data science technologies and AI in modelling for public policy;
The use of data science technologies and AI to tackle inequality in relation to specific objectives and in targeting resources more fairly or equitably, for example in key markets such as housing;
The adoption and application of systematic performance measures for digital inequality (including analysis of the costs of not addressing exclusion).

Thirdly, we welcome case studies that provide insight into how government can deal with instances in which the impacts of technology upon inequality are subject to considerable uncertainty - for example, in cases related to automation and predictive analytics. What role can government (at national, regional, local scales) play to mitigate and address inequalities in these instances?

In all cases, projects should ensure they pull together a clear and concise set of insights and recommendations relevant for UK policymakers from across their findings. The extent to which insights are relevant and generalisable to the UK policy context should be clearly articulated in project outputs.

Environmental Sustainability and Place

The British Academy’s policy programme Where we live next seeks to explore environmental sustainability through the lens of place and place-sensitive policy. It seeks to examine how visible different places, and the people and cultures within them, are to decision makers when they make decisions about the environment and how policy making in this area could be strengthened. The programme builds on the evidence from the Academy’s previous programme of work Where we live now, which explored what places mean to people and why, and what place-sensitive policy making might look like.

Environmental sustainability is sometimes seen as a challenge that can solely be addressed by science and technology. However, history would indicate that social and technical systems co-evolve in practice, as our recent report Lessons from the history of UK environmental policy has examined. Whether this involves transitioning communities to more sustainable practices or adopting net-zero technologies, policy makers need to consider the behavioural and cultural shifts that are needed to be able to achieve these transitions in the places people live but also at the scale and pace needed to meet our environmental and carbon goals.

The evidence collected so far for the Where we live next policy programme has highlighted some key findings:

The need for an inclusive and pluralistic approach to environmental policy that reflects the needs and priorities of different people, communities, places and environments across the UK. Language, culture and values are important factors in this, for instance by using local language that resonates more with people and their own lived experiences and developing more positive narratives for change.
The value of education and local knowledge: tapping into and harnessing local environmental (and social) knowledge for effective place-sensitive policy making and building on this knowledge by educating people not only on environmental issues, but also on policy making itself in order for people to fully comprehend how decisions are made and how they can shape policy and enact change in the places they live.
The importance of developing a variety of creative models of engagement and strategic engagement processes which can tackle the full range of environmental challenges and reflect the broader requirements of particular places and communities.
The need to consider the significance of a coherent multi-level, place-sensitive governance system in order for these facets of place-sensitive policy making to become established and embedded within places; one which includes the delegation of powers and responsibilities to local actors.

Along with these findings there are also identified gaps and further areas of interest that our evidence base did not address which include:

How to understand the various interactions between layers of governance, most importantly, how to better align local, national and international governance on environmental issues in practice.
What a place-sensitive approach to environmental policy means for central actors, particularly in terms of roles, responsibilities and the delegation of powers and resources (with greater clarity around what still needs to be done centrally and what can be decentralised).
The steps required to effectively scale up different local initiatives so that these approaches can be used in other places, and the cost-benefit ratio of doing so.

With this call, the Academy is now seeking to build on and address some of the gaps in the evidence base by commissioning a series of case studies which can provide practical and policy-focused insights from the SHAPE disciplines to help policymakers understand the mechanisms for place-sensitive decision-making on environmental issues, and the right incentives and approaches to be developed to deliver successful outcomes and avoid unintended consequences.

We are interested in case studies which can capture practical examples of how different levels of governance have worked together successfully, including how communities and local actors have responded to policy issues and have scaled-up these responses across different dimensions of environmental sustainability. Case studies can focus on one or more of the areas below, including examining the interactions between them:

Climate change: Transport, heating, cooling, energy efficiency, flood management, etc.
Nature: Biodiversity, habitats, rivers and seas, land use, etc.
Pollution and resource use: Wider emissions besides carbon, plastics, waste, etc.
The built environment: Housing, civic and green spaces, infrastructure, planning, etc.

Projects are free to select the methodological approaches that are both appropriate for their case study but should clearly justify their choice of methodology in relation to their chosen research question. We especially welcome comparative case study approaches, and methodologies that combine qualitative and quantitative research methods. Applications should clearly justify their research design, including choice of case study/studies, as well as clarifying their approach to data collection and analysis.

Successful projects will be likely to employ methods which lead to clear, succinct syntheses and analysis, and include a diverse collaborative group of researchers across multiple disciplines and backgrounds. All projects should emphasise the policy relevance of their research, for example by considering specific policy audiences that they can engage with, how their evidence can enhance understandings of policy challenges in this area, and how their case studies can inform tangible, evidence- based policy solutions that could have a positive impact on society.

In all cases, it is for the applicants to demonstrate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of their proposed approach.

The onus is on applicants to convince the Academy that the focus of their projects fully addresses the aims of this call.

We expect applications are likely to build on existing or ongoing research and/or provide new syntheses of existing or ongoing research findings.

The Academy encourages proposals from multidisciplinary teams drawing on multiple insights and disciplinary framings. Applicants are encouraged to bring together different communities of expertise, for example, academic, professional, business, lay or community contexts.

The research should use the evidence base to develop and articulate insights for the policy area. The Academy may look to utilise this insight in real-time, convening and supporting the awards to disseminate and share their outputs as the work develops.

Awards will be required to work closely and regularly with the Academy. These will include regular catch-up meetings with the provision of updates on progress made.

The remit of the programme does not include primarily practice-based outputs such as musical composition and performance, visual practice, creative writing and film- making. These areas of research will be considered to fall within the Academy's remit only when they form part of an integrated project of demonstrable critical or historical significance.

A key focus of the award will be creating the connection to pull high quality research insight into the policymaking sphere in collaboration with the Academy.

All proposals must include detailed plans for the appropriate communication and dissemination of their findings. This should include how applicants will engage with policymakers, practitioners and other target audiences. Applicants will be expected to engage with their target audience from the outset and also to show how the research, once completed, will be disseminated to, and taken up by, policymakers and other stakeholders.

We expect as a minimum a report or briefing that sets out the key case study findings, specifying policy and practical insights/lessons for government in the UK – at the national, regional and/or local level – and other relevant policy stakeholders. The report or briefing should be concise and be written for a policy audience. The insights in this report/briefing should be justified with evidence from an appropriate case study/studies, and its relevance to the UK should be clearly articulated. Reports and briefings should also be clear about the limitations of their case studies, identifying where lessons may be context specific or dependent on a range of factors.

The policy-focused report/briefing should be supplemented (e.g., in an accompanying annex) with an account of the work undertaken, the approach and justification (including how cases were selected or identified), method, results and analysis – including images and data visualisations as needed (these may be included in the briefings where appropriate, so long as they are of high resolution). All outputs must be suitable for publication on the British Academy’s website after peer review.

We are open to a range of additional outputs across the duration of the project (for example, in the form of infographics, interactive datasets or webpages, audio or video content). Whatever form they take, outputs should translate the findings of the work into meaningful insights or recommendations for policy. We expect projects to consider relevant policy challenges, audiences, and approaches when developing outputs.

The commissioned team will work closely with staff at the British Academy throughout the project and will provide at least one interim output as well as regular oral updates. We expect all teams to provide a dedicated person(s) who will liaise regularly with a British Academy team member, and who can provide the British Academy team with updates related to the project, to feed into the ongoing work of the British Academy.

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.

Each project will be led by a named PI. The PI must be a researcher in a discipline within the social sciences or the humanities. They can be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, or an independent researcher. 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).

PIs may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time.

An individual cannot be the PI on more than one bid under this call.

Duplicate applications for the same purpose to more than one British Academy funding programme will not be accepted.

Projects can involve Co-Applicants and other participants.

Co-Applicants may be expected to be in a position to take over the leadership of the project in the event that the PI is unable to continue in the role for any reason.

The PI must be based in the UK and a Co-Applicant can be based elsewhere.

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).

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.

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.

Applicants are 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.

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 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 Host organisation approval is 1 February 2023 (17.00 UK time). Applicants will not be allowed to make any changes to their applications or submit any additional information after the 1 February 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 apage 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'.
Uploading PDF documents: Please note the only item you may upload is a copy of a CV. When uploading PDF documents, please add your name and a heading at the top of everypage to show what the document is. Please avoid uploading documents containing illustrations with fine details or colour as this can cause problems when creating a PDF of the application. Please note we will only print your applications in black and white. Each PDF cannot exceed 2 pages in length or 3Mb in size.
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 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 organisation, automatic emails will be sent to your host organisation approver asking them to log on to the system. You will not be able to edit your application after it has been submitted to your host organisation for approval. The host organisation approver will either: approve and submit your application, 'send back' your application and contact you to request modifications (if before the 1st February deadline) or decline your application and contact you.

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

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

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

Application 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. Co-Applicant, Finance Office contact etc.), 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 Public Policy Team (contact details at the end of these notes).

Completing the application form

Title of Research Proposal

Please state the title of your research project.

Abstract

Please provide a short abstract summarising your proposed research in terms suitable for an informed general audience, not one specialised in your field. This is a mandatory field and the limit is 150 words.

Start and End Date Confirmation

Please confirm that you will start your research in March 2023, and that your research will end 6 months later in September 2023.

Awards must be 6 months in duration. We will confirm start dates of awards with successful applicants.

Policy Area

Please select which policy area your proposal is relevant to:

(a) Technology and Inequality

(b) Environmental sustainability and place

If your project will provide policy insight into both areas, please select both, and clearly explain how it will do so in the ‘Proposed Programme and Plan of Action’ section.

Proposed Programme and Plan of Action

This field should be used to describe the proposed research, including objectives, methodology and hypotheses, and the policy areas to which it is relevant. Please include plans for publication and dissemination, and explain briefly the project's intended audience. Please set out the proposed plan of action covering activity to be undertaken during the course of the award.

This should be as detailed as is practicable, but suitable allowance may be made for variation in the event of an award being offered. Please set out explicitly in this field the ways in which the proposed research links to the core aims and objective of the overall programme. The limit on this field is 2,500 words.

The British Academy is inviting proposals for policy-focused research projects which will provide focused case studies which enable policy lessons and insight to be drawn out in two areas: Technology and inequality; and Environmental sustainability and place.

In this scheme, we are seeking case studies that draw from scholarship and evidence from the humanities, social sciences, and the arts (the SHAPE subjects) to highlight clear and practical lessons for policymakers at the central, regional and/or local level in relation to the two policy areas of technology and inequality and environmental sustainability and place. We welcome and actively encourage interdisciplinary approaches to case study analysis.

In this call we are inviting proposals for research projects that provide policy relevant insights in two areas: (a) Technology and inequality – projects that help to improve our understanding of how to ensure technologies deliver public good and help to improve inequalities, not exacerbate them; (b) Environmental sustainability and place – projects that explore environmental sustainability through the lens of place and place-sensitive policy.

Projects funded under this scheme will help provide critical evidence of how evidence-based interventions are contributing to improved policy development across each of these areas.

Planned Research Outputs, Dissemination and Outreach

The word limit here is 1,000 words.

While we encourage a range of outputs to be explored, we expect as a minimum a report or briefing that sets out the key case study findings, specifying policy and practical insights/lessons for government in the UK – at the national, regional and/or local level – and other relevant policy stakeholders.

Please state in more detail here what plans you have for publication or other dissemination of your research, including potential publishers, journals, conferences, etc. that are appropriate for your research subject.

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. The word limit for this section is 500 words.

Other Participants

Under ‘other participants’ please give the names, appointments, and institutional affiliation of any other participants in the proposed research. Please also describe the contribution to the project to be made by other participants, citing any particular specialisms and expertise, under ‘role of other participants’.

If details of Other Participants are not yet known, please use the blank text box below to provide indicative numbers and/or types of people who may be involved in the project.

Added Value of Collaboration

Under ‘Added value of collaboration’, please provide any comments you wish to make on the particular relevance, timeliness or other aspects of the collaboration, and the benefits envisaged.

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.

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.

Research groups will be required to indicate if (and where) they intend to undertake research in the field. Applicants are required to demonstrate that the PI (and the PI’s host organisation) understands 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 organisation, to confirm that the duty of care responsibility rests with the host organisation.

The limit on this field is 750 words.

Other Relevant Information

Please use this space to provide details of any other relevant information.

Please refer to pages 9-10 above for a full list of eligible costs.

Eligible purposes for the funding include travel, fieldwork and related expenses; networking costs; and research assistance.

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

The following items are not currently eligible for funding (applicants registered with special needs may consult the Academy about possible exceptions): the time of the PI and Co-Applicants; institution costs in hosting and supporting the project; purchasing of assets; computer hardware including laptops, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, etc.; books and other permanent resources; the preparation of camera-ready copy, copy-editing, proof-reading, indexing, nor any other editorial task; subventions for direct production costs (printing, binding, distribution, marketing etc.); costs of publication in electronic media; travel and maintenance expenses for purposes such as lecture tours or to write up the results of research.

Consumables include the purchase of specialist software (not readily available in the 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.

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.

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 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 Host organisation authorities e.g. research grants office, finance department, etc. The approving department will receive email notification once you have completed your application and submitted it. They will be asked to provide approval and then submit the application to the British Academy. It is strongly recommended that the applicant maintains an open dialogue with the approving department at the host institution as the British Academy cannot be held responsible for emails being caught in spam filters or not being received. It is recommended that you allow at least five working days for this process. Once the Host Institution has checked your application, they will contact you if any changes are required; please note that if changes need to be made, these will have to be done before the 1 February deadline as they cannot be done afterwards.

Primary / Secondary Subjects / Other Discipline

These grants will be awarded to lead researchers intending to work in any disciplines within the humanities, social sciences and the arts (the SHAPE subjects).

Please select the subject areas and fields most relevant to your own research from those in the drop-down list. If your discipline is not listed, please choose the closest/most relevant in ‘Primary Subject’ (as this is a mandatory question) and then type the name of your discipline in the free text ‘Other Discipline’ field.

Present Appointment, Department and Employing Institution

Please give details of your current appointment. The Principal Investigator must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, or an independent researcher. They must be of postdoctoral (or above) or equivalent status.

PhD Confirmation

Early career 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.

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. The limit on this field is 150 words.

CV Upload

A brief CV should be uploaded here as a PDF file. This should be no more than 2 pages long. Any CV submitted which is over the 2-page limit will render your application ineligible for consideration. In order to comply with this 2-page limit, the applicant could omit, for example, conference presentations from their CV.

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 indicate here if you wish to include any Co-Applicants. If you select yes, you will be able to provide details of up to two Co-Applicant(s). You must click 'no' on the individual Co-Applicant pages if you do not wish to select any Co-Applicants.

Please note that all applications must have one lead applicant (PI). Please note that all correspondence is sent via the system only to the individual in whose name the application is submitted on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. The lead applicant is responsible for notifying any other parties. If there is more than one applicant, or the research involves other partners, please complete this section, and the relevant sections of the co-applicant personal details and co-applicant career summary. A 'co-applicant' is a joint director of the project with equal responsibility for the academic management of the project.

Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and applicants (and co-applicants) are asked to confirm in the personal details section(s) that they are not currently working towards a PhD, nor awaiting the outcome of a viva voce examination, nor awaiting the acceptance of any corrections required by the examiners.

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 ('Other Participants') in the Research Proposal section.

Primary / Secondary / Other Subject

Please select the disciplines most relevant to your own research.

If your discipline is not listed, please choose the closest/most relevant in ‘Primary Subject’ (as this is a mandatory question) and then type the name of your discipline in the free text ‘Other Discipline’ field.

Present Appointment, Department, Employing Institution

Your co-applicant(s) will need to register themselves on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system before they are able to complete this section. If applicable, please enter all the details of your co-applicant(s) by clicking 'Contributors' tab on the Application's ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the co-applicant’s email address and then click ‘Send Invitation’. If necessary, it is possible to enter additional co-applicants by repeating the instructions above. Once you have clicked on the ‘Send Invitation’ button, your co-applicant will be able to view your application and amend their section of the application.

Please give details of your current appointment. Co-Applicants must be of postdoctoral (or above) or equivalent status.

PhD Confirmation

Personal Statement

This field is optional, but may be used, for example, in providing information regarding interruptions to an academic career. The limit on this field is 150 words.

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Policy Insight Case Studies: scheme guidance notes for applicants

Completing the application form

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Policy Insight Case Studies: scheme guidance notes for applicants

Summary

Background

Scope of the call

Research methodology

Outputs and impact

Research Ethics

Risk Management

Eligibility of Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-Applicants and Other Participants

Duration and Value of Awards

Selection Criteria

Application and Assessment Procedure

Code of Practice

Contact details and further information

Annex: Application Information and Flexi-Grant® Guidance

Completing the application form

Summary

Page one: research proposal

Page two: financial details

Page three: primary applicant details

Pages four and five: co-applicant details

Page six: equal opportunities

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