Call for proposals - Measurement of social and cultural infrastructure in the higher education sector

Social and cultural infrastructure refers to the spaces, services and structures that bring people together, and that can strengthen the social and cultural fabric of our communities.

The Academy’s most recent phase of work in this area explores how social and cultural infrastructure can best be measured and valued, and what role different institutions and sectors play in creating, supporting and enhancing this infrastructure.

The Academy commissioned the Bennett Institute to conduct research on how to measure the role that social and cultural infrastructure plays in the fabric of our societies, which culminated in the report Measuring Social and Cultural Infrastructure.

The Academy is now commissioning an organisation (or a partnering group of organisations) to lead a project to explore the measurement of social and cultural infrastructure in relation to the higher education sector. This project will investigate how the measurement framework developed in 'Measuring Social and Cultural Infrastructure' can be operationalised by the higher education sector, by trialling the framework across a range of higher education institutions and settings.

Scope of the research

The overarching research questions are:

• What are the benefits and challenges provided by the social and cultural infrastructure measurement framework, both to individual institutions, and to the higher education sector more broadly?
• What do the insights garnered by the framework reveal about universities’ role, and potential role, in relation to social and cultural infrastructure, as approached through the three-part typology set out in the invite to tender?

A successful project is expected to address the above questions by working with a methodologically appropriate selection of universities/university departments to explore how the measurement framework can be developed and used for further research.

For further information please see the call for proposals for this project.

Eligibility requirements

The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute or an organisation with close connections to the higher education sector. The lead applicant must either be of postdoctoral status or above (or have equivalent research experience) or be able to show that there is equivalent research experience within their project team. The lead applicant must be based in the UK and a co-applicant can be based elsewhere.

Projects can involve co-applicants and other participants. 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).

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

Value and duration

We expect to make a single award of up to £60,000 (excluding VAT).

The research project must begin in March 2026, and the final report is expected to be delivered by December 2026.

The exact timetable for deliverables will be agreed upon with the successful applicant, and the project team will be required to engage closely and regularly with the British Academy throughout the award duration.

Application process

Applications must be submitted online using the British Academy's Grant Management System (GMS), Flexi-Grant®.

The deadline for submissions is 17:00 GMT on 4 February 2026.

Please direct any queries to [email protected].