SHAPE Involve and Engage Flexi-Grant application instructions
Please read these application instructions carefully before completing your application in Flexi-Grant.
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 previously registered in the e-GAP system, please follow the registration process from the Flexi-Grant® homepage. Applications cannot be submitted on paper or in any other medium.
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.
Applicants should be aware that this application form will be considered by appropriate assessors who will have sound understanding of public engagement activities. The application will be treated as confidential at all times.
When completing your application, it is recommended that you take note of the following points:
- Personal details: When registered in the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, a user has the option to add or update personal information such as contact details, log-in details (including email address and password), interests, research and employment details, at any time. This does not form part of the specific application form for any individual scheme but represents a personal record of your account in the system. Please keep this information up to date.
- Automatic log-out: You are strongly advised to save your work regularly to prevent accidental loss of text. The Flexi-Grant website will automatically log people out if no activity is detected. It is recommended that you should work offline in a separate Word document and copy and paste completed text online once complete.
- Multiple sessions: Do not have multiple browser windows/tabs of your application open at the same time as this may cause information to be lost.
- Word limits: If you exceed the word limit, you will not be able to save the page on which you are working.
- Plain text: If entering plain text, please avoid using symbols as some may not be accepted by Flexi-Grant: This includes the following symbols: < >
- PDF documents: When uploading PDF documents, please add your name and a heading at the top of every page 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. Each PDF cannot exceed 3 Mb in size.
- Email addresses: It is essential that you ensure your email address is up to date and actively monitored, or you may miss important notification emails.
- Submission: You will not be able to submit your application until you have completed each section in full. You should submit your application for approval by your host organisation at least five working days before the closing date to allow for your host organisation’s administrative procedures. You should also check whether your institution has its own internal deadlines. We strongly advise that you contact your referee as early as possible to avoid any last-minute issues before the submission deadline.
- Application deletion: You can delete your application at any time although it is often significantly easier just to edit your existing application. We will be able to recover a deleted application for a period of seven days after deletion. After this, it will be permanently removed from the system.
- Application returned for editing: The organisation approver can return your application to you for further editing, but the original deadline remains in place.
- PDF version of your application; It is essential that you create a PDF of your completed application (by clicking ‘Print Application’) and check it thoroughly before submitting it for approval by your host organisation. It may not be possible to rectify any mistakes after this 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.
The application process in Flexi-Grant can be completed by using the navigation tabs on the application summary page, with each page categorised as follows:
Page 1: Lead Applicant Details
Page 2: Eligibility
Page 3: Lead Applicant Career Summary
Page 4: Partner Details
Page 5: Project Details
Page 6: Audience and Venue
Page 7: Financial Details
Page 8: Equal Opportunities
A full list of question fields to be completed as part of the application can be found in the table below. 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. An asterisk (*) indicates which questions are mandatory and therefore must be completed before the application can be submitted.
Please read the guidance notes and these instructions carefully before completing the form.
Summary table
When your application form is complete, all sections on this summary table will be marked as ‘Complete’. The ‘Complete’ status will only appear when all the mandatory fields in that section have been completed.
Only when all is marked ‘Complete’ will a ‘Submit’ button appear for you to be able to submit your application.
Lead Applicant Details (*)
Please take care to review and complete your personal details. 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.
Home Organisation Contact Information (*)
Please give the details of a contact person at your organisation. This should be the person responsible for helping you to deliver the project including marketing and promotion, booking venues, managing the budget/processing financial payments etc. You should make sure you have permission to share this information with the British Academy. While we strongly recommend you find a person to support your project, if you do not have a specific person to add to these sections, please write N/A in these sections.
Primary and secondary subjects, interdisciplinary work (*)
Your application must be relevant to the humanities and/or social sciences and you will need to select the relevant subject areas and fields from the drop-down list. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary proposals are also welcome.
Statement of Qualifications and Career (*)
Please give details of your academic qualifications and career including the details of up to four qualifications in reverse chronological order.
PhD confirmation (*)
Please confirm that you have a PhD by answering yes. Applicants working towards a PhD or awaiting the outcome of their viva/submission of corrections are not eligible to apply.
If you are an established scholar with relevant equivalent experience, but no doctorate, please select 'no' and indicate in the following question why you should be eligible for consideration.
Past Public Engagement Experience (*)
Please summarise your previous public engagement experience. You can give examples of activities, events or other work you have done to engage or work with the public in relation to your research.
Publications, unpublished research
This field is optional. Please list up to six relevant publications to date in reverse chronological order under publications; and any unpublished studies previously funded by any agency, including the British Academy (if applicable). Please give details of planned publication dates or explain why the research has not yet been published.
Previous support dates/previous support description
This field is optional. Please give details of any research applications submitted to the British Academy within the last five years. Current and former British Academy award holders are welcome to apply, with two exceptions. If you will hold a Mid-Career Fellowship or Wolfson Fellowship which will be active between October 2023 and October 2024 you are not eligible to apply, because these awards include support for public engagement and your engagement activities should be delivered using the funding from your existing award.
Where did you hear of this scheme?
This field is optional. It helps the British Academy to target appropriate resources towards the promotion of the scheme to know where an applicant hears about it.
Partner Organisation Details (*)
Please provide the name of your partner organisation.
Why is your chosen partner a good fit for your proposal? (*)
Use this section to summarise how your partner organisation will help you to innovate, achieve your goals, reach your audience, and why you want to involve them in your project.
Partner organisation supporting statement (*)
You should attach a letter of support from your partner organisation to your application here. Letters should be on headed paper and should include:
- Details of how the partner expects to benefit from the partnership.
- How the partner will support the application and project.
Any in-kind support such as venue, marketing, collections, and materials.
Additional partners
Please use this section to add the details of any other partners you will include in your project in addition to your primary GLAM organisation partner. You can include other organisations such a community groups, local businesses or civic organisations. Please explain how they will be involved in your activities. You only need one partner, which should be a gallery, library, archive or museum (GLAM organisation) and you should include the details of your GLAM partner in the first sections on this page. This additional section allows you to enter details of any further partnerships you wish to include, beyond this GLAM organisation.
Project Summary (*)
Please outline what your project will involve including aims for the project, how it will be delivered and the proposed activities in as much detail as possible, including how your plans will connect to your research.
You may find it useful to refer to how your project connects to the British Academy's policy themes.
We are looking for proposals which embrace a participatory approach to public engagement. You should consider how you might involve your audience in the research or delivery process.
This might include:
- Peer-to-peer conversations stemming from the research.
- Collaborative or co-designed approaches which involve the audience throughout the project.
- Opportunities to listen to a range of audience voices, for example considering what direction the public would like the research to go in.
Please also include details of how you will ensure your proposed activity/ies are accessible and inclusive (e.g. possible adaptations for those with access needs, diversity of materials, speakers or content). You should develop your project in collaboration with your partner organisation, and liaise with them and venue when thinking about accessibility. If you have further questions about how to make your activity accessible you can contact the British Academy Events Team.
Outline of the humanities or social sciences research behind the activity (*)
Briefly describe the humanities or social sciences research underpinning your proposal that you would like to share with a public audience.
Audiences should come away from engaging with your project having learnt something clear and understandable about the humanities or social sciences research which underpins the project.
Project Timeline (*)
Please outline your project timeline here. At this stage you can indicate a general schedule for the project. Please include the planning and delivery stages such as partner consultation, brief promotion timeline, and proposed day and time for the activity (e.g. a series of four Saturdays in March, a Thursday afternoon or evening in July).
Project Outputs (*)
Explain any anticipated outputs from the project. This can include outputs aimed at either a public or an academic audience, or both. This might include public outputs such as a collaborative piece of artwork, or an academic output such as a journal article.
How does your idea meet the call’s innovation requirement? (*)
Explain how your project is innovative. This may be a combination of your methodological approach, intended audience, your research or the outputs of the activity. Note that innovative research alone, i.e. that which is not conveyed through creative and interactive two-way engagement methods will not be funded.
Evaluation (*)
Please use this space to outline how you intend to evaluate the project. Evaluation should be an essential element of your project and you should consider careful how you will measure the success of your activities against your aims. You should consider how you will evaluate whether the innovative elements of your project have been successful at engaging the audience and sharing the underpinning research.
Intended audience and anticipated audience size (*)
Please use this section to outline your intended audience and expected audience size. Try to be specific for both categories, for example:
- “Over 60s in Gloucester. We expect 15-20 participants at a creative workshop session”
- “families, we expect 30-50 people dropping in at our pop-up per day”
We welcome applications which engage with underserved audiences and which consider the British Academy’s equality, diversity and inclusion priorities.
Reaching your audience (*)
In this section briefly summarise how you will promote your project and engage the intended audience for example through PR, social media, reaching out to community or group leaders. Please also use this section to consider how you might reach and attract a diverse or inclusive audience.
Vulnerable audiences and ethical approval (*)
Indicate whether you intend to work with a vulnerable audience such as school students, older people, or those with disabilities. If you are working with a vulnerable audience you should obtain ethical approval through your research office. If you have not and do not intend to get ethical approval, please outline the ethical issues arising from your research and how you will address them.
Proposed venue (*)
Outline where you intend to host your activities or events (either in person or online). You may not have secured a venue for your project and if this is the case you should use this section to explain where or what type of venue would suit your activity and audience.
When considering a venue, you should consider how you intend to meet the Academy’s equality, diversity and inclusion priorities, for example on accessibility, is there step-free access, a hearing loop, adequate seating, live captioning.
Events should be hosted off-campus wherever possible.
For online activity, please include your preferred platform, why it is suitable for reaching your audience, and what support you can offer to make your event inclusive and accessible.
Details of Planned Expenditure (*) Please see Table 1 in the Terms and Conditions for a list of eligible costs.
Please use this section to outline your budget for the event(s) activities or project.
Enter the total sum requested in the budget table and use the Details of Planned Expenditure section to give a breakdown of how you will spend the funding. Please see the guidance for applicants, terms and conditions and FAQs for details of costs that will and will not be covered.
You can include any additional or match funding you have or intend to secure from partners or your organisation here.
£8000 is available for each project. Costs should be clearly itemised and justified. If the Academy is being asked to support only a proportion of the total costs, please explain this clearly in this section.
The Academy has some flexibility with the award level, so you can include costs above £8000 here if you wish, noting these as desirable additional elements which are not essential but which would enhance your project.
Equal opportunities
This section is optional; however, the Academy would greatly appreciate it if you can complete the details to assist us in our diversity monitoring.
The British Academy is committed to its policy of equal opportunity in the provision of its grants and awards. Please help us to monitor the effectiveness of this policy by providing information.
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 etc.
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:
(1) approve and submit your application, or
(2) ‘send back’ your application and contact you to request modifications or
(3) 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 Flexi-Grant® GMS email facility, they can unlock your application, allowing you to edit it. They can do this by selecting ‘Return to Applicant’. An automatic email will be sent to you alerting you of this fact. Once you have completed and saved the requested changes, please re-submit your application for approval by your 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.
Please note that once the closing date has passed, host organisation approvers cannot approve applications and submit them to the British Academy; unapproved applications are removed from consideration. No late applications will be accepted.
It is recommended that you check that your application is submitted in time. To see the details of the host organisation approver and to check the status of your application, you should log into the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS and click on the link to the Application Portal where a summary of your application will be displayed.
Submitted applications will be processed by British Academy staff and passed to relevant assessment panel for review. The review panel will be made up of British Academy Fellows, funded researchers, and internal and external public engagement experts who will use the assessment criteria to make a selection of around 10 projects.
Assessment criteria:
- Innovation and creativity - The panel will consider innovation in the broadest sense across project concept, proposed methodology, underpinning research, reach, impact and outputs.
- Underpinning research – applicants should clearly show the high quality, inspiring research underpinning the proposal.
- Feasibility - How well the proposal has been conceived and how practical it will be to deliver, how appropriate the proposed activity is for reaching the intended audience and achieving the intended impact.
- Clearly defined audience – a carefully considered proposal which is targeted at a specific audience, ideally with a co-production element which involves the audience in the project.
- Partnership working with a co-production element which demonstrates active involvement of the partner i.e. the partner is not simply a hosting venue.
N.B. The administration of the scheme is undertaken solely by the British Academy and all aspects of the application process, assessment process and award management is undertaken by the Academy.
Once your application has been submitted, and it has been approved by your institution, you will not be contacted again by the British Academy until the decisions have been made – likely in August 2023. You can track the progress of your application by logging in again to the Flexi-Grant system at any time. Results are issued by email.
If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the Events Team:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)20 7969 5340
For technical questions about Flexi-Grant, you can also contact: [email protected].