British Academy awards £1.3million to 155 small research projects

Exploring the creation of ‘post-truth citizens’, analysing the normalisation of sexual violence against women in rock music, and understanding linguistic predictors of future Alzheimer’s disease; the British Academy has announced funding for 155 small research projects across the UK.

Altogether the Academy, in partnership with the Leverhulme Trust and a range of other funders, has awarded £1.3m to 155 projects.

The awards comprise the latest round of the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grants funding scheme. Worth up to £10,000 each and tenable for a maximum of 24 months, these grants are provided to cover the cost of the expenses arising from a defined research project.

The grants meet a clear need for researchers in the humanities and social sciences. Often, they are used as a first grant opportunity by early career researchers or as seed funding leading to the development of larger projects.

58% of this round's award-holders are women. This continues the trend in recent years of women winning more than half of the awards.

Awards were made to scholars based at 63 different institutions, and to 4 independent scholars.

Linda McDowell, Chairs of the Research Awards Committee, said:

“We are very pleased to announce the recipients of the Academy/Leverhulme Trust’s Small Research Grants for 2018. As is always the case with these awards, we received a large number of exceptional applications and it proved extremely difficult choosing between them.

“The global range of the research being supported was a notable feature of this round. We were particularly pleased to be able to include an award to Dr Ichijo that represents the first award in a new partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan (MOST).

“We look forward to seeing the results of what are an exciting range of research projects.”

Some of the projects set to receive funding include:

• The Development and Transformation of Political Subjectivity in East Asia Focusing on Taiwan and Hong Kong: A Pilot Study – Dr Atsuko Ichijo, Associate Professor, Kingston University, Department of Politics, International Relations and Human Rights & Dr Rwei-Ren Wu, Academia Sinica, Institute of Taiwan History


• The Price of Bogus Self-employment: Analysing the Impact of the Individualisation of Risks on Working Lives – Dr Marti Lopez Andreu, Lecturer in HRM and Employment Studies, University of Leicester


• To What Extent is Male Sexual Violence Against Women Normalised in Rock Music? – Professor Heather Savigny, Professor of Gender, Media and Politics, De Montfort University                                                    


• Vu de l'Extérieur: Brexit and The Cultures of British Cinema in France –Dr Neil Archer, Lecturer in Film Studies, Keele University


• A ‘Post-truth’ Politics? How Far do Facts Still Exist and Matter for Citizens? – Dr John Bartle, Department of Government, University of Essex


• The Legacy of Gukurahundi Rape: Giving Voice to the Silenced and Invisible –Dr Hazel Cameron, Lecturer in International Relations, University of St Andrews


• Understanding linguistic predictors of future Alzheimer's disease – Professor Alison Wray, Research Professor in Language and Communication, Cardiff University


• Elite Purges in Dictatorships – Dr Jun Sudduth, School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde


• Bhutan’s Democratic Consolidation (2008-2018): Challenges and Outlook – Dr Nitisha Kaul, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster.

The window for applications to the next round of Small Research Grants is now open for a closing date on June 6.