Partial randomisation trial extended after diversity of applicants and award holders increases

The British Academy is extending partial randomisation of its Small Research Grants awards process to 2028, after the diversity of both applicants and awardees – and the universities in which they are based – improved in the first three years of the trial.

In 2022, the UK’s national academy for humanities and social sciences began trialling an innovative method of partial randomisation on the British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grants for an initial three years to 2025.

The Academy is the first UK research funder to do so on this scale and the trial has so far resulted in:

• An increase in the proportion of applicants and awards held by researchers of Asian or Asian British heritage (13% of applications and 11% of awards pre-randomisation to 19% of applications and 17% of awards post randomisation), as well as in those of Black or Black British background (3% of applications and 2% of awards pre randomisation to 4% of applications and 3% of awards post randomisation).
• Improved diversity of the universities and higher education institutions represented, with awards going to some institutions either not previously supported by the Academy or only rarely supported – such as University of Abertay, University of Dundee, the Alan Turing Institute and the University of Northampton. There has been a 2% increase in the proportion of awards for researchers who were either associated with institutions represented outside of the ‘golden triangle’ (Oxford, Cambridge and London) or were classed as 'independent' (from 85% of awards pre-randomisation to 87% of awards post randomisation). The number of applications received from non-golden triangle associated researchers did not change.
• The total pool of applicants has risen by about 70%, with over 1,100 applications submitted in the most recent round, compared to the 600 or so before partial randomisation was introduced. In each round since randomized allocation was introduced, around 60% of applicants have passed the initial quality threshold to be entered into the randomized allocation.
• As of the end of January 2025, Small Research Grant awardees were based in 112 different institutions, and more than 40 are independent researchers.

Randomisation of grant awarding – the use of a lottery to make decisions – is the second stage of the Academy’s two-stage awards process for Small Research Grants. First, applications for funding are assessed by the Fellows of the British Academy to check whether they meet a rigorous quality threshold, as with the Academy’s established peer review process for all of its funding awards. Applications that meet the quality threshold are then randomly allocated funding.

The British Academy decided to introduce partial randomisation for simplicity and transparency. The trial aimed to reduce the burden on assessors – as the Small Research Grants programme was heavily oversubscribed – while also being less time-consuming for applicants and their supporting research officers. The process is, crucially, less open to unconscious bias and is fairer to under-represented groups and institutions.

As well as using partial randomisation to award Small Research Grants for the first time in 2022, the British Academy extended the trial to its Early Career Research Network (ECRN) Seed Funding programme in Autumn 2024.The British Academy is working with independent academics Adrian Barnett and Philip Clarke to analyse the results and will continue to share progress to help inform and develop best practice in equality, diversity and inclusion in UK research funding.

The Small Research Grants scheme is funded as a public-private partnership, including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome. The BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants are also supported by several other funders including British Accounting and Finance Association, EY, Honor Frost Foundation, Journal of Moral Education Trust, Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, Sino-British Fellowship Trust, and Society for the Advancement of Management Studies.

Professor Margot Finn FBA, the British Academy's Vice President for Research and Higher Education Policy, said: “The increased diversity of both successful Small Research Grant awardees and the UK institutions represented is very encouraging. It is one of our primary reasons for extending the pilot and is part of the Academy’s role in supporting SHAPE subjects across the four nations. We also need more time to understand the long-term research outcomes; the grants are awarded for up to two years, so a three-year trial did not allow enough time to obtain all the data for a comprehensive analysis.

“Partial randomisation may be fairer to overlooked groups than conventional peer review as it reduces human bias and partiality from assessment of the very best applications. The Academy is proud to be actively working towards an inclusive UK research culture; improving efficiency, fairness and equity of access to our research funding is a top priority.”

Professor Anna Vignoles FBA, the Leverhulme Trust’s Director, said: “We are delighted that, to date, the trial has encouraged a broader range of researchers to apply for these grants and reduced the burden on reviewers. The extension of the trial will also help us determine the longer-term outcomes and inform our future grant-making.”

Notes to Editors

• Find out more about the British Academy’s Small Research Grants partial randomisation trial at www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/ba-leverhulme-small-research-grants/frequently-asked-questions.
• Read the British Academy’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy at www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/about/equality-diversity-inclusion-british-academy.