Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route A (Researcher-led): Scheme guidance notes
The following Scheme Guidance Notes set out the eligibility and application process of the British Academy’s Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route A: Researcher-led 2023-24 competition.
Please read these Scheme Guidance Notes carefully. Any application which is incorrectly submitted will not be eligible.
Aims and Purpose of Scheme
The British Academy has been funded by the UK Government, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT; formerly known as BEIS) to continue its support of the Innovation Fellowships scheme. Other partners are also expected to be confirmed by the British Academy in due course.
The Innovation Fellowships scheme will provide funding and support for established early-career and mid-career researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences to partner with organisations and businesses in the creative and cultural, public, private, commercial, or policy sectors that have a base in the UK, to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions that are relevant to the UK. Through the Innovation Fellowships, our researchers in the SHAPE community will be supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, so enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development. This includes, but is not limited to:
- developing new approaches for supporting innovation across the economy, regions, and society;
- contributing to and leading on challenges targeted at increasing links with industry and business, broadly defined;
- improving direct connection of researchers with policymakers, leaders and innovators at local and regional levels in the UK.
These Fellowships will forge innovative place-based partnerships to create new intellectual, cultural, community and economic opportunities that will address key societal challenges.
Features of the Scheme
The Innovation Fellowships scheme has two routes:
- Route A: Researcher-led
In this call, we are inviting applications for funding for researcher-led Innovation Fellowships (Route A), through which applicants must apply with a partner which they have identified.
- Route B: Policy-led
We will be inviting applications for policy-led Innovation Fellowships (Route B) through which applicants will work with one of our named policy partners. The details of the policy partners for Route B will be released in due course, along with specific funding calls for that route.
Applying to the Scheme
Please note that only one application for Route A (Researcher-led) may be submitted for the Innovation Fellowships Scheme 2023-24 Route A (Researcher-led) round. Applicants are permitted to apply through both Route A (Researcher-led) and Route B (Policy-led), but they cannot be successful via both routes, i.e. hold an Innovation Fellowship for both Route A and Route B at the same time.
Both routes require an established researcher to work with a UK-based partner organisation on a specified policy or societal challenge that contributes to the aims described above for a period of up to one year. All Innovation Fellows under the different routes, regardless of stream or partner, will have the opportunity to participate in cross-learning and other cohort-based activities.
Person Specification
The British Academy is inviting applications from early-career and mid-career researchers who are working on the themes of policy and/or society who could contribute fresh perspectives to a specified challenge. Applicants might have expertise from a wide range of disciplinary, conceptual and methodological perspectives, including analytical, policy and practical perspectives. You must be an early-career or mid-career researcher based at an institution in the UK (e.g. a Higher Education Institution [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]), from disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences. You may already have prior-established links with a partner organisation from outside academia which you would like to develop, or wish to develop a new partnership (Route A: Researcher-led). Or you might choose to apply to work with an organisation linked to the British Academy which aligns with your research focus (Route B: Policy-led).
Through the dual-route nature of the Innovation Fellowships scheme, you will have the opportunity to foster a partnership which will enable you to develop outcomes that transform our understanding of and response to societal challenges, and offer solutions to shape policy and practice. You will be able to draw on the expertise, insights and challenge of policymakers and practitioners, and benefit from their continued engagement in the project. This is an opportunity for all participants to form new or deeper collaborations and draw on the insights these bring to inform, influence and develop new and innovative research proposals that address challenges and will deliver concrete outcomes in knowledge exchange and wider societal impact; i.e. the change in society, practice, or policy we wish to see.
From all participants, we seek open-mindedness, a willingness to explore new perspectives and to experiment with innovative approaches. You will have an appetite for working across academia, policy and practice, and will demonstrate a commitment to being genuinely challenge driven and dedicated to integrating the perspectives, needs and priorities of the partner. All applicants should strongly consider the potential for engagement between academic and non-academic environments.
Route A: Researcher-led Characteristics
For Route A (Researcher-led), the researcher should apply with a named UK-based partner organisation outside their employing institution. The researcher’s employing institution must be a UK-based Higher Education Institution (HEI) or Independent Research Organisation (IRO). A UK-based partner organisation includes: business and commercial organisations, charity and public sector organisations, community organisations, policy-relevant organisations, think tanks or voluntary organisations. In the application, the researcher must detail the challenge they seek to address and the existing nature of the relationship with the partner (if applicable). The application submitted must be collaborative between the researcher and a collaborator within the partner organisation. If successful, the relationship with the partner organisation will be managed by the researcher, i.e. the Lead Applicant, with responsibility for the success of the award residing with the Lead Applicant’s employing institution and be conducted in line with the Terms and Conditions of Award. The British Academy welcomes projects and partnerships that are focused in their region or location and encourages applications from researchers who consider themselves to be early-career or mid-career researchers.
Activities and Outputs
Successful candidates will be selected on the basis of the quality and interest of the activity or range of activities and outputs proposed in the application. Award-holders will be expected to play a role in promoting the approaches and methods that are the focus of their award, and consider the potential for engagement between academic and non-academic environments. Eligible activities and outputs can involve, but are not limited to:
- Evidence notes – reports, notes and responses to key challenges/approaches for developing connections with policy leaders or innovators;
- Data analysis – identifying and analysing datasets that may be relevant to enhancing understanding and framing new solutions;
- Case studies – exploring practical or policy-orientated solutions, engagement between academic and non-academic environments and the wider benefits to individuals/communities/regions;
- Briefings/blogs/podcasts/videos and other outputs to reach a variety of audiences and environments, including policymakers (where relevant);
- Conferences/workshops/webinars/toolkits and other training opportunities which enable knowledge exchange.
Subjects Covered
The British Academy welcomes proposals for high-quality research in all its subject areas, i.e. disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences. While all proposals should be situated in an appropriate field of study, they may vary considerably in their approach to conceptualisation, methodology and/or outputs, depending on the discipline. In some cases, creative and professional practice may play a significant role in shaping the methods and/or outcomes of research. In all proposals, whether practice-led or not, a clear scholarly rationale is required for the choice of research methods, processes and outputs.
Value of Funding and Support Provided
Route A: Researcher-led Innovation Fellowship awards are offered on a Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC. The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100%, of which the Academy will pay 80% (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested).
There are four elements to the Full Economic Costing. The Directly Incurred Salary Costs are the costs of the time of the Lead Applicant as this is a Fellowship award. Directly Incurred Research Expenses include costs of travel and subsistence, as well as project costs. Note that there is a minimum spend expected on this research expense element of at least £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution). The other elements are Directly Allocated (Estates) Costs and Indirect Costs which cover costing for space, central support services and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution in supporting the Fellow.
The Academy recognises that the upper limit on the contribution that the Academy’s funding can make to this award – £120,000 – might not be sufficient to cover all of the costs up to 80% of the Full Economic Cost value required. In those cases, an employing institution may need to be willing to make additional contributions to the overhead costs involved.
The Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship, providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application, especially if the time commitment is below 0.5 FTE. The Innovation Fellow will be expected to spend their allocated time of between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE working with their UK-based partner organisation in their UK-based office or another mutually agreed site of the partner. All of the grants awarded are expected to be used for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
Duration and Start of Award
Awards can be held for a minimum period of 6 months and up to a maximum period of 12 months. Awards are expected to commence no earlier than 1 March 2024 and no later than 31 March 2024.
Timetable of the 2023-24 Competition: Route A (Researcher-led)
Competition Opens
12 July 2023
Application Deadline
11 October 2023, 17:00 (UK time)
Decisions (notification via email)
January 2024
Starting period of Award(s)
No earlier than 1 March 2024 and no later than 31 March 2024
Duration of Award(s)
A minimum period of 6 months and up to a maximum period of 12 months
Number of Awards and Strength of Competition
It is expected that up to 25 awards per year will be made across both routes, of which around 15 are expected to be made under Route A (Researcher-led). However, this is dependent upon the amount of funding required for each of the successful awards.
This is the third round of a new scheme, and the strength of competition remains difficult to estimate. We are unable to give guidance on the likely success rate. Please note that we regret it will not be possible to give feedback on applications to the Innovation Fellowships scheme.
Responsibilities of Award-Holders
Award-holders will be expected to act as champions for these skills within their institutions and partner organisations, and to feed insights into relevant British Academy programmes, as well as through broader British Academy networks. This is expected to involve:
- writing blog pieces and offering case studies about their work;
- applying their experience in practical or policy-orientated solutions;
- engaging with individuals both within and beyond academia.
Reporting
Award-holders are required to complete two reports:
- A final report from award holders within three months of the award’s end, detailing the progress of the activities in which they participated.
- A post-award report three years after the award’s end showing the impact of the award on their subsequent career.
Applicant Eligibility
Lead Applicant
All applications require one Lead Applicant. Eligible Lead Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom with a current long-term appointment that will continue for at least as long as the period of the award at a UK-based institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]). If your organisation is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant®, please contact us via [email protected] to discuss possible registration.
Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Applicants must self-define their career stage in the application, providing further details about career breaks or other circumstances, if relevant. Applicants do not have to fit within a certain time-frame since their PhD in order to prove their career-stage. However, applicants must self-define their career stage and demonstrate this accordingly in their applications. Typically, it can be defined as within 15 years of being awarded your PhD (although this will be interpreted flexibly to accommodate any career breaks, parental/caring leave or non-traditional career trajectories). However, this typical definition is a guide only. Applicants may self-define their career stage as they see fit. Applicants should be aware that if they are more advanced in their career, the assessors may determine that they are not within the bounds of the scheme. Therefore, applicants should explain their career stage clearly in response to the question on career stage in the application form. Lead Applicants who do not have a doctorate may have equivalent experience, which they should define in the personal statement section.
Applicants for the Innovation Fellowships scheme should be intending to pursue challenges that can benefit from the contribution of Humanities or Social Sciences expertise.
N.B. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and Lead 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 applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this scheme.
Co-applicant
For Route A (Researcher-led) Fellowships, the Co-applicant is defined as the principal individual from the UK-based partner organisation receiving the Fellowship who will be directly involved in the project and must be ordinarily resident in the UK. A UK-based partner organisation for Route A (Researcher-led) includes: business and commercial organisations, charity and public sector organisations, community organisations, policy-relevant organisations, think tanks or voluntary organisations. The partner organisation must not be the same organisation at which the Lead Applicant is based. The Co-applicant may have a PhD or equivalent experience. They do not need to have a PhD or any other form of academic background.
For the Innovation Fellowships scheme, one Co-applicant must be named for Route A (Researcher-led).
N.B. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, 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.
Other Participants
Lead Applicants may specify other participants who do not equate to being a Co-applicant. Other participants will be beneficiaries of the activity proposed by the Lead Applicant and will not be directly involved with the organisation of activity.
Employing Institution Eligibility
Lead Applicants must be based in an institution which must be listed as an approving-organisation in the British Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant. This institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]) must be based in the United Kingdom and will be issued the Terms and Conditions of Award, if successful.
Eligible Costs
Route A: Researcher-led Innovation Fellowship awards are offered on a Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC. The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100%, of which the Academy will pay 80% (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested).
There are four elements to the Full Economic Costing. The Directly Incurred Salary Costs are the costs of the time of the Lead Applicant as this is a Fellowship award. Directly Incurred Research Expenses include costs of travel and subsistence, as well as project costs. Note that there is a minimum spend expected on this research expense element of at least £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution). The other elements are Directly Allocated (Estates) Costs and Indirect Costs which cover costing for space, central support services and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution in supporting the Fellow.
N.B. This is Fellowship award and not a project grant, therefore it is anticipated that most of the funding sought will be to support the costs associated with the Lead Applicant’s time (through direct salary contribution). It is expected that not more than 25% of the total budget and not less than £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution) will be used for Directly Incurred Research Expenses.
Directly Incurred Salary Costs
This is a Fellowship award paying for the time of the person appointed as the Innovation Fellow. Therefore, the cost for the time of the Lead Applicant should be submitted as Directly Incurred Salary Costs. The award can be used to support the employing institution’s salary costs of the Lead Applicant for the duration of the award at between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE. It is expected that the majority of funding requested will cover the Lead Applicant’s salary costs.
Directly Incurred Research Expenses
A minimum of £12,500 at 100% FEC (BA contribution at 80% of £10,000) for each award must be used to cover engagement with the project and partner by the Fellow, and such costs include the following:
- Travel and subsistence (for researchers, Co-applicants, external partners or delegates), within reasonable limits.
- Directly incurred project costs (e.g. workshops, website development, podcasts, transcription costs, specialist software, consultancy of a relevant expert other than the partner who will contribute to the achievement of the project etc).
- In exceptional cases, project staff (research assistants) contracted by the project partner organisation or the employing institution of the Lead Applicant.
No specific contribution to the Directly Incurred Research Expenses, either in-cash or in-kind, would be expected from the partner organisation, but the application should be constructed in such a way that makes clear if this is the case and also explain the active collaborative effort between the Lead Applicant and the partner organisation.
Directly Allocated Costs (incl. Estates costs)
Standard Directly Allocated Costs (including Estates Costs) may be attributed to this award. However, it cannot include any directly allocated salary costs. An in-kind contribution towards the time of the Co-applicant to enable and secure active collaboration of the partner is expected to be provided by the partner organisation without cost to the Academy.
Indirect Costs
The award can include the employing institution’s indirect costs incurred as a result of direct staff costs. The Indirect Costs heading will be calculated by the institution according to TRAC and needs to be declared only by means of a single figure, with no need for information about its derivation or justification. These include nonspecific costs charged across all projects based on estimates not otherwise included as Directly Allocated Costs. They include costs of the institution’s administration such as personnel, finance, library and some departmental services.
Non-eligible Costs
Equipment costs are not eligible for funding via this scheme. N.B. In very exceptional cases, specialist equipment that could reasonably not be provided by an employing institution may be requested, only if absolutely essential for the activity proposed for the Fellowship award. Applicants must justify fully the reasoning and the cost, taking into account if they already have access to the equipment through their employing institution. In any case, there is no guarantee that the request will be funded.
Nominated Referee and Reference
A reference must be provided by one nominated referee. The referee must be nominated by the Lead Applicant.
Nominated Referee Requirements and Guidelines
- The nominated referee must not be based at the same employing institution as the Lead Applicant or Co-applicant. The primary consideration is that they are able to comment independently and authoritatively on your application (i.e. someone in your field, who is independent from you, the Lead Applicant, and the Co-applicant). You do not need to know them personally, but you should make sure they are able to provide a reference before adding them to your application.
- The nominated referee will be expected to comment on:
- The partnership proposed for this award and the likely strength of focus on knowledge exchange that it is likely to support in exploring the blending of academic and non-academic environments.
- The knowledge exchange experience and credentials of applicants; the quality and interest of the activity, especially in terms of the knowledge exchange to be achieved, that is proposed for support under the scheme; and the benefit of the proposed partnership to the applicant, partner and the proposed knowledge exchange.
- The anticipated benefit on the applicant’s future engagement ambitions; and the improvement of connections with policy leaders and innovators at national, local or regional levels; the positive change to both academic and non-academic environments that is anticipated to arise from the activity; the feasibility of the timetable and organisation of the activity, the likelihood of other activity developing from the Academy’s initial investment, and the suitability of the costs presented.
- The statement submitted by the nominated referee should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the nominated referee.
- Nominated references from the Lead Applicant’s former/current supervisor (including PhD supervisor) will not be accepted. The referee must not be a member of the British Academy’s Council.
- The reference may be obtained from a person based within or outside the UK, but must be submitted in English. If a reference is not submitted in English, it will not be accepted and may render the application ineligible.
- Before listing your referee on your application form, you should seek permission from them that they are happy to provide this by the deadline. It is essential that you enter the correct email address for your referee, otherwise they will not receive the automated messages delivered from the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS. We strongly advise that you complete your application as early as possible to allow your referee enough time to provide their reference in the system. The reference must be submitted before the application can be approved. Any application without the supporting reference will not be able to be submitted.
- Please note that the reference must be provided through the GMS, they cannot be provided as an email attachment nor sent by post in hard copy. Any reference received after the deadline, or outside of the system, will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
Head of Department Supporting Statement
The Lead Applicant is required to obtain a statement of support from their Head of Department as part of this application.
Head of Department Requirements and Guidelines
- The Head of Department should be the person who heads the Department, Faculty, Institute or other unit of an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) in which you are currently working.
- As Head of Department, they will be expected to comment on:
- Their level of support for the application and the career development benefit to be gained by the Lead Applicant if the award is made. The Lead Applicant’s ability to exchange knowledge in non-academic settings and the Lead Applicant’s track-record of wider engagement in non-academic environments.
- N.B. They will be expected to confirm that the Lead Applicant will be released from duties at the employing institution for the duration of the award and be able to return to the employing institution once the award ends.
- The statement submitted by the Head of Department should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the Head of Department.
- Please note that the Head of Department statement must be received before you can formally submit the application for approval, and you are strongly advised to ensure that your Head of Department submits the statement well in advance of the formal applicant deadline for this round of competition as noted above.
- If the Lead Applicant is also Head of Department, the statement must be provided by another suitable individual, e.g. Deputy Head or Head of School.
Inviting Participants to Contribute to Applications
Your nominated referee and Head of Department must be invited to contribute to your application via the Flexi-Grant system. Please see further guidance below:
- The contributors will need to register for an account on the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS) via (https://britishacademy.flexigrant.com/), or have an account on Flexi-Grant, prior to being invited to contribute to the application.
- They can be invited through the ‘Contributors’ tab displayed on the application form summary page. Once they have been invited, they will receive an email notification with instructions on how to contribute.
- You can monitor the progress of your contributors’ activity through this section of the application form, and issue reminders as required. Once the recipient has accepted your invitation, their status will be displayed as ‘active’. Upon completion of their section of the application form, their status will be displayed as ‘complete’.
- Once contributors have completed all their sections of the application form, please remind them to select ‘Save & Submit’ on the application form page or select ‘Submit your contribution’ on the summary page.
- You will not be able to submit your application form until the status of all participants shows as ‘complete’ in the ‘Contributors’ tab.
Please also note that an application cannot be submitted until all required contributors have submitted their contribution first. We recommend your nominated referee and supporting participants fulfil their requirements at least 5 working days before the submission deadline to ensure there is sufficient time for organisational approval. The employing institution approver must approve the completed application by the submission deadline.
Assessment
Assessors will look specifically at the partnership proposed for this award and the likely strength of focus on knowledge exchange that it is likely to support in exploring the blending of academic and non-academic environments.
Assessors expect to be satisfied with the knowledge exchange experience and credentials of applicants. Decisions will then be taken with regard to the quality and interest of the activity, especially in terms of the knowledge exchange to be achieved, that is proposed for support under the scheme; and the benefit of the proposed partnership to the applicant, partner and the proposed knowledge exchange. In particular, the assessors will look at the anticipated benefit on the applicant’s future engagement ambitions; and the improvement of connections with policy leaders and innovators at national, local or regional levels; the positive change to both academic and non-academic environments that is anticipated to arise from the activity; the feasibility of the timetable and organisation of the activity, the likelihood of other activity developing from the Academy’s initial investment, and the suitability of the costs presented.
There are no interviews prior to selection. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application in January for immediate start before the end of the first quarter of 2024. The approving organisation will be asked to give its consent before the award is confirmed.
Opening date
12 July 2023
Closing date
11 October 2023, 17:00 UK time
Notification of result
January 2024
Research to commence
No earlier than 1 March 2024 and no later than 31 March 2024
Code of Practice
The Academy has a Code of Practice for assessing research applications, setting out the principles of equity, integrity and confidentiality governing the treatment of all applications for research support. The Code of Practice also covers Data Protection, the Academy’s ethics policy and the appeals procedure.
Feedback
Feedback is not a feature of the Innovation Fellowships scheme and the Academy is, regretfully, unable to enter correspondence regarding the decisions of the Final Awarding Panel, which are governed by the Code of Practice. Please note that by applying in this scheme, applicants undertake to accept the terms under which applications are assessed.
There must be no duplication of funding for the same purpose. Applicants may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time. For example, it would not be possible to hold two British Academy grant awards at the same time; but it may be possible to hold a British Academy grant (i.e. Talent Development Award or BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant) and a British Academy Fellowship at the same time, depending on the amount of time required for the Fellowship.
Please note that an application cannot be accepted if there is a report outstanding on any previous research grant awarded by the Academy to the Lead Applicant or Co-applicant named in the current proposal. Failure to follow this guidance will result in your application being withdrawn from this round of competition. Duplicate applications for the same purpose to more than one Academy scheme will not be accepted.
Making an Application via Flexi-Grant® GMS
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 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 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.
Approving Organisations on Flexi-Grant® GMS
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.
Assessment of Application Form
Applicants should be aware that this application form will be considered by appropriate assessors who will be subject specialists. Applications assessed as being worthy of funding will be submitted to the Final Awarding Panel for final decision on awards. The application will be treated as confidential at all times.
Guidelines for Using Flexi-Grant® GMS
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 work offline in a separate word processor 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. Only one user should edit an application at a time.
- Word limits: If you exceed the word limit, you will not be able to save the page you are working on. Longer-length text should be completed separately and backed up in a word processor.
- Plain text: If entering plain text, please avoid using symbols as some may not be accepted by the 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 employing institution at least five working days before the closing date to allow for your employing institution’s administrative procedures. You should also check whether your institution has its own internal deadlines. We strongly advise that you contact your nominated referee and Head of Department as early as possible to avoid any last-minute issues before the submission deadline.
- Application sharing: You can invite other contributors to join the application. All contributors must be registered on the Flexi-Grant management system and mark their work as ‘Complete’ before you can submit your application – including the nominated referee and Head of Department.
- 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 seven days after deletion. After this, it will be permanently removed from the system.
- Application returned for editing: The organisational approver can return your application to you for further editing, but the original deadline remains in place.
Please note that 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 employing institution. It may not be possible to rectify mistakes 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.
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.
The application can be completed by using the navigation tabs on the application summary page, with each page categorised as follows:
Page 1: Research Proposal
Page 2: Eligibility
Page 3: Lead Applicant Details
Page 4: Lead Applicant Career Summary
Page 5: Co-Applicant Details/Career Summary
Page 6: Financial Details
Page 7: Equal Opportunities
Page 8: Nominated Referee Statement
Page 9: Head of Department Statement
A full list of question fields to be completed as part of the application can be found in the following table. 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 righthand column contains useful guidance on its completion. A red asterisk (*) indicates which questions are mandatory and therefore must be complete before the application can be submitted.
Please read the Scheme Guidance Notes 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. All mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk ‘*’. Only then will a ‘Submit’ button appear for you to be able to submit your application.
Subject Area*
Please select the Subject Area from the drop-down menu that is most relevant to this proposal.
Title of Research Proposal*
In this field, please avoid using any unnecessary quotation or other punctuation marks (e.g. do not use quotation marks round the full title simply to indicate it is a title). Consider the presentation by checking the ‘print application’ option to ensure that the title appears as you wish it to.
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 Date*/End Date*
To select a date in the future using the calendar feature, click on the month and year in between the two arrows at the top of the box. To change the year keep clicking on the box – a second click will produce a decade. Use the arrows to move back or forward in time. To change the month, a second box will appear where you can select the month you wish and then you can type the year you require in the box provided. Click on the date and the calendar will take you to the month and year you have selected where you can select the relevant date for display. Please note that awards may be held for a minimum period of 6 months and up to a maximum period of 12 months from a starting date not earlier than 1 March 2024 and not later than 31 March 2024.
Proposed Research Programme*/ Other Relevant Information Upload/ Plan of Action*
The proposal must;
- clearly specify the context, and knowledge exchange objectives of the proposed study;
- describe the methodology to be used, and;
- set out a realistic programme, describing the activities that will take place, and explaining how they will contribute to the achievement of the knowledge exchange objectives.
Applicants should give an account of their proposed activity which is complete of itself and should not depend on material facts being provided by their referees, nor rely on special prior knowledge on the part of assessors.
All applications must fully justify and clearly itemise the activity to be undertaken with the Co-applicant at the partner institution.
If support is sought for visits between UK and overseas scholars, applicants should clearly explain the purpose of the meeting(s).
If a research assistant is to be employed, applicants should provide a brief job description, clearly stating the nature of the work to be undertaken by the research assistant, and the arrangements for ensuring adequate supervision. If the research assistant has already been identified, details should be given under ‘other participants’, otherwise, applicants should state the skills and qualifications sought.
Applicants should justify the period of employment (or number of hours) for which funding is sought (e.g., has a pilot study or sample been conducted to show how long it will take the assistant to achieve the task in question?). Please note that PhD candidates employed as research assistants on projects funded by the Academy should work for no more than 10 hours per week on projects outside their own PhD research. British Academy research grants may not be used to fund work by PhD candidates that is directly related to their PhD thesis.
Applicants should keep in mind the timescale of the award (not less than 6 months and not more than 12 months) and propose a plan of action which is achievable.
If the study will involve the use of a questionnaire as a research tool, a sample of the questionnaire (in English) should be submitted, if available at the time of application. Please note that no other attachments can be uploaded. The PDF cannot exceed 3 Mb in size.
If applicants wish to include a reference list/bibliography, then this should be included as part of the main text – you cannot upload this as an additional document. Please note that it is not a mandatory requirement that you include a list of references.
The limit for the proposed research programme field is 2000 words, and for the plan of action is 800 words.
Planned Research Outputs*/ Plans for Publication and Dissemination*
Under ‘planned research outputs’, please only state the type of output expected. The kind of outputs may involve, but are not limited to:
- Evidence notes – reports, notes and responses to key challenges/approaches for developing connections with policy leaders or innovators;
- Data analysis – identifying and analysing datasets that may be relevant to enhancing understanding and framing new solutions;
- Case studies – exploring practical or policy-orientated solutions, engagement between academic and non-academic environments and the wider benefits to individuals/communities/regions;
- Briefings/blogs/podcasts/videos and other outputs to reach a variety of audiences and environments, including policymakers (where relevant);
- Conferences/workshops/webinars/toolkits and other training opportunities which enable knowledge exchange.
Please give detail about plans to disseminate findings from the Fellowship to wider audiences within and beyond academia under plans for publication/dissemination, for which the limit is 500 words. In assessing value for money, the assessors may consider the intended outcome as compared with the amount of money sought, although it is fully appreciated that some modes of research are more expensive than others and proposals will not be discriminated against on grounds of cost alone.
Digital Resource/ Deposit of Datasets*
Digital resources created as a result of research funded by the Academy should be deposited in an appropriately accessible repository. Of course, we do not expect confidential data to be readily available.
If applicable to your project, you will need to 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.
Applicants should ensure that any necessary technical advice is obtained before commencing work that involves the creation of digital resources. Please confirm whether the primary product of the research will be a digital resource, and if so how and where it will be deposited.
Overseas Travel: Country/ Institution
Where overseas travel is to be undertaken, please list the most significant country (up to three can be chosen) to be visited under “Overseas travel – country”; and if your research involves working in a particular overseas institution, and/or working in other countries to which you will travel in connection with this application, please give details under ‘Overseas travel – institution’.
This information is used for monitoring purposes and may be provided to sister Academies or other organisations which have agreements or links with the British Academy, or the British International Research Institutes. Relevant information about the proposal, including, with the consent of the applicant, contact details, may be shared with the sister Academies or Institutes where this is part of the assessment process, or where joint funding is available. (Please view our website for list of organisations with which the Academy has links).
Support of British International Research Institutes Required/ Granted
Please note that scholars may not apply for cash support from both the British Academy and the British International Research Institutes. There is no bar to applicants seeking cash support under the Innovation Fellowships scheme, and logistical, permit-related, or other non-cash assistance from an Institute or Society. If the project is funded by an Institute or Society, an application may not be submitted under the Innovation Fellowship scheme. If your research will take you to a country or region in which one of the British International Research Institutes operates, you are strongly encouraged to make contact with them before completing this form so that you can take account of any relevant expertise, facilities and logistical advice. Details can be found on our website.
Skills Competence*
The Academy expects that applicants will have the skills necessary to conduct the activity. If relevant, please state the level of skills competence of the Lead Applicant and other participants, or otherwise explain how the objectives of the activity will be met. This field is mandatory and the limit is 300 words.
Other Participants/ Role of Other Participants/ Added Value of Collaboration
Under ‘Other participants’ please give the names, appointments and institutional affiliation of any other participants in the proposed research. If detail is not known yet, please indicate numbers and status of people who might be involved. Please describe the contribution to the project to be made by other participants, citing any particular specialisms and expertise, under ‘role of other participants’; and 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 more explanation.
Source of Funding
Please provide details of other support given or applied for in connection with the current proposal.
Please indicate whether any other grant applications relating to this project have been submitted, either to the British Academy or to any other funder. Applications submitted to the Academy by separate applicants will not be accepted if it is considered that both (or all, if more than two) applications relate to the same project, whose components would not be viable as independent pieces of research.
The Academy has no objection to its grants being held in conjunction with awards from other bodies, if there is no duplication of expenditure.
Applicants are requested to keep the Academy informed of the outcomes of any other applications by email to [email protected].
Failure to do so may jeopardise the application’s prospects of success. In cases where simultaneous applications to the Academy and to another funding agency covering the same elements of a project are both successful, the applicant will be asked to choose which award to accept.
Only if there is no duplication and no unnecessary inflation of a project will an applicant be permitted to retain both awards (subsequent requests to alter the plan of research simply to allow the applicant to retain both awards are unlikely to be considered favourably).
Primary* and Secondary Subjects
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.
Multidisciplinary Proposal
If the proposed engagement is especially multidisciplinary in its approach, please explain more in detail. This is an optional field.
Time Period*, Audiences*, Regional Interests*
These fields provide the opportunity to give further indications of the relevance of your subject area. They are optional fields.
Employing Organisation*
N.B. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete your application in time for your employing institution to process it and provide their approval by the closing date.
Please select your current employing institution. The majority of appropriate establishments are registered in the system. If your employing institution is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant, please contact us via [email protected] to discuss possible registration. Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Please note that applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this round of the scheme.
All applications must be approved by the employing institution 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. The deadline for this round is the deadline by which approval must be given. Remember that the application cannot be submitted for approval before the nominated referee and Head of Department have submitted their contributions, so it is essential to obtain the reference and supporting statement well before the deadline.
It is strongly recommended that the applicant maintains an open dialogue with the approving department at their employing 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 approving department has checked your application, they will contact you if any changes are required, please note if changes need to be made these will have to be done before the deadline as they cannot be done afterwards.
Co-Applicants*
Please note that all applications must have one Lead Applicant and one Co-applicant. 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® GMS.
The Lead Applicant is responsible for notifying any other parties. For Route A (Researcher-led) Fellowships, the Co-applicant is defined as the principal individual from the UK-based partner organisation receiving the Fellowship who will be directly involved in the project and must be ordinarily resident in the UK. A UK-based partner organisation for Route A (Researcher-led) includes: business and commercial organisations, charity and public sector organisations, community organisations, policy-relevant organisations, think tanks or voluntary organisations. The partner organisation must not be the same organisation at which the Lead Applicant is based. The Co-applicant may have a PhD or equivalent experience. They do not need to have a PhD or any other form of academic background.
For the Innovation Fellowships scheme, one Co-applicant must be named for Route A (Researcher-led).
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.
Lead Applicant Contact Details* /Nationality*
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.
Statement of Qualifications and Career*
Please give details of up to 4 qualifications in reverse chronological order.
Present Appointment, Employing Institution and Department*
Please give details of your current appointment. All applications require one Lead Applicant. Eligible Lead Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom with a current long-term appointment that will continue for at least as long as the period of the award at a UK-based institution (e.g. a Higher Education Institution [HEI] or Independent Research Organisation [IRO]). If your employing institution is not currently registered on the Academy’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant®, please contact us via [email protected] to discuss possible registration.
PhD Confirmation*
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.
Career Stage*
Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Applicants must self-define their career stage in the application, providing further details about career breaks or other circumstances, if relevant. Applicants do not have to fit within a certain time-frame since their PhD in order to prove their career-stage. However, applicants must self-define their career stage and demonstrate this accordingly in their applications. Typically, it can be defined as within 15 years of being awarded your PhD (although this will be interpreted flexibly to accommodate any career breaks, parental/caring leave or non-traditional career trajectories). However, this typical definition is a guide only. Applicants may self-define their career stage as they see fit. Applicants should be aware that if they are more advanced in their career, the assessors may determine that they are not within the bounds of the scheme. Therefore, applicants should explain their career stage clearly in response to the question on career stage in the application form. This is a mandatory field, the limit is 150 words.
Personal Statement
Applicants are invited to include any information relating to their professional career which they may wish to be taken into account in assessing this application. For example, details of a career break, or the effect of working on a part-time contract may be relevant. Lead Applicants who do not have a doctorate may have equivalent experience, which they should define here. This is an optional field.
Experience of working in teams across different disciplines and across different areas of policy and practice*
Please outline your ability and experience of working in teams involving interdisciplinary projects or policy or practice areas outside your usual role, and of contributing to interdisciplinary research. For example, if you are a researcher, please outline your ability and experience of working with policymakers or practitioners. This a mandatory field and the limit is 300 words.
Experience of communicating and engaging with a wider audience*
Please outline your ability and experience of engaging with audiences outside your area of expertise and of communicating your work to non-specialists. This is a mandatory field and the limit is 300 words.
Publications*, Unpublished Research
Please list up to six relevant publications or outputs to date in reverse chronological order under publications/outputs which demonstrate the expertise in the relevant field and engagement with audiences including beyond academia; and any unpublished studies previously funded by any agency, including but not restricted to the British Academy. Please give details of planned publication dates or explain why the research has not yet been published. Assessors may take backlogs of publication into account.
Previous Support Dates
An application will not be eligible for consideration if there is a report outstanding on any previous research grant awarded by the Academy to the applicant or any Co-applicant. Failure to follow this guidance will result in your application being withdrawn from this round of competition.
Please give details of any research applications submitted to the British Academy within the last five years. In the case of a further application for continuing research which has received previous Academy support, please note that a full report and statement of expenditure for the previous grant must be submitted before further funding can be considered.
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. As appropriate please state BA website; BA literature; PhD supervisor; University Research Office; Twitter, other colleague etc.
Co-applicant Contact Details*/ Residency*/ Website/ Career Summary*
For the Innovation Fellowships scheme one Co-applicant must be named for Route A (Researcher-led).
For Route A (Researcher-led) Fellowships, the Co-applicant is defined as the principal individual from the UK-based partner organisation receiving the Fellowship who will be directly involved in the project and must be ordinarily resident in the UK. A UK-based partner organisation for Route A (Researcher-led) includes: business and commercial organisations, charity and public sector organisations, community organisations, policy-relevant organisations, think tanks or voluntary organisations. The partner organisation must not be the same organisation at which the Lead Applicant is based. The Co-applicant may have a PhD or equivalent experience. They do not need to have a PhD or any other form of academic background.
N.B. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, 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.
Your Co-applicant will need to register themselves on the British Academy GMS before they are able to complete this section.
If applicable, please enter all the details of your Co-applicant 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’.
Once you have clicked on the ‘Send Invitation’ button, your Co-applicant will be able to view your application amend the relevant Co-applicant career summary page.
The Co-applicant is required to provide details which are similar to the Lead Applicant above. Additionally, the Co-applicant is required to confirm that they are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom. They are also required to provide details of the website, if there is one, associated with the partner organisation which is receiving the Fellowship. If the partner organisation does not have a website, please explain accordingly.
Financial Details*/ Justification*
If you include ineligible costs, your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
Please provide details of funding in the relevant fields:
- Directly Incurred Salary Costs;
- Directly Incurred Research Expenses;
- Directly Allocated Costs (including Estates Costs);
- Indirect Costs.
N.B. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC.
Route A: Researcher-led Innovation Fellowship awards are offered on a Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis. Applicants must enter the costs in the application form, Financial Details section, at 100% FEC. The maximum that can be claimed is £150,000 at 100%, of which the Academy will pay 80% (i.e. up to £120,000 if the full sum is requested).
There are four elements to the Full Economic Costing. The Directly Incurred Salary Costs are the costs of the time of the Lead Applicant as this is a Fellowship award. Directly Incurred Research Expenses include costs of travel and subsistence, as well as project costs. Note that there is a minimum spend expected on this research expense element of at least £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution). The other elements are Directly Allocated (Estates) Costs and Indirect Costs which cover costing for space, central support services and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution in supporting the Fellow.
The Academy recognises that the upper limit on the contribution that the Academy’s funding can make to this award – £120,000 – might not be sufficient to cover all of the costs up to 80% of the Full Economic Cost value required. In those cases, an employing institution may need to be willing to make additional contributions to the overhead costs involved.
N.B. This is Fellowship award and not a project grant, therefore it is anticipated that most of the funding sought will be to support the costs associated with the Lead Applicant’s time (through direct salary contribution). It is expected that not more than 25% of the total budget and not less than £12,500 at 100% FEC (£10,000 at 80% British Academy contribution) will be used for Directly Incurred Research Expenses.
The Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship, providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application, especially if the time commitment is below 0.5 FTE. The Innovation Fellow will be expected to spend their allocated time of between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE working with their UK-based partner organisation in their UK-based office or another mutually agreed site of the partner. All of the grants awarded are expected to be used for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
Please be aware that if the Fellowship is offered, then there can be no viring of funds between each of these four budget headings, and no spending can take place outside the time-frame of the Fellowship.
Applicants should prepare accurate costings for the proposed project costs and should be particularly careful not to overestimate the resources required. Applicants are advised that competition for funds can be fierce, and proposals on the margin for award may have a greater chance of success if they are modestly costed.
Costs should be clearly itemised and justified in terms of the research programme. If the Academy is being asked to support only a proportion of the total costs, please explain this clearly under proposed programme on the proposal tab.
It is advised that travel costs should be clearly justified; that the length of time for which subsistence is sought should be justified in the application; that per diem rates should be explained; that hourly or monthly rates of research assistants should be specified; and that the period of employment needed for a research assistant should be fully justified. If a claim for child or parental care is included, please supply sufficient justification for the case to be assessed.
If a claim for child or parental care, or additional needs, is included, please supply sufficient justification for the case to be assessed – alternatively, application may be made for this type of cost to the British Academy’s Additional Needs Funding.
Please note that grants are cash-limited, and there is no scope for supplementation of an award. Projects should be fully costed from the outset.
All of the grants awarded are expected to be used for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
Please do not use ‘£’ signs in the amount boxes.
FTE Contribution*
Please state the proportion of time (FTE) to be committed to work on this award. For the Innovation Fellowships (Route A: Researcher-led), the Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship. Providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application, especially if the time commitment is below 0.5 FTE. The Innovation Fellow will be expected to spend their allocated time of between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE working with their UK-based partner organisation in their UK-based office or another mutually agreed site of the partner. Please state in this field the proportion to be committed on this award as a figure. Additionally, please confirm if you, the Lead Applicant, will be based in the partner organisation’s office or another mutually agreed site of the partner.
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 concerning your age, gender, ethnic origin and disabilities (if any).
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, including referees etc.
Lead Applicant Referee Statement*
Lead Applicants are required to nominate one referee in total and ensure that the supporting statement from their chosen referee is submitted on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS well in advance of the deadline for the submission of your application.
Please enter all the details of the referee by clicking ‘Contributors’ tab on the Application’s ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the referee’s email addresses and then click ‘Send Invitation’.
Nominated referee
The nominated referee must not be based at the same employing institution as the Lead Applicant or Co-applicant. The primary consideration is that they are able to comment independently and authoritatively on your application (i.e. someone in your field, who is independent from you, the Lead Applicant, and the Co-applicant). You do not need to know them personally, but you should make sure they are able to provide a reference before adding them to your application.
The nominated referee will be expected to comment on:
- The partnership proposed for this award and the likely strength of focus on knowledge exchange that it is likely to support in exploring the blending of academic and non-academic environments.
- The knowledge exchange experience and credentials of applicants; the quality and interest of the activity, especially in terms of the knowledge exchange to be achieved, that is proposed for support under the scheme; and the benefit of the proposed partnership to the applicant, partner and the proposed knowledge exchange.
- The anticipated benefit on the applicant’s future engagement ambitions; and the improvement of connections with policy leaders and innovators at national, local or regional levels; the positive change to both academic and non-academic environments that is anticipated to arise from the activity; the feasibility of the timetable and organisation of the activity, the likelihood of other activity developing from the Academy’s initial investment, and the suitability of the costs presented.
The statement submitted by the nominated referee should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the nominated referee.
Before listing your referee on your application form, you should seek permission from them that they are happy to provide this by the deadline. It is essential that you enter the correct email address for your referee otherwise they will not receive the automated messages delivered from the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS.
We strongly advise that you alert your referee as early as possible to allow them enough time to provide their reference in the system. Note that the deadline shown to the referee is the deadline for the whole application to be submitted. The application needs to be approved before the same deadline, and it cannot be submitted for approval before the reference and Head of Department statement of support are submitted.
An application cannot be considered for an award unless the proposal, reference and Head of Department statement of support have been submitted on time.
Please note that references must be provided through the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, they cannot be provided as an email attachment nor sent by post in hard copy. Any references received after the deadline, or outside of the system, will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
Head of Department Statement*
Applicants are required to include a supporting statement from their Head of Department on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS well in advance of the deadline for the submission of your application.
Please enter all the details of your Head of Department by clicking ‘Contributors’ tab on the Application’s ‘Summary’ page. Please click on the ‘Invite’ button, enter the Head of Department’s email address and then click ‘Send Invitation’.
The Head of Department should be the person who heads the Department, Faculty, Institute or other unit of an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) in which you are currently working. As Head of Department, they will be expected to comment on:
- Their level of support for the application and the career development benefit to be gained by the Lead Applicant if the award is made. They will be expected to comment also on the Lead Applicant’s ability to exchange knowledge in non-academic settings and the Lead Applicant’s track-record of wider engagement in non-academic environments.
- N.B. They will be expected to confirm that the Lead Applicant will be released from duties at the employing institution for the duration of the award and be able to return to the employing institution once the award ends.
The statement submitted by the Head of Department should be on letterheaded paper, dated and signed by the Head of Department.
We strongly advise that you alert your Head of Department as early as possible to allow them enough time to provide their statement in the system. Note that the deadline shown to the Head of Department is the deadline for the whole application to be submitted. The application needs to be approved before the same deadline, and it cannot be submitted for approval before the HOD statement is submitted.
If the Lead Applicant is also Head of Department, the statement must be provided by another suitable individual, e.g. Deputy Head or Head of School.
An application cannot be considered for an award unless all contributions have been submitted on time.
Please note that statements must be provided through the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, they cannot be provided as an email attachment nor sent by post in hard copy. Any statements received after the deadline, or outside of the system will not be accepted, and your application will be withdrawn from this competition.
THE ACADEMY WILL ONLY PROCESS COMPLETE, SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS.
Once you have submitted your application for approval by your employing institution, automatic emails will be sent to your employing institution 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 employing institution for approval. The employing institution approver will either: approve and submit your application, ‘send back’ your application and contact you to request modifications 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 employing institution 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 employing institution as their internal timetables may require earlier submission.
If your employing institution 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 employing institution.
Once your employing institution 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, employing institution 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 employing institution 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.
Assessment Criteria
Assessors will look specifically at the partnership proposed for this award and the likely strength of focus on knowledge exchange that it is likely to support in exploring the blending of academic and non-academic environments.
Assessors expect to be satisfied with the knowledge exchange experience and credentials of applicants. Decisions will then be taken with regard to the quality and interest of the activity, especially in terms of the knowledge exchange to be achieved, that is proposed for support under the scheme; and the benefit of the proposed partnership to the applicant, partner and the proposed knowledge exchange. In particular, the assessors will look at the anticipated benefit on the applicant’s future engagement ambitions; and the improvement of connections with policy leaders and innovators at national, local or regional levels; the positive change to both academic and non-academic environments that is anticipated to arise from the activity; the feasibility of the timetable and organisation of the activity, the likelihood of other activity developing from the Academy’s initial investment, and the suitability of the costs presented.
Please see the flowchart below for an overview of the application to award process for a Route A: Researcher-led Innovation Fellowship.
Once your application has been submitted – complete with a reference from your nominated referee and a statement of support from your Head of Department – and it has been approved by your employing institution, you will not be contacted again by the British Academy until the decisions have been made. 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.
Applicants in any doubt about their eligibility or any other aspect of their application are advised to contact the Research Funding Office at the Academy, where staff will be pleased to assist.
The British Academy
Research Funding Office
10-11 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AH
Due to remote working, we recommend contacting us by email only.
Email: [email protected]
Important Dates
Deadline for application submission and organisation approval: 11 October 2023, 17:00 (UK time)
Results announced by email to address on application: by January 2024
British Academy Additional Needs Funding
The British Academy has set aside specific funding to support any additional needs that applicants and award holders may require. This funding would be in addition to the amount already requested for research expenses. Each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This additional financial support cannot be guaranteed but the British Academy is keen to be as inclusive as possible in supporting applicants and award-holders with any additional needs in order to facilitate the best possible research. Some examples of what may be considered for this funding are:
- Specific equipment to overcome barriers to people with disabilities undertaking research.
- Assistance to allow applicants living with sensory impairment to carry out their research.
- Bids for the cost of child, parent or other caring responsibilities may be considered if the carer is conducting research away from home and it is not possible to make alternative arrangements.
- The costs of normal regular care whilst at home are not eligible for support.
To find more information about British Academy Additional Needs Funding and apply, please visit our website.