Innovation Fellowships 2023-24 – Route B (Policy-led): Scheme guidance notes
Please read these scheme notes carefully.
Any application incorrectly submitted will not be eligible for award.
Applications should be submitted well in advance of the deadline; we recommend at least five days prior to allow for institutional approval.
1. The British Academy has been funded by the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) to support the Innovation Fellowships. The Academy is also working on this scheme in partnership with other partners, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), as per this call.
2. 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 business in the creative and cultural, public, private and policy sectors, to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions. 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.
3. The Academy is able to offer awards of up to £120,000 for 12 months in duration (with Full Economic Costing at 80%).
4. Applications must be submitted by 1 November 2023, 17.00 (UK time).
5. The Innovation Fellowships scheme has two routes: Route A: Researcher-led and Route B: Policy-led. This call is for Route B with the Academy working with the FCDO.
6. The current scheme guidance notes give details for Route B (Policy-led), and specifically in relation to our partnership with the FCDO. Please note that only one application for this call may be submitted. 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.
7. 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.
8. The British Academy is inviting applications from early-career and mid-career researchers who are working on the themes outlined below 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.
9. Through the Innovation Fellowship scheme, you will have the opportunity to facilitate 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 through their award. This is an opportunity for all participants to form new collaborations and draw on the insights this brings to inform, influence and develop their future development.
10. 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 as part of their applications.
11. The British Academy and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) are aiming to support two Innovation Fellowships in this call.
12. The FCDO has specialised research requirements, operating in a context where timely access to high-quality evidence-based analysis can mean the difference between success and failure. Exerting influence, negotiating and leveraging others’ power at precisely the right moment is at a premium. This can make it difficult for researchers operating outside the FCDO to have a significant impact. These Fellowships will provide an opportunity to change that by enabling close interaction with FCDO policymakers directly in the heart of this government department’s work.
13. These Fellowships will take place in the context of the publication earlier this year of the UK Government’s Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a more contested and volatile world. The Academy and the FCDO invite applications for Fellowships in any of the following four areas.
14. The Impact of Serious and Organised Crime on Future UK Foreign Policy: Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) threatens international security and prosperity: it extends and exacerbates conflicts; undermines stability; and inflicts the highest economic cost on the lowest-income countries. Mitigating the impact of SOC is a key strand of the Integrated Review. This work requires better awareness of the underpinning terrain of how organised crime groups (OCGs), and other actors, interface with international threats; particularly state-threats, and also terrorism, cybercrime and more. The Fellow would have the skills and knowledge to combine subject matter expertise on international SOC with an understanding of its impact on regional and international order. They would be attached to the Research Analysts Cadre within the Research & Evidence Directorate and would work closely alongside relevant policy Directorates.
15. The History of International Development and Aid Policy: This Fellowship would help develop FCDO’s capability to offer a historical perspective on the origins of aid policy and delivery as it has evolved over the last century, with particular emphasis on the post World War 2 period. Development and aid have been closely linked with other aspects of the UK’s foreign policy, discussions on international trade and with the UK’s international standing and reputation. This is an opportunity to develop the FCDO’s historical knowledge and awareness on this theme which would then inform the UK’s wider diplomatic work. The Fellow could have a specialism in post-war British economic history, or knowledge of international development programme delivery, or technical cooperation and national and multilateral aid institutions and programmes. The Fellow might have a global perspective or bring a regional specialism to the work. They would be attached to the FCDO Historians group.
16. Iran: This would be an opportunity to work on a high priority issue for the FCDO, covering a broad set of policy areas. The main focus would be on Iranian internal social and political issues. This could cover civil society, ethnic minorities and their relation to the state, migration to and from Iran, societal trends, corruption, the informal economy or environmental issues. The Fellow would be attached to the Research Analysts Cadre within the Research & Evidence Directorate and would work closely alongside relevant policy Directorates.
17. India and other South Asian states: This would be an opportunity to work on the priority areas of India’s foreign and security policy. The policy context is the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt as outlined in the Integrated Review and the increased cooperation between the UK and India, elevation of the partnership to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’, and agreement to strengthen ties through implementing the 2030 roadmap. The research focus would include 4 India’s relations with regional nations, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, under its ‘neighbourhood first policy’, as well as Indo-Pakistan relations which have a greater security focus. The Fellow would be attached to the Research Analysts Cadre within the Research & Evidence Directorate and would work closely alongside relevant policy Directorates.
18. These Fellowships will be fully integrated into the FCDO’s structure and are placed within a research and/or policy and strategy focussed team in the FCDO: Fellows have a line manager and additional support and mentoring will be provided.
19. Work-planning is a mixture of demand and self-tasking based on evolving FCDO needs. An indicative list of tasks includes: writing papers and shorter notes, oral briefings for senior officials and ministers, meeting external and cross-Whitehall partners, as well as organising and running masterclasses. The Fellows would agree the outline of a work programme with their FCDO line manager and team.
20. The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, highlighting policy relevance to non-experts is of importance to all FCDO work. So too is the ability to work collaboratively with others and to do so at pace, sometimes delivering to tight deadlines.
21. The Fellows will need to agree to respect the FCDO’s values and standards of behaviour and sign an agreement to that effect. Failure to do so may result in the termination of the Fellowship.
22. Fellows will also be obliged to respect the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and observe the duties of propriety and confidentiality during and after the Fellowship period. This means consulting the FCDO before undertaking activities involving:
(a) the disclosure of UK Government official information; and
(b) the publication or disclosure of material liable to affect the Government’s relations with other countries.
23. An FCDO-nominated contact will be responsible for the sensitivity review of all publications prior to their submission for publication. However, the Fellows will not be obliged to make amendments to the content unless publications contain information that it is in breach of the Official Secrets Act (as laid out in the Civil Service Code), or a confidentiality agreement, or which could disclose sensitive, classified and/or personal information, or which could affect the Government’s relations with other countries. The terms and conditions of award will include the above.
24. For security reasons, and in line with FCDO policy, successful applicants have to be security cleared before the offer of a Fellowship can be confirmed. The level of security clearance required for these Fellowships is ‘Security Check’. Applicants are expected to provide information requested by FCDO in a timely manner. The start date of the award will depend on successful completion of the security check and signature of the agreement at para 22, above.
25. While UK nationality is not essential, applicants need to have a minimum of two years residence, including 12 months of continuous residence in the UK in the preceding five years.
26. Dual nationality is not in itself a barrier but potential applicants with close ties to the area on which they would be working, or who are not UK nationals, should contact the FCDO (Personnel Security Team, [email protected]) before applying since there may be security limitations which would prevent them from accessing the necessary material.
27. Loss of clearance during the Fellowship period, for example, due to personal conduct, will risk termination of the secondment. All security clearance decisions are personal to the applicant and depend on a range of factors.
28. 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).
29. There are three 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. 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.
30. 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.
31. All of the grants awarded are expected to be used solely for the purposes specified in the application and agreed in the award-letter.
32. The Applicant must commit between 0.6 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship, providing justification for the time percentage as part of the application.
33. The deadline for applications to be submitted to this call is Wednesday 1 November 2023 at 17.00 (UK Time). This includes the employing institution approver approving the completed application by the submission deadline. Any applications submitted after that deadline will be ineligible.
34. The final awards panel will meet after the call for applications are closed. When the Panel meets it will include an interview element as part of its assessment. Applicants are required to be available to attend these interviews as a mandatory part of the assessment process
35. Awards are for a period of 12 months.
36. Awards are expected to commence no earlier than 1 January 2024 and no later than 31 March 2024.
37. The start date of the fellowship award will depend on the successful completion of the security check and signature of the agreement at para 22, above. Applicants are expected to provide information requested by FCDO in a timely manner to enable the fellowship to begin promptly.
38. Award holders are required to complete three reports:
- An interim report at the midpoint of the Fellowship reporting on progress and lessons learnt to date.
- 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.
39. Eligible 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]).
40. They must also meet the requirements set out above in the ‘Working at and with the FCDO’ section.
41. 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.
42. Applicants may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time.
43. Applicants for the Innovation Fellowships Scheme should be intending to pursue challenges that can benefit from the contribution of Humanities or Social Sciences expertise.
44. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and 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.
45. 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 the award, if successful.
46. 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). This includes all direct and indirect costs incurred by the employing institution, including space, central support services, and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution on behalf of the Fellow.
47. Funding will be provided on the Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis primarily to cover the salary of the Applicant. The Innovation Fellow will be expected to spend their allocated time of between 0.6 and 0.8 FTE working with the FCDO in their office and/or other mutually agreed sites.
48. Eligible costs will be funded under the following headings:
- 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 0.6 and 0.8 FTE. It is expected that the majority of funding requested will cover the Lead Applicant’s salary costs.
- Estates and indirect costs. The award can include the employing institution’s estate and indirect costs incurred as a result of direct staff costs.
49. The following items are not eligible for funding (applicants registered with special needs may consult the Academy about possible exceptions prior to application):
- directly allocated salary costs: No directly allocated costs can be attributed to this award;
- purchasing of assets;
- equipment costs;
- computer hardware including laptops, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, etc;
- books and other permanent resources;
- the preparation of camera-ready copy, copy-editing, proof-reading, indexing, nor any other editorial task;
- subventions for direct production costs (printing, binding, distribution, marketing etc);
- costs of publication in electronic media;
- carbon offsetting;
- open access fees.
50. Applicants are required to obtain a statement of support from their Head of Department as part of this application.
51. 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 their level of support for the application and on the career development benefit to be gained by the Applicant if the award is made. They will be expected to also confirm that the 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.
52. 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.
53. If the Applicant is also Head of Department, the statement must be provided by another suitable individual, e.g., Deputy Head or Head of School.
54. Heads of Department must be invited to contribute to your application via the Flexi-Grant system. Please see further guidance below:
- 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 participants’ 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 participants 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. 8
55. Please also note that an application cannot be submitted until all required contributors have submitted their contribution first. We recommend that supporting participants fulfil their requirements at least 5 working days before the submission deadline to ensure there is sufficient time for organisational approval.
56. The employing institution approver must approve the completed application by the submission deadline.
57. All eligible proposals submitted in response to this call will be assessed by relevant peer reviewers and then considered by a final selection panel, which will conduct interviews with a shortlist of applicants.
58. Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
a. The research expertise of the applicant in their chosen area of interest from paragraphs 14-17;
b. The experience and interest of the applicant in engaging closely with policy counterparts, and particularly with colleagues in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office;
c. The anticipated benefit and impact on the FCDO’s policymaking process and the applicant’s future policy engagement ambitions;
d. The ability of the applicant to engage orally in their chosen research area of expertise, and particularly to be able to provide policy relevant, clear and succinct oral briefings (will be assessed at interview if applicants are invited to interview);
e. Value for money.
59. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application by January 2024 for a start intended to be by no later than April 2024, subject to security clearance and the signing of a loan agreement with the FCDO.
60. The approving organisation will be asked to give its consent before the award is confirmed.
61. All applicants must register in the British Academy’s online Flexi-Grant® system to enable the processing and assessment of their application. All applications must be submitted in English.
62. All applications will be subject to an eligibility check undertaken by appropriate British Academy staff before being put forward for assessment, and applications that are not completed correctly and on time will not be considered.
63. The deadline for submissions and UK institutional approval is 1 November 2023 at 17.00 (UK time). Applicants will not be allowed to make any changes to their applications or submit any additional information after the 1 November deadline.
64. 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. The Code of Practice may be viewed on the Academy’s website
65. Feedback is not a feature of the Innovation Fellowships scheme and the Academy is, regretfully, unable to enter correspondence regarding the decisions of the awarding Committee, 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.
66. Please contact Georgina Fitzgibbon on [email protected] for further information.
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 registered in the previous 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.
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 @thebritishacademy.ac.uk to request the addition of the organisation.
The deadline for submissions and UK host organisation approval is 1 November 2023 (17.00 UK time). Applicants will not be allowed to make any changes to their applications or submit any additional information after the 1 November deadline.
When completing your application on the British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS, it is recommended that you take particular 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 represents a personal record of your account in the system and will help to populate the contact details in any application form you complete. It is useful if this information is kept up to date, but it is not essential to the progress of an application.
- Automatic log-out: You are strongly advised to save your work regularly to prevent accidental loss of information. In particular, you should be aware that if the system does not detect any activity for 1 hour it will log out and save the application at that time. Please note that moving between pages within an application form will save the page that you are exiting but completing a field on a page is not considered an activity. It is recommended that you write the text for longer sections/fields in a word processor such as Word and then copy and paste into the relevant text box to avoid being timed out in this way.
- Multiple sessions: 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.
- Word limits: When completing boxes that have a restricted length (note that it refers to words) you should note that if you exceed the specified amount you will not be able to save when you press the save button. You should type the text for the longer-length boxes in a word processor. You will then be able to check the word count and paste it into the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. You will then still have a copy of the text to return to in the word processor. The word limit applies to text boxes.
- Plain text: If entering plain text, please avoid using symbols as some may not be accepted by the British Academy Flexi-Grant® system. You should generate and view a PDF of your application to check that the application appears as you want it to by clicking on ‘print application’.
- Email addresses: The British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS relies heavily on automatic email contact. It is essential that you ensure you enter accurate email addresses where requested as it may cause considerable delay in the submission/processing of your application if any of these are incorrect. You cannot make changes to email addresses after your application has been submitted for approval.
- Submission of application: 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 a designated approver at your host organisation at least 5 working days before the closing date to allow for your host organisation’s administrative procedures. Please note that the institutional approver is a person within the UK host organisation, usually within the central research support office, who has authority for approving all applications submitted to the British Academy. Please be aware that any co-applicants or other contributors will need to mark their sections as ‘complete’ before you will be able to submit your completed application form.
- Once you have submitted your application for approval by your host UK organisation, automatic emails will be sent to your host UK 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 UK organisation for approval. The host UK organisation approver will either: approve and submit your application, ‘send back’ your application and contact you to request modifications (if before the 1 November deadline) 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 host UK 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 UK institution as their internal timetables may require earlier submission.
- If your host UK organisation approver requests modifications through the British Academy GMS email facility, they can unlock your application, allowing you to edit it. They can do this by selecting ‘Return to Applicant’. An automatic e-mail 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 UK organisation. Once your host UK organisation has approved your application and submitted it to the British Academy, it will not be possible to make any changes.
- Application sharing: All applications must be started by the applicant who is to be the Principal Investigator (PI) on the award. You can invite other contributors to join the application (e.g. Co-Applicant, Finance Office contact etc.), but in order to do so your contributor will need to be registered in the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant® system first. You will need to ensure you have their registered email address to invite them to participate in your application. You can let other British Academy Flexi-Grant® GMS users view your draft application in advance of submission by providing their email address. They will be able to log in using their existing password and see your application and, depending on permissions, amend your application.
- 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 organisation approver can return your application to you for further editing before the closing deadline of the call. See ‘Submission of Application’ above.
- Guidance: In the tables below you will find in the left-hand column each question as set out in the application form and in the right-hand column useful guidance on its completion. • Further clarification: If any of this advice is unclear, or you need further information, please do not hesitate to seek clarification from the British Academy’s International Team (contact details at the end of these notes).
- Further clarification: If any of this advice is unclear, or you need further information, please do not hesitate to seek clarification from the British Academy’s International Team (contact details at the end of these notes).
PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU CREATE A PDF OF YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION (by clicking ‘Print Application’), AND CHECK IT THOROUGHLY, INCLUDING EMAIL ADDRESSES AND UPLOADED PDF FILES, BEFORE SUBMITTING IT FOR APPROVAL BY YOUR UK HOST ORGANISATION. 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: Applicant Details
Page 3: Head of Department Statement
Page 4: Financial Details
Page 5: Equal Opportunities
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 once all mandatory fields are marked as ‘Complete’, and all Contributors are all marked as ‘Complete’ will a ‘Submit’ button appear for you to be able to submit your application.
Scope of the Fellowships*
Applications are welcome in any of the following areas:
- The Impact of Serious and Organised Crime on Future UK Foreign Policy
- The History of International Development and Aid Policy
- Iran
- India and other South Asian states
Applicants are required to select one option.
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 must be held for 12 months from a starting date not earlier than 1 January 2024.
Research Expertise in Chosen Area of Interest*
Please explain your research expertise in one of the areas of interest (see above under ‘scope of fellowship’). It is necessary to select only one area of interest and detail your expertise to date in this area.
The limit for this field is 2000 words.
Policy Engagement*
Please explain your expertise, experience and interest in engaging closely with policy counterparts, and particularly the value you can bring to working with counterparts at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The limit for this field is 1000 words.
Benefit and Impact*
Please explain what anticipated benefit and impact is envisaged that can be brought to bear on FCDO’s policymaking process, and the applicant’s future policy engagement ambitions.
The limit for this field is 1000 words.
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 made 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. In developing any such accessible datasets you will need to be aware of the FCDO’s requirements around the Official Secrets Act and publications.
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.
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 14 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.
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).
Applicant Contact Details*
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.
Applicant Contact Details*
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.
Nationality*
Please state your nationality. You must select one but you may select up to three if applicable.
Present Appointment, Employing Institution and Department*
Please give details of your current appointment.
All applications require one Applicant. Eligible 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. 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.
Employment Status*
Please confirm that you will be employed for the duration of your proposed project.
Permanent Position*
Please indicate whether this position is permanent or not.
Position Start Date*/End Date
Please state the start date of your position and, if applicable, the end date.
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.
PhD Awarded Date
Please enter the date of the viva voce examination in this field.
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. This is an optional field.
Key Career Appointments and Posts *
Please provide a list of your key appointments and posts.
Key Career Publications, Grants, and other Career Highlights *
Please provide a list of key relevant publications, grants, and highlights, that you think most appropriate for an award under this scheme
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.
Authorised Member of Staff at UK Host Organisation *
Please state your name and job title. This would normally be expected to be a Pro Vice-Chancellor or equivalent (Head of Faculty/Department/Institute is not sufficient)
Confirmation of authority *
Please check this box to confirm that you are in the relevant position to approve this application for submission.
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 in an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) which you are currently working. As Head of Department, they will be expected to comment their level of support for the application and on the career development benefit to be gained by the Applicant if the award is made. They will be expected to also confirm that the 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.
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.
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.
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;
- Estates and Indirect Costs
Funding will be provided on the Full Economic Costing (FEC) basis primarily to cover the salary of the Applicant.
The Academy will provide 80% of the FEC of the Fellowship. As such, the Academy expects to pay the FEC at 80% of the costs entered on the application form as the value sought. The maximum value of the award made by the Academy is £120,000, meaning that the total cost of the Fellowship at 100% FEC may be up to £150,000. This includes all direct and indirect costs incurred by the employing institution, including space, central support services, and other necessary costs incurred by the employing institution on behalf of 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 institution may need to be willing to make additional contributions to the overhead costs involved.
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.
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.
Please do not use ‘£’ signs in the amount boxes.
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.
THE ACADEMY WILL ONLY PROCESS COMPLETE, SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS.