British Acdemy 19 Feb 08

The British AcademyTHE NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: 

The British Academy THE NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Jane Lyddon, International Relations Birkbeck College, 19.02.08

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2 UK national academy Learned society Grant-giving body The British Academy

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3 Mission Statement The mission of the Academy is to serve as the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences, promoting, sustaining and representing advanced research

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4 The British Academy The Humanities The Social Sciences The Royal Society The Physical Sciences The Biological Sciences

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5               The British Academy ESRC – social sciences AHRC – arts and humanities The Royal Society EPSRC – engineering and physical sciences MRC – medical sciences NERC – natural environment STFC – science and technology facilities BBSRC – biological and life sciences Relation to Research Councils

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6 Funding: CSR Settlement: £21m, rising to £26m FEC, additional activities Reprioritisation/strategic review Career support, esp. early and mid International leadership Dissemination, policy

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7 £19.89m Programme Budget 2007-08

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8 Research and Conference Grants Research Posts Research Projects Research Programmes

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9 £15.25m Plus Policy & Evaluation £110k Research budget 2007-08

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10 Policy Champion humanities & social sciences Influence national and EU research policy (e.g. RAE, FP) Independent advice to Government and other bodies, public and private Research-related studies, e.g. Copyright and Research E-resources Peer review The contribution of humanities and social sciences

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11 Humanities and social sciences Postdoctoral level Applicants resident in the UK Small-scale projects/individual posts Normally travel and maintenance Complement the schemes of the AHRC and the ESRC Non-directive Research awards

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12 Small research grants: up to £7,500 British Academy Research Development Awards (BARDA): up to £150,000 FEC primary research individual or collaborative research clearly defined, self-contained projects identifiable outcomes Research Grants

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13 3 competitions per year, deadlines: 15 Oct, 15 Jan, 15 April Results issued 2-3 months after deadline Awards £7.5k, tenable for up to 24 months Commonly used for pilot studies, small-scale projects Worldwide in scope, international partners High priority in Academy portfolio Wide outreach: 125 HEIs in 06/07 financial year Small Research Grants

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14 1 competition per year, deadline: 15 October Results issued end March Awards tenable for up to 36 months FEC awards: cash limited at £150k Flexible support, especially aimed at mid-career scholars Project support and time buy-out (any combination) Replaces Larger Research Grants scheme and Research Leave Fellowships British Academy Research Development Awards

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15 2 schemes, next deadlines 15 Jan, 15 April, 15 Oct 2008 Overseas Conference Grants (individual) Conference Support (events) Conference Grants

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16 Overseas Conference Grants Travel grants for UK scholars giving papers at conferences abroad (max £900) Conference Support Support for events (£1,000 to £20,000) To promote dissemination of advanced research (replaces and integrates 3 separate schemes) Conference Grants

Success rates in 06-07: 

17 Success rates in 06-07 Small Research Grants 997 apps, 716 awards (72%) Overseas Conference Grants 994 apps, 655 awards (66%) British Conference Grants (now merged in single scheme) 385 apps, 199 awards (52%)

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18 Postdoctoral fellowships (3 years) Early career (Apply within 3 years of award of doctorate) Senior Research Fellowships (1 year) Aimed at mid-career Research Posts

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19 currently offering up to 45 awards each year tenable for three years experience of independent research introduction to teaching career development output and dissemination Postdoctoral Fellowships

Postdoctoral Fellowships: 

20 Annual competition Next closing date: 1 October 2008 2-stage application process Awards to be taken up from 1 Sep 2009 Heavy competition – 600+ applications High priority scheme Postdoctoral Fellowships

Senior Research Fellowships: 

21 Senior Research Fellowships 7 each year, tenable for one year to complete major programme of research relief from teaching and administration closing date 1 October 2008 Non-FEC, sponsored by Leverhulme Trust Thank-Offering to Britain Fellowship

Academy Research Projects: 

22 Recognition of c. 40 long-term infrastructural projects Datasets of fundamental resources Support for British contribution to collaborative international enterprises Periodic Call for Proposals (last call June 2007) Academy Research Projects

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23 Budget £4.4m million in 2007-08 c. £3.4 million on overseas research institutes c. £1m on International Relations International Activities

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24 Aims to create and foster partnerships Agreements: 42 Agreements with Academies, Research Councils and other bodies in 32 countries Individual research visits or small-scale joint projects See website for geographical coverage International

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25 6 Research Institutes, premises in Nairobi, Athens, Rome, Amman, Jerusalem, Ankara, Tehran Facilitate and promote original fieldwork and research Variety of disciplines Base for UK scholars Channels of engagement International Relations

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26 Area Panels Africa, China, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East, South Asia Overview of UK collaboration Bilateral links Grant programmes Reports Learned Societies Area Focus

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27 Visiting Fellowships Introduced in 2006 to bring early-career postdoctoral scholars to the UK for between 2 and 4 months Application by foreign scholar, with parallel application from UK host Last deadline 23 November 2007 Scheme funding includes FEC Some funding earmarked for specific geographical areas; the rest available worldwide International Relations

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28 Research and International Grants academic merit originality of proposal relationship to and volume of research already in the field feasibility of research programme specificity of scheme of research presentation intended outcomes Evaluation Criteria

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29 Research Posts academic merit academic record : capacity to make a significant contribution to research For PDFs: potential to go on to a successful academic career as a teacher in higher education For Senior Fellows: how pressing is the need for the research time applied for Evaluation Criteria

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30 light assessment procedures, proportionate to scale of funding subject specialists within Academy recommendations confirmed by Award Committees, in light of budget available external evaluation for larger awards Code of Practice for all assessors Peer Review

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31 Consultation with academic community in 2006 found that: BA performed important complementary role to Research Councils High value placed especially on Small Research Grants Priority for responsive mode funding welcomed Consultation 2006

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32 Research Grants Department grants@britac.ac.uk / 020 7969 5217 Research Posts Department posts@britac.ac.uk / 020 7969 5265 International Relations Department overseas@britac.ac.uk / 020 7969 5220 Contacts:

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The British AcademyTHE NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: 

www.britac.ac.uk The British Academy THE NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES