The Artwork and Humanities Analysis Council’s (AHRC) responsive mode is present process some modifications to enhance the variety of researchers we fund, present extra readability on our schemes and allow elevated flexibility and extra bold tasks.
A part of this modification has been to pause our Observe-on Fund scheme to allow us to seek the advice of with the group and take into consideration how you can finest adapt this type of funding for the longer term.
This weblog submit intends to share extra data with you about this work, and to assist hold you knowledgeable of what to anticipate through the months forward.
Part one: Catalyst, Curiosity and Mission
Catalyst and Curiosity had been launched in summer time 2023, as a direct results of suggestions gathered from our analysis group. Catalyst higher helps rising arts and humanities expertise by providing expanded provision for researchers with no monitor report of serious funding seize. Curiosity creates a versatile area for researchers in any respect profession phases to discover novel, early-stage concepts previous to growing additional funding bids.
Growing the higher restrict for Analysis Grants to £1.5 million and the launch of Mission in April this yr to fund tasks between £2 million and £3 million, each acknowledges the rising value of analysis and invitations our group to use with extra bold tasks which are modern of their analysis management and collaboration.
Till now, we’ve not included Observe-on Fund in our evaluate, ready till these different schemes had launched and had been establishing themselves.
Observe-on Fund: learnings for the longer term
Observe-on Fund will not be the one avenue for extending the impression of funded analysis, however it’s a extremely popular scheme nonetheless and enjoys comparatively robust success charges compared to a few of our different funding.
It helps our innovation focus and our express need to diversify the beneficiaries and members of arts and humanities analysis. We had been additionally inspired to see the energy of Observe-on Fund in 2021 Analysis Excellence Framework; it’s clear that Observe-on Fund generates glorious analysis impression.
But throughout our focus teams over the previous couple of years, though we weren’t explicitly discussing Observe-on Fund, we heard from members of our group that there’s room for enchancment. And it’s important that we take the time to raised perceive the place the scheme is working properly and the place it isn’t. Now our different modifications to responsive mode are starting to mattress in, it’s the proper time to hold out a evaluate of Observe-on Fund.
The evaluate
Our analysis will permit us to evaluate worth for cash of this scheme and supply AHRC with an enhanced proof base for a way we’re supporting excellent arts and humanities analysis and innovation. It can additionally discover how finest to ship environment friendly and efficient pathways to impression and methods to upskill researchers to collaborate and interact with numerous companions and audiences.
The evaluate will intention to evaluate:
- how do the goals of the Observe-on Fund scheme assist our broader ambition for impactful, participating and numerous arts and humanities responsive mode funding?
- how does the present design of the Observe-on Fund allow supply of its goals?
- how does the Observe-on Fund match inside the wider arts and humanities funding panorama?
- what’s the total contribution of this scheme to the UK financial system and society between 2015 and 2024?
- what examples reveal the number of impression the scheme has funded?
How one can become involved
The evaluate will embrace interviews with a wide range of sector vast stakeholders, along with working with earlier and present grant holders. However we additionally wish to give a possibility for suggestions from all our group. We could have extra data on how one can have interaction with us in direction of the top of 2024 by way of our e-newsletter and socials.
Whereas the evaluate is underway, purposes for Observe-on Fund shall be paused. We are going to proceed to course of all purposes acquired up till the deadline of spherical 4, closing 18 July 2024.
We are going to publish the evaluate’s findings as soon as it’s accomplished. I’m eager that the evaluate gives a very robust proof base for enchancment and units out methods we will form our plans for the longer term. You will need to me, and to AHRC, that we will reveal what we’ve learnt.
To proceed to be up to date with the most recent AHRC information and alternatives:
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