Funding Call – Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route B: Policy-led (Digital Society) 2024-25 competition
The British Academy is now inviting applications to the Innovation Fellowships scheme – Route B: Policy-led (Digital Society) 2024-25 competition. The application form is available online on Flexi-Grant®, the Academy’s grant management system.
Aims and purpose of the scheme
The British Academy has been funded by the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) to continue its support for the Innovation Fellowships scheme. The Academy is working on this scheme in collaboration with a number of other partners. For this first round of the funding call, the Academy is partnering with the Department for Education (DfE), specifically the Unit for Future Skills, an analytical and research unit situated within the wider department. There are expected to be further funding calls in relation to Digital Society in 2024-25.
This scheme provides funding and support for established early-career and mid-career researchers in the humanities and social sciences (the SHAPE disciplines) 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 are supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development.
This call will enable researchers to partner with a central government department, the Department for Education (DfE), for 12 months. Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas set out by the department. These policy areas broadly correlate to the British Academy’s own Digital Society policy programme, which covers similar themes.
Scope of the Fellowships with the Department for Education (DfE): Artificial Intelligence (AI) Skills
Fellows will work with the Unit for Future Skills, an analytical and research unit within the Department for Education working to improve the quality of jobs and skills data, which operates across government to make this available and more accessible to policymakers, stakeholders and the general public. This Fellowship will be working with and alongside teams within the Skills Strategy and Engagement Division but will also be conducting independent research and analysis. The central topic that Fellows will be working on is on understanding AI skills across the UK.
Eligibility
Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK 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 (HEI or IRO); and be at early- or mid-career stage. Applicants must also meet the requirements set out in the scheme guidance notes in the ‘Working at and with DfE’ section; in particular, the requirements about security clearance.
Level of award
Route B (Policy-led) awards are on the basis of Full Economic Costing (FEC) at 80 per cent. The British Academy will award up to £120,000. The Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship. The awards are for 12 months in duration.
Applying for this scheme
Applications are available online on the Flexi-Grant® application system.
Deadline for application submission and organisation approval: 26 June 2024, 17:00 (BST time).
Results expected by: September 2024.
Awards available to start between: 1-31 October 2024.
For further information on our Innovation Fellowships Scheme 2024-25 – Route B: Policy-led (Digital Society), please view our scheme and application guidance and frequently asked questions.
If you have any questions, please contact grants@thebritishacademy.ac.uk