AHRC Call for Locally Unlocking Culture through Inclusive Access (LUCIA)

AHRC Call for Locally Unlocking Culture through Inclusive Access (LUCIA)

Provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Locally Unlocking Culture through Inclusive Access (LUCIA) programme aims to empower communities across the UK to have the agency and opportunity to enable growth and address equitable access to culture. It will do this by funding partnerships which amplify seldom heard voices; which respect diverse cultural identities; and which facilitate creative expression, in order that innovative solutions can be found to widen community participation in culture across the UK.

Networks must start by 1 April 2026, and will be funded for 12 months. The full economic cost (FEC) of a network can be up to £100,000 and AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Applicants must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. Applications from early career researchers (both as project leads and project co-leads) are particularly encouraged as regard this programme as an important pipeline for growing interdisciplinary researcher capacity in the UK. Please note that where the project is led by an ECR you must include a mentor.

Applications should be led by a strong, interdisciplinary leadership team who can articulate a clear shared vision for the network. Applicants should ensure partnerships within the leadership team are equitable, inclusive and support innovative interdisciplinary approaches.

Project co-leads from cultural, cultural policy and other relevant sectors, as well as representation from people with expertise by experience, must be included as part of the leadership team. These co-leads from outside of academia can be costed at 100% FEC where justified. This should be utilised to ensure equitable representation and remuneration for different partners.

Applications are open until 10 April 2025 (16:00). 

Please note: there is an optional notification of intent (NoI) stage for this UKRI funding opportunity. To submit an NoI, please fill in the survey (embedded in the link) by 4:00pm UK time on 3 December 2024.

Acknowledgement of NoI receipt and potential feedback will be provided in early January 2025. Given that there is potential for feedback we would highly recommend that interested applicants take advantage of this.

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