Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route A: Researcher-led (UK)

Researchers will be supported to develop new and deeper links beyond academia, so enabling knowledge exchange and individual skills development.

The British Academy has been funded by the UK Government, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT; formerly known as BEIS) to continue its support of the Innovation Fellowships scheme. The Innovation Fellowships scheme is a dual-route scheme designed to enable researchers in the humanities and social sciences 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. Both routes require an established researcher to work with a UK-based partner organisation on a specified policy or societal challenge that contributes to the aims of the scheme for a period of up to one year.

Route A: Researcher-led

• The British Academy is inviting applications for funding for researcher-led Innovation Fellowships (Route A), through which applicants must apply with a partner organisation which they have identified.
• 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 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, the 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. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • developing new approaches for supporting innovation across the economy, regions, and society;
  • contributing to and leading on challenges targeted at increasing links with industry and business, broadly defined;
  • improving direct connection of researchers with policymakers, leaders and innovators at local and regional levels in the UK.
• These Fellowships will forge innovative place-based partnerships to create new intellectual, cultural, community and economic opportunities that will address key societal challenges.

Aims and Purpose of Scheme

• The British Academy has been funded by the UK Government, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT; formerly known as BEIS) to continue its support of the Innovation Fellowships scheme. Other partners are also expected to be confirmed by the British Academy in due course.
• 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 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, the 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. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • developing new approaches for supporting innovation across the economy, regions, and society;
  • contributing to and leading on challenges targeted at increasing links with industry and business, broadly defined;
  • improving direct connection of researchers with policymakers, leaders and innovators at local and regional levels in the UK.
• These Fellowships will forge innovative place-based partnerships to create new intellectual, cultural, community and economic opportunities that will address key societal challenges.

Features of the Scheme

• The Innovation Fellowships scheme has two routes:
  • Route A: Researcher-led
    • In this call, they are inviting applications for funding for researcher-led Innovation Fellowships (Route A), through which applicants must apply with a partner which they have identified.
  • Route B: Policy-led
    • They will be inviting applications for policy-led Innovation Fellowships (Route B) through which applicants will work with one of the named policy partners. The details of the policy partners for Route B will be released in due course, along with specific funding calls for that route.

Funding Information

• The British Academy will award up to £120,000.
• Awards can be held for a minimum period of 6 months and up to a maximum period of 12 months. Awards are expected to commence no earlier than 1 March 2024 and no later than 31 March 2024.

Route A: Researcher-led Characteristics

• For Route A (Researcher-led), the researcher should apply with a named UK-based partner organisation outside their employing institution. The researcher’s employing institution must be a UK-based Higher Education Institution (HEI) or Independent Research Organisation (IRO). A UK-based partner organisation includes: business and commercial organisations, charity and public sector organisations, community organisations, policy-relevant organisations, think tanks or voluntary organisations. In the application, the researcher must detail the challenge they seek to address and the existing nature of the relationship with the partner (if applicable).
• The application submitted must be collaborative between the researcher and a collaborator within the partner organisation. If successful, the relationship with the partner organisation will be managed by the researcher, i.e. the Lead Applicant, with responsibility for the success of the award residing with the Lead Applicant’s employing institution and be conducted in line with the Terms and Conditions of Award. The British Academy welcomes projects and partnerships that are focused in their region or location and encourages applications from researchers who consider themselves to be early-career or mid-career researchers.

Activities and Outputs

• Successful candidates will be selected on the basis of the quality and interest of the activity or range of activities and outputs proposed in the application. Award-holders will be expected to play a role in promoting the approaches and methods that are the focus of their award, and consider the potential for engagement between academic and non-academic environments. Eligible activities and outputs can involve, but are not limited to:
  • Evidence notes – reports, notes and responses to key challenges/approaches for developing connections with policy leaders or innovators;
  • Data analysis – identifying and analysing datasets that may be relevant to enhancing understanding and framing new solutions;
  • Case studies – exploring practical or policy-orientated solutions, engagement between academic and non-academic environments and the wider benefits to individuals/communities/regions;
  • Briefings/blogs/podcasts/videos and other outputs to reach a variety of audiences and environments, including policymakers (where relevant);
  • Conferences/workshops/webinars/toolkits and other training opportunities which enable knowledge exchange.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead Applicant
  • All applications require one Lead Applicant. Eligible Lead 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]).
  • Applications are welcome from early-career researchers and mid-career researchers. Applicants must self-define their career stage in the application, providing further details about career breaks or other circumstances, if relevant. Applicants do not have to fit within a certain time-frame since their PhD in order to prove their career-stage. However, applicants must self-define their career stage and demonstrate this accordingly in their applications. Typically, it can be defined as within 15 years of being awarded your PhD (although this will be interpreted flexibly to accommodate any career breaks, parental/caring leave or non-traditional career trajectories). However, this typical definition is a guide only. Applicants may self-define their career stage as they see fit. Applicants should be aware that if they are more advanced in their career, the assessors may determine that they are not within the bounds of the scheme. Therefore, applicants should explain their career stage clearly in response to the question on career stage in the application form. Lead Applicants who do not have a doctorate may have equivalent experience, which they should define in the personal statement section.
  • Applicants for the Innovation Fellowships scheme should be intending to pursue challenges that can benefit from the contribution of Humanities or Social Sciences expertise.
  • N.B. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and Lead 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. Please note that applications from independent researchers cannot be accepted in this scheme.
• Co-applicant
  • For Route a (Researcher-led) Fellowship, the Co-applicant is defined as the principal individual from the UK-based partner organisation receiving the Fellowship who will be directly involved in the project and must be ordinarily resident in the UK. A UK-based partner organisation for Route A (Researcher-led) includes: business and commercial organisations, charity and public sector organisations, community organisations, policy-relevant organisations, think tanks or voluntary organisations. The partner organisation must not be the same organisation at which the Lead Applicant is based. The Co-applicant may have a PhD or equivalent experience. They do not need to have a PhD or any other form of academic background.
  • For the Innovation Fellowships scheme, one Co-applicant must be named for Route a (Researcher-led).
  • N.B. Postgraduate students are not eligible to apply for grant support from the Academy, and Co-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.
• Other Participants
  • Lead Applicants may specify other participants who do not equate to being a Co-applicant. Other participants will be beneficiaries of the activity proposed by the Lead Applicant and will not be directly involved with the organisation of activity.
• Employing Institution Eligibility
  • Lead 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 Award, if successful.

For more information, visit Innovation Fellowships Scheme.