CFAs: Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund Scheme (UK and Hungary)

Funding Information

• Grants do not normally exceed £2,500, but in exceptional circumstances bids for up to £5,000 may be considered, for research taking place over a maximum period of 24 months.

Eligible Costs

• Funds may be sought to cover the direct expenses incurred in planning, conducting, and developing the research including:
  • project planning and development costs (cost of travel for discussion in the UK and overseas)
  • travel and maintenance
  • research assistance (based in UK or abroad)
  • consumables
  • specialist software
  • costs of interpreters in the field

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
  • Grants are available for advanced research, at postdoctoral or equivalent level, in the study of the antiquities or historical geography or early history or arts of those parts of Asia which come within the sphere of the ancient civilisations of India, China, and Iran, including Central Asia.
  • Applicants must be either British or Hungarian subjects.
  • Applicants should be of postdoctoral status or have equivalent experience.
  • Awards will not be made retrospectively: this means that the work for which support is requested must not have commenced before the award is announced.

Assessment Criteria

• Assessors will evaluate the proposal on the basis of its academic merit, taking into account its originality, its relationship to, and the volume of, research already in the field, the scholarly importance of the research proposed, the suitability of the methodology, the feasibility of the research programme, the specificity of the scheme of research, the presentation, and intended outcomes; and its suitability for support from the Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund.
• Assessors will evaluate the ability of the investigator(s) to undertake the proposed research, taking into account their track record in terms of publication, their academic age and stage of career. Backlogs of publication (including any reasons given by applicants) may be taken into account in assessing the current proposal.
• The primary assessment of quality will be based on the specific research objective of the proposal, and whether the methodology and research programme outlined are likely to lead to successful achievement of the objective. The details of how the objective will be achieved – whether through research visits, use of research assistance, workshops, or any combination of eligible activities/costs – will be assessed only in relation to each individual application. No preference will be shown between individual or collaborative modes of research. There are no quotas for different types of application, and no comparisons will be made across applications on the grounds of their operational and financial specifications. For projects involving partners from other countries, assessors may take into account the availability of partner funding: in cases where partner funding is likely to be scarce, assessors may give priority to those projects which are likely to contribute to capacity building and lead to benefits for the wider scholarly community.
• Assessors may take into account evidence of language competence where the understanding of material in a foreign language is crucial to the achievement of the research objective.
• Comparative judgements about value for money may be taken into account at the final stage of assessment. Any special case made for endangered or emerging fields may be taken into account at the final stage of assessment.

For more information, visit The British Academy.