Disability Inclusion Partnerships Grant Programme

This project sits under the Enabling Research Strand of Going Global Partnerships and aims to support disability inclusion in research in the higher education sector. Grants will be provided to partnerships through proposals jointly submitted by a UK university (lead applicant) and at least one university in the partner country. The grant will be awarded to the UK institution, which will be responsible for the grant administration and overall project management of the collaboration.

Objectives 

• The scheme has the following objectives:
  • Generating new knowledge on barriers and facilitators to participation of persons with disabilities in research in higher education environments.
  • Establishing new partnerships around disability inclusion in research between institutions from the two countries OR expanding existing ones.
  • Developing policy recommendations for enabling disability inclusion in higher education.
  • Proposing mechanisms for strengthening capacity in teaching and learning in inclusive settings.
  • Proposing models for inclusive classroom/lab/fieldwork designs and research in higher education.

Themes

• A list of themes (though not exhaustive) is given below:
• Disability in the research sector. The extent to which the research sector of higher education is disability inclusive to include consideration of intersections of disability with other individual characteristics.
  • Disability and gender – disabled women in research, including career pathways, (teaching and/or research focussed roles), flexible working opportunities.
• How disability inclusion is being researched within higher education and with the wider community.
  • Exploring intersectionalities and the combined impacts of disability, ethnicity, gender on individual access to learning and research opportunities.
  • Exploring the lived experiences of those with different disabilities on access to learning and research opportunities.
• How inclusive are the research environments for those persons with disabilities.
  • Inclusive infrastructure design, challenges faced by persons with disabilities, the importance of design/approaches to inclusive design, design prototypes/user testing.
  • Inclusive learning and teaching in research-adjacent areas, including practical, laboratory and/or fieldwork instruction.
  • Use of assistive technologies in research sector or training of persons with disabilities.
• How persons with disabilities are being supported to develop their self-advocacy skills, and the role of organisations in supporting this as part of a shared advocacy approach.

Funding Information

• The Disability Inclusion Partnerships expects to support a total of five projects up to a maximum of £25,000 in value each, for a 12-month period, starting from January 2025.

Expected Outcomes 

• An expectation of all projects is that they should meet at least one of the following outcomes:
  • Enhanced understanding of disability issues/intersections of disability and other individual characteristics (e.g., gender) in research activities and careers.
  • Increased capacity and skills to embed disability inclusion in research.
  • Development of resources and data on disability in research settings to support the development of inclusive research cultures.
  • Expansion of international networks and sustainable collaborations leading to more creative solutions to tackling barriers to disability inclusion in research careers, particularly early careers and career transitions.

Eligibility Criteria

• Grants are open to higher education institutions and not-for-profit research institutions in the UK, with a view to partnering with institutions in Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan or Uzbekistan.
• Each proposal must have both:
  • One Lead institution from one of these countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Kenya, Uzbekistan, and;
  • One Lead institution from the UK
  • The proposal must be prepared jointly by leads from both institutions but submitted by the Lead from the UK Institution.
• Overseas lead institution must be one of the following:
  • Higher Education provider, as locally defined
  • Not-for-profit research institutions, establishment and organisations, as locally defined
  • Indonesia – for Indonesia the lead institution must be an accredited Higher Education Institution, as locally defined.
• The partnership can include in their proposals Associated Partners (from both the overseas county and the UK) affiliated with:
  • Higher Education providers
  • Not-for-profit research institutions, establishment and organisations
  • TVET/FE providers
  • Other education organisations/charities/foundations/membership bodies
  • Not-for-profit organisations, including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
  • For-profit/commercial organisations, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
  • Branch and satellite campuses of UK Higher Education providers
  • Government organisations
  • Employer organisations and industry bodies
  • Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Social Enterprise organisations.

For more information, visit British Council.