Culture, Heritage and Climate Action Scheme

Deadline Date: April 10, 2024

Donor Name: The British Academy

Grant Size: $100,000 to $500,000

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/culture-heritage-and-climate-action/

The British Academy is inviting proposals on culture, heritage and climate action from researchers based in the UK, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.

This call is supported from the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund managed by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. In the context of this call, funding from the International Science Partnerships Fund is funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA), therefore applications for this funding must be ODA-eligible.

Programme Aims & Scope of the Call

• The aim of this call is to support ODA-eligible international research collaborations between humanities and social sciences researchers in the UK and researchers in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries on culture, heritage and climate action. Applications that are not considered ODA-eligible will not be taken forward through the assessment process.
• Furthermore, whilst it is not a requirement, applications are welcome to work across the humanities and social sciences AND the natural, medical and engineering sciences. The Academy particularly encourages applications led from the humanities.
• The Academy intends to be able to support policy-relevant research that can be either novel research or research that builds on existing or ongoing research in culture, heritage and climate action.
• The Academy envisages the awards made through the Programme will:
  • Provide opportunities for researchers based in the UK and Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries to develop and/or deepen international research collaborations;
  • Deliver policy-relevant ODA-eligible research in culture, heritage and climate action that provides clear insights and deliverables for action at local, national and/or regional levels in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries;
  • Co-creates and engages with local and/or national community, societal, business and/or policy stakeholders to design, develop and embed the research findings.
• This call has a focus on culture, heritage and climate action. The Academy wishes to support diverse policy-relevant thinking related to this challenge. The Academy does not have any pre-determined ideas regarding the exact type of project, outputs, and dissemination of the research other than that it must be policy-relevant. Instead, the onus is on the applicants to convince the Academy that their projects bring genuine added value to addressing the Programme Aims and Scope of the Call and bring valuable insights and perspectives of relevance to the policy challenges of culture, heritage and climate action.
• Climate change is the existential challenge of the time and climate action is key to supporting inclusive economies and societies in the future, however, culture and heritage are often not sufficiently included in current climate actions. Evidence from the social sciences and humanities is critical to supporting this agenda and how they can shape a positive future. The Academy wishes to support policy-relevant research in the humanities and social sciences that will help demonstrate and develop how culture and heritage can create opportunities to enhance climate adaption and mitigation in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.
• Through this call, the Academy is looking to support awards that engage in exploring the needs, impacts and implications of culture, heritage and climate action in diverse settings, for diverse groups and communities, and that include diverse approaches to climate action, and consider how to build capacities and capabilities for climate action centred on culture and heritage.

Value of Funding

• The total funding available per award in this call is up to £200,000 over 18 months. Within that limit of £200,000 over 18 months the award is offered at 80% FEC (i.e. the total contribution requested from the Academy may not exceed £200,000 and the total project value at 100% FEC may not exceed £250,000).

Duration and Start of Award

• Projects must be 18 months in duration and are expected to commence by the end of June 2024.
• The call is expected to be able to support at least 3-5 awards.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
  • Each project will be led by a named Principal Investigator (PI). The PI must be a researcher in a discipline within the social sciences or the humanities. The PI is expected to direct the research and the management of the project and has responsibility for the overall project reporting requirements.
  • The PI must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience). The PI must hold an established role in an eligible university or research institute in the UK, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries. The PI’s position must last at least the duration of the grant funded by the Academy.
  • The PI can spend a minimum of 20% of their time and a maximum of 100% of their time on the grant. The time spent on the grant can change over the course of the award but may not be under 20% across the duration of the award. Staff employed on the award may be employed full or part time regardless of the time the award holder spends on the award.
  • PIs may not hold more than one British Academy award of a comparable nature at any one time.
  • An individual cannot be the PI on more than one bid under this Programme.
  • Applicants can be of any nationality but they must be based in the UK, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.
  • Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (or have equivalent research experience).
  • Awards are available to individuals, to be held in an institutional context.
  • Applications under this call will not be accepted if the applicant or any collaborators have any outstanding reports or statements of expenditure which are still to be submitted to the Academy following previous awards.
  • Duplicate applications to more than one British Academy funding programme will not be accepted.
• Co-Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
  • Must include at least one researcher who is based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries if the Principal Investigator is based in the UK or one researcher based in the UK if the Principal Investigator is based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries.
  • Must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).
  • Can include other researchers based in the UK or internationally at all career stages.
  • No individual may be a Co-Applicant on more than two projects under this call (nor may a PI be additionally a Co-Applicant on more than one other project).
• Other Participants: Projects may also include any number of specified ‘Other Participants’, who may, for example, be relevant stakeholders participating in networking or dissemination events, academic or policy advisers, practitioners, industry representatives, etc.
• Institutions: The award must be held at an institution recognised by the Academy. The following types of organisations will be eligible to apply to host the award:
  • Higher Education Institutes that received funding from one of the UK higher education funding bodies.
  • Research institutes (RIs), for which research councils have established a long-term involvement as major funder as part of the national research base.
  • Approved relevant Independent Research Organisations.
  • Public Sector Research Organisations.
  • Research organisations based in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and/or Least Developed Countries and approved as eligible by the British Academy no later than 2 weeks before the deadline of this call and who have responded to the question in the application form related to Due Diligence.
• All grants will be paid to the employing institution of the PI, and not to the individual researchers involved. Institutions must be officially recognised by the British Academy prior to the proposal being submitted.

For more information, visit The British Academy.