Innovation Fellowships Scheme 2023-24 – Route B: Policy-led (Central Government)

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.

The Innovation Fellowships scheme has two routes:

Route B: Policy-led

The British Academy is inviting applications for funding for policy-led Innovation Fellowships (Route B), through which applicants must apply to work with one of our partners. Our partners for this funding call (Route B: Policy-led; Central Government) are: the Cabinet Office (CO); His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) – joint hosts for this scheme; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). To learn more about the Route B: Policy-led Central Government call and apply, stay on this webpage. (Additionally, for details about the Route B: Policy-led BA/FCDO call and how to apply, please see our website here.)

This scheme provides funding and support for established early-career and mid-career researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences (the SHAPE disciplines) 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, our researchers in the SHAPE community are supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development.

This call will enable researchers to partner with a range of central government departments for 12 months. Successful applicants will work within specific policy areas set out by the departments. These policy areas broadly correlate to the British Academy’s own policy programmes of work, which cover similar themes.

The Academy and the government departments invite applications for Fellowships in any of the following areas:

• Evaluation of Local Growth Policies (Cabinet Office).
• Evaluation of Net Zero Policies (Cabinet Office).
• Business Investment in the UK (His Majesty’s Treasury/Department for Business and Trade).
• Productivity in the UK (His Majesty’s Treasury/Department for Business and Trade).
• The UK Operating in the New World Economic System (His Majesty’s Treasury/Department for Business and Trade).
• Loneliness (Department for Culture, Media and Sport).
• Assessing the quality and value of services provided by the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (Department for Culture, Media and Sport).

Scheme opens date: 6 September 2023

Application deadline: 22 November 2023 – 17:00 UK time

Starting period of award: no earlier and no later than 31 March 2024

Duration of award: awards are for 12 months in duration

Level of award: Route B (Policy-led) awards are on the basis of Full Economic Costing (FEC) at 80%. The British Academy will award up to £120,000. The Lead Applicant must commit between 0.4 and 0.8 FTE time to the Fellowship.

Eligibility: Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK 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 (HEI or IRO); and be at early- or mid-career stage. Applicants must also meet the requirements set out in the Scheme Guidance Notes in the ‘Working at and with the CO, HMT/DBT and DCMS’ section; in particular, the requirements about security clearance and nationality.

Route A: Researcher-led

From 12 July to 11 October 2023, the British Academy is inviting applications for funding for researcher-led Innovation Fellowships (Route A), through which applicants must apply with a partner that they have identified. To learn more about the Route A call and apply, please view our website here.

Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route B: Policy-led (Central Government)

For full information on the Innovation Fellowships Scheme – Route B: Policy-led (Central Government), please view our scheme guidance notes and frequently asked questions.