Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: AHRC Responsive Mode: UKRI NSF-SBE Lead Agency: Round Two

This funding opportunity allows UK and US based researchers to submit a collaborative proposal that will go through a single review process.

You can submit a collaborative research proposal within the remit of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and US National Science Foundation, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences Directorate (NSF-SBE).

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.

The full economic cost (FEC) of the UK hosted element of your project can be between £300,000 and £1.5 million FEC. AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

The maximum duration of this award is five years.

Who can apply

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

Who is eligible to apply

UK partners

You are eligible to apply if you:

  • are actively engaged in postdoctoral research
  • have either a doctorate or can show that you have equivalent research experience or training
  • have a level of skills, knowledge and experience that is appropriate for your proposed project
  • are a member of a recognised research organisation or have an offer of support (including use of facilities) from a recognised research organisation

You must comply with our current eligibility criteria for standard AHRC research grant proposals. You can find more details in section two of our Research Funding Guide.

US partners

Demonstrate how you comply with the NSF-SBE requirements for this funding opportunity.

All US based applicants for whom funds are being requested from NSF-SBE must be listed as project co-lead (international). Any such individuals must be eligible for funding from NSF-SBE as their costs will not be covered by AHRC.

Expression of interest

You must submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) using the NSF-SBE UKRI Expression of Interest Template (PDF, 149KB). You must then email your completed EOI in PDF format to your chosen lead agency.

If AHRC is the lead agency, you must email your EOI to sbeleadagency@ukri.org

If NSF is the lead agency, you must email your EOI to sbe-ukri@nsf.gov

This should outline:

  • the proposed research
  • the research teams that are involved
  • bottom line estimates of funding at 100% full economic cost to be requested from both the NSF and UKRI (including all research-related and institutional administrative costs for the US budget request)

The EOI should include:

  • a brief summary
  • the main objectives and research challenges of the proposed research
  • the methodologies to be used
  • the outputs, impact and beneficiaries

The EOI template should not exceed either 1,000 words or two pages in length. The EOI will be shared with the non-lead agencies to check for eligibility.

Upon confirmation from the lead agency that the proposed collaborative research is appropriate for the NSF-SBE UKRI lead agency funding opportunity, researchers may submit a full research proposal to the lead agency.

Full proposal

Applying through the UKRI Funding Service

If your EOI is accepted as falling within the scope of research typically reviewed by the NSF-SBE programme, as well as fitting within AHRC, we will invite you to submit a full research proposal.

Full proposal budgets should not vary from those specified in the approved EOI by more than 10%, and you must justify any changes.

We expect that full proposals will be submitted within one year of receiving EOI approval. If more time is needed for proposal preparation, an additional EOI may be required.

If you submit a full proposal before receiving EOI approval, the proposal will be rejected.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new Funding Service. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The UK project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

If the NSF-SBE is the lead agency, you must submit your proposal via Fastlane, Grants.gov, or Research.gov.

Project co-leads

Project co-leads are supported by this funding opportunity and includes international co-leads as per the guidance below.

Other roles

Other roles that are supported by this funding opportunity are listed in the How to Apply section below.

Who is not eligible to apply

We do not support project studentships (funding PhD study) within this funding opportunity.

International researchers

We also encourage international researchers to participate as project co-leads. See sections two and three of the AHRC Research Funding Guide for full details on eligibility of researchers, organisations and costs.

Recipients of research council fellowships, who are initially supported as postdoctoral research assistants on research grants, are eligible to apply for new research grants but must complete their duties on the original grant before starting the new award.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

What we're looking for

Scope

We’re looking for individual researchers with proposals for well-defined collaborative research projects. However, you may include elements of individual research if you can show how this will add value.

Collaborations can involve:

  • a single institution or a combination of institutions
  • researchers working in different research areas
  • disciplines within the arts and humanities, or between an arts and humanities discipline and another subject area. In such collaborations the arts and humanities element of the project should lead in shaping the research questions, methods and so on
  • researchers working in other sectors
  • researchers based abroad

The proposed collaboration should be appropriate for the specific needs of the research project.

We expect the project lead and any project co-leads to devote an average of at least four hours per week to the project.

You can submit a collaborative research proposal in any area of the arts and humanities within the remit of AHRC and NSF-SBE.

Read more about the research areas supported:

Duration

The maximum duration of this award is five years.

Funding available

The FEC of your project can be between £300,000 and £1.5 million. AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Costs associated with international co-leads will be funded at 100% FEC but must not exceed 30% of the total project costs. Please refer to sections two and three of the AHRC Research Funding Guide for details on eligibility of such costs.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

International collaboration

If your application includes international applicants, project partners or collaborators, visit UKRI’s trusted research and innovation for more information on effective international collaboration.

Find out about getting funding for international collaboration.

How to apply

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

  1. Confirm you are the project lead.
  2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
    Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service.
  3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
  4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
  5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
  6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant:

  • use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
  • insert each new image onto a new line
  • provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
  • files must be smaller than 8MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

Deadline

We must receive your application to round two by 27 June 2024 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply to round two after this time, instead you will need to complete a new application and submit it to round three.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

If your application is rejected and invited for resubmission, your funding outcome may be later than advertised for this round.

The proposed start date of your project must be at least nine months after the date of your application.

During the initial phases of the Funding Service, the system will continue to develop in response to internal and external user needs. AHRC responsive mode funding opportunities will run as consecutive rounds with defined closing dates. Opening in rounds means we will be able to accommodate system developments and assess applications in a batch submitted under the same conditions.

Applications may be submitted at any time while a round is open; you do not need to wait until the closing date. We will begin to process applications as soon as we receive them, therefore, if an application is submitted early in a round, we may be able to provide you with an earlier decision.

Round three will open on 28 June 2024 and close on 10 December 2024. Details of subsequent rounds are available on the AHRC website.

Personal data

Processing personal data

AHRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

As part of UKRI, we will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with NSF-SBE so that they can participate in the assessment process. For more information on how NSF-SBE uses personal information, visit the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act.

Publication of outcomes

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 500

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We may make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, so make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

  • opinion-formers
  • policymakers
  • the public
  • the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

  • context
  • the challenge the project addresses
  • aims and objectives
  • potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

  • project lead (PL)
  • project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
  • project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
  • specialist
  • professional enabling staff
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician

Only list one UK individual as project lead.

All US based applicants for whom funds are being requested from NSF-SBE must be listed as project co-lead international. Any such individuals must be eligible for funding from NSF-SBE as their costs will not be covered by AHRC.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Discipline classification – primary

Word limit: 5

Please provide the primary research area of your proposal.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

You must select from one of these research disciplines:

  • archaeology
  • area studies
  • classics
  • cultural and museum studies
  • dance
  • design
  • development studies
  • drama and theatre studies
  • education
  • history
  • human geography
  • information and communication technologies
  • languages and literature
  • law and legal studies
  • library and information studies
  • linguistics
  • media
  • music
  • philosophy
  • political science and international studies
  • social anthropology
  • theology, divinity and religion
  • visual arts

This information will be used for the purposes of processing your proposal and in the selection of appropriate assessors.

Discipline classification – secondary

Word limit: 50

Please describe, using keywords, the research area of your proposal and where relevant the approach, time period or geographical area.

This will further help with the selection of appropriate assessors.

NSF-SBE budget form and letter of support from the US institution

Word count: 10

Upload the NSF-SBE budget form and the letter of support from the US institution.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

The NSF-SBE budget form and the letter of support from the US institution agreeing to the US partner’s involvement and confirming eligibility of the US based project co-lead(s) under NSF criteria should be uploaded to support your application.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

Further documentation may be required by NSF-SBE, to be supplied by the US based project lead, to support the analysis of the proposal.

Vision

Word limit: 500

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your proposed work:

  • is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
  • has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
  • is timely given current trends, context, and needs
  • impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment

Within the Vision section we also expect you to:

  • identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the service.

Approach

Word limit: 2,500

How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
  • is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
  • uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable)
  • summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the service.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,500

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

This should cover all applicants including the US based team.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

  • the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
  • the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
  • the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
  • contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the service.

The word count for this section is 1,500 words: 1,000 words to be used for R4RI modules and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, including the US based team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

  • contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
  • the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
  • contributions to the wider research and innovation community
  • contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

As a minimum, all named members of the Leadership Team should be discussed within this section of the form.

If references or citations are deemed appropriate, these should be included within the section’s word limit. We would advise you not to include hyperlinks, as assessors are not obliged to access the information they lead to or consider it in their assessment of your application. If you are linking to web resources, to maintain the information’s integrity, include persistent identifiers (such as digital object identifiers) where possible. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.

Additions

Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.

For full details, see UKRI’s new roles in funding applications.

Project partners

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.

Add the following project partner details:

  • the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
  • the project partner contact name and email address
  • the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Project partners: Letters (or emails) of support

Word limit: 10

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the Project Partner section.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter N/A.  Each letter or email you provide should:

  • confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
  • clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
  • describe any additional value that they bring to the project
  • be no more than 2 sides of A4 per partner

Save letters or emails of support from each partner in a single PDF no bigger than 8MB. Unless specially requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment.

For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Project partner’.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the contributions template.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Do not provide letters of support from host, project co-leads’ research organisations and other UK research organisations.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

  • the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
  • how you will manage these considerations

If you are collecting or using data, identify:

  • any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and strategies to not preclude further reuse of data
  • formal information standards with which your study will comply

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the service.

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 1,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Use the resources and cost summary table to enter the full UK only costs. The NSF-SBE budget form should include the NSF-SBE consolidated budget, therefore applicants are not required to include US based researcher costs within this section.

All US applicants for whom funds are being requested from NSF-SBE must be listed as project co-lead international. Any such individuals must be eligible for funding from NSF-SBE as their costs will not be covered by AHRC.

Justify the application’s more costly UK and US resources, in particular:

  • project staff
  • significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
  • any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
  • all facilities and infrastructure costs
  • all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for both the UK and US-led elements of the proposed work:

  • are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
  • represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
  • maximise potential outcomes and impacts

We do not provide funding for individual items of equipment over £10,000. Please see section three of the AHRC Research Funding Guide for further information.

Additionally, where relevant you should explain:

  • support for any project partners organisations

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

AHRC eligibility criteria

At the point of application submission, each will be assessed on the following criteria:

  • all applicants and named staff must be eligible under the scheme requirements
  • the proposal must meet the aims and criteria of the funding scheme
  • proposals which do not meet these criteria will be rejected with feedback on why it could not proceed

Expert review

We will invite experts to review your application independently, against the specified criteria for this funding opportunity.

For AHRC led proposals, we receive and assess your proposal on behalf of both AHRC and NSF-SBE. A decision will be made within our normal standard grant’s competition process, as outlined below, noting that NSF-SBE Expert Reviewers will be involved throughout the process.

Project leads will be provided with a right to reply/response opportunity of 500 words per expert review.

Panel

Following expert review, we will invite experts to use the evidence provided by reviewers and your applicant response to moderate the quality of your application and rank it alongside other applications. After which the panel will make a funding recommendation.

Both AHRC and NSF-SBE will approve the final funding decision.

Find out more about AHRC’s Assessment Process.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within nine months of receiving your application.

Feedback

Written feedback will only be provided in the form of the anonymised expert reviews and the final grade from the panel.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Sharing data with co-funders

We will need to share the application (including any personal information that it contains) with NSF-SBE so that they can participate in the assessment process.

For more information on how NSF-SBE uses personal information, visit the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • Vision
  • Approach
  • Applicant and Team Capability to Deliver
  • Ethics and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)
  • Resources and Cost Justification

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UKRI Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact Details

For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

  • Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
  • Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

You can also find information on submitting an application at: improving your funding experience.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

  • individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
  • declaration of interest
  • additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
  • conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
  • the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Additional info

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

  • breaks and delays
  • disruptive working patterns and conditions
  • the loss of ongoing work
  • role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

Updates

  • 5 April 2024
    Updated NSF-SBE UKRI expression of interest template added under Who can apply

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