Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Dance research matters network and programme lead opportunity

Apply for funding to establish dance research networks that explore current issues, generate change and legacy for the sector. There will be up to 5 networks.

You can also apply for 1 programme lead opportunity to work with the networks to provide mapping, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding.

The cost of your network can be up to £100,000. AHRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.

The programme lead cost can be up to £100,000. AHRC will fund 100% of the full economic cost.

For the programme lead you must send an intention to submit by 27 January 2023 4:00pm UK time to hhll@ahrc.ukri.org

Network and programme lead duration 18 months.

Who can apply

To apply for this funding opportunity, you must be at an eligible research organisation. This is any UK higher education institution that receives grant funding from one of the UK higher education funding bodies, or a UK Research and Innovation-recognised research institute or organisation. See funding guide section.

Each network should be led by a principal investigator and can have multiple, including international, co-investigators.

Each network must:

  • have a mix of partners and stakeholders (for example dance companies, industry professionals, community groups)
  • cover a range of dance genres, disciplines, and cultures
  • provide opportunities for career development including early career researchers
  • demonstrate familiarity with the breadth of the UK dance research community
  • focus on 1 or more contemporary themes or challenges facing the dance research community
  • be committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity as a fundamental principle

Ideally, we hope that the networks will have distinct, though possibly overlapping, areas of interest and collaborative approaches so that collectively they will form a strong portfolio which will maximise the impact of the programme.

You can apply for the programme lead if you are part of a network application applying to this funding opportunity.

You must demonstrate:

  • a good understanding of the needs of the practice-based community
  • experience of monitoring, evaluation and learning processes, report writing and developing recommendations
  • excellent communication skills
  • commitment to promoting inclusivity and diversity as a fundamental principle
  • the ability to build and maintain relationships with a diverse spread of network participants
  • teamwork, able to work constructively and collaboratively with the networks and AHRC colleagues

Contractual eligibility

Applicants must either:

  • be employed by the research organisation submitting the proposal
  • have an existing written formal arrangement with the organisation confirming that they support managing your payment for the award as if you were an employee, if not employed by the submitting organisation (that is, employed elsewhere and seconded to the submitting organisation, or not employed at all (for example, retired investigators, honorary or visiting fellow)). Standard AHRC eligibility criteria apply to this funding opportunity, please see AHRC’s research funding guide section 2 for further information on eligibility

What we're looking for

The aim for your network is to promote collaboration of dance researchers and the wider dance sector to consider sector specific issues that strengthen the dance and practice-based research community.

The role of the programme lead is to provide AHRC with insight into how to generate legacy and embed change for the dance sector. You will achieve this through capturing insights and coordinating with the networks, possibly with innovative practice-based techniques.

Objectives

We want the Dance Research Matters Programme to:

  • raise the profile and value of dance as a research area
  • catalyse wider interest in dance research
  • include early career researchers and artists to empower them
  • promote the diversity of dance cultures
  • connect dance disciplines and cultures together to enable future collaborations
  • consider holistically the dance agenda from the ground up
  • diversify the approaches to sector issues by sharing knowledge and expertise
  • build towards the future of dance research and practice-based disciplines
  • understand better the challenges facing the practice-based community
  • engage the public in dance as a research field through community interaction

Examples of disciplinary areas of focus:

  • dance history
  • dance theory
  • dance anthropology
  • dance education
  • dance science
  • decolonial knowledges
  • embodied knowledges
  • indigenous knowledges
  • choreography
  • performance practices
  • dance technology
  • dance and health, therapy
  • dance and disability
  • environmental
  • business and commercial dance
  • dramaturgy of dance

Examples of network partners:

  • dance companies
  • early career researchers
  • community groups
  • choreographers
  • universities, colleges, and educational settings
  • dance charities
  • dance therapists

We are keen to ensure all parts of the UK are represented through the networks.

All successful networks will be expected to work collaboratively with the programme lead.

Programme lead activities

You will map the dance research ecosystem, including areas such as:

  • how and where dance research happens
  • how and where dance research intersects with other areas of dance such as professional performance and choreography, education, community dance
  • how and where dance research intersects with other research disciplines, particularly embodied
  • assess the impact of dance research as a practice-based research area
  • assess the health of the career landscape for dance researchers
  • language used by dance research community

You will also:

  • provide ongoing monitoring of the networks activities
  • evaluate the outputs and impacts of the networks and present your findings and recommendations
  • seek out and generate learning opportunities throughout all stages of the programme

We are keen to support ways of delivering and presenting these activities that are innovative and represent the needs and uniqueness of the dance specific practice-based community.

Funding

A maximum of £100,000 will be available to support each of the research networks for 18 months. For these, AHRC will meet 80% of the full economic cost. The award must start between 1 and 31 October 2023.

For the programme lead you can apply for funding up to £100,000. AHRC will fund 100% of the full economic costs. The award must start between 1 and 31 October 2023.

How to apply

You must apply using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system.

You can find advice on completing your application in:

We recommend you start your application early.

Your host organisation will also be able to provide advice and guidance.

Submitting a network application

Before starting an application, you will need to log in or create an account in Je-S.

All investigators involved in the project need to be registered on Je-S.

Any investigators who do not have a Je-S account must register for an account at least 7 working days before the opportunity deadline.

When applying:

  1. Select ‘documents’, then ‘new document’.
  2. Select ‘call search’.
  3. To find the opportunity, search for: Dance research matters network.

You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application later.

Once you have completed your application, make sure you ‘submit document’. This will initially send your application to your organisation for their approval therefore please allow enough time before the 4:00pm deadline for that process.

Deadline

AHRC must receive your application by 16 March 2023 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

You should ensure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place.

Attachments

In addition to the Je-S application, you must include the following mandatory documents:

  • case for support
  • Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) CV
  • justification of resources
  • project partner letter of support (for all listed partners)
  • international co-investigator head of department statement (if applicable)
  • equality, diversity, and inclusion statement
  • environmental sustainability statement
Case for support

Maximum 6 sides of A4.

The case for support attachment must clearly outline the rationale for the activities, approach, and the research context by answering the following questions:

  • what is the central theme of the proposed activity?
  • why is it important that this theme is explored through a network?
  • what is innovative about the network?
  • how will collaboration and shared learning add value to this community?
  • how will the proposed activities create genuine interaction across boundaries and advance understanding of the dance research sector?
  • how will the network address:
    • equitable partnership working
    • dance sector vulnerabilities
    • future collaborative practice

Please use the following headings:

  1. Rationale and research context
  2. Aims and objectives
  3. Timetable of activities
  4. Key speakers or participants
  5. Management and coordination
  6. Outputs, dissemination, and impact
R4RI CV

Maximum 2 sides of A4.

Read the R4RI guidance.

Read the specific R4RI guidance for this funding opportunity (PDF, 100KB).

Please note that this guidance may continue to have minor updates until March.

Justification of resources attachment

Maximum 2 sides of A4 .

All costs must be explained in the justification of resources attachment. Proposals are required to justify the inclusion of any international participants.

You must itemise all costs separately within the budget breakdown section of the application.

For further details on allowable costs, please read the AHRC research funding guide, section 1: research networking scheme, for details and help in applying.

Project partner letter of support

Maximum of 2 side of A4 per partner on headed paper, signed and dated.

Mandatory only if you have named project partners on the proposal.

Independent research organisations and public sector research establishments may participate as project partners if they are not an organisation at which the principal investigator or co-investigators are based.

University museums, galleries and libraries may participate as project partners if they are not formally linked to an organisation at which the principal investigator, or co investigators are based.

Where independent research organisations, public sector research establishments, university museums, galleries and libraries are the organisation at which the principal investigator, or co-investigators are based they may still participate in the project but must be fully costed to the project according to full economic cost rules, so cannot make contributions in-kind to the project.

Except for the circumstances outlined above UK higher education institutions that receive grant funding from one of the UK higher education funding bodies cannot be project partners, and they cannot make contributions in-kind to the project.

Please see section 4: application guidance page of the AHRC research funding guide for further details of what constitutes a project partner.

International co-investigator head of department statement

Maximum 1 side of A4 .

International co-investigator head of department statements must be submitted if an international co-investigator has been named on the proposal.

Uploaded as attachment type ‘Letter of Support’.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion statement

Maximum 2 sides of A4 .

Please explain how you will ensure equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in your work.

Uploaded as attachment type ‘Other’.

Environmental sustainability statement

Maximum 2 sides A4 .

Please explain how you will ensure you embed environmentally sustainable practices in your work.

Uploaded as attachment type ‘Other’.

Submitting a programme lead application

Before starting an application, you will need to log in or create an account in Je-S.

All investigators involved in the project need to be registered on Je-S.

Any investigators who do not have a Je-S account must register for one at least 7 working days before the opportunity deadline.

When applying:

  1. Select ‘documents’, then ‘new document’.
  2. Select ‘call search’.
  3. To find the opportunity, search for: Dance Research Matters Programme Lead.

Once you have completed your application, make sure you ‘submit document’.

You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application.

Deadline

For the programme lead you must send an intention to submit by 27 January 2023 4:00pm UK time to hhll@ahrc.ukri.org

This must contain:

  • programme lead full name
  • research organisation
  • network you will be hosted by

AHRC must receive your full application through Je-S by 16 March 2023 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time. Please leave enough time for your proposal to pass through your organisation’s Je-S submission route before this date.

You should ensure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place.

Attachments

In addition to the Je-S application, you must include the following mandatory documents:

  • case for support
  • R4RI CV
  • justification of resources
  • equality, diversity, and inclusion statement
  • environmental sustainability statement
Case for support

Maximum 6 sides of A4.

The case for support attachment must clearly outline the rationale for the activities, approach, and the research context by answering the following questions:

  • how will you map the dance ecosystem and how will this be disseminated?
  • what approach will you take to monitoring and evaluating the impact of the networks?
  • what approach will you take to learning and knowledge exchange?
  • what approach will you take to defining recommendations for AHRC and the dance research sector?
  • how will you ensure this work delivers maximum value for money?
  • how will you ensure the outputs of this work have a clear legacy?

You should give details of:

  • the aims and objectives
  • the timetable for any proposed activities
  • how you will deliver all the work outputs
  • plans for project management and coordination, including the membership of any proposed advisory group or steering committee

You should also consider how your work will:

  • help shape future research agendas
  • foster wider impact from the networks
  • support developing emerging research areas, methods, or approaches
  • foster interdisciplinary research in and with dance
  • encourage new research collaborations and partnerships
  • provide intellectual leadership
R4RI CV

Maximum 2 sides of A4.

Read the R4RI guidance.

Read the specific R4RI guidance for this funding opportunity (PDF, 100KB).

Please note that this guidance may continue to have minor updates until March.

Justification of resources

Maximum 2 sides of A4.

All costs must be explained in the justification of resources attachment.

You must itemise all costs separately within the budget breakdown section of the application.

You must itemise all costs separately within the budget breakdown section of the application, and clearly indicate the costs of any international collaboration. In addition, all costs must be justified in the justification of resources attachment.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion statement

Maximum 2 sides of A4.

Please explain how you will ensure equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in your work.

Upload as attachment type ‘Other’.

Environmental sustainability statement

Maximum 2 sides A4.

Please explain how you will ensure you embed environmentally sustainable practices in your work.

Upload as attachment type ‘Other’.

Important note

When entering the name of the programme lead, enter the details in the Fellow section but the total number of hours to be charged to the grant over duration of the grant should be entered as ‘0’ here. Actual costs should be entered in the Other Directly Incurred Costs section, and as an ‘Exception’. This is to enable 100% of the salary to be funded.

Please also include all other costs as an ‘Exception’, under ‘Other Directly Incurred’ so that these can be paid at 100%.

You can find advice on completing your application in the Je-S handbook.

Your host organisation will be able to provide advice and guidance on completing your application.

You should attach your documents as PDFs to avoid errors. They should be completed in single-spaced Arial 11 font or similar-sized sans serif typeface.

How we will assess your application

Assessment criteria

Your applications submitted to this funding opportunity will be assessed according to standard research networking scheme criteria, but with additional criteria relating to the fit to the aims and those specific to the programme lead.

Standard criteria

We will assess your application according to AHRC standard assessment criteria:

  • quality and importance
  • people
  • management
  • value for money
  • outputs
  • dissemination
  • impact

Opportunity specific criteria

For applications for this funding opportunity, we will also consider the following:

  • the quality of the process including activities plan
  • the value that this will add to the development of dance research as a community
  • the potential to advance knowledge and understanding or lead to new future cross-disciplinary research projects
  • the level of engagement from different organisations or partners and interaction between participants
  • the core team breadth of expertise to engage across the range of thematic priorities and plans for how subject experts from the wider landscape will be brought in
  • evidence of research and knowledge exchange leadership
  • the extent to which the network will support learning and knowledge exchange across cultural boundaries
  • alignment of proposed ways of working in relation to areas such as:
    • equitable partnerships
    • equality, diversity, and inclusion
    • involvement of early career researchers
    • environmental impact and sustainability

For more details, see the AHRC research funding guide.

Programme lead criteria

The programme lead will be assessed on:

  • potential to promote dance research and collaboration
  • ability to support knowledge exchange and coordinate across the breadth of the networks
  • strength of monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches
  • strength of understanding of the needs of the practice-based community
  • the quality of the process, including mapping, networking, and work planning
  • evidence of research and knowledge exchange leadership,
  • a suitable model for strategic coordination delivery

Assessment process

Your application will be considered by a separate assessment panel drawn from AHRC’s Peer Review College, along with other peer reviewers and experts with expertise of relevance to the focus of this programme.

The panel meeting will be held in June 2023.

Your application will be assessed directly at the panel meeting.

There will be no separate peer-review or principal investigator response stage for applications under this funding opportunity.

Contact details

Get help with developing your proposal

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.

Ask about this funding opportunity

Heritage Culture and Creative Arts

Email: hcca@ahrc.ukri.org

Include ‘Dance Research Matters Application Query’ in the subject line.

We aim to respond within 7 working days.

Get help with applying through Je-S

Email

jeshelp@je-s.ukri.org

Telephone

01793 444164

Opening times

Je-S helpdesk opening times.

Additional info

Background

The Dance Research Matters funding opportunity is part of a number of interventions under the banner of #DanceResearchMatters developed from a successful Dance Research Symposium delivered by AHRC in partnership with Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University (C-DaRE) in May 2021.

The symposium was a first for AHRC and galvanised the dance research community at a critical moment midway through the COVID-19 crisis, post EU transition and at a time where dance research is under threat from university department reductions and closures.

Workshops and evaluation from the day provided evidence and insight for AHRC and has helped shape the nature of the funding opportunity.

Research networking scheme

These research networks are intended to:

  • stimulate new debate and exchange of ideas between researchers and stakeholders
  • develop or extend research partnerships, collaborations, and ways of working across organisational, disciplinary, national, or other boundaries
  • support collaboration and inclusive engagement of wider communities in research agenda setting co-design and critical reflection

AHRC’s research networking scheme is intended to support sustained programmes of research networking activity across organisational and other boundaries. Therefore, networking awards are not intended to cover:

  • standalone events that are not part of a sustained research networking process
  • activities that would have taken place regardless (for instance, connected to an existing conference)
  • applications primarily for individual travel grants or one-off visits (although mobility activities can form a part of a wider programme of networking activities)
  • funding for PhD studentships (although the participation of early career researchers in networking activities is encouraged)

Supporting documents

Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) CV template

Dance research matters network and programme lead opportunity R4RI guidance (PDF, 100KB)

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