The partnership seed funding aims to support applicants to plan, build and sustain collaborative partnerships required to deliver the objectives of the main ‘Hidden histories’ funding opportunity.
The projects should plan to meet the following objectives:
- plan and build a collaborative partnership in order to prepare to potentially bid for the main ‘Hidden histories’ funding opportunity
- ensure that principles and best practice of interdisciplinary working are adopted from the outset, allowing for the development of truly collaborative partnerships which will provide solutions to the complex challenges of ‘Hidden histories’
- sustain partnerships, where relevant, to develop relationships across communities of researchers, potentially leading to innovative future proposals bringing the disciplines together, and may also enable equitable participation of those outside of academia in developing research.
Applicants planning to involve those outside of academia, such as public and community groups, must build equitable, ethical partnerships, managing risks in-line with best practice, such as that highlighted in the Creating Living Knowledge report.
Scope of main ‘Hidden histories’ funding opportunity
The emerging funding opportunity is planning to consider the following questions (to be confirmed following consultation with an independent advisory group).
To what extent has colonial and other history, exclusion and social injustice influenced how the UK environmental science research sector presents cultures and issues, including around race, racism and representation and intersectionality?
How do key people, places or issues in the British colonial past of environmental science research compare with those shaped by present-day cultural sensitivities and expectations?
How can engagement with relevant people throughout the research improve projects for mutual benefits, which may include identifying opportunities to actively influence, consult and/or collaborate? Key communities and stakeholders of this programme include (but are not limited to):
- environmental science sector
- higher education institutions
- environmental science researchers
- UKRI (including AHRC and NERC)
- policy
- third sector, non-governmental organisations and public groups.
Are there practical recommendations that UKRI, NERC and the UK environmental science sector might more broadly consider in order to respond to society’s evolving outlooks and attitudes, in line with delivering NERC’s responsible business statement?
Going forward, how can we avoid repeating mistakes and/or can repair legacies of injustices to ensure environmental science in the UK is more open and diverse in the future?
Find out more about the AHRC and NERC Hidden histories programme.
Applicants to the main funding opportunity do not need to have received funding from the partnership call nor to have attended the event to apply.
Sustainability
Proposals should consider the sustainability of the project, in line with NERC’s current sustainability approach: “sustainability for NERC is all about creating and nurturing an environment and culture in which social, economic and environmental responsibility is embedded, balancing the needs of the NERC community and our stakeholders, including immediate needs and those of future generations.”
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
As well as the key legal requirements, applicants should consider how they will address specific needs related to EDI, in-line with NERC’s EDI approach.
Funding available
Proposals can include fully justified direct costs incurred in delivering the project. This may include, for example:
- staff resources (including administration and coordination, contributions to salaries (where a named individual will undertake work that would not be considered part of their normal duties), sub-contracting of services, or enabling public or community partners to take part)
- non-staff resources (including cost of materials, travel and subsistence, meetings and events, consumables, materials and equipment, and evaluation costs)
- the funding of expenses, an honorarium for time, child care and other costs to allow for participation of those outside of academia such, as public communities, and training to build the capacity of these groups to take a confident and active role in the partnership and research activities.
This call is funded outside of full economic costing (fEC) rules.
Costs not covered
The budget and costings must be based on valid estimates. Funding will not be provided for:
- estates and indirect costs
- fees or honoraria to people already in paid employment to deliver activities where such activities would reasonably be undertaken as part of their normal duties
- retrospective funding, including those projects with a start date after the closing date but before the funding decisions are announced
- infrastructure or building costs
- expenses incurred submitting the proposal
- academic courses such as Master’s degrees or PhDs, and other tuition fees.
