Deadline: 15-Oct-2025
The British Academy is pleased to offer the SHAPE Involve and Engage Grant Programme to support ambitious projects to engage the public with the humanities and social sciences.
Participating in the programme will: Act as a catalyst to get a new project or idea up and running. Be an opportunity to try a new approach or work with a new audience to gain new perspectives on your research. Offer the chance to build a new partnership with the cultural sector or develop or try a new approach with an existing collaborator. It will also offer the chance to work with a partner who will truly add value and make a meaningful contribution to your project through their expertise, connections, skills and collections or materials. Allow you to make contacts and find networking opportunities with others in the research community who are interested in exploring new and innovative approaches to public engagement.
These awards, up to £8,000, encourage humanities and social sciences researchers to push boundaries and develop imaginative ways to engage with the public. Researchers from across the UK are invited to deliver projects in partnership with galleries, libraries, archives, or museums.
Eligible costs include event delivery, production, technical support, travel, accommodation, staffing fees for creative practitioners, and accessibility adjustments to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Ineligible costs include catering unless it is integral to the activity itself, such as a food tasting; salaried staff time or replacement teaching costs, as the programme does not cover full economic cost; administrative support staffing costs; research assistance or research assistant staffing costs; purchase of computer hardware such as laptops, digital cameras, or specialist software; institutional overheads; and permanent resources, equipment, or any elements that should be properly ascribed to departmental or institutional overheads.
The scheme supports experimentation, ambition, and thinking outside the box. Successful applicants will also join a community of practice workshop in January 2026, where they will refine their plans, share ideas, receive feedback, and build networks with peers.
Applicants must be postdoctoral researchers or above, with a primary research focus in the humanities or social sciences, and must be ordinarily resident in the UK, Isle of Man, or Channel Islands. Independent scholars and retired researchers are eligible, as are cultural organisations leading with a university partner. Postgraduate students cannot apply as lead researchers.
Institutions and project partners are expected to contribute actively by supporting event delivery, promotion, logistics, and financial management. Independent researchers are encouraged to seek practical backing from their cultural partners, with limited Academy assistance available.
The Academy will provide advice, guidance, and promotional support, alongside opportunities for applicants to share their work through digital channels and joint communications campaigns.
The assessment process involves a review panel of Fellows, funded researchers, and public engagement experts. Around ten projects will be selected based on eligibility, innovation, quality of research, feasibility, clarity of audience, and strength of partnership. Successful applicants will refine their proposals after the workshop and submit a final plan.
The panel will consider innovation and creativity in the broadest sense across project concept, proposed methodology, underpinning research, reach, impact and outputs. Applicants should clearly show the high quality, inspiring research underpinning the proposal. Feasibility will be assessed in terms of how well the proposal has been conceived, how practical it will be to deliver, and how appropriate the proposed activity is for reaching the intended audience and achieving the intended impact. A carefully defined audience is essential, with preference given to proposals that include a co-production element involving the audience in the project. Partnership working should also demonstrate active involvement of the partner, ensuring that they are not simply a hosting venue but a meaningful collaborator.
Applications must be submitted via the British Academy’s Flexi-Grant portal. The application requires details about the lead applicant, partner organisation, research background, project outline, aims, impact, methodology, intended audience, ethics, safeguarding, evaluation, and budget. A letter of support from the cultural partner must be included.
Award holders must follow the British Academy’s Code of Practice, maintain safeguarding standards, acknowledge support in communications, provide progress updates, complete evaluations, and submit a final report by November 2024. They may also be invited to contribute to wider engagement activities, information days, or legacy projects. The deadline for applications is 15 October 2025 at 5pm.
For more information, visit British Academy.
