Early Career Fellowships in Cultural & Heritage Institutions (UK)

Deadline: 16-Jan-23

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is seeking applications for its Early Career Fellowships in Cultural & Heritage Institutions.

The overall purpose of this funding opportunity is to enable early career post-doctoral (or equivalent) researchers to gain research and career experience in the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) sector. You must do this through working in a major cultural or heritage host organisation, on a co-designed research project that will also benefit the host organisation.

Objectives

• The objectives of the scheme are to:
  • create new opportunities for early career postdoctoral researchers to build, deepen or broaden their experience of working in, and with, major cultural and heritage organisations
  • develop the fellows’ skills and future research career in areas of relevance to the work, collections and practices of cultural and heritage organisations
  • deliver high quality and impactful research and innovation projects
  • enhance the host organisation’s capacity to undertake research and innovation activities closely aligned with its priorities and strategies, and leading to practical benefits and outcomes for the host
  • address a need across the GLAM sector in respect of the lack of dedicated support at the early stage of research careers
  • promote equality, diversity and inclusion principles
  • strengthen efforts to build and diversify research capabilities in the cultural heritage research and innovation ecosystem
  • further extend the GLAM sector’s engagement with, and contribution to, society
  • catalyse high quality and impactful research and innovation projects
• This will be achieved through funding individual fellowships for early career researchers hosted by cultural and heritage independent research organisations, with a complementary programme of networking events and cohort career development

Themes

• Applications will be welcomed from prospective fellows across the full range of disciplines funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), including, but not limited to:
  • archaeology
  • cultural and museum studies
  • history
  • library and information studies
  • creative and performing arts
  • design
  • visual arts

Funding Information

• Total fund: £2,000,000
• The full economic cost of your project can be up to £250,000. AHRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.
• Fellowships should start between 1 November 2023 and 1 January 2024 and last between 1 and 2 years (longer if part-time).

Eligibility Criteria

• Apply for funding to conduct research at cultural and heritage institutions. You must:
  • be an early career researcher
  • have either a doctorate in a relevant subject or equivalent professional experience and skills
  • have the support of an eligible host such as an independent research organisation in the culture and heritage sector
  • address an area of interest indicated by your host organisation
  • co-design your research project with your host organization
• Fellows
  • To apply for a fellowship, you must:
    • have a demonstrable commitment to working with the cultural and heritage sector
    • be based, and be eligible to work, in the UK for the full period of the fellowship or eligible to apply for a visa to work in the UK
    • be of postdoctoral standing, which means you meet one of the criteria outlined under the ‘postdoctoral criteria’
• Postdoctoral criteria
  • To be of postdoctoral standing, you must meet 1 of the following criteria at the deadline for applying for the fellowship:
    • be within 8 years of the date of successfully completing your PhD viva or equivalent professional training
    • have no more than 6 years of research experience at post-doctoral level
    • have no more than 6 years of working in a role or roles which included research as a significant component of the role
• Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
  • Applications are welcomed from fellows in under-represented groups within the sector, for example ethnic minorities and disabled people.
  • This funding opportunity will include a programme of cohort events for fellows, designed to enable networking and develop skills and meet diverse participation needs.
  • Details will be provided to successful applicants, but AHRC expects that fellows will actively engage with these opportunities.

Ineligible

• The following cannot apply to be the lead host for a fellowship:
  • UK-based GLAM organisations without the independent research organisation status, except as partners in an IRO-led bid
  • GLAM organisations based overseas
  • IROs outside the cultural and heritage sectors
  • universities in the UK or overseas
• The following cannot apply as fellows:
  • people who are already contracted by an IRO to undertake research as a significant part of their current role and who would like to undertake a fellowship at their current place of employment
  • applicants whose proposed projects do not focus on arts and humanities disciplines, methodologies and approaches within AHRC’s remit
  • researchers on career stages from mid to senior
  • researchers who don’t have a PhD or equivalent experience
• Resubmissions
  • You cannot resubmit a previous UKRI application to this competition.

For more information, visit https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/early-career-fellowships-in-cultural-and-heritage-institutions/