The University has been awarded a Policy Support Fund from Research England. Our allocation for this academic year is just over £200K, which is similar to our allocation last year. We are delighted to announce an Open Call of £130K.
Applicants are invited to apply for projects of no more than £15k, as we hope to award funds for around eight to nine projects in total. We hope to explore new partnerships and projects, as well as building on the strengths of the projects that have already benefitted from the fund.
A key aim of the Policy Support Fund is to support universities to link effectively with policy research priorities and opportunities. The funding supports universities in undertaking research with partners working within local, regional, national and international structures (including parliament, central government, devolved administrations, local government, health and education bodies, the justice system and other regulatory organisations).
The Policy Support Fund will also support the development of a Policy Engagement Academy pilot.
Types of activity
The Policy Support Fund can be used to support the following activities:
- Research in partnership with policymakers to better understand local, regional, national & international challenges.
- Facilitation of knowledge exchange between the University & policymakers.
- Improving dialogue with policymakers and the means to better equip early career researchers to do this.
- Supporting evidence-based policymaking through partnerships and exchange of people.
- Activity and training to better equip academics, including postgraduate researchers and early career researchers, to communicate effectively with policymakers.
- Partnerships and collaboration aimed at supporting evidence based policy making.
- The exchange of people e.g. staff secondments, contributing towards professional doctorates in policy, joint PhDs etc.
Open call
An Open Call of £130K is available to request funds from the Policy Support Fund.
Staff (both academic and professional services) are invited to submit applications for projects that align with the objectives of the Fund.
Requests for conducting smaller projects or events, for a shorter duration within the funding window, will be considered.
You will need to develop a short proposal using the template provided and submit this to Emma Riddle ejvw20@bath.ac.uk and Angie Brown partnerships@bath.ac.uk by 5pm on Thursday 31 October 2024.
These applications will be assessed by the Review Panel. There may be a requirement for applicants to present their proposals to the panel for further review.
Complete the Policy Support Fund application form
Key information
- The total funding available for all projects is £130,000, with projects of no more than £15k.
- Requests for conducting smaller projects or events, for a shorter duration within the funding window, will be considered.
- Each PI will be limited to make a maximum of one application but you are welcome to apply on additional projects as a Co-I.
- The funding needs to be spent by 31 July 2025.
- Awards will be made from funds provided by Research England and will be subject to Research England’s terms and conditions of funding. Please note that project partners for successful projects will also be expected to sign up to terms and conditions for this funding, in line with the T&Cs issued by Research England for Policy Support Funds.
- Applications from early career researchers and underrepresented groups are encouraged.
Further Information
Read the Policy Support Fund guidelines for further information about the funding opportunity and the application process.
Other Funding Opportunities
If your project is not right for the Policy Support Fund, take a look at some of the other internal funding opportunities that are available on our website: Find internal research funding. You could also get in touch with our Impact Acceleration Account team: impact-acceleration@bath.ac.uk to find out more about current IAA funding calls.
