Welcome to AHRCs Theme & Connected Communities Town Meetings.

Welcome to AHRC’s Theme & Connected Communities Town

Meetings

Background to AHRC’s Themes and Connected Communities

Gary GrubbAssociate Director of Programmes

[email protected]

Timetable for the Day10.00am Registration/coffee – from10.45–11.30am Overview Presentation/

Background to the Themes & Connected Communities

11.30am–1.00pm Individual Theme / Connected Communities Session 1

1.00-2.00 pm Lunch2.00-3.30pm Individual Theme / Connected

Communities Session 2

AHRC Themes: Background• ‘Future Directions’ consultation with

researchers (Feb-May 2009)• Advisory Board analysis of outcomes• Further consultation with key partners &

Subject Associations & via HEI visits• Development by Advisory Board &

Council• Themes shaped and refined by Theme

Advisory Groups (on-going process)• Building on the successes of previous

AHRC ‘strategic programmes’ but different in nature

Connected Communities: Background• RCUK review of current cross-Council themes,

gaps & emerging areas for the next Spending Review period in 2008/9, informed by Councils’ own emerging strategies & consultations; ‘Research for the Future’ consultation event, April 2009

• Further consultations (e.g. AHRC Future Directions & Advisory Board)

• Cross-Council academic workshop in June 2009 • Discussions with a range of stakeholders in

2009/10• First Research Summit, June 2010, further

summits in 2011 and 2012 (July)

Overview of AHRC’s Thematic Engagements

Languages &

Literature

Cultures & Heritage

Creative & Performing

Arts

Build on our world leading strengths through investing in transformative collaborative

research from across the full range of A&H disciplines (over 50 in total) addressing our

four core themes

Use ‘commissioned’ research funding to respond nimbly/flexibly to strategic priorities, emerging areas, and cross-disciplinary, partnership or knowledge exchange opportunities

Enhance our international leadership role and re-orientate collaborations to address new strategic, thematic and other priorities

History, thought & Belief

Provide leadership in developing path-breaking research in four strategic emerging challenges for arts and humanities research

Increasingly central role in inter-disciplinary cross-Council research on societal challenges

Lead new Programme on ‘Connected Communities’ and establish Centre for Copyright and New Business Models

Science in Culture

Translating Cultures

Care for the Future

Digital Transformations

Living with Environmental

Change

Connected Communities

Global Uncertainties

Digital Economy

Lifelong Health & well-being

• Digital Transformations

• Translating Cultures

• Care for the Future

• Science in Culture

• Connected Communities (with

other RCs)

AHRC’s Themes

Connected Communities: Development• Started with series of small scale reviews and scoping

studies through open calls as well as highlight notices and workshops to build on current activities. Over 100 small projects funded.

• Piloted ‘research development workshops’ on broad sub-areas (with open calls for participants) to generate new cross-disciplinary collaborations. 3 workshops held so far. 3 large grants from first workshop announced early 2012. 4th workshop envisaged in 2013.

• Partnership activities e.g. with RSA, Design Council & HLF• Joint large grants call with ESRC• Annual Summits for award holders and partners

Why Themes?

• Higher order issues: beyond individual disciplines, focus but flexibility, researcher-generated connective concepts

• Increased narrative possibilities for research diversity, richness and coherence

• Partnerships beyond academic collaboration more easily facilitated

• Communities and capacity of researchers involved

Collective Aims of the Themes

• To support the development of research capability in emerging research areas identified by Arts and Humanities researchers as being of increasing importance

• To provide research development opportunities across a range of Arts and Humanities subject areas

• To support high quality cutting edge research, creativity, innovation and intellectual leadership

• To stimulate boundary-crossing collaborations and partnerships• To develop distinctive arts and humanities approaches that can

contribute to broader RCUK / cross-disciplinary programmes • To provide a focal point for developing pathways and narratives

for the impact of arts and humanities research

Theme Working • Themes not the same as AHRC strategic programmes• Collection of adaptable theme activities• Potential to draw in activities across all AHRC funding

modes (including responsive) , not just activities under themed calls

• Developing flexibility as appropriate for each theme• Consideration of international, knowledge exchange,

capacity building and public policy potential

• Emphasis on using current funding mechanisms and on targeted activities building larger consortia grants and partnership activities; flexibility rather than large-scale new research programmes (‘variable geometry’)

11

Theme Evolution: 2012-15 and beyond

• Themes are diverse in nature• Different funding and support patterns appropriate over future

years• Represent a longer-term investment in the intellectual landscape

into future Delivery Plan period• Themes will continue to link to, build on and complement the

majority of AHRC funded research through ‘responsive mode’ and seek add value to the range of research undertaken, engagements within, across and outside the academic communities supported by AHRC

• Themes can help to develop overarching narratives about evolution of arts and humanities research but remain underpinned by high quality researcher-led projects

Theme Funding • Started with fairly open highlight notices & development awards

to stimulate community-generated ideas, interest & capacity• Theme Leadership Fellowships to provide leadership and support

connectivity across activities • Larger theme awards only one key part of theme activities• Consideration of complementary international (e.g. recent AHRC-

NWO networking call), knowledge exchange, capacity building (e.g. via skills development calls) and public policy potential

• Potential for partnership activities / calls and other calls (e.g. for smaller development awards in under-represented or emerging areas)

• Potential for further highlight notices (e.g. in grants to fill gaps etc) and continuing potential to draw in new 'responsive mode’ activities

13

Theme Development Awards to Date

*6 Researching Environmental Change Network Follow-up Projects. Does not include 34 development awards under Connected Communities identified as also being of relevance to

Care for the Future

Why Include Provision for Theme Large Grants?

• Allow for more ambitious collaborative projects and potential for developing a wider range of collaborations and partnership – across institutions, across disciplines, across sectors and internationally e.g. potential ‘beacons’ for the themes, and for international and partner collaborations.

• Offering enhanced capability building opportunities (e.g. building new communities of scholars, linked students, longer contracts, development of training programmes)

• Greater opportunity to seek leveraged funding (inside and beyond institutions) & develop sustainable legacies

• Potential to build in more agility to respond to changing needs and new research findings that emerge over time, working more closely with AHRC

• Complement other smaller funding opportunities already offered under the Themes and available from other funding sources

Theme Large Grants• Ambitious, transformative potential within the field• Sum of the whole must be more than the parts• Potential to make a significant contribution to some of the

bigger cross-cutting questions, issues, sub-themes• Extending and developing new collaborations across

institutions and disciplines – potential for developing genuinely inter-disciplinary approaches

• Looking for innovation, opportunity for ‘risk’ taking within the overall research programme

• Potential to think in creative ways about pathways to impact drawing across a broader portfolio of research and contacts

• Opportunity to think about broader contributions and collaborations, e.g. international, capability development etc

Theme Large GrantsThe Theme large grants will: • need to work with each other & work closely with Theme

Leadership Fellows and with AHRC.• be encouraged to think creativity about themselves as key

‘nodes’ within the Theme and their role with the broader ‘Thematic’ research community

• play an important role in representing and exemplifying the Theme (Theme ‘beacons’)

• be expected to play a key role in Theme-level activities• support Theme level engagement activities with non-HEI

stakeholders• be willing to be flexible to respond to emerging Theme

agendas

Large Theme Grants• Care for the Future current highlight notice in research grants

(up to £1.5m) and planning for research development call in autumn 2012 leading to large grants call in 2013.

• The other three themes are planning calls for Theme Large Grants in autumn 2012.

• Theme Large Grants under this call will start in 2013/2014 and run for up to 5 years to 2018/2019, expected to be c.£1m - £2m fec. Further outline details are on AHRC’s website.

• Town meetings and Theme workshops in summer 2012 are feeding into the finalisation of details of these calls.

• These major thematic activities will continue beyond current Delivery Plan and into next Spending Review period

Theme / Connected Communities Leadership Fellowships

• To enrich the intellectual agenda for the theme /programme• To take a lead in engaging with broader research communities (UK and

overseas)• To promote collaboration between projects and across disciplinary,

institutional and other boundaries• To take on an advocacy role and develop narratives about the progress

of the theme• To undertake an advisory role – working closely with the theme

advisory groups and AHRC staff / theme leads• To stimulate and support the development of collaborative, KE, public

engagement and partnership activities beyond academia• Undertake their own research relevant to the theme

Other Thematic Funding• Large Grants and Fellowships a core part of themes but only part

of the picture – we are thinking about other complementary activities e.g. international calls, partnership activities, targeted calls in under-represented areas and highlight notices in grants which could supplement the large grants as appropriate.

• Highlight notice for 4 themes and CC in networking scheme recently extended to end of October 2012. Fellowships scheme highlight until end of 2012. Also highlight in current Collaborative Skills Development call (closes 20 Sept. 2012)

• We will continue to provide opportunities for relevant projects under other schemes (e.g. ‘responsive mode’) to be drawn into thematic networks

Questions?

Morning Break-out Sessions11.30am - 1.00pm

• Connected Communities – this room• Care for the Future – room• Science in Culture - • Digital Transformations -• Translating Cultures -