Eligibility
Eligibility Criteria and Eligible Costs
All projects that meet the eligibility criteria and correctly complete the application form will be considered. For a project to be considered it must clearly align with one of the SALIENT Work packages WPs (2-6). We want to support a broad and diverse portfolio of awards and activities, while ensuring a balanced spread across the work packages.
We will fund two modes of projects:
Theoretically motivated projects (e.g. research that draws upon theory as the basis for enquiry, or as a means of researching a question, position, or relationship).
Empirically derived projects (e.g. research that is based on measurement and observation of real-world phenomena).
We are keen to support and encourage Early Career Researcher (ECR) led projects as a means of promoting development and community building for new scholars. ECRs are usually at the start of their academic career, if you are defined as an ECR at your home institution then you are eligible to apply for SALIENT funding within this call. In the event that your home institution does not clearly define ECRs, and you are unsure if you are eligible, please contact the SALIENT Hub and we can advise.
Projects will be funded at 80% fEC for UK research organisation costs (with the UK Research Organisations involved in projects contributing 20% fEC).
Any international or exceptional costs such as non-academic or community partner organisations will be funded at 100% fEC. via the awarded institution.
Eligible Activity
Eligible activity could include:
- Funding for new collaborative research projects including pilot projects, exploratory and innovation studies, data exploration, fieldwork and support for projects led by early career researchers (with mentoring where appropriate).
- Conferences, workshops and seminars; and fellowships, exchanges and placements.
Outputs and outcomes should be clearly articulated and tailored to the activity and the relevant thematic area within the Building a Secure and Resilient world theme. They could include, but are not limited to:
- Enhanced capabilities or facilities
- Policy briefings
- Journal articles
- Conference papers
- Website and digital resources
- Training materials
- Public engagement
- Exhibitions, catalogues
- New and changed projects, services, commercial outputs
- Enhanced cultural or heritage assets
- Creative outputs, performances etc.
Within this pot of funding, it is expected that individual commissioned research projects supported by the Hub will normally be funded in accordance with standard UKRI funding terms and conditions for grants
Eligible costs for inclusive research:
Costs may be included to support inclusive participation in research activities, for example in terms of translation costs or support for carers. Where possible project teams should consider accessible venues and facilities when planning events. Please note that infrastructure costs cannot be requested, for example to make structural alterations to venues for improved accessibility.
Ineligible Costs
Capital or infrastructure expenditure (e.g. basic office/ laboratory / accommodation furniture or equipment, building/ site construction, maintenance or refurbishment work, improvements to digital connective infrastructure, etc.). However, additional costs incurred by existing facilities or infrastructures relating to their use as a part of the research or in the archiving of project-specific research data and outputs may be considered.
Costs for equipment purchase should only be considered where significant use of equipment is required specifically and primarily or solely for the proposed research activity and/or where this is more cost effective than other options such as hiring equipment.
MA or Doctoral/PhD Studentships funding are not eligible costs.
Eligibility to Apply to other UKRI Schemes
Projects awarded under the Hub’s devolved funding pot may be eligible to apply for further funding from schemes across UKRI. This includes: AHRC’s Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagement Scheme
Due Diligence on Award Holding Organisations
UKRI has recently published updated Due Diligence Guidance and Due Diligence Questionnaire, produced as part of a collaborative effort between UKRI and the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA).
The guidance and questionnaire can be found here: UKRI Due diligence guidance and supporting documents
Please Note: AHRC/UKRI does recognise that devolved activities may vary considerably in scale and that the nature of the research activity and partnerships that devolved projects might involve will introduce risk that cannot be completely mitigated through due diligence, and that organisations will therefore ideally use their best judgement in how this is applied in individual circumstances and take a proportionate risk management approach.
UK based project leads and their partners will need to ensure that they satisfy the following criteria and be able to evidence upon request:
- Be able to demonstrate in-house capacity in terms of staff and infrastructure to support and lead excellent research programmes.
- Provide evidence of a commitment to maximising the wider impact and value of its research to the benefit of local economies and society.
- Demonstrate commitment to the principle of open access publication, costs for open access publishing led by non-academic partners may be included in applications for funding.
- Have sufficient capacity to deliver research and/or other outputs that are appropriate to the wider aims of the SALIENT Hub and that can be meaningfully recorded and reported as such.
- Demonstrate an ability and commitment to provide appropriate leadership and support to those staff involved with funded research activity.
Governance and Control
The funded lead organisation should:
- Demonstrate good governance and control functions including policies and approaches to control risk and mitigate fraud and corruption.
- Have satisfactory processes for preventing, detecting, reporting, and responding to allegations of slavery, fraud, bribery, and corruption.
- Have satisfactory processes in place that meet Research Integrity and Ethics requirements, including processes for dealing with allegations of misconduct.
- Be subject to appropriate levels of independent audit.
- Demonstrate an ability to support the effective collection, management, analysis, and dissemination of data.
Financial Stability
The funded organisations should:
- Demonstrate that they are financially stable and have robust assurance around managing and accounting for grant funding.
- Have a bank account that is in its legal name and that can be reconciled to the appropriate finance management system.
- Have a basic finance management system in place that can be used to reconcile the bank account, record all cash and payments ensuring that all transactions can be individually identified and provides suitable storage for supporting documentation.
- have satisfactory procedures in place for making payments for per diem, travel advances or review of receipts and subsequent reimbursement of expenses for approved official travel.
Sub-contract Management
Where the Project involves sub-contracting to third parties, the organisation should:
- ensure there is a policy in place to sufficiently manage sub-contractors and address any associated financial or compliance risks.
Assessment / Peer Review
Applications will be anonymised and assessed by a group of independent peer reviewers and final review and decision making will be completed by the SALIENT Operations Board.
Monitoring and Reporting
Applicants will be asked to report throughout the project, and at the end of the project.
Data gathered through the applications and assessment process for devolved funding calls will be shared with UKRI.
Applicants will be asked to provide details of project activity and any outputs which will feed into the Hub’s Researchfish submission.
Queries
If you have any questions about the funding call, please submit them to the team via this short form: SALIENT Research and Coordination Hub: Query Form