AHRC Strategy, Programmes and Future Directions

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AHRC Strategy, Programmes and Future Directions
Professor Shearer West Director of Research
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• Political Contexts Department of Innovation,
  Universities and Skills
• Gordon Browns formation of the Department of
  Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) in
  autumn 2007 (combining OST and university and
  skills sectors of Department for Education and
  Skills)
• Scrutiny of dual support (85 of a h funding
  from QR)

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• Political Contexts Recession
• Higher Education Funding Council for England
  (HEFCE) announcement about science ring-fence
  (STEM also ring-fenced in other parts of the UK)
• Brown April budget very tight for higher
  education but Research Council ring-fence
  retained
• Will put greater demand on Research Council
  resources

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• Political Contexts Recession
• Higher Education Funding Council for England
  (HEFCE) announcement about science ring-fence
  (STEM also ring-fenced in other parts of the UK
• Brown April budget very tight for higher
  education but Research Council ring-fence
  retained
• HEFCE agreed that, as a contribution to the
  overall efficiency saving of 180 million
  required in the 2010-11 financial year, a 65
  million saving would be applied to teaching grant
  in the 2009-10 academic year.
• Research allocations will be unaffected in
  2009-10.
• The HEFCE Board has provisionally agreed that 16
  million of efficiency savings will be sought from
  the quality-related (QR) element of research
  funding in 2010-11.

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• Contexts Academic Perspective
• Arts and humanities had 5 RAEs before they had
  a research council
• RAE apparently pulling in different direction
  than Research Councils
• REF to bridge the gap through impact assessment

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AHRC in these Contexts

• History
• AHRB (splinter of British Academy) formed 1998
• AHRC Royal Charter April 2005
• Over the last four years the AHRC has benefited
  from a 35 uplift in funding, from 80.5 million
  in 2005/06 to 109 million announced for 2010/11

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AHRC in these Contexts

• Scope
• 27 of research-active academic community within
  AHRC remit
• Over 14,000 academics
• Approximately 50 disciplines/sub-disciplines
• AHRC receives 2.8 of the science and research
  budget

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AHRC in these Contexts

• Quality
• Arts and humanities research received the
  highest percentage of 4 ratings in the 2008 RAE

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Principal Schemes

• Research Grants
• Fellowships
• Networks
• Studentships

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• Changes to funding schemes in January 2009
• Open deadlines for RGs in place
• First awards being processed under new peer
  review structure
• Research Networks and Workshops changed to
  Research Networking Scheme, with greater support
  for international collaboration

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• Research Careers Fellowships
• Plans for the new Fellowships scheme were
  announced in January 2009
• Following Future Directions consultation, further
  consideration will be given to the support
  offered to early career researchers
• Development of Impact Fellowships for Strategic
  Programme Directors for follow-on activities

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• Studentships
• Through BGP 199 million investment to create
  over six thousand new MA and PhD places over the
  next five years
• BGPs have stimulated HEIs to generate integrated
  research and PG strategies and encouraged further
  investment in PGs
• Open studentship scheme in process
• Collaborative doctoral awards fostering new
  partnerships with non-HEI sector

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• Strategic Programmes
• Digital Economy 6 Doctoral Training Centres
  supported, 3 include arts and humanities
• 7 multi-disciplinary Large Grants funded under
  Beyond Text programme, call for Small Grants
  launched

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• Global Uncertainties
• Ideas and Beliefs 14 awards made, 6 in arts
  and humanities
• 3 Networking, 7 Small Grants funded under RS
  Youth Call

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• LWEC workshop
• Workshop jointly organised by Landscape
  Environment and Science Heritage programmes to
  consider what the arts and humanities can
  contribute to the LWEC programme
• As part of our contribution to LWEC, we are
  developing a supplementary call under the LE
  programme for Networks and/or small exploratory
  awards

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• Digital Economy/British Library Sandpit
• AHRC initiative led to scoping workshop held 18
  March 2009
• Three-day sandpit to be held in July looking at
  interactions between digital technologies,
  research and physical environments
• Development of new digital research centre for BL

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• Connected Communities
• Analysis of outcomes of AHRC Future Directions
  consultation for Connected Communities
• Consultation to be held with Local Authority
  Cross-Council Institute, 1st June 2009
• Consultation with key cross-Council stakeholders,
  2nd June
• International links are being developed, as this
  is a priority area for other countries as well
  (Australia, USA)

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• International
• Humanities in European Research Area call for
  Cultural Dynamics and Creativity and
  Innovation has received approximately 250
  applications 2/3 have UK partners
• AHRC co-funding awards under ESFs Eurobabel
  programme to address Endangered Languages
• Net-Heritage project progressing well. A new MoU
  has been signed with the Italian Research Council
• International Strategy agreed
• 40 applications for Library of Congress
  studentships 35 AHRC, 5 ESRC

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• Knowledge Transfer
• KT Strategy launched February 2009
• 7 KT Fellowships awards made in fifth round
• 31 KT Partnerships currently funded, 27 in
  partnership with TSB/EPSRC
• BT Network scheme announced
• 4 co-funded awards agreed under TSB Creative
  Industiries call Creative Economy programme

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• BBC/KT Launch Event
• AHRC evaluation to inform future co-funding calls
  approaches to partnership working
• AHRC/BBC event on 27 April 2009 to showcase
  innovative outcomes and impacts of projects
• High profile academics, BBC policymakers
  production staff, leaders in creative industries,
  Government figures will attend the event.

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• Technology Strategy Board
• AHRC-led workshop with co-funding from TSB in
  June 2009, bringing together leading
  technologists and AHRC Strategic Programme
  Directors researchers
• TSB is publishing a new strategy for the CI
  sector. The Head of KT will be a member of the
  TSB steering board to implement the strategy
• AHRC will sponsor the next collaborative call for
  CIs Accessing and commercialising content in a
  digitally networked world

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• Impact
• Impact Task Force report completed
• Innovation report launched and policy briefing
  developed
• Launch of British Museum review
• Impact Workshops

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• What Economic Impact Encompasses
• monetary impacts
• improvement of public services
• contribution to public policy
• human capital
• contribution to quality of life

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• How Arts and Humanities Research Demonstrates
  Impact
• monetary impacts
• e.g. creation of new products involving fine
  artists and designers, such as Design against
  Crime, used by pubs and coffee shops

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• How Arts and Humanities Research Demonstrates
  Impact
• improvement of public services
• e.g. research feeding into museums, galleries,
  and other public sector organisations through CDA
  awards the Shah Abbas exhibition at the British
  Museum Cambridge philosophers working with BT on
  trust in public life, etc.

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How Arts and Humanities Research Demonstrates
Impact

• contribution to public policy
• e.g. House of Commons Select Committee use of
  findings from Edinburgh Centre for Intellectual
  Property Home Office use of research from
  Religion and
• Society programme

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• Increasing policy influence
• Developing evidence base of awards with policy
  influence
• Raising profile of arts and humanities research
  with policymakers
• Brokering connections between researchers and
  policymakers
• Developing Policy Fellowships in partnership with
  ESRC

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How Arts and Humanities Research Demonstrates
Impact

• human capital
• 535,000 undergraduates and postgraduates studying
  arts and humanities subjects at any one time
• 145,000 arts and humanities graduates per year
• 75 of AHRC-funded Ph.D.s are in academic posts
• Overseas research students bring in 2 billion
  per annum to the UK economy

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• How Arts and Humanities Research Demonstrates
  Impact
• Quality of life
• indirect economic impact
• enhancing intellectual life, divergent thinking
  and tolerance building on centuries of heritage,
  maintenance and growth of UK cultural richness
• Encourages inward investment and tourism

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Ways of Achieving Impact Knowledge Transfer

• The processes by which new knowledge is
  co-produced through interactions between academic
  and non-academic individuals and communities.
• Recognition that this is often a process of
  exchange

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Ways of Achieving Impact Dissemination

• The processes by which knowledge that is
  generated through academic research is made
  available to audiences beyond the immediate peer
  community.

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• New Section of Grants Forms
• Impact summaries and statements introduced in all
  applications as of March 2009
• Training of Peer Reviewers in progress
• FAQ document and Guide for applicants on AHRC
  website
• Letter sent to 2,000 contacts
• Currently developing supplementary guidance and
  examples of potential impact for applicants,
  supported by case studies of good practice

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Impact Beneficiaries and Impact section of grants

• Recognition that impacts cannot always be
  predicted
• Opportunity to engage with community to grow
  capacity for non-academic benefits
• Intended to boost the profile of arts and
  humanities research with other stakeholders and
  the public
• Not intended to be used as a sanction but to
  encourage academics to engage with others outside
  the academic community
• World-class research without non-academic impact
  not to be disadvantaged

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• Future Directions
• Consultation launched February 2009
• Closing date 11 May
• Advisory Board and Council to discuss outcomes in
  June

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Future Directions Areas open for consultation

• What broad research themes do you consider
  should attract specific funding from the AHRC,
  both those lying within the arts and humanities
  research domain, and those that extend beyond it?
   

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Future Directions Consultation

• What more could the AHRC do to ensure arts and
  humanities research and researchers are more
  central and influential in cross-Council
  programmes?
• What types of national capital facilities do you
  consider the AHRC should support?

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Future Directions Consultation

• How should the AHRC develop its brokerage role to
  support academics in realising the full range of
  the impact of their research?
• Do you have specific proposals for how Knowledge
  Transfer could be embedded more fully in
  AHRC-funded research?

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Future Directions Consultation

• In what ways can the AHRC use its new Fellowship
  scheme more effectively to support early career
  researchers?
• What do you see as the key training needs of
  postgraduate students in your field, and by what
  mechanisms could the AHRC help meet these?

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Future Directions Consultation

• What do you see as potentially vulnerable
  subject areas or areas of national importance in
  which the AHRC should be supporting postgraduate
  research and training?

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Future Directions Consultation

• With which organisations do you consider the AHRC
  should have partnerships and why?
• What else could the AHRC be doing to facilitate
  international research cooperation in the arts
  and humanities?