AHRC Catalyst Awards: applicant-led mode (Grant)

Apply for funding to support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, to unlock their potential, build leadership and convenor experience. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £300,000. AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC. Funding for projects can be up to five years in duration. Demand management Demand management is not being applied to this funding opportunity. Scope Catalyst awards support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, unlocking their potential and building leadership and convenor experience through the delivery of ambitious or complex projects. The scheme takes a people-centred approach with funding available to support the development of researchers and their research ideas. It is flexible, and applications are welcomed from teams, networks and solo researchers. Development is at the core of this scheme. Projects must clearly articulate how the funding will contribute to the development of all those involved through the way that the project has been designed and will be managed, with appropriate support structures in place. Projects can be single discipline, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary. The majority of the disciplinary focus of the project must fall within the AHRC’s subject remit, see section seven of the AHRC research funding guide for our remit coverage. Practice-based and practice-led research is supported by this scheme. Partnerships and collaboration are supported, and you should outline how this collaboration contributes to your career development and the development of any project team members. Applications should articulate how collaborative activity will be conducted, considering good practice in creating equitable partnerships. Further guidance is available in the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) good research resource hub . Duration The duration of this award is a maximum of five years. The project start date must be at least nine months from the point of the application submission to AHRC. Funding available The FEC of your project can be up to £300,000 AHRC will fund 80% of the FEC. Costs associated with project co-lead internationals (PcL(I)s) will be funded at 100% FEC but must not exceed 30% of the total FEC of the project. However, this funding cap does not apply to any PcL(I) based in a country on the OECD DAC list (excepting India and China) . PcL(I)s from a country on the OECD DAC list (excepting India and China) are also eligible to claim overheads support. Please see the UKRI project co-lead (international) policy for further details on eligibility of these costs. What we will fund Where mentoring is included for the researchers, salary costs to cover the mentor’s time can be claimed from the grant. They should be entered in the ‘Directly Incurred’ or ‘Directly Allocated Other’ categories in the ‘Resources and costs’ section. What we will not fund We will not fund project studentships (funding PhD study) as part of this funding opportunity. Supporting skills and talent We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment . Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration. As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where applicants can find additional support.

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible . Check whether your proposed research is within the subject remit of AHRC . Who is eligible to apply This funding opportunity is open to applicants who meet the individual eligibility criteria . UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) acknowledges and supports different career paths within the research and innovation community. You do not need to hold an academic, research or teaching post to apply. Applications are welcomed from those working, for example, as archivists, curators, librarians, technicians and practitioners. Project leads Eligibility is determined on the basis of funding history at point of submitting your application. You are required to self-define your eligibility based on the below criteria and include a justification in your application. We will not provide specific advice on eligibility for this scheme, beyond the standard UKRI eligibility rules. Expert reviewers will consider eligibility as part of their assessment of fit to scheme and you have the right to reply to any commentary in your applicant response. You cannot be a current or former project lead on AHRC or other UKRI research grants or fellowship grants at point of application, except: • doctoral training awards (any) • early career fellowships (any) • Daphne Jackson Fellowships • AHRC Research Networking (or equivalent) • AHRC Curiosity Awards • AHRC Small Grants in the creative and performing arts • AHRC Research Grants Practice Led and Applied • institutional lead on a UKRI Impact Accelerator Award (IAA) • researcher lead/recipient of an AHRC Impact Accelerator Award (IAA) You cannot be a current or former project lead on research grants or fellowship grants from any other funder, with the exception of awards that reasonably meet the aims of the above list. You may hold a current or previous award from AHRC, UKRI or any other funder that falls outside the scope of a research grant or fellowship grant, for example, travel grant, public engagement grant, skills training grant. Please note this eligibility criteria does not apply for co-leads or mentors. Who is not eligible to apply We do not support project studentships (funding PhD study) within this funding opportunity. International researchers As AHRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’. You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners. Project co-leads Project co-leads are permitted and encouraged for interdisciplinary applications or where a co-lead would provide specific technical expertise that is essential to the project. This can include international co-leads as per the guidance below. However, it must be clear that the project lead is responsible for leading the project. Project co-leads are permitted to have previously led or be currently leading a significant research project and are not required to meet the eligibility criteria above. Other roles Other roles that are supported by this funding opportunity are listed in the ‘Core team’ section. Mentors You are encouraged to include mentor support. The role of the mentor is to supervise and support the work of the project lead, answer any queries and help with any problems that may arise during the research. They will not be directly involved in running the project, their role is advisory only. Mentors should not be included in the ‘Core team’ section of the application form, instead their role should be outlined in the ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’ section. Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: • career breaks • support for people with caring responsibilities • flexible working • alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Click here to start an application on the UKRI Funding Service: https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1411/apply/1439 We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application. Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. To apply Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. • Confirm you are the project lead • Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. • Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. • Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. • Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. • Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant. Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. When including images, you must: • provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) • insert each new image on a new line • use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include: • sentences or paragraphs of text • tables • excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column. For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: • how applicants use the Funding Service • how research offices use the Funding Service • how reviewers use the Funding Service References References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the a