The University has been awarded a Policy Support Fund from Research England. Our allocation for this academic year is nearly £200K which is similar to our allocation last year. We are delighted to announce an Open Call of £100K. Applicants are invited to apply for projects of no more than £15-£20K, as we hope to award funds for around six 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, more details will be published in due course.

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 £100K 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.

You will need to develop a short proposal using the template provided and submit this to Helen Perryman hp544@bath.ac.uk and Emma Watson ejvw20@bath.ac.uk by 5pm on Wednesday 25 October 2023.

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

Funding and application limitations

• The total funding available for all projects is £100,000, with projects of no more than £15-£20K.
• 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 2024.
• Applications from early career researchers 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.