2022 - 2023 | TORCH Knowledge Exchange Innovation Fund

 

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Purpose of fund
This fund is set up to support researchers in the Humanities Division with funding for strategic projects that use knowledge exchange and innovative approaches and practice. This includes working in a mutually beneficial way with an external partner. The Humanities Knowledge Exchange Innovation Funds are an internal grant scheme that supports humanities research, knowledge exchange, and public engagement with research in the areas of Creative Industries, Heritage, and Theatre & Performance. They are supported through the University by Research England’s Higher Education & Innovation Fund (HEIF).

 

Objectives for this fund

  •   Develop new, and consolidate existing, research collaborations with the Creative Industries, the Heritage sector, and Theatre & Performance partners.
  •   Increase the number of researchers actively engaged in knowledge exchange projects with these priority themes.
  •   Illustrate innovative and entrepreneurial practices within Humanities research engagement and collaboration.
  •   Provide an opportunity for researchers to trial and experiment ideas and develop collaborative projects and demonstrate the breadth of collaborative opportunities across different disciplines.

 

Faculty approval

All applications will need Faculty approval before the call final deadline. Typically, this is a week before the final deadline. We therefore strongly advise to discuss your application with your Faculty Research Facilitator well before the deadline (see point 22 in the guidance document for further information).

 

Eligibility

Applications from both those new to, or experienced in, collaborations with theatre, heritage, creative industries, and other research strands are welcome.

The main applicant must be a researcher at the collegiate University in the Humanities Division. This includes Early Career Researchers, teaching staff and Faculty members. DPhil applicants are eligible as main applicants also. Applications that are interdisciplinary and include participants from different Divisions of the University are especially welcome.

 

Project strands

The Creative Industries strand is designed to support and encourage mutually beneficial collaborations and connections between researchers in the University and the Creative Industries. Applications are encouraged from those who wish to partner with creative industry sectors ranging from music, publishing, film, TV to AI, gaming, and VR. Collaboration activity can include anything from a series of workshops, a prototype of a game, a short film, or any other activity that enhances your research.

The Heritage strand is designed to enable exploratory and mutually beneficial partnerships that connect Oxford’s world-leading expertise with the UK and international heritage sector. The heritage sector includes a broad range of organisations: museums, galleries, personal collections, archives, country houses, historic and voluntary organisations, tourism, archaeology, conservation, and others. This includes both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Applications are encouraged from those who are eager to engage in conversations, workshops and projects that support agenda setting interdisciplinary critical debate and discussion of heritage.

The Theatre & Performance strand is designed to support the ambitions for this area and connect with other research networks, programmes and groups active in the University, the local cultural sector and beyond. Applications are encouraged from those who wish to partner with new theatre and performance organisations as well as those well established. The outcome of the collaboration could be anything from a performance, a rehearsed reading, a series of workshops, or other activity that you think serves your research well. As well as projects that are purely theatre and performance, we are interested in crossover areas with wider Creative Industries and Heritage.

The Policy strand is designed to support and encourage mutually beneficial collaborations and connections between researchers in the University and local, regional, national and international policymakers to establish research based mechanisms for the benefit of public policy design, delivery and evaluation. Collaboration activity can include anything from a series of workshops, public lectures, or any other activity that enhances your research.

Please consult the Guidance notes for detailed information and further particulars.

Application deadline
Trinity Term  |  Week 4  |  Monday, 16 May 2022  |  12:00 noon (BST)

 

Available funding
Proposals of up to £5,000 are invited (requested funds and activity must be spent and complete by 21 July 2023).

Application submission
Online via IRAMS (SSO) webform only

 

Queries
Applicants with questions regarding the scheme or application process, including queries relating to eligibility, should email the respective key contact for further advice and assistance.

Theatre & Performance  |  Ruth Moore  |  ruth.moore@humanities.ox.ac.uk

Creative Industries  |  Tasha Patel  |  tasha.patel@humanities.ox.ac.uk

Heritage  |  Dr Oliver Cox  |  oliver.cox@humanities.ox.ac.uk

Policy  |  Jessica Simkiss  |  jessica.simkiss@humanities.ox.ac.uk

 

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