HERA Managing bottomuptopdown research programmes

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• HERA Managing bottom-up/top-down research
  programmes

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• is an Arts and Humanities Research Council
  strategic programme

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• The programme runs for five years from January
  2005 with a budget of 5.6 million (over 8
  million).

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• AHRC strategic initiatives

• The AHRC added strategic programmes to its other
  research funding modes in 2004. The first two
  programmes began to be developed in 2004, and
  were launched in April 2005 and January 2006
  respectively.
• The purpose of such programmes is to invest in
  areas where there is a sense of intellectual
  urgency and where a concentrated stream of
  funding may be needed in order rapidly to advance
  the field.

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• AHRC Strategic Initiatives

• There are two phases, of consultation and
  implementation, during which the subject
  communities are involved, a programme
  specification is developed, a Director or
  Co-ordinator appointed, and one or more calls for
  research proposals announced.

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• The Programme
• Themes, schemes and other activities

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The objectives, priorities, schemes and themes of
Diasporas, Migration and Identities are set out
in its Programme Specification
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• Interdisciplinary research themes

• The programme covers the full range of arts and
  humanities disciplines. Its themes are,
• migration, settlement and diaspora modes, stages
  and forms
• representation, performance and discourse
• languages and linguistic change
• subjectivity, emotion and identity
• objects, practices and places
• beliefs, values and laws.

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• Schemes of research within the programme

• The programme schemes are,
• Workshop and Network grants (workshops for one
  year, and networks for two years)
• Small research grants, either individual or
  collaborative (one year duration)
• Large collaborative research grants (with full
  economic costs up to 600,000 (875,000), up to a
  maximum of three years).

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• Other programme activities

• Other programme activities include,
• Programme database and email updates
• Programme website, www.diasporas.ac.uk
• Workshops for award-holders
• Two postgraduate conferences, 2006 and 2008
• A series of open seminars in various locations,
  in 2007
• Stakeholder events
• A final conference.

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• Commissioning projects within the programme

• In October 2005, we commissioned
• 20 small research projects
• 14 workshops and networks
• Total 370,000 (about 540,000).
• November 2005,
• Call for outline bids for large research grants.
  By the closing date we had received 157
  applications which were then shortlisted to 25 by
  the Commissioning Panel. Applicants submitted
  their full applications in early May these are
  now being peer-reviewed. (Total 5 million, 7.3
  million expect to fund about 10 projects)

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• AHRC Research programmes
• Key priorities

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• Quality, range and coherence

• Both research quality and range of disciplines
  and themes are considered to be important in an
  interdisciplinary strategic programme.
• Furthermore, the programme has to have coherence,
  with links made between different projects and
  activities, and mechanisms put in place to ensure
  programme targets and priorities are understood,
  shared and met by participants.

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• Research engagement and dissemination (Knowledge
  transfer)

• The programme stresses the importance of,
• research collaboration with the cultural sector
• engagement with public, voluntary or community
  bodies to share knowledge and develop outcomes of
  mutual interest and benefit
• the development of outputs directed at a wide
  non-academic as well as academic audience.

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• Collaboration and interdisciplinarity

• The programme stresses the importance of,
• Breaking down disciplinary boundaries, including
  into the social sciences
• Developing links with other research programmes
  and centres within AHRC
• Developing links with research programmes and
  centres outside AHRC, e.g. in ESRC.
• Developing links with emerging programmes in
  Europe and beyond on related themes such as
  migration and cultural diversity.

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• Seeking to improve public awareness of Arts and
  Humanities research

• By promoting research on DMI through the website
  
• By engaging with the interests of a diverse range
  of stakeholders beyond the academy
• By raising the profile of the programme and its
  projects in the media
• By linking up with other related research
  programmes in public events
• By increasing the impact of the programme on
  public awareness and, as appropriate, policy.

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• Getting and spending the money
• Best practice most difficult issues

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• Getting and spending the money
• Best practice

• In this sort of research programme, it is not a
  matter of getting the money but of deciding how
  to spend it to get the most out of the programme.
• Consulting with subject communities on types of
  schemes and activities to be funded
• Identifying a variety of schemes to achieve
  different outcomes
• Finding ways to increase the funding associated
  with the programme and its projects.

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• Getting and spending the money
• Most difficult issues

• Making sensible and realistic cost projections
  for the director, programme office, activities
  and events before the onset of the programme
• Managing expectations about how far the money
  will go
• Ensuring that administrative effort is
  commensurate with level of funding.

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• Getting the proposals and people
• Best practice most difficult issues

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• Getting the proposals and the people best
  practice

• Consulting the subject communities in advance to
  ensure the programme specification meets their
  needs and aspirations
• Preparing a programme specification that can
  command respect (and having a director that is
  responsive and a good communicator)
• Building the requirement of innovation
  (theoretical, conceptual, methodological,
  empirical, practice-led) into programme
  priorities
• Publicising the programme and key dates well in
  advance to give time for applicants to plan and
  collaborate
• Inviting early career and minority ethnic
  applicants (given nature of the programme)
• Identifying respected, well informed people for
  the Commissioning Panel
• Having a robust, fair and accountable
  commissioning process.

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• Getting the proposals and the people difficult
  issues

• Foreseeing applicants inability to be selective
  and specific about how their proposal fits the
  programme (they tick all the boxes)
• Meeting the requirement of both research quality
  and range of subjects/themes covered (more a
  theoretical difficulty than a practical one)
• Coping with the disappointment of unsuccessful
  applicants and maintaining goodwill.

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• Getting the results
• Best practice most difficult issues

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• Getting the results Best practice

• Reinforcing requirements of award-holders
  repeatedly and pursuing those who dont comply
• Being willing to face up to difficult
  award-holders
• Setting up good monitoring mechanisms for both
  projects and programme
• Finding a reliable, flexible, bright
  administrator
• (As Director) Being intellectually engaged as
  well as a good manager
• Engaging with and being accountable to wider
  subject communities and stakeholders.

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• Getting the results Difficult issues

• Non-compliance of award-holders in relation to
  programme events and conditions of award
• Negotiating slippage of dates, and changes to
  research methodology or matched funding
• Managing (and remembering) all the elements in a
  diverse portfolio
• Making the programme cohere without being
  superficial.

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• Getting the validation
• Best practice most difficult issues

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• Getting the validation Best practice

• Ensuring the sponsor (AHRC) and Director are
  clear about what the agreed measures are for
  programme evaluation
• Having programme evaluation on the agenda right
  from the beginning
• Involving the advisory/steering group in
  monitoring and evaluation
• Involving some key stakeholders and policymakers
  in delivery and evaluation of the programme
• Getting media training and contacts.

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• Getting the validation Difficult issues

• Dovetailing project targets and achievements with
  programme evaluation
• Distinguishing between description and evaluation
  of achievements
• Facing own weaknesses (e.g. not very keen on
  networking fear of TV appearances) or finding
  ways round them
• Communicating the programme pro-actively (not
  just waiting for opportunities).

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• Kim Knott
• University of Leeds
• June 2006