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Leverhulme Research Centres

For UK universities to set up a Leverhulme Research Centre for outstanding original research aspiring to achieve a step-change in scholarship

The Trust aims to encourage new approaches that may establish or reshape a field of study and so transform our understanding of a significant contemporary topic.

Value and Duration

Up to £10 million is available for up 10 years.

Eligibility

Eligible institutions are universities in the UK defined as an institution registered by the Office for Students and which holds its own research degree awarding powers. A Leverhulme Research Centre may be based at a single university or be a collaboration between multiple institutions. Collaborative research centres are encouraged. 

Each UK university is permitted to submit one application as a principal applicant but may act as a partner in multiple proposals led by other universities. The participation of international institutions is encouraged where this is relevant to the centre’s research focus, but is not a requirement.

Given the Trust’s commitment to multiple existing research centres at these institutions, the 2024 round is not open to applications led by the University of Oxford, Imperial College London or the University of Cambridge. However, these institutions may still partner in applications led by other universities.

What the Trust is looking for

The Trust invites applications for Leverhulme Research Centres that will not only conduct research of outstanding originality but also aspire to achieve a significant step-change in scholarship. The Trust aims to encourage new approaches that may establish or reshape a field of study and so transform our understanding of a significant contemporary topic. Applicants are, therefore, invited to be bold in compiling their bids. The centres should have the capacity to become recognised internationally for excellence in their chosen area.

The Trust has a reputation for encouraging higher-risk research, which is therefore often fundamental or curiosity-driven – so-called ‘blue skies’ – and multi-disciplinary. The expectation is that centres will draw upon a range of disciplinary perspectives and expertise, perhaps bringing new disciplinary mixes to bear on a particular topic. 

Topics

In this 2024 call, the Trust Board is looking for applications strongly led by the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Within this framework, the choice of topic is left open, in line with the Trust’s responsive mode of working. Please look at the Trust’s guidelines for areas of research, such as medical and clinical research, which are ineligible: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/research-we-do-not-fund.

The chosen topic should be sufficiently large-scale to support an ambitious but realistic research agenda for up to ten years.

Leverhulme Research Centres should not duplicate existing activity at a comparable scale, whether in UKRI-funded or university research centres. The Trust wishes to support research activity where it can be confident that the work will have substantial added value compared to smaller initiatives in the same area of research.

What the Trust offers

Up to £10 million of funding is available for up to 10 years, with an appropriate mid-term review. Please note that while Leverhulme Research Centres should be ambitious and large-scale, the scheme is open to proposed centres which require less than the maximum £10 million funding and a duration shorter than 10 years. Please note that the funding requested should be proportionate to the centre’s proposed duration. 

Research centres will be encouraged to build on the Leverhulme grant by seeking additional concurrent support from other funding bodies. 

Please note that the Trust will not award follow-on funding. If centre arrangements persist beyond the original award, this will be on the initiative of the grant holder or institution.

Costs

The usual categories of expenditure from Trust funds are permitted: 

  1. Salaries for research staff
    At least 75% of the resources must be used to provide funding for research staff, i.e. research assistants, postgraduate students and replacement teaching at a maximum of 33% for up to three years for key academic staff. 
  2. Associated research costs
    These include technical, computing and administrative staff costs or services, travel and subsistence, dissemination costs and consumables, and can be included up to a maximum of 25% of the total budget. 

As the Trust is not permitted to fund ‘infrastructural’ investment or overheads, institutions that wish to host a Leverhulme Research Centre will be required to provide all necessary office and workspace and any other appropriate university support. 

Please also note that the Trust does not make awards on a full economic costing basis.

Any increases in costs incurred over the lifetime of Leverhulme Research Centres will need to be managed within the funding awarded. 

How to apply

Prospective applicants should, in the first instance, follow their university’s internal selection process. Once the university has decided on their preferred bid, they should contact Tracey Henshaw at [email protected] with the name and email address of their chosen applicant, who will then be given access to the Grants Management System to begin their outline application. The June closing date is for the receipt of outline applications. 

The process and closing dates for the later stages of the competition will be notified to applicants selected to go through to the next round. Invitations for full-stage applications are expected to be made in September, with a deadline at the end of the year. 

Applications must be submitted by a principal applicant based in a UK university, who will act as Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre. Details of the proposed wider leadership team should also be provided in the centre description, with a clear articulation of the different roles of senior staff. 

Applications will be considered via a two-stage process: an outline bid and a detailed proposal. 

The outline bid consists of a short form and a five-page description of the proposed centre’s structure and research activity. The description should include:

  1. A description of the area of research:      
    • the reasons why this is important and interesting and particularly suited to the Trust’s funding approach in terms of being blue-skies, transformative and multidisciplinary
    • the key research questions to be addressed
    • how the centre will contribute to this general subject area
  2. The structure of the centre:
    • whether single or multi-site
    • details of the institutions involved and rationale for their participation in the work of the centre
    • brief details of key staff who will be involved and their planned contribution 
  3. The justification for the choice of the principal applicant and senior staff and their suitability to undertake both intellectual and organisational leadership of the centre
  4. An indication of how the resources might be used over the centre’s duration in terms of:
    • research staff, doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and replacement teaching  
    • associated costs (NB associated costs cannot exceed 25% of the grant)

Following the shortlisting of outline bids, those reaching the second stage will be contacted and invited to submit a detailed proposal, along with a statement of support from the applying institution. 

Those whose full applications are shortlisted will be invited to interview. It is anticipated that final decisions will be made by the Trust Board at its subsequent board meeting.

Please note that the Trust is unable to provide feedback on applications.

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