For UK universities to set up a Leverhulme Research Centre for outstanding original research aspiring to achieve a step-change in scholarship
The Trust’s aim is to encourage new approaches that may establish or reshape a field of study and so transform our understanding of a significant contemporary topic.
£10 million over 10 years.
Before beginning your application, please read the information below.
Eligible institutions are universities in the UK.
A Leverhulme Research Centre may be single-site (one UK university) or multi-site (‘hub and spoke/s’).
Each UK university is permitted to make only one bid as the principal applicant (‘hub’) but additional involvement in partnership(s) with other universities is permitted (as ‘spoke’).
The participation of non-UK international institutions is encouraged, where this is relevant to the Centre’s research focus, but this is not a requirement.
The Leverhulme Trust invites applications for Research Centres that will not only conduct research of outstanding originality but also aspire to achieve a significant step-change in scholarship. The Trust’s aim is 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 Trust has a reputation for encouraging higher-risk research which is often therefore fundamental or curiosity-driven – so-called ‘blue skies’ – and pan-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.
The Centres should have the capacity to become recognised internationally for excellence in their chosen area.
Centres should be titled as the ‘Leverhulme Centre for...’ the research activities in question.
In line with the Trust’s responsive mode of working, the choice of research topic is left open, with the exclusion of studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals, or research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications.
The Trust has a strong reputation for funding cross-disciplinary research embracing the sciences, social sciences and the humanities.
The chosen area should be sufficiently large-scale to support an ambitious but realistic research agenda, for ten years.
Leverhulme Research Centres should not duplicate existing activity at a comparable scale, whether in Research Council-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.
£10 million is available for 10 years, with an appropriate mid-grant review.
Centres will be encouraged to build on the Leverhulme grant by seeking additional concurrent support from other funding bodies.
The Trust will not normally award follow-on platform grants. If Centre arrangements persist beyond the original award, this will be on the initiative of the grant holder or institution.
The usual categories of expenditure from Trust funds are permitted:
- Salaries for research staff
At least 75% of the resources requested must be used to provide funding for research staff (research assistants, postgraduate students, replacement teaching costs) - Associated research costs
These include technical or computing staff costs or services, travel and subsistence, 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 which wish to host a Centre will be required to provide all necessary office and work space and any other appropriate university support.
Note also that the Trust does not make awards on a full economic costing basis.
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 notify the Trust of their chosen applicant, who will then be given access to the Grants Management System to begin their outline application. The April 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.
Applications must be submitted by a Principal Applicant based in a UK university, who will act as Director of the Centre, providing intellectual and organisational leadership and ensuring delivery of the chosen research agenda. Co-Directorships are not permitted.
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 research activity. The description should include:
- A description of the area of research:
- the reasons why this is important and interesting
- the key research questions to be addressed
- how the Centre will contribute to this general subject area
- The structure of the Centre:
- whether single centre, multi-centre, hub and spoke
- details of the institutions involved and rationale for their participation in the work of the Centre
- brief details of any key staff who will be involved and their planned contribution
- The justification for the choice of the Principal Applicant to take both intellectual and organisational leadership
- An indication of how the resources might be used over ten years in terms of:
- research staff, doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, other academic staff costs
- associated costs (NB associated costs cannot exceed 25% of the grant)
Following 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.
The authors of short-listed detailed proposals will be invited for interview. It is anticipated that final decisions will be made by the Trust Board at its subsequent board meeting.
