Dr Anne Dean Assistant Director The Trust and its schemes – opportunities for funding

…from 1922 Lord Leverhulme of the Western Isles ( ) The man behind Port Sunlight and Unilever plc… …and The Leverhulme Trust William Hesketh Lever

A proportion of Lord Leverhulmes interest in Lever Brothers (which later became Unilever plc) left in trust for specific beneficiaries: Certain trade charities (grocers, commercial travellers and chemists) Trade Charities Trust firms must have no more than 50 employees; undergraduate/postgraduate university fees paid for family members… …but the bulk of the money is allocated for Scholarships for the purposes of research and education The Trust was established in 1925

Up to ten members All businessmen from diverse, international backgrounds All drawn from senior management of Unilever plc (Chairman or Director level) Extensive appraisal experience – spotting potential and quality Reliant on advice received by peer reviewers The Trust Board

support for the gifted individual – excellence and originality of idea; compelling ability of applicant to undertake project; realising potential; individual vision… normally postgraduate level all subjects* PhD studentships not supported …unless fully justified as part of a Research Project Grant The Trust is an almost exclusively responsive mode organisation, the choice of topic always lying with the applicant Scholarships for the purposes of research and education:

The Trust tends to avoid funding bids in those disciplines which other Trusts or agencies (such as Wellcome, the MRC, Department for Education and Skills, ESRC etc. are disposed to support). In particular: Medicine and general school education ….but might consider bids such as those which concentrate on the sociological, philosophical, economic, legal or psychological aspects of medicine or education…

the originality and excellence of the proposed work courageous research (avoidance of the incremental and the applicants ability to take informed risk/blue skies research) a mixture of disciplines (blurring boundaries/lateral impact) individual exploration (hesitation with data banks/cataloguing) the impact of the research outcome on other fields of study and within the immediate field of research the extent to which a proposal represents a departure from the established working patterns either of the individual or of the discipline The suitability of the research for support by the Trust…

Other points to think about… Clarity very important Avoid unexplained abbreviations and acronyms Think about why youre approaching the Trust and not another agency Choose referees carefully (from anywhere in the world) Is the research really something new and valuable? Persuade the Trustees that youre the person to carry out the research

…depends very much on reasons for rejection Too blue skies/risky, multi-disciplinary or not within research councils current interests? Might be worth applying. Trustees welcome exciting and challenging proposals. If proposal has been rejected on basis of lack of quality, then extremely unlikely to be considered by Trust. With c. £50M available each year, the Trust cannot act as funder of last resort for a government system with c. £4 billion p.a. Trusts view on bids rejected by research councils

Under the terms of the Founders Will, the Trust is unable to engage in FULL ECONOMIC COSTING Therefore, overheads and similar costs cannot be supported. The Trust supports research, travel and subsistence costs, salaries and bursaries…

All awards made to institutions (such as universities, arts training organisations, galleries and museums) are made via a 2-stage process which involve an Outline and Full Application stage. Three deadlines each year for successful Outlines – 1 September, 1 December and 21 March. For awards made to individuals (such as most Fellowships and Studentships), a one-stage process applies.

Research Project Grants (majority of awards made by the Trust) Programme Grants (up to £1.75M for selected themes) – for 2011, the topics are: Intergenerational justice, Resilience and Science and Politics Various Fellowships (Early Career, Research, Emeritus) and Study Abroad – and Major Research Fellowships (MRFs) in the Humanities and Social Sciences Study Abroad Studentships Academic Collaboration – International Networks, Visiting Professorships Philip Leverhulme Prizes and… The following provides a brief summary of all awards offered by the Trust.

The Arts Portfolio (formerly known as the Training and Professional Development scheme) This scheme has recently undergone a complete reassessment. The majority of awards made enable (normally young) people to obtain Training Bursaries to support their training in the fine or performing arts at a specialist training organisation (not a university). Criteria for a successful application are based upon a combination of the students outstanding talent and financial need. Awards are made directly to the applying institution which then allocates the bursaries. Applications from individual students are ineligible. Arts Initiatives This part of the Arts Portfolio will now offer opportunities under the following headings: Innovative Teaching Activity Mentorship Bursaries Collaborative Arts Bursaries Arts and Technology Awards

Bush Theatre Edinburgh International Festival

We also offer residencies under our… Artist in Residence Scheme For artists of any kind, including musicians usually for one academic year up to £15,000 Artists can be from anywhere in the world, but the residency must take place in a UK institution of higher or further education. Contrasting disciplines – i.e. a poet in a university chemistry department, a playwright in a museum, a fine artist in a hospital environment…

Awards made to institutions Each year, the Trust receives c. 1,800 Outline proposals for Research Project Grant (including International Networks). A small proportion are deemed ineligible i.e. they fall within those areas generally not supported by the Trust, or are received from ineligible institutions. The great majority go forward for peer review - the Leverhulme Advisory Panel (LAP). Awards made to individuals For these grants, a one-stage process is used, and responsibility is devolved to the Research Awards Advisory Committee (RAAC) who make recommendations for awards. Once a year rounds – individual deadlines. Decisions for all Trust awards are made on advice received from peer reviewers. The application process

Outline Application There are no closing dates for the submission of Outline Applications to the Trust Outline Application undergoes initial review Outline Application rejected on grounds of eligibility or quality Recommendation that applicant be invited to make a Full Application Up to 12 weeks – average 6 weeks Independent referees and the applicants named referees are consulted by the Trust The proposal and the comments of referees are submitted to the Trustees for decision Application RejectedApplication Approved Three deadlines each year: 21 March, 1 September and 1 December For awards made to institutions of any kind The process Applicant submits Full Application with two named referees. Closing dates for Full Applications: 21 March, 1 September, 1 December

During 2010 the Trust is introducing a new online applications system, and it is expected that all schemes will be online by the end of the year. Full details of how to apply can be found on our website under the information given for each scheme. New online applications system

Narcissism and consumerism Franco-Irish Historical Contexts and Materials for Becketts work in the 40s Fluency, symmetry and affective priming Molecules in cool stars, brown dwarfs and exoplanets Ceramics before farming: prehistoric pottery dispersals in Northeast Asia Probing the earths deep mantle with multiscale seismology and geodynamics Damned in hell in the frescoes of Venetian-dominated Crete (13-17 th centuries) What contribution do fungi and bacteria make to soil respiration in drylands? History and the future: predictive power of sustainable development indicators Dynamic beauty: studying social impressions with realistic stimuli A comparative history of political engagement in Western and African societies Graphene spintronics with highly spin-polarized electrodes The works of Guillaume de Machaut: music, image and text in the Middle Ages Aesthetic integration of photovoltaics (PV) into the built environment Commemorations of Saints in Scottish place-names Some recent Research Project and International Network topics

The excellence of the proposed project is of paramount importance. Clarity of expression, a good methodology and an idea of anticipated outcomes and dissemination strategy are all essential. Really think about WHY youre approaching the Trust – could your project be more appropriately funded elsewhere? The Trustees favour applications which demonstrate both the ability of the applicant to undertake the work, and their excitement at the challenge this presents. Demonstrate WHY the work is important, and why it should be funded. Trust encourages creativity and the development of original and risky research which blurs disciplinary boundaries. Wholly within-discipline research projects are less likely to find favour, but might if they are of the highest quality. To sum up…

or (in hard copy) in our Guide for Applicants, available upon request to: The Leverhulme Trust 1 Pemberton Row London EC4A 3BG Tel: Full details of all schemes can be found on our website