AHRC: XRtists: supporting the implementation of immersive technologies

Overview

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £6,000,000. AHRC will fund:

• non-exceptional costs at 80% FEC
• exceptions (including devolved funding) at 100% FEC

The maximum duration is three years.

Projects must start on 1 February 2024.

This funding opportunity is being administered by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) on behalf of all the funding partners.

Who can apply

They are looking for applications from a consortium of organisations who, collectively, can deliver the activities, outputs and outcomes required for the XRtists programme.

Applications must be led by an organisation eligible to receive UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding (the lead hub). Consortia must have an on the ground presence in all four UK nations, including partners based in at least two different regions of England.

Before applying for funding, check the following:

• your proposal is suitable for AHRC funding
• the eligibility of your organisation
• your eligibility as an individual
• remit query form if you are unsure whether your proposed research falls within the remit of AHRC

Consortia

As a minimum consortia must include five partners from across the UK. This will support one hub and a minimum of four regionally dispersed partners which must include:

• two partners based in England, at least one of which must be outside of London
• one partner based in Northern Ireland
• one partner based in Scotland
• one partner based in Wales

Consortia may include more partners, including a mix of partners from cultural organisations and the commercial sector as well as research organisations. The number and combination of these partners will be determined by consortia based on their ability to support the delivery of XRtists objectives and activities.

Consortium partners from cultural organisations and the commercial sector that contribute to the delivery of XRtists activities can receive funds from the consortium lead hub organisation to cover their involvement.

You can only apply once to be a lead hub organisation but may be named as a partner on multiple other applications.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

They are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. They encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

They support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

What they are looking for

AHRC and all four UK national arts development bodies want to commission a consortium to develop and deliver a new three-year creative research and development innovation programme, XRtists. This builds on the learning and successes of the CreativeXR, and Creative Industries Clusters programmes.

The programme will support the adoption and implementation of creative immersive technologies, and where appropriate other new technologies with the potential to influence the development of creative practice within the arts and culture sector across the UK.

The consortium will draw together partners with relevant knowledge and expertise from across cultural organisations, the commercial sector and research organisations. The consortium will deliver the programme in accordance with the objectives and targets required by the funding partners.

Objectives

The objectives are to:

• support the arts and culture sector in the UK to develop skills and knowledge in immersive content and experience development, production and distribution
• develop a pipeline of funding opportunities to support organisations and individuals at different scales and readiness
• support the presentation and distribution of new immersive innovations enabled by XRtists via an annual industry showcase, championing and celebrating projects which derive from the programme
• support knowledge exchange and mentoring in immersive production and distribution between the academic, creative industries and arts and culture sectors
• support collaboration and ecology building across all regions of the UK in order to strengthen the UK’s creative immersive industries
• undertake research and mapping which will support the growth of the UK arts and culture sector and the creative immersive industries in the long term
• develop a programme brand and identity for XRtists that is widely understood and well regarded, nationally and internationally
• proactively champion and enable diversity and equality of opportunities to participate in the making and enjoyment of creative immersive productions by people of all backgrounds and across all areas of the UK

What will the successful consortium be expected to deliver

The successful consortium will deliver four primary strands of activity to enable the objectives to be realised across the UK:

• run devolved funding programmes (minimum 60% of total budget)
• provide training and skills development for individuals and cultural or creative organisations
• undertake research
• organise an annual industry showcase

Consortia should also propose additional activities and engagement strategies to support the realisation of objectives not covered within the four strands, such as:

• ecology building
• convening networks
• developing a brand identity which is meaningful for the sector.

Devolved funding

The consortium will utilise a minimum of 60% (£3.6 million) of the total award budget to develop and run devolved funding programmes over the three years of the award. The devolved funding will provide approximately 200 to 250 awards in total, supporting three levels of applicants:

• entry-level: these awards are expected to range from £5,000 to £10,000. The awards aim to support small-scale research and development projects for organisations and individuals with limited prior experience of immersive technologies to test ideas or proofs of concept which could potentially result in applications for prototype funding
• prototype: these awards are expected to be in the range of £20,000 to 25,000. The prototype awards will be expected to push the boundaries of creative immersive production. Some awards might assist small-scale research and development projects to make the transition to full-scale prototypes. To support prototype development the consortium should provide access to mentors, workshops and facilities in addition to funding for production
• follow-on funding: these awards are expected to be in the range of £50,000 with the aim of enabling a small number of the successful prototypes to continue development. This funding will support audience-facing projects to become market-ready and sustainable in the longer term

They realise that 200 to 250 is a large number of devolved projects, but some basic modelling is provided as an example as how this may run from year to year. See website.

Any partners who form part of the successful consortium will be ineligible to apply for devolved funding.

The successful consortium will be expected to clearly demonstrate how they will ensure that the opportunities of the programme are widely available, and the benefits are spread across the four nations of the UK.

The successful consortium will work with the funding partners to ensure that the devolved funding meets the necessary terms and conditions of the overall award. Consortia will need to consider how the devolved funding will be allocated via an appropriate review and assessment process.

The allocation of the devolved funds must be fair and transparent and within the framework of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) principles of assessment and decision making.

Training and skills development

The consortium will need to offer a package of skills development and provide entry-level or introductory training programmes. This will give organisations and individuals from across the UK with limited prior experience of XR production access to facilities, expertise and mentoring.

The consortium should consider:

• how participants can be supported to apply for the entry level awards at the end of the training where this is appropriate
• how programme beneficiaries could progress from entry level funding to prototype and follow-on funding in later stages

Research

The consortium will undertake research and mapping which will support the adoption and implementation of creative immersive technologies within the arts and culture sector across the UK.

The consortium is expected to engage stakeholders from the UK arts and culture sector and the creative immersive industries to establish the research priorities.

Examples of research areas which could be explored include (not exhaustive):

• how creative immersive projects are brought to market and distributed to benefit audiences
• the audience experience of and engagement with creative immersive projects
• business and funding models for creative immersive projects
• how the nature of productions and performances changes in response to technology use
• workforce skills and training

Annual industry showcase

The consortium will develop and run an annual industry showcase. The aim of the showcase will be to create a national and international profile for the XRtists programme and its outputs and to attract distribution opportunities and onward investment. The showcase does not need to be held in the same location each year, it can change location to reflect the geographic diversity of the programme.

Duration

The duration of this award is 36 months.

Projects must start by 1 February 2024.

Funding available

The funding partners have allocated £6 million for this funding opportunity at FEC.

The devolved funding activity will account for a minimum of 60% of total budget and should be costed at 100% FEC. Other (non-exceptions) costs should be costed at 80% FEC in line with standard UKRI terms and conditions.

Consortia will be expected to ringfence a minimum 60% of the total award (£3.6 million) for distribution via devolved funding. The devolved funding budget should be approximately distributed as follows:

• entry level: 30%
• prototype: 50%
• follow-on: 20%

See website for further information