British Council: Beyond Literature Borders
Overview
Overview
Beyond Literature Borders (BLB) is a Grant Programme funded by the British Council in collaboration with Speaking Volumes. Opening for applications from Monday 12 February 2024, it will support the UK literature community to develop an international strand to their work, helping small organisations with limited or no previous track record of international working to build skills and undertake an initial project with a country defined as eligible for official development assistance (ODA)*. Applications that focus on R&D and exploratory activity with new partners will be considered as well as complete projects, as long as they can demonstrate that this will result in concrete partnership work in the future. Literature organisations eligible to apply for this grant will be diverse-led or those who work to showcase underrepresented voices. (* Download the list of ODA countries eligible for this Grant Programme)
The programme will:
- Support literature organisations new to international working by offering four grants of UK Sterling £7,000 to conduct a discrete reciprocal literature project in an ODA country;
- Equip UK literature professionals with the skills and knowledge to run successful international collaborative programmes through the support and advice of both the British Council and Speaking Volumes for the duration of the project;
- Broaden networks and connections across borders for both organisations and artists, creating opportunities for future collaborations and invitations;
- Encourage literature organisations which work to support underrepresented voices within the UK literature scene to develop opportunities for those voices to participate in international programmes.
Eligibility
- The application must be made by a literature organisation registered in the UK which is diverse-led and/or works to support underrepresented voices in the sector. As ‘diverse-led’ and ‘underrepresented voices’ may have wide interpretations and can cover a range of work, please tell them in your application how your organisation meets this condition;
- The organisation may be: a charity/ not-for-profit/ a company/ other (please state);
- The UK organisation must work with one (1) ODA country from the list above*;
- The UK organisation must have a business bank account in the organisation’s name. If the account is in a different name to the business name, you must attach a letter on headed paper from the organisation or board to confirm the bank account given is the one used for the organisation;
- There are four (4) grants available of UK Sterling £7,000 each. Projects may be for just the amount of the grant or for a larger amount, but extra funds to complete the project must be in place and shown in your budget;
- Project proposals should have a timeline ending no later than 15 May 2025, unless part of a larger project, but reporting on the use of BLB funds will need to be completed by early May 2025;
- Individuals and funding bodies are not eligible – but you are able to work with individuals or organisations in the partner ODA country, as long as the project is of mutual benefit to both you and the ODA country;
- Proposed projects must be projects for the literature sector, although they may be cross-art (eg literature and music) or cross-disciplinary (eg literature and science) or relate to the wider creative literature economy;
What can the grant be used for?
The grant should be used to develop new projects with artistic expression or creativity at the core and that will result in collaborative activities including artistic and creative exchange of either skills, knowledge and practice or the co-production towards new artistic and creative content. You may choose to work with another literature organisation in your partner ODA country, with a publication or simply with authors and artists.
Scoping visits can also be included as part of a project application, as long as there is a clear pathway to a project which will be of primary benefit to residents in the partner ODA country.
Your project might be simply to collaborate on a piece of writing or could include any of the following: residencies; festivals, showcases, workshops, performances; projects which focus on or include digital innovation; conferences, panels and talks; translation etc. These are just ideas; we’re happy to consider any work which will enable you to dip into international working, as long as it is of mutual benefit to both you and the ODA country you’re working with.
While all proposals meeting the above eligibility criteria will be considered, applications must be from diverse-led literature organisations and/or literature organisations which work to support underrepresented voices.
Project Budget
Creating a well-researched budget will enable you to clearly anticipate the needs of your proposed BLB project and manage expectations of what is achievable with the time and resources you have available. It will also enable you to identify risks and prepare for changes as they arise. These are key factors to consider when working internationally.
A strong project budget will help you to:
- Communicate with your partner about when and how much money is needed;
- Control and limit project costs as you compare your predicted budget against actual costs;
- Measure performance and unforeseen changes;
- Evaluate spending against impact to analyse the effectiveness of international work;
- Manage future projects with a replicable template.
REMEMBER that your income and expenditure (projected and actual) MUST match and to include all income and expenditure for the whole project, not just for the grant.
Please see guidance notes for further information about collaborations, income, in-kind support, assessment criteria, and more.