The Ideas Fund

Overview

2023: Request for Proposals, for a learning partner to support the next four years of The Ideas Fund

The British Science Association (BSA) is inviting expressions of interest to work with them as the learning partner for the next 4 years of The Ideas Fund. The Ideas Fund is an inclusive, relational and community-centred local grants programme that invests in community organisations to lead collaborative projects with researchers that address problems related to mental wellbeing. After launching in 2021 and investing in more than 70 partnerships between communities and researchers in 4 areas of the UK (Oldham, Highlands & Islands, Hull and North-West Northern Ireland), they are embarking on the next 4 years of ther journey. They’re looking for a learning partner that can come on this journey with them, that shares their values, that works collaboratively, that can build strong, trusting relationships and that can design and support a learning journey that is inclusive, relational and community-centred.

They’re now inviting expressions of interest for a 4 year learning partnership from Nov 2023 to Oct 2027. The total budget for the partnership is £100,000 (+VAT if applicable), with an intended breakdown of £40,000 for the development of the new impact framework and learning, evidence building and practice sharing strategy and £20,000 / year for three years of support and facilitation.

Submission deadline: 5pm, Friday 20th October 2023

Overview

The scheme has been designed to test a new way of funding that connects communities with researchers to access knowledge, research skills and resources. They brought together community members, researchers and public engagement professionals and designed a fund together that is...

• Place-based
• Focused on mental wellbeing
• Committed to funding ideas with potential

For the story so far of The Ideas Fund, click here.

The Fund will run from January 2021 to October 2023 and is open to projects that involve communities based in four regions of the UK. These are:

• The Highlands and Islands of Scotland - communities and activities based in the council areas of Highland Council, Moray Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council, Argyll and Bute Council along with the Isles of Arran and Cumbrae
• The City of Hull
• North West of Northern Ireland - specifically the area covered by Derry & Strabane District Council
• The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham

Eligibility

If you have a brilliant idea to address a problem related to mental wellbeing in one of our four target areas they want to hear from you.

The Expression of Interest for The Ideas Fund will first ask you whether you are applying as:

• Community group
• Researcher
• Existing partnership between a community group and researcher

Community

This may be...

• Individuals
• Someone linked to a community group
• An informal group (even if you do not have a bank account)
• Constituted group
• Charity
• CIC
• or a social enterprise

They think this is for you if...

• You want to use your local, lived or learnt expertise to explore and contribute to improving mental wellbeing for your community.
• You are up for trying something new and learning - you may not have any knowledge, experience, or confidence when it comes to working with researchers – but you’re interested in the idea.
• You are interested and want to work collaboratively with a new research partner – even if you do not know what to expect.
• You have time to commit to this – the process requires time to build relationships, plan, coordinate and work through innovative approaches, opportunities, and challenges with The Ideas Fund programme and with your partner. A small grant will be provided to you or your organisation to develop your idea if you are shortlisted.
• You are interested in joining The Ideas Fund to access additional opportunities to learn, be creative and shape how to do this type of collaboration to achieve greater equity.

Researchers

They define a researcher a someone who has a track record of carrying out and publishing new research, and is connected to the wider research world through their work.

They think this is for you if...

• You want to use your research skills, experiences, and interests to explore and support a community to reach their goals around health and wellbeing.
• You are up for trying something new and learning - you may not have any knowledge, experience, or confidence when it comes to working equitably with communities through your day-to-day role – but you’re interested in the idea.
• You are interested and want to work collaboratively with a new community partner – even if you do not know what to expect.
• You are interested in how this collaboration could help to shape your future work and approach.
• You have time to commit to this – the process requires time to build relationships, plan, coordinate and work through innovative approaches, opportunities, and challenges with The Ideas Fund programme and with your partner.

Visit their dedicated Researchers page here

Existing Partnerships

(Community group + researcher, defined as above)

They think this is for you if...

• The above statements apply to the relevant partners
• Both partners are still open for involvement and collaboration with The Ideas Fund

What kinds of activities could they fund?

The Ideas Fund is not set up as a research fund and it's about researching on people, nor purely running services. The types of activities funded depend on the way both the community and research partner want to achieve their goals and should support genuine partnerships to develop, so that both the community and researcher can benefit from each other's expertise.

In 2021, The Ideas Fund awarded grants to its first projects, connecting communities with researchers to work together on mental wellbeing projects. Grant sizes in Round One ranged from £12,000 to £91,000, with projects being delivered over a period of up to 18 months.

You can read about some of the projects they have already funded here.

A development or ‘incubator’ grant

A development or ‘incubator’ grant of £3,000 will be available to all community groups who have their Expression of Interests shortlisted. This is to cover the time for both researcher and community partner to work together to build their relationship and develop an idea. This can be used flexibly but can’t cover:

• Costs incurred before your proposed activity starts
• Activities/partnerships outside the UK
• Activities mainly or solely within schools or formal education settings
• Emergency, top-up or maintenance funding
• Continued delivery of existing activities (instead it is intended that funding is used in a structured way to test ideas, solve problems, forge partnerships etc.)
• Loans, investments, or capital costs
• Delivery of frontline services, such as healthcare services or interventions (including arts therapy)

What can a larger Ideas Fund grant cover and not cover?

The grant is intended to cover the following:

• Salaries or fees for people who are essential to the proposal such as project lead, researchers, artists or consultants that aren't already covered by another grant
• Participant costs if relevant
• Materials and consumables
• Equipment that is essential to the project
• Production costs, including marketing
• Travel and subsistence relevant to the proposal
• Room hire
• Catering
• Accessibility costs (e.g. BSL translation, child-care)
• Evaluation and dissemination of the work
• Overheads - these can only account for a maximum of 20% of your grant