The first projects to receive awards as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the BBC's co-funded Knowledge Exchange Programme which gives academics access to BBC intellectual property for the first time are announced today.

Launched in early 2007 the AHRC/BBC Knowledge Exchange Project was conceived as a way to bring together the arts and humanities research community with the BBC's Future Media & Technology division to enable co-funded knowledge exchange and collaborative research & innovation. Following the collaboration's pilot funding call in early 2007, teams from BBC Research & Innovation, BBC Learning and Interactive, and BBC Children's among others will now work alongside academics from universities including Bristol, Westminster, Cardiff and Manchester in a spirit of collaborative innovation.

The following eight projects will commence during summer and autumn 2007, and will last up to a year in duration:

What do Children Want from the BBC? Children's Content and Participatory Environments in an Age of Citizen Media
Identifying ways in which young audiences may enjoy increased involvement, presence in, and direction of BBC children's citizenship education content, especially children from socially deprived communities.

Open Archive: The Miners Strike: a Case Study in Regional Content
Examining a range of ethical and contextual questions associated with the use and dissemination of sensitive or contentious materials relating to specific events and regions.

Audience and Producer Engagement with Immersive Worlds (Case Study: Adventure Rock)
Establishing how children inhabit and engage with immersive digital environments.

Alone Together - Online Creative Communities
Gaining an insight into the social learning within User Generated Content communities to inform the development the UGC opportunities that the BBC offers.

Inhibited Exploration in Older Customers of Digital Services
Understanding why older BBC customers may be less likely to take advantage of various advanced digital services on offer now and in the future.

Listener Online Engagement with BBC Radio Programming
Exploring and mapping the extent and variety of online activities undertaken by radio listener fan communities.

User Generated Content: Understanding its Impact upon Contributors, Non-Contributors and the BBC
Examining the impact of User Generated Content on large broadcast organisations, their audiences, and journalism itself.

A Public Voice - Access, Digital Story and Interactive Narrative
Understanding the potential of digital storytelling practice in terms of its impact on broadcast content and wider social applications.

Arts and humanities academics across the country will now have formal access to BBC intellectual property and will work closely with BBC staff to undertake a series of collaborative research projects of mutual strategic benefit. For the AHRC this partnership is one of the first opportunities, of what is planned to be many, to develop collaborative R&D for arts and humanities researchers with a particular focus on the creative industries. For the BBC this partnership provides the Corporation with valuable insights into the changing behaviour and attitudes of its audience as well as allowing the academic community unprecedented access to BBC content across all platforms.

AHRC Chief Executive Professor Philip Esler said "The AHRC/BBC Knowledge Exchange Programme represents a unique opportunity for arts and humanities researchers to work alongside BBC Future Media & Technology staff to produce research outcomes that will be of benefit and significance to both partners. It is a flagship programme which not only delivers novel partnerships but also informs the methodology of effective knowledge share between arts and humanities researchers and the creative industries."

Media Contact

For further information please contact Jake Gilmore, AHRC Communications Manager, j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk; tel: 0117 987 6773.

Editors Notes

Arts and Humanities Research Council - Each year the AHRC provides approximately £90 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,500 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

BBC Future Media & Technology focuses on what comes next for the BBC in terms of technology and services. The department concentrates on innovative platforms and content and is involved in the development of search, navigation, metadata, on-demand, mobile and web based applications including the emerging BBC i-Player on demand service and Web 2.0 initiatives, as well as the BBC Open Archive. FM&T aims to keep the Corporation on the cutting edge of the industry at a time where the boundaries between producers and audiences are fast disappearing and the entire landscape of the large scale broadcaster is changing dramatically.