Following a review into the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) structure and function initiated after last year’s Spending Review settlement, the AHRC’s Council has endorsed proposals put forward by its Strategic Consultation Group for a series of changes to the organisational structure.

The changes are as follows:

 A move from three directorates to two, currently called Resources and Programmes, for which new names will be established;
 Additional senior capacity to respond to new priorities in Programmes through the appointment of a third Associate Director ;
 Explicit lines of responsibility at Executive level to be established for key Delivery Plan objectives, for example partnerships;
 A further review of the organisation to be conducted over the next few months to establish the skills we have and how these can be better utilised, supported and developed.

A direct consequence of the move to a two-directorate structure is that the role of Director of Policy and Public Affairs disappears.

CEO of the AHRC, Professor Rick Rylance, said: “It is with regret that I announce that Jonathan Breckon will be leaving the AHRC on 25th November due to redundancy.  Jonathan has been with the AHRC for 3 years and has made a major contribution to where the AHRC is today.
 
“There are no more redundancies planned and Jonathan’s responsibilities will be taken forward by other members of the Senior Management Team.  In the meantime we will be announcing a new Director of Research to replace Shearer West very shortly and it is planned that the third Associate Director in Programmes will start work early in 2012 after a competitive recruitment process.”

A full account of the organisation changes will be given in due course. In the meantime, should you have any questions about these changes, please contact Philip Pothen – p.pothen@ahrc.ac.uk or 01793 41 6022

Notes for Editors

AHRC Media contact: Jake Gilmore, Communications Manager; j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk  

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Each year the AHRC provides approximately £100 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes hundreds of research awards ranging from individual fellowships to major collaborative projects as well as over 1,100 studentship awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. 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.