Introduction
Vision
Scope of the programme
Current activities/funding
Past activities
Introduction
Connected Communities is a cross-Research Council research programme, led by the AHRC, in close partnership with the ESRC, EPSRC, MRC and NERC and a range of other potential stakeholders.
The programme is designed to build upon and complement, the existing substantial body of Research Council-funded research on community-relevant issues and has begun by supporting over 100 initial development networking, scoping, review and partnership activities. Summary reports from the first batch of over 40 research reviews have recently been published. The first larger awards following a research development workshop on communities and the creative economy were recently announced. In addition to targeted open calls for proposals and/or to participate in research development workshops, details of which will appear on these web pages, opportunities to apply for research activities relevant to the programme are currently available through existing funding routes such as the Connected Communities highlight notice in AHRC’s Research Networking and Fellowship schemes.
Vision
The current proposed vision for the programme is “to mobilise the potential for increasingly inter-connected, culturally diverse, communities to enhance participation, prosperity, sustainability, health and well-being by better connecting research, stakeholders and communities.”
At the core of the programme will be research to understand the changing nature of communities and community values, in their historical and cultural contexts and the role (positive and negative) of communities in sustaining and enhancing our quality of life. This enhanced understanding will also inform the development of more effective ways to support and catalyse community cultures and behaviours that contribute towards flourishing communities and addressing key economic and societal challenges. Engagement with communities at all stages of the research is a key feature. The programme seeks to connect research expertise, knowledge, understanding and approaches relevant to communities from across the research base to develop a more holistic understanding of community life. This enhanced understanding will also inform the development of more effective community based interventions to address key economic and societal challenges. Engagement with communities at all stages of the research will be a key feature. The programme will seek to connect research expertise and data relevant to communities from across the research base in order to develop a more holistic understanding of community life rather than tackling issues in isolation.
Current activities/funding
Programme Funding Overview
Research Development Workshop: Communities, Cultures, Environments and Sustainability; 22-24 May 2012, Bristol
Highlight Notices
Research for Community Heritage / HLF ‘All Our Stories’ Initiative
AHRC/ESRC Joint Initiative - community engagement and mobilisation
Programme Leadership Fellowships
Supplementary scoping studies and research reviews
Role of the Creative Economy
RSA Fellowship
Development projects
Planned activities
Programme funding overview
As a major cross-Council programme, Connected Communities brings together a portfolio of activities within an overarching framework and does not just comprise research specifically commissioned as part of the programme. A major aim of the programme is to connect research relevant to its themes including research in other Research Council programmes, centres and initiatives and funded through ‘responsive mode’ grants as well as relevant research supported by other funders. In some cases we may hold events (for example, summits) and support activities specifically aimed at existing Research Council award-holders to promote enhanced linkages between these activities.
Research Council responsive mode funding schemes are a key funding opportunity for the programme and we are happy to consider linking in relevant responsive mode grants into the programme. Applications which cut across Research Council boundaries are particularly welcome and will be handled in accordance with the recently updated Cross-Council Funding Agreement. In some cases highlight notices may be used to encourage applications in certain areas; examples include the current highlight notices in AHRC’s networking, fellowships and collaborative doctoral awards schemes for Connected Communities and the recent highlight in ESRC’s Centres and Large Grants Competition 2011/12 for proposals on Community, participation and democracy in an era of austerity.
In terms of programme-specific funding, we do not envisage holding a large single call for research grant proposals across the entire programme remit but rather a series of targeted calls and activities for specific types of activity (such as the research reviews and RSA fellowship calls in 2010) or which address specific themes within the programme. In some cases these will be calls for research proposals, as under the recent ESRC/AHRC joint call for consortia on community engagement and mobilisation (see below). In other cases this will be through a call for participants to attend a research development workshop, where follow-up funding may be available for workshop participants. Examples of this include the 2010 workshop on the Role of the Creative Economy in Developing and Sustaining Prosperous Communities in the UK, the workshop on Communities, Cultures, Health and Well-Being in September 2011 and a planned call in March 2012 for participants in a workshop on Communities, Cultures, Environment and Sustainability, which will be held in Bristol on 22-24 May 2012. In addition, from time to time we may seek to commission or tender for proposals addressing a very specific issue or objective or in partnership with other funders (see below for more details on current calls).
Our plans for the programme are still evolving and developing and updates on future opportunities will be published on the Connected Communities webpages.
Research Development Workshop: Communities, Cultures, Environments and Sustainability; 22-24 May 2012, Bristol
The Programme’s next research development workshop, organised in collaboration with the Living with Environmental Change partnership will be held on 22-24 May 2012, at Paintworks in Bristol, on the theme of Communities, Cultures, Environments and Sustainability. The overall aim of the workshop will be to stimulate the development of innovative proposals for transformative, cross-disciplinary, community-engaged research with the potential to make a significant contribution to the ways diverse communities respond to the challenges posed by environmental change, supports the transition of communities towards more sustainable ways of living and cultivates the development of sustainable environments, places and spaces in which community life can flourish. The workshop will foster cross-disciplinary and collaborative approaches by bringing together researchers from a wide range of disciplines and other experts from policy and practice communities. A key theme will be the potential to engage with diverse cultural communities in all stages of the research.
The majority of places at the workshop will be allocated through an open call for applications. Applications are invited both from individual academic researchers who can contribute to the workshop and resulting research projects and from potential project partners with relevant policy, practice and/or community interests who are interested in collaborating with future research in this area. Where appropriate, researchers may also nominate a current or potential project partner who might be invited to attend the workshop with them. It is strongly advised you should read the full workshop specification before applying.
Workshop specification (pdf 169kb)
Applicants should complete a short Expression of Interest (EoI) (maximum two sides). This should comprise:
i) a summary of not more than one side of A4 outlining your reasons for wishing to attend and how you think you could contribute to the workshop; and
ii) a cv of not more than one side of A4 outlining your experience, roles, activities etc of relevance to focus of the workshop and if appropriate key publications or outputs.
The deadline for applications to attend the workshop is Wednesday 25th April. Applications should be submitted electronically to connected.communities@ahrc.ac.uk. Please note that late submissions will not be considered.
Highlight notices
The AHRC has highlight notices for Connected Communities under its Research Networking scheme to help to stimulate boundary crossing research activity - including cross-disciplinary and cross domain research and enhanced engagement between research, communities and other stakeholders - as well as the development of innovative research which can underpin and inform future development of the programme. Research Networking proposals in the highlight notice should have arts and humanities research at their core but proposals that cross boundaries with disciplines outside the arts and humanities, as well as within them, are strongly encouraged.
The research networking highlight notice has been extended until July 2012. It was also supplemented in May 2011 to encourage applications in arts and humanities research areas that are currently felt to be under-represented in the current portfolio of development activities. Additional information relevant to the Research Networking highlight notice:
AHRC also has a highlight notice in its Fellowships scheme aimed at research leaders or potential future research leaders in the arts and humanities researchers, who wish to spend focused research time working in or with communities and/or community-based organisations and/or community policy or practice contexts and to conduct research leadership activities relevant to the Connected Communities Programme. Proposals under the fellowship highlight notice should have arts and humanities research at their core but proposals that cross boundaries with disciplines outside the arts and humanities, as well as within them, will also be welcomed. The fellowships highlight for Connected Communities has been extended until December 2012. Fellows appointed under this highlight notice would be expected to take liaise closely with the two programme leadership fellows currently being appointed to ensure that their respective leadership activities are complementary.
A highlight notice for Connected Communities has also been included in the 2012 AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Awards Scheme.
Details of the CDA awards funded under the 2011 competition (including 7 under the Connected Communities highlight notices) can be found on the collaborative doctoral award pages.
The ESRC Centres and Large Grants Competition 2011/12 included a highlight notice for proposals on Community, participation and democracy in an era of austerity: Understanding how individuals and communities most effectively make their voices heard, and how social and physical mobility changes when in countries like the UK, the state retrenches. The closing date for outline proposals was on the 13 October 2011.
AHRC/ESRC joint initiative - community engagement and mobilisation
In autumn 2011, the AHRC in funding partnership with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), working together under the Connected Communities Programme issued a joint call for outline proposals for two large research grants (up to £2.4m fec each) in the area of community engagement and mobilisation. It is expected that one large grant, drawing on insights from across the social sciences and arts and humanities will be made in each of the following areas: Making of Engagement and Regulation of Engagement. Full details can be found in the call specification on the ESRC website.
The closing date for proposals was in December 2011. Four outline proposals have recently been shortlisted for development into full proposals. Outcomes are due to be announced in the summer of 2012.
Connected Communities Programme Leadership Fellowships
As a part of the cross-Council Connected Communities Programme, led by the AHRC, a call was issued in February 2012 for two Leadership Fellows to support the development of the following cross-cutting thematic areas:
• Understanding changing community cultures and histories and patterns of connectivity within and between communities.
• Connecting research with communities and other stakeholders
The Fellows will provide intellectual leadership and play an important role in the shaping and development of activities within the Connected Communities Programme, as well as possibly undertaking their own individual research activities relevant to the Programme. They will play an important role in connecting research under the Programme, identifying cross-cutting issues and supporting the development of collaborations and partnerships. We plan to make two Fellowship awards under this call, one leading on each of the two cross-cutting themes above.
Background information on the role can be found here.
The closing date for applications was on Friday 23rd March 2012 with interviews scheduled for May 2012 and the Fellows due to be announced in the summer of 2012.
Scoping studies and research reviews
As a part of the development process for the Connected Communities Programme, the AHRC supported 44 small scoping studies and research reviews in 2011 to address a wide range of underpinning issues. The aim of these reviews was to: stimulate debate and provide some early outputs from the programme; inform future discussions about its shape, focus and priorities; and be of value to researchers undertaking research under the programme in the future. These reviews were commissioned follow an open call to which over 130 applications were received by the closing date in 2010.
List of Scoping studies and reviews 2010-11
Reports from this first round of research reviews are now available.
In autumn 2011, the AHRC invited applications from arts and humanities researchers for a further round of research reviews and scoping studies. This open call aimed to add value to the current portfolio of programme activities by developing further the distinctive perspectives that arts and humanities can bring to our understanding of communities and connectivity and bring these perspectives to the forefront of wider cross-disciplinary research and debates that have tended become dominated by social science and other perspectives.
31 proposals have recently been selected for funding under this call.
Research for Community Heritage / HLF ‘All Our Stories’ Initiative
The Connected Communities Programme is working in collaboration with the Heritage Lottery Fund’s “All Our Stories” Programme and the BBC’s “The Great British Story – A People’s History” (presented by Michael Wood) to support community-led community heritage research projects. An AHRC call in autumn 2011 invited proposals for enhancing outreach and engagement between research groups in the arts and humanities, and community groups and organisations interested in exploring their local histories and heritage. Twenty-one research groups, involving over 200 researchers from 25 universities and other research organisations, plus many other collaborating cultural organisations, are working closely with the Heritage Lottery Fund, to catalyse and develop sustainable links between expertise in research organisations in the area of community histories and heritage and relevant community groups. The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) is helping to co-ordinate and support these research outreach and engagement activities. It is expected that this will lead to the development of innovative collaborative or co-produced community heritage research projects led by community groups. The HLF is currently inviting applications under “All Our Stories” from community groups for grants of between £3,000 and £10,000 with a closing date of 31 July 2012; outcomes will be announced in October 2012. A further round of the AHRC initiative later in 2012 after the community grants are announced will provide an opportunity for the research groups to pursue some of the most promising opportunities for enhanced research collaborations with these community heritage projects.
Further details of the 21 research groups being supported under the first phase of the initiative can be found on the NCCPE webpages.
The AHRC press release on the initiative can be found on our press pages.
Role of the Creative Economy in developing and sustaining prosperous communities in the UK
The AHRC organised a workshop in Birmingham in December 2010, as part of the Connected Communities programme with the aim to build on existing research and bring together researchers (including applicants responding to an open call for participants) and other experts from policy and practice communities to identify the key future research challenges and opportunities for understanding the role of the creative economy in developing and sustaining prosperous communities and inform future policy and practice. Further details of the event can be found under past activities.
Following the workshop, seven smaller follow-up activities were funded in 2011 and AHRC has recently announced funding for three large consortia grants which will explore ideas developed at the workshop.
List of awards funded following the creative economy workshop (23kb pdf)
Read about the announcement of three large consortia grants in February 2012.
RSA Fellowship
Connected Communities and RSA Citizen Power in Peterborough Programme Research
This fellowship has been established in partnership with the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and its Citizen Power in Peterborough project. The AHRC and RSA have come together to exploit the research and engagement opportunities offered by the Citizen Power Peterborough programme and to enhance the potential contribution of high quality, independent, research to the development and evaluation of the programme. By doing this we hope to enhance the potential synergies between the Citizen Power Peterborough and Connected Communities Programme. Following an open call for applications the fellowship, ‘Places for all? A multi-media investigation of citizenship, work and belonging’ has been awarded to Dr Ben Rogaly, Department of Geography, University of Sussex (March 2011-March 2013). In addition, a linked collaborative research project ‘Understanding the impacts of citizen participation in Peterborough’ has been awarded to Dr Mark Roberts at De Montfort University (April 2011-March 2013).
Development projects
Following the Connected Communities Summit in June 2010, 17 small follow-up development projects were funded to undertake a range of scoping, pilot, networking and other activities. A list of the follow-up projects can be found below. Further details of the outcomes of these projects will be made available in due course.
Follow-up projects (excel format 42kb)
Following the ESRC/AHRC Crime and Communities workshop in July 2010, 9 small follow-up development projects were jointly supported by the ESRC and AHRC. A list of these projects can be found below.
Crime and Communities projects (pdf 109kb)
In June 2011, the AHRC in collaboration with the Design Council, organised a small research development workshop on the them of Communities, Culture and Design. The workshop, facilitiated by Professor Tom Inns, aimed to build upon the AHRC/ESPRC Designing for the Twenty First Century Programme and design-related research under the Connected Communities Programme to explore future ideas for research under the Programme. Four small follow-up projects which emerged from the workshop are currently being supported.
Following the July 2011 summit in Clydebank, a further round up of 8 follow-up projects involving collaboration between three or more Connected Communities projects were supported. In addition, 10 one-year 'pilot demonstrator' projects were funded to develop distinctive and innovative Connected Communities approaches to research that are cross-disciplinary (including a significant arts and humanities dimension) and involve close working with communities.
A list of 2011 Summit Follow-up and Pilot Demonstrator projects is now available.
In September 2011, a three day research development workshops was held in Cardiff on the theme of Communities, Culture, Health and Well-being designed to complement the RCUK Lifelong Health and well-Being programme. Over 60 researchers and stakeholders attended the workshop, following an open call for applications to attend, with a view to developing new cross-disciplinary and community-engaged research collaborations. Four follow-up projects and 6 small project development awards were made following this event.
Planned activities
A cross-Council working Group has been established with representatives from AHRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC and NERC to oversee further development of the Programme. We are also planning to establish a programme advisory group.
A research development workshop on Communities, Cultures, Environments and Sustainability is being held on 22-24 May 2012 in Bristol. A call for applications to attend this workshop will be issued on 4 April 2012.
A third programme summit for current award holders will be held in summer 2012. In addition to supporting networking between Connected Communities projects, the summit will have a theme around community research co-creation and co-design.
We are currently undertaking further consultation activities with a range of stakeholders and are considering potential further activities and partnerships. We would welcome further input and feedback from interested researchers and stakeholders as a part of these further consultations. Please send any further comments or inputs to Gary Grubb at the AHRC. Further details of future activities will appear on this website in due course.
Contact/further input
If you have any comments or suggestions on the further development of the Programme please forward these to Gary Grubb or Paul McWhirter at the AHRC.