We are delighted to have secured an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) award of £1.25 million from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) over a five-year period from April 2023. This is the first time the University has received IAA funding from the ESRC and will enable researchers to generate greater benefits from research within Economic and Social Science remit, helping create a more prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society.
Aims of the award
Aim 1: Cultivate a greater culture of impact and responsible innovation that benefits students, staff, University, wider society and economy
Aim 2: Accelerate impact through stimulating and supporting new and existing projects
Aim 3: Enhance local, regional, national and international strategic partnerships that address real-world problems
ESRC IAA Postdoc Impact Award Open Call – now open
Postdoctoral Impact Awards (up to 10k per project) are available to:
- Research Assistants (RA)
- PDRA – Post Doc Research Associate
- PhD students who have completed and been awarded their PhD prior to the start date of the project
The award aims to provide opportunities for career and personal development through Knowledge Exchange and impact related activities within the Economic and Social Science remit. As part of this you will be the PI of your project which will be funded by the ESRC IAA. This funding scheme can provide you with experience of:
- being the named Principal Investigator (PI) on an Economic & Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) funded project
- extending your knowledge and gain real experience of translating research into real world change working with Impact principles, professionals and project partners
- delivering an externally funded project related to your research interests
- gaining experience using academic management systems e.g. PAM
- extending your project management skills
Supported application process
The ESRC IAA team will provide a ‘Supported Application Process’ for potential applicants:
- Submitting an Expression of Interest form to confirm eligibility.
- Meetings with ESRC IAA Impact team – in person &/or online.
- PAM costings to be completed prior to application. Members of the RIS Pre-awards team will support you.
- Impact planning resources available for use.
- Submission of application form & PAM costings by Thursday 22 May 2025.
Please note: Applications that have not been supported will not be considered.
How to apply
Please complete this quick Expression of Interest form by Tuesday 25 March 2025.
This will allow us to confirm if you are eligible to apply and invite you to start the supported application process.
For further details please see the Guidance and Criteria Document.
Application forms will be provided to eligible applicants.
Contact: impact-acceleration@bath.ac.uk
ESRC IAA Accelerating Impact Open Call (closes 13 November 2024)
Impact Development Awards are available in two tiers:
- Tier 1: Projects up to £10,000
- Tier 2: Projects between £10,001-£20,000
A total of £175,000 funds are available to support activities that maximise the potential for the University’s social science research to make a positive impact on society, the economy and people’s lives.
Projects must demonstrate clear potential for impact that is built on research which relates to a past ESRC grant, or research in the ESRC remit, and have a clear plan for how that impact will be achieved and evidenced.
We particularly encourage interdisciplinary projects that are social science led and the award is open to all permanent members of academic research staff.
For further details and to apply to the ESRC IAA Open Call:
- Download the Guidance notes and application form.
- Attend the ESRC and EPSRC Impact Networking Lunch and Information Event for the Open Call on Wednesday 16 October 2024, 12.15 – 15:30.
- Attend our online Information Event on Friday 27 September 2024, 10.15 – 11.45.
- Contact the IAA team to discuss your idea if you can’t make those times: impact-acceleration@bath.ac.uk.
Applications to be submitted by the deadline of 13 November 2024 to: impact-acceleration@bath.ac.uk.
ESRC IAA Flexi Fund – rolling award
The ESRC flexi-fund is up to £3k for early-stage relationship building and idea development. The funding enables researchers to respond to new opportunities and might include knowledge exchange/mobilisation, knowledge brokering, co-production, implementation, engagement and communication (this list is not exhaustive). For example:
- relationship building, engagement activities and networking opportunities including workshops, events, developing training programmes in person or online
- placements, secondments, visits
- small-scale early-stage projects such as feasibility studies, co-producing resources or market research
We would particularly encourage projects that contribute to policy change, and secondments that exchange knowledge, skills and expertise.
This fund and the associated light touch assessment process have been developed to enable us to respond to your applications in a timely way so that you can take advantage of opportunities as they arise. These applications will be assessed for funding by the IAA Team within three weeks of submission.
See the guidance and guidelines for the ESRC IAA Flexi Fund.
Contact the IAA team to discuss your idea and support your application: impact-acceleration@bath.ac.uk