Collaborative Innovation Grants 2023/24

With support from the ESRC’s North West Social Science DTP, Methods North West (MethodsNW) is a regional hub for research methods innovation, celebrating the collective strength, depth and breadth of methodological expertise across the participating Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Keele and UCLAN.

MethodsNW has set aside a fund for collaborative projects events, initiatives and symposia that will support cutting-edge developments in research methods across the North West. Collaborative Innovation Grants (CIGs) are intended to support creative proposals that speak across disciplinary pathways and research fields and that evidence how the NWSSDTP is taking a lead in the application of cutting-edge methodology regionally, nationally and internationally. A successful proposal will therefore be:

  • genuinely collaborative
  • persuasively innovative
  • meaningfully inclusive of PGR students

Where researchers are developing new research methods or are refining, re-inventing or finding novel ways to apply existing methods, MethodsNW is keen to support that activity. Alternatively, funded projects may focus on contemporary research problems, questions or challenges and bring to bear participants’ expertise in a variety of research methods to develop innovative ways to address them. This
might include, for example, work on decolonising research methods to break free from the intellectual legacies of colonialism, work on connecting with people and the issues they face across diverse life circumstances as well as ways of harnessing the proliferation of digital data and digital analytical tools to reshape methodological possibilities. Finally, we also support proposals which take qualitative,
quantitative, digital/computational, investigative, creative/arts and interdisciplinary methods to new audiences. The CIG route is an open, responsive funding stream which can be applied for at any time through the year, with a 3-4 week turnaround on decisions. Proposals are invited from academic colleagues, early career and postgraduate researchers for funding to support activity in any of the following three areas:

  • Research-focused workshops/events emphasising methodological and intellectual innovation;
  • Practice- or impact-focused workshops/events seeking to engage people, communities and organisations;
  • Methods/advanced methods workshop development.

We particularly encourage creative proposals that seek to work across disciplinary pathways and research fields and speak to emerging areas of interest. Applications are invited from staff and postgraduate researchers from across the four contributing institutions and must include participants from at least two of those institutions. One institution must be named as the Lead institution for the project. Student-led initiatives are welcome, but there must be a named academic contact in the lead institution.

To apply please complete the online Application Form with reference to the application Guidance Notes.

You should receive a response within two weeks of the deadline for applications. Enquiries should be directed to methods@manchester.ac.uk with ‘Collaborative Innovation Grants’ in the subject line.