The British Academy: SHAPE Involve and Engage

We are delighted to announce the call for applications for SHAPE Involve and Engage (SHAPE I&E), the innovative public engagement programme from the British Academy.

SHAPE I&E is an exciting opportunity for humanities and social sciences researchers from across the UK to seek imaginative new ways to engage with the public, delivering innovative projects in partnership with a gallery, archive, library or museum (GLAM organisation).

We are searching for creative academics who want to experiment with their engagement work and find new ways to share their research with a public audience.

About the scheme
The awards of up to £8,000 offer the opportunity to think outside the box, test a new methodology and be ambitious in your approach to engaging a public audience with your research.

Why should you apply?

• Test a new approach as a catalyst to get a project or idea up and running.
• Try a new technique or work with a new audience to gain fresh perspectives on your research.
• Build a new partnership or try a different idea with an existing collaborator within the cultural sector.
• Make contacts and network with others who are exploring new and innovative approaches to public engagement.

As part of the programme, a ‘community of practice’ workshop will be hosted for successful applicants in mid to late January. Alongside sessions on evaluation and working with your audiences, award holders will have the opportunity to share their plans with other workshop attendees. You will act as critical friends and sounding boards, sharing ideas, giving feedback and troubleshooting possible challenges, and forming a network of support through the duration of the project development and delivery.

About you
The call is open to any researcher based in the UK who meets the conditions of the call. You do not have to have received funding from the British Academy previously. Successful award recipients are expected to have some prior public engagement experience, but we welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, expertise and career stages. Previous successful award holders of the pilot programme award are not eligible to reapply.

Application and assessment procedure
Call opens: Monday 1 September 2025

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 15 October, 17:00 (BST)

Dates of award: between 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2027

Contact details
If you have any questions about the application process or if you need to receive the application in an accessible format, please contact the Events Team:

Email: shapeawards@thebritishacademy.ac.uk 

Phone: +44 (0)20 3912 3894

For technical questions about Flexi-Grant®, you can also contact grants@thebritishacademy.ac.uk