We’re excited to announce the launch of two more MOLA Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grants – Partnership Grants, and a further round of Networking Grants. These will support public impact-focused projects between MOLA staff and non-academic partners.   

   Our current grant opportunities are:  

  1. Partnership Grants: Grants of up to £20k to support innovation in project design and delivery in partnership with at least one other archaeology unit, developer, charitable body or small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME). Grants will offer safe spaces for collaboration with typically risk-averse companies and clients, or underfunded charitable organisations or SMEs, to co-design and test novel methods that increase the positive social and environmental impact of archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation research.
     
  2. Networking Grants: We are offering two to three networking grants in this call, with a value of up to £15k each. These are grants to help you to establish working relationships with new and unusual external partners to reach specific target audiences.   

What is the difference between Partnership Grants and Networking Grants? 

Partnership grants focus on implementing a discrete project to achieve very specific objectives and impacts with a clear, trusted non-academic partner through a defined programme of work.

Networking grants are meant to help MOLA staff and non-academic partners who have less idea of what they want to achieve to come together and explore ideas in a looser way. In the future, successful applicants for Networking Grants may wish to apply for follow-on funding from one of our other grant streams.  

1. Partnership Grants   

We seek calls for proposals from MOLA staff members in collaboration with external partners – specifically other archaeological units, curators, consultants, clients, or underfunded charitable organisations or SMEs – to co-design and test new methods that increase the positive social and environmental impact of archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation research. 

The Partnership Grants allow you and partners to bid for up to a total of £20k. This is designed to cover the costs of your time and their time, as well as other allowable expenses. The funding must be spent within a period of six months maximum. It is anticipated that up to three Partnership Grants will be awarded now, with another call for applications in late 2024.  

Examples of projects include, but are not limited to:  

  • Teaming up with a climate action or environmental charity to design low-carbon alternatives to standard archaeological field, lab, office or other practices.
  • Partnering with another archaeological unit to pool data and expertise from across a region in order to develop a new experience or product for non-specialist audiences.
  • Collaborating with a curator or consultant to rethink approaches to designing archaeological programmes in order to achieve greater social impact for local communities.
  • Working with a charity or small enterprise to develop greater opportunities for, and decrease barriers around, employment of individuals who are currently underrepresented in archaeology.
  • Cooperating with an arts or cultural organisation to develop new ways of engaging citizens in real time with live excavation or post-excavation activities.
  • Partnering with a media-oriented charity or small-to-medium-sized media company to design and test a novel and wide-reaching approach to public broadcasting of archaeology.

2. Networking Grants

Interested in establishing working relationships with new and unusual partners to reach different audiences?   

These grants will provide MOLA staff and non-academic external partners with the space and time to explore and foster new working relationships and collaborations. Together you will develop new project ideas and opportunities for extending the impact of MOLA's research. This may include working together to apply for future MOLA IAA grants.  

A networking grant will provide you with up to a total of £15k. This should cover the costs of your time and your non-academic partners’ time, as well as other allowable expenses. The funding must be spent within a period of 6 months maximum. It is anticipated that up to three Networking Grants will be awarded now. 

Examples of what you may wish to pursue together in your network include:  

  •  Hosting fieldtrips, walking tours or other online or in-person excursions, with the intent of exploring opportunities to develop future such experiences for specific audiences 
  • Facilitating collaborative writing or content creation activities together (e.g., blogging, filming, social media posting, position paper writing, etc.) focused on developing new outputs for wider audiences 
  • Organising workshops, meetings, roundtables, think tanks or other formal gatherings to begin planning new impact funding bids, policy-influencing, or educational activities related to archaeology 
  • Coordinating matchmaking events to help draw specific non-academic professionals or organisations into archaeology. This could introduce them to different archaeological specialists to foster mutual understanding and lay the foundations for future potential collaboration 
  • Collaborating on a pilot performance, exhibition, or production to test out its implementation and build your working relationships and audience base together 
  • Partnering on market research or feasibility studies in relation to the development of a new product or start-up business  

Interested in applying and want to know more?  

To express an interest in partnering with MOLA on one of our IAA grants, please contact us on the IAA email account -  iaa@mola.org.uk.  

Also, please register for our matchmaking session on Wednesday 22 March at 17:00GMT for MOLA staff and external partners to meet and brainstorm possible project ideas together. You can register your interest here.  

Nigel Jeffries  and  Emma Dwyer  are acting as the MOLA leads for coordinating the Networking Grants and Partnership Grants respectively. Along with the MOLA IAA team, they will support external collaborators in matching their ideas and interests with MOLA staff. 

Applications must be submitted by MOLA staff members, and further details on the IAA grants will be made available to external partners following matching with a MOLA staff member. 

DEADLINES

Grants are adjudicated via a two-stage process, starting with a simple Outline Proposal submitted via a MOLA staff member. Outline Proposals for the Networking Grants and Partnership Grants are due by  17.00 GMT, 14 April 2023  per the schedule below.

OUTLINE PROPOSALS

Calls open  by 13 March 2023

Deadline for submission - 17.00 GMT, 14 April 2023

Panel meeting - 11 May 2023 

2ND ROUND PROPOSAL

Calls open - Selected applicants to be informed by 15 May 2023

Deadline for submission - 17.00 GMT,  12 June 2023

Panel meeting - 27 June 2023 

Awards must finish within 6 months of project start date 

 

News IAA