In 2021, the GW4 Alliance partnered with the British Academy, to deliver the Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Network in the South West of England.
As the partnership between the British Academy and GW4 draws to a close, at the end of March 2024, GW4 reflects on the successes, achievements, and progress attained throughout our collaboration:
Over the past 2-years, we’ve worked together with a consortium of five other regional universities – Bath Spa, Bournemouth, Gloucestershire, Plymouth and UWE– to provide opportunities for capacity building, knowledge exchange and networking for ECRs in Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for the People and the Economy (SHAPE) across the South West.
ECRs often experience a range of challenges during their initial years in academia. However, this phase also serves as a crucial period for nurturing and refining future research concepts. Given that research conducted by those in the SHAPE disciplines plays a pivotal role in tackling contemporary global issues, fostering an environment conducive to the growth and success of ECRs is paramount.
Our partnership with the British Academy was established with the goal of fostering an environment where all SHAPE ECRs could fully realise their potential. This was achieved by providing access to resources, opportunities and professional connections that might otherwise be unavailable.
With nearly 800 ECRs in the South West enrolled in the Early Career Research Network, representing 60% of all ECRs in the region, GW4 leadership of the pilot phase of the Network has established strong foundations for it to grow and flourish.
The network's activities spanned across several critical areas:
Seed Funding Awards
The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network (British Academy ECRN) South West Hub Seed Funding Award enabled early, innovative activity for ECRs to explore new ideas and partnerships with the aim of securing more substantial funding in the future.
The small awards were designed to be used by ECRs to support the direct costs associated with activities that enable new research, the development of new stakeholder relationships, broadening knowledge of a sector, future career options or accessing resources and facilities.
Throughout our collaboration with the British Academy, we supported a total of 27 Early Career Researchers through two rounds of seed funding. Projects covered a wide range of topics, including examining the benefits of community football, exploring the connections between locality, political identity, and local government, investigating art-school gallery partnerships, studying the experiences of romantic fraud victims in Japan, and redefining the chronology and nature of the Norman conquest.
After receiving funding, some of the most notable outcomes for the recipients included, receiving a Research Fellowship, improving commercial products through research and collaboration, creating future research proposals, and establishing new partnerships.
You can read more about all of the projects funded, on our website.
Development Funding Awards
We also supported 11 ECRs through the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network South West Hub Development Fund.
The fund provided an opportunity for ECRs to hold an event, with expenses of up to £3000, which promote networking, collaboration, knowledge sharing or develops skills throughout the region, and can be extended to the wider ECR network if appropriate.
Using the funds provided by the British Academy, ECRs across the region held events on a broad range of subjects, including public engagement, game theory, education, social welfare, gender and sexuality, music and creative practice.
South West Summit Event
In September, members of the British Academy’s Early Career Researcher Network (British Academy ECRN) South West Hub gathered in Bath for a Summit, delivered as part of the network’s ambition to foster interdisciplinary collaboration for ECRs in the SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) disciplines.
The Summit, which was attended by around 70 South West-based ECRs and contributors, was an opportunity for members to reconnect with peers, reflect on the networks’ activities to date and discuss the benefits of interdisciplinarity to enhance research and solve modern global challenges.
Organised by GW4, in collaboration with Bath Spa University and the University of Bath, the event featured exciting talks from a host of speakers, including Professor Julie Barnett of the University of Bath, who explored the intrinsic importance of SHAPE research and Professor John Strachan, of Bath Spa University, who emphasised the role of the British Academy ECRN in facilitating opportunities for collaboration across the ECR community.
Interdisciplinary networking sessions, which explored methods for identifying areas of overlap across several different priority topics, highlighted how collaboration can be used to uncover new methodologies and ways of studying, as well as forming new projects which frame and examine important research questions in a different light.
Read more about the summit, here.
A full recap of all previous events held as part of the ECR Network can be found on your British Academy webpages.
GW4 Talent and Skills Manager, Dr Sabrina Fairchild said: "The partnership between the British Academy and the GW4 Alliance has been transformative in unlocking the full potential of SHAPE ECRs across the South West. By providing invaluable opportunities and support, this collaboration has empowered ECRs to realise their full potential and sown the seeds for groundbreaking research and innovation. We are proud of the work that we have been able to achieve, together, which demonstrates the profound impact that strategic partnerships can have in nurturing talent, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and driving positive change in academia and beyond. We look forward to seeing the Network progress from strength to strength under its new leadership."
Next steps for the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network South West Hub
The new leads for the British Academy ECR Network South West Hub will be announced shortly. In the meantime please direct any enquires to the British Academy at: ecr_network@thebritishacademy.ac.uk and visit their website for more information.
We are proud of the work that we have been able to achieve, together, which demonstrates the profound impact that strategic partnerships can have in nurturing talent, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and driving positive change in academia and beyond. We look forward to seeing the Network progress from strength to strength under its new leadership."
