The Royal Economic Society (RES) has created a fund to support those who have been particularly affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK universities and academic departments, and to support innovations in teaching economics that have arisen from online/blended learning delivery during 2020.
Funding will be allocated in two rounds. Round One will consider proposals for funding for the current academic year (2020-21) and will open in January 2021. Round Two will consider proposals for the 2021-2022 academic year and will open in April 2021.
The Society particularly welcomes proposals for funding/support of:
- Late-stage PhD students who require additional time to complete their research following the pandemic;
- Early career economists seeking funding for research activities (eg. data purchases, RA assistance);
- Development and dissemination of innovative economics teaching methods in universities arising from the lockdown.
The Society will also consider funding requests from heads of department/school for research activities of other academics (e.g. from non-ECR assistant professors, associate professors and professors), but these proposals will be assigned a lower priority than those above.
Applications and awards
Applications should be made via the RES website for each category by the head of department/school, or equivalent unit. The head of department/school should ensure that whatever competitive process is employed within the unit is conducted objectively and with due regard to the Society’s commitment to ED&I, and will be asked to detail this as part of the application process.
A RES special panel (including RES officers, Council members, PhD and ECR representatives) will consider the applications and make funding decisions for both rounds. Awards of up to £10,000 each will be made to PhD students and early career economists. Awards of up to £20,000 each will be made for innovative teaching methods. The total amount awarded to any one institution will be capped at £50,000.
Eligibility criteria and requirements
The Society will be writing to department/school heads with full information before the first round opens in January. Criteria will include the following:
- PhD students should be studying at a UK university and intend to enter the economics job market within the next two years. Early career economists should be in the first two years of their career following their first academic appointment.
- The constraint on the individual’s capacity to conduct research should have been the impact of the pandemic, rather than any other issues.
- The individual should be a RES member in order to receive the grant.
