Month: November 2021


9 What happens after I have submitted my application?

Assessment of applications

The Creating Safer Space network is committed to assessing grant applications fairly, to ensure the best projects are funded. When you have submitted your application, the Creating Safer Space administrative team will check the application to ensure it meets the stated criteria (e.g., in respect to eligibility, allowable costs, supporting documents and word limits).

The application will then be reviewed by an Assessment Panel. Before the panel meeting, 2 panel members (for the Small Grant) or 3 panel members (for the Large Grant) will assess the application against the criteria summarized on page 7-8. The panel members will assess the application independently of each other, so as not to influence each other’s scores. Each panel member will give the application a score between 1 and 6, where 1 is ‘unfundable’ and 6 is ‘exceptional’. The Assessment Panel will then meet online to discuss the suggested scores, to agree on the final grade, and to rank applications in order of funding priority.

A final decision is made by the Executive Committee of the Creating Safer Space network. The Executive Committee will not re-rank proposals, but it will decide how many projects to fund. It will also decide whether to fund the most highly ranked proposals overall, or the most highly ranked proposals for each core country (Colombia, South Sudan, Myanmar and the Philippines) to ensure a balanced portfolio of projects.

Setting up projects

We will inform you of the outcome approximately 6 weeks after the application deadline. Unsuccessful projects will be welcome to request feedback. Successful projects will be informed of the next steps, which are also described on our website. It normally takes approximately 4-5 months to conclude the required contracts and to undertake other start-up requirements. The start dates for each grant are listed on page 5.

During projects

Grant holders will be expected to provide regular progress reports, to participate in workshops to share project findings, to contribute to network-wide dissemination and knowledge exchange activities, and to contribute to the Creating Safer Space network in other ways. We are particularly keen to encourage grant holders to use participatory and creative research methods in their Creating Safer Space projects and their wider work, and grant holders are expected to participate in training, collaboration and exchange workshops and to engage with mentoring initiatives.

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10. Can I apply for more than one grant?

You can apply for more than one grant, but you must have the capacity to deliver all projects that are awarded funding. Please consider your time commitments carefully.

The process of applying for a grant also involves a significant time commitment. Two rushed applications are much less likely to be successful than one fully developed application.

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10 What are the ODA cuts, and will it affect my funding proposal?

In spring 2021, the UK government reduced its budget for Official Development Assistance (ODA). As a result, our funders, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and UK Research and Innovation, had to cut funding to all ODA-funded projects, including the Creating Safer Space network.

The UK government has recently communicated to our funders that “legal commitments for existing projects from 2022/23 will be met”.  Our funders have confirmed that “our current understanding is that we will be able to support projects still running for the remainder of their grant period and that no further cuts will be applied” (see the full statement for more information).

Our funder has invited us to launch a funding competition, and we are doing this on the assumption that the UK government does not change its mind. In the unlikely event that further cuts are announced, we will let applicants know through our newsletter and through our website.

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11. Can we build on a project we are already working on?

We only provide funding for discrete projects, with specific aims and outcomes. We will not provide additional funding for on-going projects.

You are welcome to build on existing research, but please demonstrate how the project is different from or enhancing any previous work. For example, is the new Creating Safer Space project expanding on an idea explored in a previous project?

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12. How do we bring the arts and humanities into our project?

All projects must include some elements from the arts and humanities. This can consist, for example, in the involvement of researchers, approaches or methodologies from relevant academic disciplines (like history, social anthropology, law or media studies), the use of arts-based or other creative research methods for data generation and dissemination, or the involvement of project partners with arts and humanities expertise.

Please see the AHRC Research Funding Guide for information about what disciplines are included within the arts and humanities (pp. 86 – 96).

We particularly encourage the use of arts-based and creative research methods, and provide training videos with examples on how to conduct such research. We also advertise training events through our newsletter.

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13. What kind of outputs and dissemination strategies are appropriate?

All projects are required to produce one or more outputs, but we do not specify exactly what kind of outputs should be produced, or how these should be disseminated. This depends on the nature of your research.

In deciding what outputs to produce, it helps to think about two questions: who might benefit from your research and how might they benefit?

Academic Outputs

All projects should involve research, and as such, all projects should be of interest to an academic audience. At least one appropriate academic output should be produced. Examples of outputs:

  • Conference or seminar papers
  • Working papers
  • Articles for academic journals

As a project output, you are very welcome to propose to write a Working Paper for the Creating Safer Space network’s forthcoming working paper series on Unarmed Civilian Protection. More information will be available on our website soon.

Outputs for Communities or Policymakers

Think carefully about who might benefit from your research. Will specific communities living in the midst of violent conflict benefit from the research? What about policymakers at different levels, or humanitarian organisations working to protect people from violence? How can you best inform them about your research? Examples of outputs:

  • Leaflets or booklets
  • Policy briefings
  • Reports
  • Training materials
  • Public engagement events
  • Documentaries
  • Digital resources
  • Comics (e.g. see https://appliedcomicsetc.com/)
  • Exhibition
  • Performance

Each of these should be developed with your target audience in mind. Think carefully about what languages to use, and whether you need to budget in translation. Think carefully about how you will ensure that your target audience finds out about your research. If you produce a report, how will you ensure that people find out about it?

The Creating Safer Space network encourages the use of creative research methods. Think about whether you could use painting, theatre, poetry, storytelling, photography or filming to encourage participants to reflect on their experiences. The use of such methods can also support your dissemination strategy. For example:

  • If you have used painting as a research method, could you organise an exhibition to showcase the paintings? See this YouTube video for an example.
  • If you have used theatre as a research method, could your participants perform the research findings in their community?
  • If you have used photography as a research method, could you produce an illustrated book to showcase your findings?

Please consult our training videos on YouTube to learn more about creative research methods.

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14. How do we complete the ‘Summary’?

Please provide a brief summary of the project, focusing on the aims of the research, the contribution to knowledge, and the potential benefits to civilians living in the midst of violent conflict. If the project is awarded funding, this summary will be made publicly available on our website, so please do not include any confidential information.

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{ Foto: Raul Soto. Arlequin y los Juglares }

New work package: Art that Protects, Colombia

The Creating Safer Space network is pleased to announce a new research work package on the following topic:

Art that protects: Artistic-cultural initiatives to the self-protection strategies of young people and women in the context of the urban conflict in the city of Medellín, Colombia, 2022

The project is led by Beatriz Arias López (University of Antioquia), in collaboration with Adriana Diosa (Harlequin and the Jugglers), Katherne Urrea Velásquez (Robledo Venga Parchemos), Jeimy Catalina Guerra Correa and Sandra Maryori Benitez Diosa (Corporación Consonantes).

More information about the project is available on our website: https://creating-safer-space.com/art-that-protects-contributions-of-artistic-cultural-initiatives-to-the-self-protection-strategies-of-young-people-and-women-in-the-context-of-the-urban-conflict-in-the-city-of-medellin-2022/

{ Argelia, Rio La Paloma }

New work package: Water conflicts and UPC in Colombia

The Creating Safer Space network is pleased to announce a new research work package on the following topic:

Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia

The project is led by Beatriz Arias López (University of Antioquia), in collaboration with Hernán Dario Pineda Gómez (University of Antioquia), Mateo Valderrama (Peasant’s Association of Antioquia), Juan David Arias and Jessica Restrepo (Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana) and Vanessa Vasco Vargas (Corporación Jurídica Libertad).

More information about the project is available on our website: https://creating-safer-space.com/water-conflicts-violations-and-forms-of-self-protection-a-multi-case-study-in-eastern-antioquia/