All projects must include a Principal Investigator, and may include one or more Co-Investigators and/or Project Partners.
- The Principal Investigator (PI) has overall responsibility for the project and leads the research. The PI must be employed by an organisation with capacity to support the project. This will be the Lead Organisation on the project. Principal Investigators and Lead Organisations are eligible to receive full funding for the project.
- Co-Investigators (Co-Is) make a significant contribution to the research or to the project activities, and assist the PI in the management and leadership of the project. Co-Is can be based at the same organisation as the PI or at another organisation, and this can be either a research organisation or a non-academic organisation (such as a non-governmental organisations or a media or cultural organisations). Co-Investigators and their organisations are eligible to receive full funding for the project, if they meet the nationality criteria specified below.
- Project Partners are organisations that play an integral role in the proposed research or in furthering the research’s dissemination and knowledge exchange, but are usually less involved in the project than Co-Investigators. Project Partners are normally non-academic organisations, such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), media or cultural organisations, businesses, or government agencies. Project Partners can only receive limited funds from the grant for travel and consumables directly linked to the project. Project Partners are not eligible to apply for funding for salaries or overheads. For this reason, it is recommended that individuals who make a significant contribution to the project, and who work for small non-governmental non-profit organisations, are included as Co-Investigators rather than Project Partners. Businesses, other for-profit organisations and government agencies will always be Project Partners rather than Co-Investigators.
The Lead Organisation must be based in either the UK or in a Low and Middle Income Country (LMIC) on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) List of Official Development Assistance Recipients (DAC list). There are some exceptions: organisations in China, India, or in countries due to graduate from the DAC list are not eligible to lead on a project. If the Lead Organisation is based in the UK, the project must involve Co-Investigators and/or Project Partners from DAC list countries.
UK Principal and Co-Investigators are normally expected to belong to a UK Higher Education Institution eligible for UKRI funding; please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for further details.
Co-Investigators or Project Partners can be from either the UK or from a Low and Middle Income Country on the DAC list. Co-Investigators or Project Partners can also be from other countries, but please see the FAQ for special funding rules.
The Lead Organisation for a project is often an academic organisation, such as a university or a research institute. Other organisations, such as NGOs, are also encouraged to apply for grants, but special care must be taken to ensure projects are research-focused. Lead Organisations without significant previous research experience are only eligible to apply for the Small Grant, and must include research-focused Co-Investigators or Advisors in the project. All Lead Organisations will have to provide evidence of their capacity to lead and deliver research projects and to carry out projects in accordance with our funder’s terms and conditions (e.g., in respect to finances and good governance) – please see our FAQ for more information.
Please be aware that any project without UK involvement will receive an Advisor from the Creating Safer Space Executive Committee.
We are especially keen to support projects with leadership or strong involvement from Investigators and Project Partners in Colombia, South Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and/or other DAC list countries.