Aspect Members: University of Oxford, University of Glasgow, University of Sussex, Cardiff University, University of Edinburgh.
What is the project doing?
The aim of the Innovation Fellowship Programme is to support academic-led culture change, helping researchers to see the benefits of, and supporting them to advocate for, commercialisation and business engagement among their SHAPE peers. This builds on and expands a pilot run in Oxford and Manchester (2020-21).
Fellows will be awarded £2-10k per annum each depending on their institution, current career stage and needs. In return, Fellows will lead a programme of activity to drive an inclusive, supportive culture of innovation among social sciences, arts and humanities researchers in their institution and beyond.
Together these Fellows will be expected to form a Community of Practice, sharing good practice. This network will be supported by network administrators who will help with logistic arrangements and support them to deliver joint activities, workshops and events.
Why is this needed?
Innovation is becoming an increasingly important component of research activity. We hope to create a step-change in innovation in the social science, arts and humanities, making it easier for researchers to engage in innovation and to make it a more valued part of research.
By investing in a broader cohort of Innovation Fellows across several HEIs we hope to combine forces to create more significant outputs, including sharing effective ways of capturing the hearts and minds of other researchers and advocating for innovation in SHAPE.
How can members get involved?
Learnings will also be shared via blogs, videos, and other resources.
Other members are welcome to contact us to find out more (sam.sneddon@socsci.ox.ac.uk).