Royal Economic Society COVID Academic Support Fund Round Two Open for Applications

The Royal Economic Society (RES) launched the COVID Academic Support Fund in early 2021 to support PhD students, early-career economics researchers and UK university departments/schools of economics that have been particularly affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund will also support innovations in teaching economics that have arisen from online/blended learning delivery during 2020.

The second application round of the COVID Academic Support Fund, for funding in 2021/22 academic year, is open from today (3 April).

There are three streams for application:

  • Stream 1: Funding for late-stage PhD students who require additional time to complete their research as a result of delays or disruption caused by the pandemic. The maximum available funding is £10,000 per student to support additional costs to complete research, including living costs.
  • Stream 2: Funding for early-career economists within the first two years of their career following their first academic appointment who require additional support to complete research. Up to £10,000 is available per researcher to support research costs such as data purchase and research assistants.
  • Stream 3: Funding for the development and dissemination of innovative economics teaching methods in universities arising from the lockdown. Up to £20,000 is available per innovation to enable individuals or teams from a UK university currently engaged in UG or PGT teaching in online or blended format in any area of economics, to commit to develop, evaluate and disseminate the proposed innovation in teaching or assessment over the period of the grant. Eligible expenditure could include, for example, licences, equipment and research & technical assistance required to develop open resources to support teaching and assessment.

For Stream 3, the Society is particularly interested in work that consolidates and evaluates what has been learned from the rapid pivot towards blended learning during 2020. It welcomes applications exploring effective forms of teaching, learning and assessment that will be of lasting value beyond the pandemic.

Applications should be submitted by heads of department/schools, or equivalent units, at UK universities. Applicants must be RES members.

Funding requests for Stream 1 and Stream 2 will be considered for multiple PhD students or early-career economists within the department/school. Applications will also be considered for research activities of other academics (e.g. non-ECR assistant professors, associate professors and professors) however these applications will be given lower priority.

The total amount of funding per institution is capped at £50,000.

Applications for Round Two (for funding in the 2021/22 academic year) can be submitted from 3 April 2021 until the deadline on 3 May 2021.