Exploratory Research Funding Application Guidelines

We accept Exploratory Research Funding proposals that respond to our thematic calls.

Funding available: up to £30000 per Exploratory Research Funding stage. 

The focus of this funding is to progress academic research questions that have been co-created with partners who are well placed to understand the importance and impact of the questions and findings. 

What is the funding for? 

Brigstow’s Exploratory Research Funding is to develop and solidify growing ideas, partnerships and plans that have come out of the Connections stage of a theme. During the projects the Brigstow team will be on hand to provide support around potential funding schemes, our toolkits to navigate co-produced research, and encourage thinking about how creative methods can be employed. 

We especially welcome applications from teams that might find it difficult to find early-stage funding because of the novelty of the ideas, methods or approaches.  

The period of research/making for this stage of the funding is expected to be a period of four months. 

What are we looking for in a Brigstow project? 

Brigstow supports research and partnerships that are: 

  • Novel: address a gap in existing knowledge 
  • Exploratory:  early-stage explorative research 
  • Co-produced: draw upon a range of disciplines in the university (interdisciplinarity) and expertise from a diverse range of partners from beyond the university. Projects and activities should be collaborative at all stages of the research process: co-created, co-designed and co-led 
  • Radically interdisciplinary: bring together people with different knowledge, expertise, skills and ideas  
  • Creative: value creative processes and critical making as part of the research process 
  • Equitable: aspire for equity amongst team members throughout the research process. 

How does our funding model work? 

Find out more about our funding model on our main funding page. 

What funding is currently available?

Current theme: Postcolonial natural history collections and museum and archive practices 

This call is now open and the deadline is Thursday 20th November 2025 at 11:30 am. Nb. there are processes to complete before the closing date. 

£30000 is available for each Exploratory Research Funding stage of a theme. This might be for one award only with different strands, or two or more awards. All should be relevant to the published theme.  

Through the Connections funding of this theme we funded five partnerships: 

  • Diasporic Landscapes: Family photos and the colonial archive - Dr Tara Puri (English, University of Bristol), Dr Mohini Chandra (Chelsea College of Art), Dr Charlotte Berry (Bristol Archives) and Ms Ellie Pidgeon (British Empire & Commonwealth Collection). 
  • Reimagining Curriculums: Natural History - Sid Boyer (Rising Arts Agency), Dr Alice Would (History, University of Bristol), Isla Gladstone (Bristol Museums), Michelle Graffagnino and David Rawlings (Education, University of Bristol). 
  • Practicing Return: Policy, power and partnership - Mx Iman Sultan West (Artist), Isla Gladstone (Bristol Museum and Art Gallery), and Claudia Hildebrandt (Earth Sciences, University of Bristol). 
  • Unearthing Stories: Plants, people, places - Tara Sachdeva (Compass Presents), Dr Ann Matchette (History of Art, University of Bristol), and Isla Gladstone (Bristol Museums). 
  • Exhausted Lives: The bitter juice of the cane never tasted - Cecilia Wallace, Emma Howgill (Special Collections, University of Bristol), Ana Castro-Castellon (Physical Geography, University of Bristol), and Zakiya Mckenzie (History, University of Bristol). 

Further details are available on our project catalogue. 

We expect that teams funded under Connections Funding will apply for this Exploratory funding in order to build on ideas. But we are conscious that the composition of teams may change - people might not want to be involved in the next stage, you might seek new expertise or decide to join up with another team! All of that is possible within this funding. But we are looking for development of ideas and deepening of the research. We have an active partnership with Bristol Museums and University of Bristol Special Collections for this theme and would expect to see some involvement of one or both of these organisations in your proposal. 

 

  • Research collaborator time and costs e.g. artists, community partner, charities (including VAT if they are VAT registered) – given our focus on co-produced research and equitable practices we expect to see research collaborators costed at their usual rates in the proposals. 

  • Directly Incurred Staff costs –  these are the costs for researchers who do not already work full-time at the University such as Research Associates and Post-Graduate Researchers.

  • Directly Allocated Staff costs - for those who do have paid contracts at the university. This will recognize the time spent by those involved on the project who are already employed by the University. Their time can be included but you should seek advice from your Costing Specialist as to whether to include or exclude the actual costs in the ‘cost to funder’ (this will differ for each project and will need Head of School approval)

  • Workshops (including catering and payments for research participants)

  • Travel (including the travel needed to work together)

  • Consumables and resources necessary for the project including team meetings.

  • The Brigstow Exploratory Research funding is for research. Whilst a product, installation or piece of art is acceptable as an output, Exploratory Research funding should not be seen as a source of funding for creative development only. We are interested in helping teams work together on co-produced and interdisciplinary research rather than funding the knowledge exchange or impact of existing research, or public engagement activities without a substantial research component.

  • We would normally expect a minimum of three researchers to be involved (made up of a mix of university (from different disciplines), community and creative researchers) all bringing different knowledge, expertise, ideas and skills to the project.

  • At least one of the university researchers must be based at the University of Bristol for the project to be eligible for financial accountability.

  • Brigstow encourages applications from all. We particularly welcome applications from colleagues who have not yet been a principal investigator on a research grant. If you are in any doubt about your eligibility, please speak to us first.

  • Applications must be in keeping with the topic of Brigstow’s current thematic funding cycle and has a focus on human experience and encounters. Given this focus we expect to see arts/humanities researchers and/or social scientists as key members of interdisciplinary research teams. 

The application questions are available to aid you in framing your application.

Whilst everyone on the project team has equal status, a University of Bristol partner will need to be named as a designated budget holder and will need to submit a full financial costing on Worktribe (the University’s finance system for projects).

The University partner’s costing specialist will be able to help, but please follow the Brigstow-specific guidance for worktribe. Please note that you cannot submit your application to Brigstow before the costing and finance approvals within the University are completed. You will need to include your budget breakdown and justification in the application form.

Below are suggested timeframes to ensure the University processes are completed in time for the Brigstow deadline. While there could be some flexibility, these are the usual timescales you should follow:

  • Three weeks before submission to Brigstow: the budget holder should have created a project Worktribe and started populating the budget. The budget holder can contact their University costing specialist for help.
  • One week before submission to Brigstow: the budget holder should have submitted the costing for review
  • Two working days before submission to Brigstow: finance and Head of School should have completed their approvals allow you to finalize your application and submit it via the Brigstow online application form. 

To submit your Exploratory Research Funding application to Brigstow, please visit bristol.ac.uk/brigstow/funding/apply. If you have any problems using the form, please contact hello-brigstow@bristol.ac.uk as soon as possible.

 

The applications to this call will be assessed by members of the Brigstow Steering Group.  

Outcomes for "Postcolonial natural history collections and museum and archive practices" will be announced by 4th December 2025. 

As part of the application process team members are asked to agree to Brigstow’s Terms of Engagement. These set out the principles and also the expectations from both Brigstow and the successful team.

Brigstow is committed to the principles set out in the Charter for Co-production Through an Anti-Racist Lens published in 2024. We encourage all project teams to make themselves aware of these principles and to apply them when considering how they will plan and carry out their research. In the application form you will be asked to confirm that your whole team agrees to the Charter for Co-production through an Anti-Racist lens. 

We have developed  Brigstow Institute Toolkits to help aid your discussions. The toolkits could be useful as you: 

  • develop your ideas and frame your project; 
  • untangle some of the language and expectations across disciplines and partners; 
  • think about how to keep people engaged in the project; and 
  • understand the pressures and tensions each team member might experience