From Harms to Harmonies - Exploratory Research Funding Application Guidelines

Funding call now open: closing date 11:30am on Thursday 1 October 2026

We accept Exploratory Research Funding proposals that respond to our thematic calls. 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 this time the Brigstow and URI Operations teams will be on hand to support around potential funding schemes, our co-produced research toolkits, and to 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 8 months.

What are we looking for in a Brigstow project?

Brigstow supports research and partnerships that are:

  • Novel: addressing a gap in existing knowledge
  • Exploratory:  early-stage explorative research
  • Co-produced: created by and intended to benefit everyone involved in the project and drawing upon 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: bringing together people with different knowledge, expertise, skills and ideas, particularly University researchers from different schools or faculties who use different methods and approaches
  • Creative: valuing creative processes and critical making as part of the research process
  • Equitable: aspiring 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.

Theme: From Harms to Harmonies

The 'From Harms to Harmonies' theme aims to gather research ideas, questions and projects that use objects, substances, or actions deemed 'harmful' and actively engages with their impacts to reframe narratives, build collective communities of care, and find commonalities in their causes.  

That could be anything from building community from social division and inequality, exploring reparative justice, ensuring safety and care in digital spaces, reframing the narrative around youth violence or working with substance users to understand and mitigate risk. The aim is to explore journeys where harmony is found from harm in multiple corners of the University and beyond.

This call is now open and the deadline is Thursday 1 October 2026 at 11:30 am. Nb. there are processes to complete before the closing date.

What funding is currently available?

£30,000 is available is in total, with a maximum of £30,000 available for an individual award.

Through the From Harms to Harmonies Connections funding we funded four projects:

Rethinking Harm around Youth Violence and Drug Economies – Neil Carrier (Anthropology and Archaeology), Gernot Klantschnig (Policy Studies), Jane Slater (Transform Drug Policy Foundation), Mary Ryder (Education)

Challenging the Harmful Logics of Digital Engagement Algorithms by Fostering Empathetic Connections through Music and Sound – Neil Carrier (Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol), Michelle Forrest (Artist), Jon Somerscales (Artist), Mark Higgins (University of Liverpool)

Solidarity through Safeguarding: Responding to anti-immigration harms in Bristol – Daniel Godshaw and Natasha Carver (Policy Studies, University of Bristol), Liz Hingley (Artist)

Coproducing Trauma Informed Pathways to Oral Health Care with Survivors of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking – Nilu Ahmed (Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol), Reena Patel (NHS England South West), Afsha Musa (NHS England South West), Hilary Agg (Unseen)

The aim of Exploratory Research Funding is to build communities and scale up previous activities that relate to this theme. 

We expect that teams funded under Connections Funding will apply for this Exploratory Research Funding in order to build on ideas, but understand that those teams may want to join up, change in terms of who is involved or shift their focus. 

If you want to apply but did not receive Connections funding, we would encourage you to first consider connecting with the existing Connections Funding projects to avoid duplication and unnecessary competition. Or be very clear in your application about how your project builds on existing work that falls within the theme, From Harms to Harmonies. 

What can the funds be used for?

  • Research collaborator time and costs e.g. artists, community partners, 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 should be included but the cost of their time is often not included due to budget restrictions. This needs to be approved by each school. It is advisable to discuss whether to include or exclude the actual costs in the ‘cost to funder’ with the school.
  • 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.

What are the eligibility criteria?

  • 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. We are unable to fund 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 have 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.

What is the application process?

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 also 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. Please also note that the costing specialists will be particularly busy in September. If you are able to complete your Worktribe budget during August, we highly recommend this. The costing specialists will be prioritising applications for external funding calls during September.

  • Three weeks before submission to Brigstow: the budget holder should have created a project in 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 to 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-uri@bristol.ac.uk as soon as possible.

How will proposals be assessed?

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

We aim to announce outcomes by w/e 16 October 2026

What are the Terms of Engagement

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.

Charter for Co-production Through an Anti-Racist Lens

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.

With the University of Bristol’s work to reach net zero by 2030, Brigstow also hopes that research teams will consider environmental sustainability in their project.

Some helpful resources

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
  • understand the pressures and tensions each team member might experience.

When you are ready to apply, please see the Apply for Brigstow Funding page.