Application information
On this page, you can find information relevant for award holders and those interested in the application and selection process. The grant management team has taken great care to ensure a fair and transparent process, and if you have questions about any aspect that is not addressed on this website, please feel free to contact us.
Key dates
- Closing date for the first (outline) stage of the funding competition was Wednesday 5th January 2022 (UK time).
- Deadline for those invited to the second (full application) stage was 17th June 2022.
- Funded awards are expected to be announced in August 2022.
- Funded awards are expected to begin in December 2022-January 2023.
- At the end of 2024, there will be a Capstone Conference in Durham (UK), where the findings from all of the Research Projects and Applied Working Groups will be presented to scientists, policy makers and the general public.
Opportunities and expectations associated with the funding
- Use of the Open Science Framework (OSF) to manage the project, including data management plans, ethical approvals, pre-registration of hypotheses, as appropriate. A donation to OSF is made on the awardees’ behalf. To get up to speed with Open Science practices, we recommend the free tutorial written by Helena Miton for Complexity Explorer (Santa Fe Institute).
- Attendance at the CES 2024 conference (mid-September 2024, Durham, UK) and the associated Capstone Conference, where award holders will present their work and network with others funded by this scheme. Funding will be provided for award winners (1 participant per Research Project and 2 per Applied Working Group)..
- Creation of public-facing explanatory slide shows/videos with the support of our Research Communications Manager (funding provided).
- Production of an open access article as a contribution to a journal special issue, highlighting the overall scheme findings. Publication charges will be covered, as will copy-editing and translation costs (if appropriate).
Application process
The scheme is now closed for new applications
The funding scheme involved a two-stage process designed to increase, and support, the diversity of applicants. See here for previously released information on the Outline Application (Stage 1) and the Invited Full Application (Stage 2).
A high-quality proposal was paramount (see specific details for Research Projects and Applied Working Groups), and applicants were not required to meet any of the diversity criteria. However, the extent to which an application addresses the objectives for enhancing diversity in the field of Cultural Evolution was part of the decision making at each stage.
Details of the requirements for outline proposals are available via these links: Research Project Proforma and Working Group Proforma. Detailed information for invited full proposals was made available to invited applicants and may be requested from the grant team.
Guidance & Assistance
Below you find a video of a pre-application workshop run in September 2021 where Rachel Kendal presents the funding scheme, different call areas, the diversity priorities as well as the application and review process, plus hints and tips.
We are committed to supporting applicants with disabilities. If you require a reasonable adjustment during the application process or have difficulty accessing any of the information on this website, please email us at ces.transformationfund@durham.ac.uk to let us know your needs.
Please see our Frequently Asked Questions if you have a query and contact us if any further clarifications are required.
Keep up to date via our dedicated Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. Please do use these accounts to help you with building your application, for example to request advice from the field and/or in searching for relevant collaborators to complete your research project/working group team.
For specific questions about the funding scheme, please contact us by emailing ces.transformationfund@durham.ac.uk.
