Researcher Information for The Ideas Fund in the Highlands and Islands 

For local information about the Fund for community members, see here.

The Ideas Fund is new programme by the British Science Association and funded by Wellcome which is supporting communities across the Highlands and Islands (among three other areas in the UK*) to lead and explore issues that matter to them around mental wellbeing by connecting them to existing research and building mutually beneficial relationships with researchers.

The Fund was specifically developed to support a model of public engagement with research which is led by and empowers communities themselves - particularly those who may be historically marginalised - by taking a participatory grant making approach including a supported application process with Lewis Hou from Science Ceilidh as the development coordinator in Scotland along with local partners through workshops, conversations and connection building.

If you are a research professional* who is connected to the Highlands and Islands and/or have expertise around topics relevant to mental wellbeing or working with (and being led by) specific community groups, and are interested in finding out more, you can let us know using this form.

This will allow us to organise a database and keep you updated, including being able to invite you to sessions to find out more in person (online) and explain more of the process with you.

There are separate opportunities for researchers connected to the other pilot areas of the Fund - Hull, North West Northern Ireland and Oldham - to get involved and you can get in touch with the local contacts here.

*Including those who may be independent and/or outwith academia - for the purposes of this Fund, our definition is someone who has a record of carrying out and publishing research)

OPPORTUNITIES TO FIND OUT MORE
We have four opportunities to find out more in person which you can use the above form to register interest for too:

Friday 2 April, 10am - 11am - Short introduction to the Fund and time for questions.

Monday 12 April, 1.30pm - This is 25 minutes introduction session before our wider researcher stakeholder session 2 - 3pm which you are welcome to stay for.

Monday 19 April 2 - 3.30pm - An open discussion updating on the Fund and sharing learning and updates with ScotPEN and the wider sector REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE HERE

We are also organising a series of themed conversations with communities over the next few weeks. You can find out more about them here and if you are interested in joining these sessions, as listeners, you can also indicate on this form too.

MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

We highly recommend you watch our webinars to understand what we are looking for with The Ideas Fund

Webinar 1 video and summary and reflection sheet (especially for the first part about the aims of the Fund and why it is different to previous public engagement funds)

Webinar 2 video and summary and reflection sheet (especially the first part on how researchers can get involved and the interview around power dynamics and why we want any partners to centre marginalised voices)

Webinar 3 video and summary and reflection sheet (especially some of the key practical tips from our guests and Development Coordinators)

And check out the FAQS on the main website