A fund of £300,000 will be made available to the university’s School of Arts and Humanities and School of the Humanities and Social Sciences, which have launched the Cambridge Humanities Research Grants Scheme.
The scheme will be open to all university teaching officers and college teaching officers in the arts, humanities and social sciences with bids invited for awards of between £1,000 and £20,000 in value.
It follows the decision by the British Academy and the Economic and Social Research Council to end their own small grants schemes, which Cambridge said were “of great importance to researchers”.
The university hopes the new fund will help to offset the impact of their withdrawal “and make it possible for academics in the arts, humanities and social sciences to undertake research, including pilot or experimental work in preparation for larger-scale activities”.
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Cambridge’s vice-chancellor, said: “This funding represents my commitment – and the university’s commitment – to preserving the arts, humanities and social sciences base. The importance of these subjects to Cambridge, the wider university system and the UK as a whole cannot be overestimated.”
The deadline for the initial round of funding bids will be 16 September.