More minority academics win funding in UK random grant trial

A UK funder has reported a significant increase in the number of grants awarded to ethnic minority academics after it started awarding research grants using randomisation.

The British Academy announced last September that it would launch a “partial randomisation trial” for its Small Research Grants scheme, which offers support of up to £10,0000 for innovative projects in the humanities and social sciences. Applications are still screened by experts to ensure that they pass a high-quality threshold, but those that pass this stage are then awarded funding randomly.

This came after international trials that have sought to ease the burden placed on peer reviewers and eliminate bias against female and ethnic minority applicants, or those from less prestigious universities. Typically, research applications are ranked based on excellence.

Sharing the results of the first two rounds of its experiment, the British Academy reported a “notable” increase in awards to candidates from black, Asian and other ethnic backgrounds, with this group accounting for 27 per cent of successful applicants, compared with 18 per cent under the old scheme.

The academy said that success rates for candidates from Scotland and Northern Ireland had also increased, surpassing their respective proportions of the UK population, with academics winning funding coming from a “diverse spectrum” of 93 institutions, including several – such as Abertay University and the Alan Turing Institute – making the list for the first time.

Overall, 1,702 applications were assessed over the first two rounds of the trial, a 32 per cent increase on last year.

Simon Swain, the academy’s vice-president for research and higher education policy, said that he hoped the findings would “spark interest and conversations among fellow funders and research organisations who might consider adopting innovative new methods such as this, which can reduce administrative burdens on assessors and applicants alike”.

“The increase in successful applications from historically under-represented ethnic backgrounds and those based in Scotland and Northern Ireland, along with broader institutional representation, suggests that awarding grants in this way could lead to more diverse cohorts of Small Research Grant-holders,” Professor Swain said.

“It will be interesting to see whether any sustainable trends emerge, something we hope for but is not a given, due to the nature of randomisation.”

The third round of the trial is now open for applications, and the experiment will run for three years in total. Following its completion, the academy will share a full analysis of the effectiveness of the model, as well as its impact on grant outcomes.

The academy was only the second UK research funder to experiment with this type of allocation, following a smaller trial by the Natural Environment Research Council.

Alex Lewis, the academy’s director of research, said: “It is hugely motivating to see that this actionable change to a process could open up research funding to those who have been previously under-represented, and to researchers from a wider spread of research institutions than in past years – potentially increasing equity of access across the board.

“It is clear that this trial is strongly in line with our strategic aims to open up the academy and mobilise our disciplines for the benefit of everyone – we look forward to sharing the results with the research community as the trial continues.”

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com