Open showcase call: City of Culture

'Recovery & Transformation'

Coventry, like the rest of the world, faces challenges resulting from, and exacerbated by, the impacts of the pandemic. This may be in areas such as (but not limited to) job security, physical and mental health, crime, food security, air quality and housing. This funding call will support projects to develop impact and to facilitate knowledge exchange with non-academic stakeholders.

Researchers will work with local organisations, partners, stakeholders, the cultural sector or communities, to deliver tangible benefits focusing on the themes of recovery and transformation. Projects may involve all Coventry University researchers, although collaborative projects with University of Warwick researchers are also encouraged as part of the University Partnership.

Coventry’s City of Culture year was part of a longer term cultural strategy for the city, bringing people and ideas together to enable access to new audiences and ways of working, seeding and strengthening relationships. City of Culture provided a catalyst for conversations that can help transform the city long into the future.

The projects selected joined over 16 collaborative research projects and 18 artistic commissions that were funded by the City of Culture University Partnership between Coventry University and the University of Warwick. The projects were internally and externally communicated via related press releases, and as many projects as possible will be included in a future Open Showcase.

If you are unsure of how to frame your project to meet these criteria, or would like to discuss your ideas, please contact Samima Hussain, ideally during the first weeks of the  open call and before February 15th.

Details and Eligibility

• Abide by all Government Guidelines and Legislation to keep all those involved safe at all times.
• Projects will commence during March 2021 and where ethical approval is required it will need to be granted quickly using the code COFC.
• Research projects that involve human participants or their data will require ethical approval. If you are not sure about whether your project will require ethical approval please contact your ethics administrator.
• The project's lead researcher will have a contract of employment at Coventry University that meets or exceeds October 31st 2021.
• The proposed project should include at least one Coventry organisation, be interdisciplinary and have the potential to be developed further.
• Successful projects will be required to assist the team in ensuring the project is accurately represented on our webpages and included in an updated PDF Brochure.
• The project must have support from the lead researchers' reporting manager.
• Within joint projects the lead researcher's institution will administer funds and support with any ethics approval, data sharing agreements etc. where relevant.

Key information:

Call opens: Monday 01 February

Call closes: Friday 19 February Noon

Applications of £2000 - £3000 welcomed.

1. Application Form.
2. More information on Coventry and City of Culture 2021.
3. The panel will aim to get decisions to applicants w/c March 1st.
4. Projects to commence as soon as possible during March 2021.
5. All funds (including those for University Partnership projects) are to be spent, in full, no later than July 31st. Any charges to the budget after this date will not be covered.
6. All project activities to be fully complete by July 31st and all projects need to have flexible approaches to physical meeting and alternatives, utilising technology where possible and always adhering to all Government Guidance and Legislation.
7. All lead researchers will be required to submit a very brief interim project report during July 2021 and a final project report by October 31st. The final project report will ask you to detail any next steps for the project and/or partnerships.