Introducing...MOLA's Impact Acceleration Account

We’re excited to announce the launch of MOLA’s Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grants. These grants support public impact-focused projects between MOLA staff and UK-based non-academic partners.

The IAA is made possible by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) after a successful application by our Director of Research & Engagement, Dr Sara Perry, and our Head of Grant-Funded Research, Dr Emma Dwyer. Six different grant opportunities will be available between now and March 2025, worth a total of £450,000.

Although each grant has different goals, the overall purpose of the IAA is simple - to enable MOLA staff to partner with external individuals and organisations to extend the impacts of our research beyond archaeology’s usual collaborators and audiences. The IAA grants provide funds and time for our staff and UK-based partners (non-academic) to design and undertake public impact-oriented projects.

Our first two grant opportunities are:

Networking Grants: We are offering three to four grants in this call, with a value of up to £15k each. These are grants to help MOLA staff to set up working relationships with new and unusual external partners to reach specific target audiences. They should address MOLA’s IAA objectives and they could also focus on priorities associated with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Creative Residencies: We are offering funding for six-month residencies (worth up to £13k each) for individuals working in the creative industries. Creative residents will work with MOLA staff to experiment on translating our archaeological research into unusual forms for specific audiences. Priority will be given to creative professionals working in currently untapped sectors such as interior design, fashion, food, comedy, music, dance, and horticulture. Creatives working in languages other than English will also be viewed favorably. We are offering three Creative Residencies in this call.

These grants will be followed by the launch of four more grant opportunities in 2023: Partnership Grants, Secondments, Business Development Grants, and Policy Shaping Grants.

Further information on current grant opportunities, our IAA objectives, deadlines, and contact information is supplied below.

IAA Calls for Proposals

1. Creative Residencies

We seek calls for proposals from MOLA staff members to host a UK-based creative resident over the course of a six-month period.

Creative residents will partner with MOLA staff to experiment with translating our archaeological ideas and research into unusual forms for public audiences.

The creative residencies allow MOLA staff and the creative resident to bid together for up to a total of £13k. This is designed to cover the costs of staff time and the resident’s time, as well as other allowable expenses. The funding must be spent within a period of six months maximum. It is expected that three creative residencies will be awarded now, with another call for applications in 2023 or early 2024.

Priority will be given to proposals for creative residents who work in untapped sectors such as fashion, food, comedy, music, dance, sport, gardening, and interior design. Creative professionals working in languages other than English will also be viewed favourably.

Examples of projects include, but are not limited to:

Working with a horticulturalist to design a new garden inspired by our archaeo-environmental research
Partnering with a chef to produce a new recipe book or a cooking podcast based on interests in past food practices
Collaborating with a comedian to communicate MOLA’s archaeological stories into entertaining performances for others
Engaging with a weaver to produce a new range of rugs or tapestries influenced by MOLA’s archaeological finds
Teaming up with a board game or escape room (or other!) designer to transform our archaeological interpretations into an experience or product for new audiences

2. Networking Grants

We seek calls for proposals from MOLA staff in partnership with external UK-based individuals, groups or organisations to team up to establish new working relationships to reach different audiences with MOLA’s research. External partners may include charities, small or medium sized enterprises, volunteer groups, public sector agencies, other archaeological units, or freelancers or sole traders. They cannot include those working at higher education institutions.

Priority will be given to collaborations with individuals, groups or organisations who have not previously connected with archaeology. Together you will develop new project ideas and opportunities for extending the impact of MOLA’s research. This may include working together to apply for future MOLA IAA grants.

A networking grant will provide MOLA staff and partners with up to a total of £15k. This should cover the costs of MOLA time and non-academic partners’ time, as well as other allowable expenses. The funding must be spent within a period of 6 months maximum. It is expected that between 3-4 Networking Grants will be awarded now, with another call for applications in 2023.

Examples of what you may wish to pursue together in your network include:

Hosting fieldtrips, walking tours or other online or in-person excursions, with the intent of exploring opportunities to develop future such experiences for specific audiences
Facilitating collaborative writing or content creation activities together (e.g., blogging, filming, social media posting, position paper writing, etc.) focused on developing new outputs for wider audiences
Organising workshops, meetings, roundtables, think tanks or other formal gatherings to begin planning new impact funding bids, policy-influencing, or educational activities related to archaeology
Coordinating matchmaking events to help draw specific non-academic professionals or organisations into archaeology. This could introduce them to different archaeological specialists to foster mutual understanding and lay the foundations for future potential collaboration
Collaborating on a pilot performance, exhibition, or production to test out its implementation and build your working relationships and audience base together
Partnering on market research or feasibility studies in relation to the development of a new product or start-up business

Interested in applying and want to know more?

To express an interest in partnering with MOLA on one of our IAA grants, please contact us on the IAA email account - iaa@mola.org.uk.

Nigel Jeffries and Sara Perry are acting as the MOLA leads for coordinating the Networking Grants and Creative Residencies respectively. Along with the MOLA IAA team, they will support external collaborators in matching their ideas and interests with MOLA staff.

Applications must be submitted by MOLA staff members, and further details on the IAA grants will be made available to external partners through matching with a MOLA staff member.

Deadlines

Grants are adjudicated via a two-stage process, starting with a simple Outline Proposal submitted via a MOLA staff member. Outline Proposals for the Networking Grants and Creative Residencies are due by 17.00 GMT, 21 December 2022 per the schedule below.