British Council offers £50k grants for collaborative creative projects

The British Council is seeking to fund a new wave of international creative projects with £50,000 grants.

Applications for the Digital Collaboration fund opened this week, with the intention to support collaboration between UK-based creatives and those overseas.

Up to £50,000

The fund is targeted at digital projects. The council says this is both because of the travel restrictions faced by the coronavirus pandemic and rising concerns over the sustainability of face-to-face collaborations.

Two levels of funding are up for grabs – 12 grants worth between £10,000 and £20,000, and 15 grants worth between £40,000 and £50,000.

These will be divided among projects that work towards projects in three areas: research and development for new virtual collaborations; the restarting of projects that were put on pause because of the pandemic; and collaboration on new projects and ways of working.

Virtual conferences, exhibitions, games and archives

The British Council has put forward a list of example project which it expects to fund through the initiative.

These include virtual conferences, exhibitions and artist residencies, online cultural archives, digital games and mixed, augmented and virtual reality projects. Designers working in these fields may wish to apply for funding to bring their ideas to an international audience.

Countries eligible for collaboration are those that fall under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) list. They include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Jamaica and Ukraine. A full list of countries is available to view in the Digital Collaboration Fund brief.

Projects must make a “positive contribution”

The ODA is the UK’s overseas aid budget set aside to help developing countries. Because of this, prospective applicants for funding must satisfy certain requirements.

According to the British Council, an ODA compliant proposal will “demonstrate that projects will make a positive contribution to the social and economic development” of the country involved, and aim to “further sustainable development or improve the welfare of the population”.

The brief for the scheme further stipulates that funding should be split 60/40 between partners. The lead partner should get no more than 60% of the funding, and at least 40% should go towards an ODA country.

For more information and to apply for funding, head to the British Council website. Applications close 18 November 2020.