Conservation Research Project Grants are offered annually to organisations to help support conservation research and technical analysis in the field of British art.
The grant is an award of up to £25,000.
The PMC is an educational charity that champions new ways of understanding British art history and culture. Through all areas of our work, including our Grants & Fellowships programme, we promote activities that enhance and expand knowledge of British art and architecture. As an organisation, we pledge ourselves to ensuring that the histories of British art are enriched and made more relevant to a broader range of people in the future. The inclusion of voices, narratives and experiences that have been marginalised or excluded in the past will have a transformational impact on the future of the Centre and upon British art studies. Accordingly, the PMC particularly welcomes applications from those who are under-represented within the academic field of the humanities in the UK.
The next round of Conservation Research Project Grants will open for applications on Monday 4 August and close Tuesday 30 September.
Conservation Research Project Grants are specifically designed to help organisations, organisations, galleries or museums support original and innovative conservation research. It may be used towards the costs of supporting a conservator or research scholar undertaking a conservation research project or technical analysis which will lead to a research project.
Applicants must demonstrate that any project will include scholarly research within the scope of the work, and that this research will have a significant impact on the field of British art studies more broadly. Items supported by this grant must be in public or charitable ownership and accessible to the public.
Conservation Research Project Grants are offered for up to a maximum of £25,000.
An organisation may apply for a Conservation Research Project Grants to cover freelance staff costs or to provide replacement staff costs and give temporary cover for a staff member to work on the research project. The funds can also be used to support research travel and other research-related costs.
Up to thirty-three percent of the proposed project budget may be allotted to practical costs such as transportation and packing, specialist equipment or the digitisation of resources.
The award will be paid directly to the organisation in one payment.
The organisation should give details of any financial support already in place or funding expected, or being sought, from other sources.
Our funding programme supports research, educational activities and the dissemination of knowledge in the fields of British art and architectural history, from the medieval period to the present day and across the spectrum of relevant geographical and cultural contexts. Our remit is broadly defined and adapts as the interests of those working in our field change. It encompasses art made in Britain or by British artists, but is not solely limited to art made, or artists from, within the geographical boundaries of the British isles. Rather we understand the field of British art studies to encompass a broad range of subjects and topics related to the artistic and cultural histories of Britain, past and present.
We do not offer grants and fellowships in field archaeology, the current practice of architecture or the performing arts. Applications in the fields of photography, performance, film and digital media will need to demonstrate their relevance to British art studies.
Applications are open to international as well as UK organisations.
For further questions on eligibility please contact the Grants & Fellowships Manager at [email protected].
The next round of Conservation Research Project Grants will open for applications on Monday 4 August and close Tuesday 30 September.
To apply for this grant applicants must use our online system at grants.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk. Once registered you will be able to fill out the online application form (an example of which can be downloaded below), you will also need to provide the details of two referees. Once the application has been submitted, and the reference has been received, we will check it to ensure eligibility. All accepted applications will then be read and assessed by our Advisory Council which is made up of twelve external academics and professionals with relevant expertise (you can find a list of the current members here). Three senior members of Paul Mellon Centre staff also sit on our Advisory Council.
Organisations should provide a comprehensive and detailed timeline and budget in their application. Applications involving more than one organisation can be considered, although one partner must be identified as the lead organisation and will receive the grant if successful. Applicants will be asked to declare any ethical considerations relating to their project, and how these would be addressed. Expected outcomes of the project should be detailed in the application as well as the possible impact on the field of British art studies more broadly.
The number of good applications is likely to exceed the funding available, so the Advisory Council are advised to use some or all of the following criteria to help them in making decisions on how best to allocate funding:
- academic rigour
- originality and distinctness in the context of current scholarship
- contribution to scholarship in the longer term
- timeliness, where a project is connected with a particular moment or opportunity
- where a grant would support work in a geographical or cultural context which has not hitherto been supported by PMC
- need, where the research would be unlikely to go ahead without this support
- impact and inclusion, where the research would include voices or reach a broader range of people than have hitherto been represented in the field of British art studies
We also advise applicants to read our FAQ & Guidance webpage before starting their application, our Grant Making Policy and Due Diligence Policy can also be found there.
Decisions made by the Advisory Council will be communicated to all applicants within two months of the application submission closing date. Given the volume of applications, we cannot guarantee individual feedback if you are unsuccessful. However, we do try to accommodate specific requests. Please email our Grants and Fellowships Manager to request this.
If you have any access requirements or experience any issues using our online grants system (or accessing and filling out the application forms) then please do contact the Grants and Fellowships Manager who will be able to assist you.
As part of the application form, you will need to provide the name and email address of two referees who are willing to submit a short reference (500 words) for the application. The referees should have first-hand knowledge of the academic backgrounds of the individuals involved with the project and/or the subject area for which funding is being sought. The Advisory Council would like to be informed of the originality of the subject matter and the applicant’s suitability to pursue such research. The references are an essential part of our due diligence process, and your application cannot proceed to assessment without them.
Once your application is submitted, an automatic email notification will be sent to your referees with a link that allows them to view your application and submit their references. They will also have the option to decline the request.
The deadline for submitting references will depend on the funding round, but it is generally between 7-10 days after the application closing date. The deadline date will be clearly communicated to you and your referees during the application process. You will receive an email notification when your referee has submitted their reference and once it has been received your application will proceed to the assessment round.
For more guidance on the content of the references, please refer to our FAQ & Guidance page.
Please ensure you speak to your referees before including their details in the application form so they are aware of the reference requirement and the deadline. We also recommend submitting your application in advance of the closing date to allow your referee as much time as possible to complete their reference.
Each round, we encounter reference requests that are not received by the intended recipients due to misspelled email addresses. To avoid delays, please double-check that all contact details are entered correctly when submitting your application.
- Projects are expected to be completed within two years of the awarding of the grant.
- The organisation must provide a final report six months after the project has been completed.
- The full terms and conditions of grant awards can be read here.