Research and Innovation Services

The central two objectives for the fund are:

• To support the development of early-stage projects in the arts and humanities that are looking to deliver sustainable impact at scale through potential commercial opportunities. This can be through potential new ventures, licensing opportunities, or other commercial exploration of possibilities for creative, community, policy, economic, social or technological impact.
• Extend collaborative activity between the UofG, the GSA, and the RSC, and develop innovative ways of working in partnership on projects with an entrepreneurial outlook

* Spin out in this context is defined as a company backed by the academic institution and underpinned by academic research or academic expertise.

Please see the next section for details on eligibility.

You can apply for the Founders Fund for Creatives, via our application form and emailing it to the following institutional offices:

University of Glasgow - innovation@glasgow.ac.uk

Royal Conservatoire - d.keogh@rcs.ac.uk

Glasgow School of Art - n.duncan@gsa.ac.uk

Training to support applicants on having early conversations with external stakeholders including customers will be available as well as additional information on eligible external training opportunities.

This fund is intended specifically for projects that come under the umbrella of the Arts and Humanities by researchers within the University of Glasgow, The Royal Conservatoire for Scotland, and the Glasgow School of Art. Arts and Humanities eligibility is defined by the disciplines in the AHRC criteria but also including visual, performing and production arts.

Eligibility requirements for the Founders Fund are:

• Applicants must be eligible to apply for a research grant or KE project funding under their respective institutional rules and have an employment contract that extends beyond the end of the project.
• Applicants must be able to demonstrate their ability to engage with alternative funding models and opportunities, such as spin-outs, licensing and social enterprise.
• The idea, concept, or opportunity must not be committed to a third party to ensure a clean slate in regard to the intellectual property

The Founders Fund for Creatives is expected to award projects with funds up to £10,000, depending on the stage of the project as well as activities that are being funded.

The funding may be used to pay for the direct costs of further developing the scope of an idea, concept or opportunity, costs of undertaking proof-of-concept study, additional research aimed at developing the business proposition including validation of interest from stakeholders, or external research associated with developing the project.

Please note however that PI salary costs are not eligible. The Founders Fund for Creatives will not fund academic research or the development of tools exclusively for use in further research.

Please contact the below offices for advice on design of activities as well as costing:

University of Glasgow - innovation@glasgow.ac.uk

Royal Conservatoire - d.keogh@rcs.ac.uk

Glasgow School of Art - n.duncan@gsa.ac.uk

Founders Fund Application form

Founders Fund Application guidance

First call: 22nd November 2023 – January 23^rd, 12.00 (midday)

University of Glasgow - innovation@glasgow.ac.uk

Royal Conservatoire - d.keogh@rcs.ac.uk

Glasgow School of Art - n.duncan@gsa.ac.uk

Project applications will be assessed by the Founders Fund for Creatives review panel. Applicants should write their proposal for a non-specialist audience and avoid using discipline-specific terminology and acronyms.

The fund will provide support up to a maximum of 6 months and the projects must be completed before September 2024. The maximum that can be awarded is £10k per project.

If the project spend is higher than the budgeted amount the Fund will not contribute towards the additional costs. If, on completion of a project it is found that the project is under-budget, these allocated funds will be returned to the Fund for re-allocation.

Applications will be assessed according to a set of criteria, which broadly encompass:

1. Suitability of the project for the Creative Founders Fund
2. Entrepreneurial potential and scaling impact
3. Realism of the project plan
4. Project deliverables

Applications will be processed in two stages for simplicity:

Stage 1

The applicant’s institution will carry out an initial review of the proposed project to determine its eligibility for the fund

Stage 2

The selected applications will be forwarded to a panel of peer reviewers from our partner institutions, who will then judge and recommend whether funding is to be awarded.

There are two central qualities that we welcome in your proposals:

• Applications that engage with an entrepreneurial outlook even at the early stages, such as a willingness to discuss with potential users, customers or considering potential ways of de-risking the project
• Applications that focus on partnerships, especially those that engage in co-creation and collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the University of Glasgow

Furthermore, The University of Glasgow is committed to promoting equality in all its activities and aims to provide a work, learning, research and teaching environment free from discrimination and unfair treatment.

Successful applicants will submit reports upon completion of the project and be available for follow up with their respective IP & Innovation team or Research Offices at the University of Glasgow, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, or the Glasgow School of Art.