Major funding interventions to meet the strategic needs of the collegiate University have been part of the Isaac Newton Trust’s activities since its foundation in 1988. Up to 2000, major grants were mostly funded through exceptional Special Donations from Trinity for defined purposes. After that, occasional grants were made from the Trust’s unspent income. However, in 2015, the Trustees decided that accumulated unspent income had exceeded what could reasonably be held within the Trust’s terms as a charitable funding body and agreed to offer strategic awards through a defined annual funding competition for as long as the resources were available.
The flavour of our Strategic Grant activity can be gained from the following outline:
2019-20
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Professor Nicholas Thomas)
Supporting the move of the Museum’s collections to the Centre for Material Culture Conservation
Three-year grant for the salary costs of a research associate in conservation.
Pro-Vice-Chancellors’ Office (Dr Emily Shuckburgh)
A grant towards a framework for research facilitation.
2016-19
CRASSH: post-doc Fellowships
MaxCam: matched post-doc Fellowships in new Centre with the Max Planck Institute
Academy of Therapeutic Sciences: set-up funding
Cosmology and Astrophysics: matched post-doc Fellowships with Kavli Foundation
IRCs: research activity grants for the University’s interdisciplinary Research Centres
Millennium Maths Project: bridging staff costs
British School at Rome: joint fellowships
OPdA: support for development of training for post-docs at Cambridge
Centre for the Study of Existential Risk: post-doc Fellows
From Climate Conflict to Climate Justice Project
Cambridge Brain Regenerative Therapy Centre: research staff set-up costs
Cambridge Confidence in Concept: doctoral research grants for clinicians
AHRC DTP: matching funds for doctoral training studentships on behalf of the University
British Academy Global Professorships: institutional contributions on behalf of the University
Cambridge Digital Humanities: post-doc Fellowships
Engineering: equipment grant and senior Research Fellowship
2000-15
Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities (CRASSH) (three awards)
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships: match-funding on behalf of the University began 2006
Joint Schools Grants with the Humanities & Social Sciences began 2009
1988-99
Building projects: Mathematics, Divinity, Criminology, the Raised Faculty Buildings, Biochemistry, Genetics, Plant Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, Computer Lab, DAMTP.
Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences: two awards
University Library extension
Interdisciplinary Research Centres
University new appointments
Undergraduate Bursaries set up with Colleges
Graduate Bursary scheme
A programme of Grants to Faculties for new appointments began