Collection-based Research in the Humanities

Collection-based Research in the Humanities

Upcoming deadline30 January 2026, 5pm
Funding Amountup to £5,000

INT is pleased to offer, through a new two-year pilot scheme funded by Trinity College, small grants of up to £5,000 for collection-based research in the Humanities through modest-sized study sessions and/or workshops of up to two days in Collegiate Cambridge. Up to eight grants are available in each academic year for two years, in the first instance (2024-25 and 2025-26).

Rationale 

Collections, libraries, archives and galleries are the ‘laboratories’ of humanities scholars. Collegiate Cambridge has a wealth of such collections, large and small, as well as collections within collections that may not be well known to scholars or whose research potential is yet to be fully appreciated and realised. While most repositories welcome new research and scholarship of their holdings, they are often limited in supporting such research because of staff shortage or limited funds for conservation. 

The purpose of this scheme is to promote enhanced engagement with physical items in the collection, so in-person, modest-sized meetings are encouraged. Applications to part-fund a single large international conference are therefore unlikely to succeed.

  • The study sessions and/or workshops will take place in collections, libraries, archives and galleries in the University of Cambridge and its Colleges.  
  • The collection may be in an institution primarily concerned with science or humanities, or both, but the topic of the proposed studies/workshops must be in the area of the humanities (broadly defined).
  • There will initially be a preference for comparatively less well-known or smaller holdings that have not received prior research support.  
  • Each proposal must be based on a collaboration between at least two UTOs/CTOs/ Research Fellows/Curators working in the humanities.

Costs that may be claimed: The maximum basic grant is £4,500, which is expected to be split approximately equally between conservation costs involved in making the collection ready for the project, and the actual cost of one or more related activities based on the collection:

Items Maximum claim for both elements together = £4,500 What this may cover
Institutional costs £2,250 staff time, conservation, equipment, digitisation, cataloguing, administration (flat fee of £250),
Meeting/study sessions/workshops
(up to 2 days)		 £2,250 subsistence, room hire, accommodation, student assistant, travel, but not honoraria

If the total cost of your project exceeds £4,500: INT will expect you to attempt to find the difference from other sources, so that the project can take place as planned. To help you to achieve your target, we will offer additional funds to match what you have raised towards the cost of the difference, up to a limit of £500.  The total maximum grant is therefore £5,000.   

There is one round per annum, in Lent Term. The INT committee may exceptionally agree to consider applications between annual rounds providing there is still funding available within the academic year in question.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 30 January 2026.

Applications for a grant should be made in plenty of time to factor in conservation and preparation before the planned meeting(s). All projects should conclude within eighteen months from the date of award

The application should be made by the Head of the Institution hosting the collection, for example, the Museum Director, Head of Department, Head of House, as appropriate.

The application will consist of:

  • INT’s Collection-based Research Support in the Humanities Application Coversheet
  • Up to two sides of A4 identifying a set of material that could appropriately be investigated through handling/study sessions and/or small-scale workshops with key specialists, explaining how the format of the meeting(s) would lead to new research, and plans for publication and/or applications for larger funding (where appropriate). 
  • A financial breakdown setting out the costs in each of the two areas of support (where possible, costing should follow university guidelines on expenses) and any funds raised by the Institution that may be the basis for a request for additional funds as set out above.

These items should be submitted in this order in a single pdf to the Trust Administrator.

The grant will be paid to the host repository/collection institution and will be valid for eighteen months from the date of the offer. 

Any unspent portion of the grant must be returned to the Isaac Newton Trust at the end of the grant period.

Grant recipients are required to submit a short final report on completion of the meetings. 

The Isaac Newton Trust and Trinity College should be acknowledged in any publications or output arising from the meetings.