Find out more about the Professional Practice Fellowship Scheme
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Research Libraries UK (RLUK) are delighted to make a pre-call announcement regarding the forthcoming launch of a Professional Practice Fellowship Scheme. A Town hall meeting to accompany this pre-call will be held on Wednesday 22 September at which potential applicants can ask questions about the scheme. Full applications will open on Monday 4 October 2021 and will close on Friday 3 December 2021. Decisions and awards will be announced in early February 2022.
This pre-call announcement is to alert colleagues to the forthcoming scheme, provide further information regarding the scheme’s eligibility criteria, and highlight a dedicated Townhall meeting through which colleagues can receive further information and ask questions. Further events will be held during the application period.
The scheme is open to colleagues working within any unit or department that sits within a research or academic library which belongs to a Higher Education Institution (HEI), Independent Research Organisation (IRO), or is a member of Research Libraries UK (RLUK). The scheme is open to both RLUK and non-RLUK member institutions, and has been designed to enable a wide variety of applications from individuals, institutions, and professions.
RLUK and AHRC welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds. The scheme would particularly like to encourage applications from early-career professionals who are seeking to develop their research capability, confidence, and capacity.
RLUK and AHRC would also like to encourage applications from members of ethnic minority communities, who constitute an underrepresented group within the library and information sectors.
The creation of this scheme is a direct response to the findings and recommendations of a joint RLUK-AHRC scoping study regarding the role, and potential role, of research and academic libraries as research partners and leaders. The report, published in July 2021, highlighted the need to support colleagues working across research and academic libraries in the development of their research capability, capacity, and confidence.
- The pre-call announcement and outline guidance for this scheme is available here: This will be supplemented with additional guidance when the scheme application process opens on 4 October.
- The RLUK-AHRC scoping study report, which has informed the development of this scheme, is available here: Potential applicants are encouraged to familiarise themselves with this report and its findings as context for this scheme.
Town Hall meeting:
A Town Hall meeting will be held on Wednesday 22 September (13.00-14.00) to accompany this pre-call announcement. The Townhall will provide an opportunity for the AHRC and RLUK to provide further details about the scheme, the forthcoming application process, and the scheme’s eligibility and assessment criteria. It will also provide colleagues with an opportunity to ask questions about the scheme and hear further details about what application support will be offered.
