Abstract

Over the past two decades, the research funding landscape in the UK (but also overseas) has changed in many ways, but one of the most noticeable has been the movement away from small grants – particularly in the social sciences and humanities. This movement has had a significant impact on the ways in which research is imagined, operationalised and executed, yet it has largely passed without comment.

In this paper, we draw upon the findings of a recent British Academy-funded project to 1) critically examine the decline of small grant funding; and 2) consider the role of small grant funding in relation to innovation and risk taking; the maintenance and evolution of disciplines; theoretical and methodological advancement; and capacity-building and leadership development.