UK/AU Season Alumni Digital Collaboration Grant

Key eligibility information:

• Lead Applicants must be Alumni of British Council Australia programmes or delegations:  For example; Realise Your Dream, ACCELERATE, INTERSECT, Edinburgh Showcase, Unlimited, Design Connections, The Great Escape Festival.*
• Grants are offered to individuals working in the following areas including drama, dance, visual arts, literature, film, music, architecture, design, and fashion.
• The grant should be used to develop and strengthen new and existing relationships between the UK and Australia for new digital/online networking and/or the development of art and cultural projects through various conversation or different platforms.
• Applications must be a partnership between at least one UK based organisation/individual and one organisation/individual based in Australia one of which must be an Alumni

*this is not an exhaustive list of eligible British Council delegations. Please contact enquiries@britishcouncil.org.au if you have any queries

Small grants of up to GBP £5,000

To support time for those from the UK and Australia to initiate connections and collaborations together for new digital/online networking and/or the development of art and cultural projects through various conversation or different platforms.

The grant is designed to foster international connections at a time when international travel is restricted. In light of this, we are supporting partnership projects where individuals in the UK connect virtually with individuals in Australia in order to inspire and develop collaborative projects.

As the artists and individuals will be unable to travel to meet in person, we expect that the development of the project will be done virtually, using online collaborative tools.

The applicant does not need to be working toward a digital project outcome. The collaboration process and its documentation must be digital, if you are working toward a live performance or exhibition in the future.

We hope that by supporting these projects in this way, we are supporting individuals to establish a climate-friendly approach to future international collaboration.

Your application will be assessed in relation to the following areas:

Quality - 25% 

The project proposal is of a high artistic/creative quality and is innovative in its approach.

Partnerships - 25% 

The project proposal is mutually and equally benefitting both UK and Australian applicants. 

Relevance - 25% 

The project proposal addresses the theme of the UK/AU Season 'Who Are We Now?' 

Management - 25% 

The project proposal and budget are well planned and resourced. 

Total - 100%

Direct project costs include: 

• Individual/Professional fees 
• Equipment and materials 

The grant cannot cover international travel or visa costs.

The Recipient agrees to respond and contribute to the British Council’s evaluation processes by submitting a project report on completion of the project in accordance with the UK/Australia Season’s reporting guidance and participating in evaluation interviews before and after the Season as required. The Recipient agrees to participate in follow-up impact evaluation form / interview two years after the Season closes.

The UK/AU Season grant is organised by British Council Australia. Successful applicants need to ensure that the UK/AU Season is fully credited in all online/printed material and publicity associated with the project and all associated presenters publicly recognise UK/AU Season Alumni Digital Collaboration Grant’s support of the project.

Upon receipt of the applications, our assessment panel will review all applications and put forward those that meet the requirements. If your application does not meet these requirements, we will let you know at this stage. 

Unfortunately due to the volume of applications we anticipate, we are unable to provide feedback to applicants.

Projects will take place between 6 December 2021 – 28 February 2022

Documentation of the project detailing the findings, reflections and outcomes of each collaboration will be due Friday 11 March 2022 to be featured on the UK/AU Season website.

Two (2) check-in meetings will be set-up for each collaboration with Season staff, once at the start, and second mid-way through the collaboration.

A digital networking event will be arranged in December 2021 for all successful collaboration projects to attend and present their ideas to the wider selected group, helping to generate more connections.

Working with children* who are under 18 or with adults at risk**:

In the application form you will be asked to declare if your project is planning to work with these groups. If the answer is yes, then please provide details such as age group and / or why this group is at risk and also how they will be involved in your project. If your project is selected, we will work with you on how to complete a risk assessment according to British Council’s child protection and safeguarding policies. You will need to sign these documents. For further reading, please see the British Council’s statement on safeguarding.

* A child is defined in the British Council as anyone who has not reached their 18th birthday irrespective of the age of majority in the country where the child is, or in their home country.

**Adults at risk are people aged 18 years or over who:

• identify themselves as unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves from significant harm or exploitation; or

• are understood to be at risk, which may be due to frailty, homelessness, mental or physical health problems, learning or physical impairments, and/or the impact of disasters or conflicts

Data Protection

British Council will use the information that you are providing in connection with processing your application.

The legal basis for processing your information is agreement with our terms and conditions (i.e. this Notes for Applicants) of application. We may need to pass this information on to the following partner: National Culture and Arts Foundation for shortlisting purpose.

British Council complies with data protection law in the UK and laws in other countries that meet internationally accepted standards. You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold on you, and the right to ask us to correct any inaccuracies in that information. If you have concerns about how we have used your personal information, you also have the right to complain to a privacy regulator. For detailed information, please refer to the privacy section of the British Council’s or contact your local British Council office. We will keep your information for a period of 7 years from the time of collection.