Code of Practice (“the Code”) for consideration of applications for research funding made to the AIA Educational & Benevolent Trust (“the Trust”).
This Code of Practice describes the standards of transparency by which the Trust abides in administering applications for research awards and other proposals for support, and embodies the principles of equity, integrity and confidentiality for all who are involved in the assessment of proposals. The Code is intended to act as guidance to Trustees and assessors in discharging the responsibilities placed on them in assessing proposals, and sets out the proper conduct expected of them.
For each of its schemes for research awards, the Trust issues guidelines on the information to be supplied by applicants in support of bids for funds, details of the criteria against which the application will be assessed, and the process and timescale for assessment of the application.
Applicants are required to submit the application formally online to indicate that the information provided therein is, to the best of their knowledge, complete and accurate. The Trust is compliant with the GDPR and adheres to the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018. Applicants should be aware that information they provide will be stored and circulated as necessary for the assessment procedures to be followed. Successful applicants should be aware that the information they provide on the application form may be copied to the relevant authorised officer in their employing institution as necessary for the award procedures to be followed, and information on the status of their award may be made available to the relevant authorised officer in their employing institution by the Trust as necessary for the conditions of award to be fulfilled. In cases where the principal output from the project is the creation of a digital resource, applicants should be aware that details of the project, and contact details of the principal applicant, may be passed to the relevant national Data Services providers for evaluation or contact purposes.
Application forms will be retained for ten years in the case of successful applications, and five years in the case of unsuccessful applications, and may be consulted by the Trust in the event of future applications being submitted. Details of award holders (including name, institution, project details and amount of award) will be used to compile published lists of award-holders which will be made available on the Internet, and to produce statistical and historical information on Trust awards. Queries submitted under the terms of the Data Protection Act about the processing of personal data should be addressed to the AIA Data Protection Officer. Submitting the online application form constitutes the applicant's agreement to all terms, conditions, and notices contained in the Application Guidance.
Personal information provided by applicants will be used for monitoring and statistical purposes only, and at no stage will it form any part of the assessment process.
The Trust is committed to a policy of equal opportunities in that applicants will receive equal treatment, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, age (except where the conditions of the scheme specify otherwise) or disability.
The Trust requires the research it funds to be conducted in an ethical manner.
The following considerations apply to all proposals:
Additionally, proposals may raise considerations of the use of sensitive social, economic or political data. Wherever necessary, appropriate consent should be obtained from or on behalf of participants or others affected by the research.
Applicants should indicate whether their proposed research raises any special ethical issues, and whether their application has been approved by a relevant authority. Independent researchers without access to formal ethical scrutiny and approval should briefly describe any special ethical issues, and explain how they will be addressed.
All applications are judged on their academic merit through a stringent process of peer review by appropriate experts.
Applicants are informed by email of the outcome of their application. Feedback is not provided on applications, except in cases where external evaluation may have been sought. Applicants are informed in the notes of guidance whether feedback can be expected as a feature of a grant application. The Trust is regretfully unable to enter into correspondence concerning its decisions on awarding grants.
Recipients of awards are made aware of the regulations governing the scheme in which they have been successful and are required to adhere to those regulations.
The competition for research awards is intense and many high-quality applications may not receive support. All applications receive careful scrutiny, in the context of competing claims on available funding.
Appeals may therefore not be made against the academic judgement of the Trust's assessors, panels, or Committees. The sole ground on which an appeal may be made is one of improper procedure. Anyone wishing to make an appeal against a decision should write to the Chair of the Trustees no later than two months after the result of the competition is announced, citing the specific decision and setting out clearly the substantive basis of the appeal. Only applicants themselves may appeal, though they may include supporting letters as relevant. The Chair of the Trustees will respond in writing within 30 days.
Those who undertake the assessment of applications are required to give an undertaking that all information which they acquire in the discharge of their duties be kept confidential and not be transmitted to any persons other than in accordance with the prescribed procedures for the selection process.
All reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that such information is kept in a secure place and in due course disposed of in a secure fashion (or returned to the Trust). Information provided to assessors in an application for funding may only be used for the purposes of evaluating the proposal in accordance with the Trust's guidelines.
Those who undertake the responsibility of assessing applications for funds, either in writing or through membership of awards committees, are required to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest and observe the following guidelines:
Assessors are normally drawn from subject-specific experts, and it is expected that they will be able to evaluate the proposals sent to them.
