The British Council Access English project aims to facilitate the production of innovative research to benefit the learning and teaching of English in East Asia by co-funding a number of partnership awards.

Who may apply?
Any person resident in Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam with an affiliation to an educational institution. The award agreement may be with either the individual or the institution.

Note: The research must take place in one of the countries mentioned above.

What type of activity can be considered?
The British Council is interested in research within the following areas:

• The use of technology in Assessment and Evaluation
• Standards and competencies for English teachers
• English language testing and assessment and applications of the CEFR
• English language programme evaluation

However, proposals for any research activity relating directly to the assessment of English as a foreign, second, or additional language will be considered.

There must be a clear research output which must be in a form that can be shared publicly and without cost throughout the world.

In addition to this output, researchers are encouraged to publish further outputs elsewhere, for example in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences.

The research must not have already taken place or be under way.

Successful applicants must produce a final article on the project. This would normally include the rationale, methodology, findings, discussion and implications, and references.

The research output / final article must be in English (though there may be a version in another language as well).

Funding will only be agreed for a maximum initial period of one year.

This scheme is not intended to fund the field work of Ph.D. candidates or similar.

We define research as original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge and understanding.

How will an award be made?
A panel of ELT specialists will evaluate each proposal against a series of criteria. Director of English of the British Council East Asia will make a final decision on how to allocate awards, taking into account the recommendations of the panel on each proposal, and the overall balance of the portfolio of awards.

We may ask the advice of external experts on an in-confidence basis as part of the evaluation. We reserve the right to contact applicants to request or negotiate an amendment to any aspect of the proposal, including budget items, in order to best meet the objectives of the scheme.

What criteria will the British Council apply in judging whether to make an award?

• The potential impact of the research on ELT practice.
• The relevance of the project and research output to ELT professionals.
• The quality of the research design and the qualifications and experience of the researcher(s).
• The amount of funding requested and proportion of funding from other sources.
• The proposals contribution to the aims of the scheme, including international research collaboration where appropriate.

What amount of award will be made?

• Awards may be made for amounts up to a maximum of 2K GBP per project
• We do not expect the partnership awards to cover the full costs of the research , but to fund essential elements of the research without which the research would not take place. Proposals should make clear how the other costs of the research will be funded. Proposers of jointly funded research must agree to the full conditions of the award (see below).
• The proposal must make clear what expenditure items the award will fund. The scheme will not fund items of equipment which institutions would normally be expected to possess (for example computing equipment including laptops). Nor will it fund conference or seminar attendance unless specifically invited to do so by British Council
• Our standard timing for the payment of awards will be 50% on acceptance of the award, and 50% following the receipt of a satisfactory final report. However, individual needs will be taken into account.

What are the conditions of the partnerships?

• The British Council will own the intellectual property rights of the research output / final report or enjoy a licence to disseminate the research output / final article at its own discretion with no limitation on time or territory. This will be specified in individual letters of agreement.
• The proposer, institution, and researchers must explicitly acknowledge the support of the British Council through the British Council Access English Research Partnerships Scheme in any written or spoken dissemination of the research process and all outputs arising from it.
• The British Council reserves the right to make freely and publicly available information on the proposal form of successful proposals, any reports and research output.
• The British Council will inform applicants of whether the proposal is successful of not. It will not offer feedback, enter into further discussions, or offer advice on proposals. The decision of the British Council regarding research awards is final.
• Successful proposers must satisfy the British Council that the expenditure has been incurred in accordance with the original proposal.
• Proposers must agree to the terms and conditions of the scheme, which will be outlined in detail in a grant letter to successful applicants.

What are the benefits of the award to the successful proposer?

• Financial support which enables the research to take place.
• Dissemination of the research by the British Council as an example of quality research with full acknowledgement of the researchers and their affiliated institutions.
• The right to refer to the research as funded by the British Council Access English Award scheme.

How will the research be disseminated by the British Council?

• While we are still planning how research proposals and outputs will be disseminated, we currently envisage:
• Announcements of partnerships and project summaries to be posted on British Council websites.
• Full research outputs and project articles as appropriate to be published on British Council websites.
• Annual hardcopy, digital and e-book compilations of selected project outputs and reports to be published and distributed to British Council ELT contacts worldwide.
• Invitations to researchers to attend relevant meetings, seminars, conferences worldwide with the support of British Council and its partners at the British Council’s discretion.

What is the timeframe for BCAER Awards?

• Proposals must be received in by the British Council by 30 November 2011
• Decision on awards will be made by 15 December 2011
• The final report of the research project must be delivered By 30 November 2012

How can I apply?
All applications for a research award proposal must be submitted within the BCAER application form. Send the completed form to: mina.patel@britishcouncil.org.

Deadline: 30 November 2011

For more information, please visit official website: www.britishcouncil.org.

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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is current and correct. However, applicants should contact the appropriate administering body before making an application, as details do change frequently.