The Opportunity

We will award a total of five collaboration grants of £8,000. Three of these grants will be awarded to collaborations that are led by individuals and two will be awarded to collaborations led by organisations. Your projects will need to be delivered between November 2021 and April 2022.

What are we looking for?

We invite proposals for Crafting Futures Digital Collaboration grants that showcase radical thinking about:

• Working digitally in craft education and learning through making.
• How craft can benefit from the injection of digital technology in order to continue to influence economic, social and environmental sustainability.
• Inclusion and mutual engagement of marginalised, indigenous or female communities in a digital age.

Proposals must:

• Be completed together with the local collaborator evidencing how the project will be truly collaborative and mutual as well as indicating how local communities will benefit from the project and that it is locally relevant.
• Present an engaging and accessible method of sharing project outputs as widely as possible.
• Outline what success would look like.
• Indicate the learning goals of each collaborator.
• Include project outputs.

We seek project outputs that can be shared broadly with a wide range of audiences. Example project types:

• Virtual residencies, exhibitions, showcases or conferences
• Online archives
• Creative collaborations
• Research and development of project ideas
• Online craft skills and education
• Mixed, augmented and virtual reality projects
• Film, guide, learning kit or toolkit 

Who is eligible?

• The collaboration grant is open to craft practitioners, researchers, collectives, organisations, institutions or companies, or anyone with an interest in and knowledge of craft.

• The lead collaborator must be based in the UK. The lead collaborator will submit the application, will be contracted and responsible for leading communications and disseminating the grant to all collaborators.
• The funding must be split 50/50 between the collaborators.
• It is crucial that applicants evidence mutuality, true collaboration and a focus on the programme being delivered mutually across the UK and in overseas country/countries in their application rather than one of the collaborators being the lead expert.
• Applications must be a partnership between at least one UK collaborator and one or more collaborators based in one or more of the countries listed below.
• Applicants need to have a registered business bank account.

Eligible countries

UK, Brazil, Mexico, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Egypt, Iraq, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Turkey, Ukraine.

Find out more 

Read the full open call document here.

Read our FAQ document here.

Attend our briefing sessions on Monday 19 July at 12.00 PM BST to gain a better understanding and insight into what we are looking for. Sign up for the briefing session here.

How to apply

Please complete the online application form which includes details on your proposal, approach and proposed outputs; information about you and your collaborator and what you will both learn; and why you would benefit from being awarded the grant.

The Diversity Monitoring form must be sent separately via email to katia.stewart@britishcouncil.org for confidentiality purposes.

Applications should be completed by midnight (BST) on Sunday 22 August 2021, late applications will not be accepted.

Selection Process

Applications led by organisations will be reviewed separately to applications led by individuals. Applications will be checked to confirm they meet the basic eligibility criteria, and then assessed by a selection panel. We will invite a small number of applicants for informal discussions on Thursday 9th September and Friday 10th September.

The selection panel members are:

Katia Stewart, Global Programme Manager, Crafting Futures, British Council

Nicky Dewar, Learning and Skills Director, Crafts Council UK

Oyindamola Fakeye, West Africa Arts Associate Consultant, British Council

Karen Patel, Research Fellow based at Birmingham City University, research lead on AHRC funded UKRI/RCUK Innovation Fellowship Craft Expertise.