ARTS & HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL

APPOINTMENT TO ADVISORY BOARD, 2020 / 2021

The Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is seeking expressions of interest from suitably experienced individuals to join its Advisory Board in September 2020 or September 2021.

The Higher Education and Research Act (2017) established a new body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI leads the development and delivery of a research and innovation strategy, which maximises the advancement of knowledge and economic and social impact based on more and better evidence and data.  It will ensure that the UK research and innovation system is sufficiently strategic and agile to deliver national capability that drives discovery and economic growth or benefit, whilst maintaining the key characteristics of the current system that have underpinned the UK’s success.

The 2017 Act requires that UKRI has in place nine Councils, with their own fields of activity, each led by an Executive Chair.  Eight of these Councils take on the role of the seven former research councils and Innovate UK, and will operate across the whole of the UK.  The remaining Council, Research England, delivers the research and knowledge exchange functions of the former Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), operating in England. 

As one of the nine Councils, AHRC’s mission is to:

• fund outstanding original research across the whole range of the arts and humanities
• promote interdisciplinarity both within the arts and humanities and between the arts and humanities and other disciplines
• train the next generation of arts and humanities researchers and support skills development throughout the career cycle
• promote knowledge exchange between arts and humanities research and a range of other sectors, including the creative industries, the heritage sector, and health services
• establish and develop research partnerships in the UK, in Europe and across the world with museums, galleries, and other cultural and heritage institutions; with other funding agencies; with the third sector, both in the UK and in the Global South; and with government departments
• promote, through research, understanding and recognition of human and cultural difference
• embed equality, diversity and inclusion in all our processes
• articulate the value of arts and humanities research to government and to the wider public
• maximize the public benefit – economic, social and cultural – of the research that we fund.

The role of the AHRC Advisory Board is to advise AHRC’s Council and Executive on the development and implementation of research and innovation strategy, consistently with AHRC’s mission, within its subject remit, including by engaging with the UK arts and humanities academic community and acting as a channel of communication between it and the AHRC Council and Executive.

Applications are welcome from individuals at any career stage with an appropriate range of expertise and professional experience in research and innovation, including in higher education, industry and commerce, and policy and/or civil society, reflecting the various user communities of research that fall within AHRC’s subject remit (please see the Arts and Humanities Research Council website, https://ahrc.ukri.org/).

Attached are the Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board https://ahrc.ukri.org/documents/guides/advisory-board-terms-of-reference-2020/ which outline the expertise and professional experience AHRC requires for Advisory Board members.

If you are interested in joining the Advisory Board, please submit an Expression of Interest form Expression of Interest form (Word, 92KB) (in no more than 500 words) how you meet the criteria, together with a short CV (no longer than 2 sides of A4) and the Equal Opportunities form Equal Opportunities form (Word, 40KB) (which is not seen by the selection panel) to Rose Easton at governance@ahrc.ukri.org by the deadline of 28 August 2020.

Interviews will take place the week commencing 14 September 2020.

UKRI is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all.  Applications from women, those with a disability, and members of minority ethnic groups, who are currently under-represented at senior levels in the research and innovation community, are especially encouraged. AHRC will also seek to ensure a healthy balance of disciplinary, institutional and regional representation on the Advisory Board.

Members will be appointed for a period of either two or three years.

Advisory Board members receive an annual honorarium for attendance. This is premised on an expected 20 days contribution per year. Appropriate travel and accommodation expenses will be reimbursed in line with AHRC’s Travel and Expenses Policy.

If you have any questions concerning this opportunity, please contact Rose Easton at governance@ahrc.ukri.org