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Applying for an Archaeology Legacy Grants Scheme

In order to make an application for funding you will need to familiarise yourself with the ‘Guidelines for applicants’ document.

Please click here to access the online application form.

How to apply

Applicants are required to submit a detailed application form online, including:

  • A letter verifying relevant competencies from one named referee who is independent of the project.

  • Detailed costings of proposed project.

  • Applicants are required to inform the RIA of any potential conflicts of interest. In this regard applicants proposing to employ family members or spouses during the course of a funded project are required to disclose this to the RIA in advance of the drawdown of funds.

  • A clear outline of all efforts made to obtain additional funding from other sources and details of plans for both funding which is already secured and funding requested in this application.

  • A justification for funding the project again, including an explanation of the renewed commitment or altered circumstance for the project. Please ask your referee to confirm this.

  • If applicant is not the licence holder, correspondence from the licence holder confirming approval for application to be submitted or relevant permission from NMI/NMS in cases where the original license holder is deceased or not in a position to progress themselves.

  • Where relevant a copy of a quote received from proposed specialist/s

The following stages, costs and activities of an RIA-funded Legacy Project will be considered for funding:

  • Post-excavation Assessment – a thorough assessment of the outstanding post-excavation needs of the project, and a programme for completion of same; including a description of the site record, production of artefacts and ecofact catalogues, a structured stratigraphic account of the archaeological remains excavated, and a clear picture of the intended post-excavation analyses, interpretation and dissemination to follow.

  • Further post-excavation to lead to completion of a final excavation report as per licence/consent and grant condition, including the production of plans/sections for publication, illustration of finds, specialist reports on artefacts and ecofacts, radiocarbon dates and other scientific analyses.

  • Necessary conservation work on artefacts and preparation and listing of finds according to National Museum of Ireland guidelines to enable their accession to the National Museum

  • Publication and dissemination of the project (distinct from final excavation report as per licence/consent condition) including editing and production of additional illustrations as necessary.

  • Completion of the project, including archiving and accession of project records and artefacts to NMS and NMI as appropriate

Costs and activities which are ineligible

  • Applications from any applicant with one or more excavation reports outstanding to the Licensing Authority unless they have agreed a submission date for outstanding licenses and have official Compliance Letter from NMS agreeing to this;

  • institutional overheads, or any element that should properly be ascribed to institutional overheads; computer hardware including laptops, electronic notebooks, digital cameras, etc; lab / bench fees, books and other permanent resources

  • Applications from any applicant who has been previously funded by the Academy for projects which have not been completed to the standard required by the grant conditions;

  • An application will be deemed ineligible if it does not include all required supporting documentation and confirmations listed below; and

  • Applicants are not allowed to claim a directorial salary from funds awarded. The grant, upon the submission of vouched expenses, may be used to pay out of pocket directorial expenses accrued as a result of working on the project e.g. travel, accommodation, subsistence etc.

Who can apply

  • This scheme is only open to post-excavation research (including publication and/or archiving) for Archaeological Research Excavations which were previously funded by the Royal Irish Academy and whose RIA excavation funding ended at least five years ago, here termed RIA-funded Legacy Project

  • This scheme is open to archaeological researchers/archaeologists for work in Ireland (not including Northern Ireland). Undergraduate, postgraduate students, or PhD candidates may not be the lead applicant but may be involved in an application.

  • The Committee does not normally consider projects where the applicant is not the excavation licence holder (unless there are exceptional circumstances which will be examined on a case-by-case basis). If the applicant is not the original licence holder, the applicant must demonstrate that s/he has full access to all the surviving records, finds and samples from the excavation and the approval to carry out this work from the licence holder, if s/he is still alive, or of the institution to which the licence holder belonged, if s/he is deceased.

It is anticipated that decisions in relation to this scheme will be communicated before the end of November 2022. Please note that the RIA will not fund retrospective activities which means that no part of your proposed project may begin before you receive your decision letter. All projects must be completed by the 1st November 2023.

The Archaeology Legacy Grants Scheme opens on 9th September and the deadline for applications is 21st October 2022.

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