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Background

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) has the responsibility of allocating and administering funding provided jointly on an annual basis by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage through the National Monuments Service, the Department for Communities Northern Ireland through the Historic Environment Division, and the RIA.

No one grant will exceed 50% of the total grant funding for the year. It is expected that grants will be made in the region of €5,000. Grant decisions will be subject to funding available in the two separate jurisdictions.

You can apply to ARG here.

The full guidelines for the scheme are here.

All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie with the subject line: ARG

Please read all information in the sections below before making an application.

A hand held play upon which is a large dark marine shell.

Background

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) Standing Committee for Archaeology (‘the Committee’) has the responsibility of allocating and administering funding provided annually by the National Monuments Service (NMS) of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for research into the archaeology of the Brú na Bóinne and Sceilg Mhichíl World Heritage Properties and of the following Tentative List sites announced in 2022:

1. The Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo;
2. Transatlantic Cable Ensemble: Valentia, County Kerry – Heart’s Content, Newfoundland and Labrador; and,
3. The Royal Sites of Ireland: Dún Ailinne; Hill of Uisneach; Rock of Cashel; Rathcroghan; Tara, and Emain Macha/Navan Fort.

Applicants are asked to read details of the scheme below carefully before submitting an application. The guidelines document can also be downloaded here.

You can apply to the ARWHS here.

All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie with the subject line: ARWHS

Dark skyline under which a mound is visible and encircled by a number of large stones including one highly decorated kerb stone.

Background

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) Standing Committee for Archaeology (‘the Committee’) has the responsibility of allocating and administering funding provided annually by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage through the National Monuments Service.

Applicants are asked to read all details of the scheme below carefully before submitting an application. The guidelines document can also be downloaded here.

The average grant awarded has previously been in the region of €20,000.

If applying for excavation, each application must cover excavation and post-excavation requirements for that season.

You can apply to AREG here.

All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie with the subject line: AREG

Four people inside an excavation trench in an upland area. The background shows further hills and fields.

Background

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in association with Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) offers radiocarbon dating for up to twelve samples per annum to be used for the purposes of archaeological research in Ireland. A minimum of two out of the twelve radiocarbon dates offered are exclusively allocated to students each year. A maximum of five samples can be applied for but may not all be awarded.

Applicants are asked to read details of the scheme below carefully before submitting an application.

You can apply to the scheme here.

All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie with the subject line Radiocarbon dates

Details of the scheme

Background

The Royal Irish Academy, together with the National Monuments Service are pleased to invite applications for this scheme which supports research and analysis connected to archival artefacts and other excavation-related material arising from non-RIA excavations of sites in Ireland (including Northern Ireland).

No one grant will exceed 50% of the total grant funding for the year. It is expected that grants of €5,000-€20,000 will be made.

You can apply to the AARG here.

All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie with the subject line: AARG 

Please read all information in the sections below before making an application. The guidelines document can also be downloaded here.

Details of Grant scheme

Background

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) Standing Committee for Archaeology (‘the Committee’) has the responsibility of allocating and administering funding provided annually by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage through the National Monuments Service.

The maximum award available to a project under this round of funding is €30,000.

Applications for 2025 are now invited. Applicants are asked to read all details of the scheme below carefully before submitting an application. The guidelines document can also be downloaded here.

You can apply to the ALG scheme here.

All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie with the subject line ‘Archaeology Legacy Projects’.

Supporting Material

Applying for a Nowlan Grant

The scheme aims to expand the range of digitised historical and archaeological sources available through open and free access to researchers, for private study or education purposes. Proposals can take two forms:

  1. The digitisation of a historical or archaeological source or sources (including making it searchable and freely available online)
    or
  2. The updating of existing digital historical or archaeological resources to enable continued online public access

Key Points

  • The intention of these grants is to fund research focusing on professional digitisation with a distinct and identifiable standalone output of making a body of information accessible to anyone upon completion of the project
  • Proposals are welcomed for a clearly defined standalone project accessible on an institutional website, to be completed within the Grant programme timeline (completion by end April 2025)
  • In line with the Academy’s focus on ensuring long term preservation and access to digital collections, all projects must also make their digital outputs and metadata available to the Royal Irish Academy for inclusion in the Digital Repository of Ireland (please see further details in guidelines document)..
  • The purpose of this grant is to provide support for the direct costs of digitising material, up to a maximum of €10,000
  • All applicants must be the copyright holders of the original data, be acting on their behalf, or the work must be out of copyright
  • All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie

Nowlan Grants Application Form

Information required to apply for 2024

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

Funding available

The scheme will be competitive, and there is no lower limit on the amount requested but it is anticipated that Grants will be made in the region of €8,000-€10,000

Costs and activities which are eligible

  • Invoices for services rendered as part of project
  • Salary payments specific to project (as the Academy can only reimburse costs which are supported by evidence of payment, any request to reimburse salary costs must be supported by evidence that the salary has been paid (in the form of payslips, paid invoices etc.) from the employing body)
  • Research costs
  • Limited consumables (to a maximum of €1000)

The only expenses payable are the costs directly related to the research being carried out, up to a maximum of €10,000.

All expenses must be supported with vouched expenditure. Please note that these costs are subject to the maximum subsistence rates (link is external)as set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Academy does not pay per diem rates and will only cover expenses that are vouched by receipt.

Costs and activities which are ineligible

  • Grants will not be made retrospectively i.e. the work for which the support is requested must not have commenced before the grant decision is communicated
  • An application will not be accepted if there is a report outstanding or any outstanding funds to be returned on any previous research grant awarded by the Academy to the principal investigator or co-investigator(s) named in the current application
  • Costs which are already funded by another grant or alternative source

Who can apply

  • Researchers (PhD students and onwards) in the field of Irish History based in a third level institution who are on a permanent contract or temporary contract that will not end during the course of the grant
  • Applicants can submit one application per grant round
  • Applicants should be ordinarily resident and working on the island of Ireland (including Northern Ireland)
  • Applicants may hold a maximum of two Nowlan Academy awards in any five-year period

Criteria and assessment priorities

Each application will be assessed on the following criteria:

  • Academic merit, taking into account originality and the scholarly importance of potential research based on the digitised source
  • Demonstrable ability and experience of applicant to carry out the proposed project
  • Suitability of methodology
  • Feasibility of project within time scale (All projects must be completed, and all associated reports and invoices/financial details submitted by end April 2024).
  • Added value of digitising the proposed source or restoration to public use of an existing digital source
  • Intended outcomes

Submission deadline

The Nowlan Grants Scheme opens from 22 February 2024 until Thursday 11 April 2024. All queries can be sent to grants@ria.ie

Information for Nowlan Digitisation grantees

Those successful for this grant will be notified of the outcome via written letter.

Acceptance Procedure (please read carefully)

  • Please email ‘grants@ria.ie’ indicating your willingness to accept the award, and note the below requirements, by Monday 19th June 2023. In all email correspondence please use the subject line: Nowlan Digitisation Grant scheme and your name.
  • After your acceptance of the grant and any related conditions, our Finance department will contact you under separate cover to request the financial information required. If your institution is administering the award on your behalf, then we require the bank details of the institution. We may also request tax clearance verification details, where necessary.  Failure to submit your details to accounts will delay the grant drawdown.
  • Please note that as per the guidelines for the scheme the uppermost limit for each collection is 50GB. All successful grantees must contact the DRI (k.long@ria.ie) for advice regarding file formats and best practice in digital preservation. Confirmation of this contact is required before grant drawdowns are processed.
  • You may proceed with making your own arrangements for the initiation of the project following the submission of the required financial information and contact with DRI (as noted above). We will begin the payment process for 50% of the grant once the acceptance procedure has been completed and a payment account has been set up. It is advisable to allow up to a month between completion of the above acceptance process and the start date of the project, to allow for the processing of the draw down.

Final payment and Reporting guidelines – by Friday 31st May 2024

  • The remaining 50% will be paid on receipt of your detailed report, which will include a fully vouched and detailed statement of expenditure using the template available here. Deadline for submission of your report is Friday 31st May 2024. The report form, which will be available online or on request from grants@ria.ie, will require details of the central objectives, primary methodology used, research findings/outcomes and/or milestones achieved. This report will also require you to outline your plans for disseminating your findings. You must also give due acknowledgement to the RIA Nowlan Digitisation Scheme in any resulting publication (see the enclosed guidelines for acknowledging funding).

Additional notes (please read as these are important):

  • It should be noted that the sum allocated is the maximum to be awarded and the final amount which you will be reimbursed will be based on vouched expenditure (based on invoices submitted for services rendered and other invoiced costs). Part of the reporting procedure will require you to submit any and all receipts for costs incurred in relation to the project, as any unspent funds or costs for which there is no receipt included must be returned to the Academy.
  • This grant is subject to the maximum travel and subsistence allowances as set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. As stated above only vouched expenditure is permitted and must be within the maximums laid out above.  Please note that these are subject to change.
  • Please note that expenses listed as ineligible in the notes to applicants during the application process cannot be claimed.
  • You must also ensure that the ‘Guidelines for acknowledging funding’ are followed including use of the RIA logo as outlined.

Who was Kevin B. Nowlan?

Kevin B. Nowlan (1921-2013) was a Dublin-born scholar who taught history at University College Dublin, 1948-1986. He was a founding member of many cultural associations, particularly those focused on architectural preservation. Kevin B. Nowlan was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1977 and served as Vice-President, 1980-1983 and 1985-1989. Professor Nowlan left a generous bequest to the Academy which has funded The Kevin B. Nowlan Digitisation Grant scheme.

Kevin B. Nowlan Papers

Black and white portrait of Kevin B Nowlan.