Call for Proposals from UK Universities to partner with the British Council for Creative Economy Scholarships

UK higher education institutions are requested to submit proposals to partner with the British Council on scholarships (as per terms and conditions given) for Indian students at the Master’s level on Arts Management and Cultural Policy

1. Background

The creative economy is one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the world economy, and a highly transformative one in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. Cultural and creative industries are major drivers of economies. In addition to economic benefits, the cultural and creative industries also generate merit to people-centred value, sustainable urban development, development of creativity and culture, and contribute to the achievement of 2030 [1]Agenda. 

2. The context in India

We know from the current British Council, FICCI and Art X Company creative economy research, Taking the Temperature, (TTT2 report Nov 2020.cdr (britishcouncil.in) the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the creative industries in India is serious. Arts Management and effective culture policy at Government level is more important than ever at present.

There are limited Higher Education programmes in the creative economy, arts management or cultural policy in India and the expertise in this area of the creative economy is at a low point. Arts organisations are increasingly reliant on charitable giving, philanthropy and draw-down of free reserves to survive the coming months as the depth of the crisis extends into 2021.

2022 is the anniversary of India’s 75th year of Independence and planning is starting towards a UK-India season. The first cohort of Creative Economy students will graduate in summer 2022 forming an important nexus of cultural ambassadors for the 2022 programme. The Ambassador role for the Creative Economy scholars in support of the 2022 UK-India Season offers further opportunity to develop the skills of the scholars as future arts leaders and producers - central to strengthening the creative economy in India and South Asia.

3. Partnership focus and objectives

• The British Council will provide tuition fees and UK HEIs are requested to provide 20% discount on the published tuition fees.
• We are seeking to partner with the appropriate university with established post-graduate programmes in arts management and cultural policy.
• This funding will be for one year to pilot a Creative Economy Scholarship programme, which will support a UK master's for Indian students.

This call and programme will help address limited opportunities in the academic sphere in India by providing opportunities to candidates to complete a master’s degree in the United Kingdom. This scholarship opportunity will also provide opportunities to share:

• Sharing UK arts with the world​
• Enabling cultural exchange for international connections
• Developing creative people, practice and sectors​
• Enabling creative responses to global challenges ​

This project will in particular:

• Ensure scholar selection will be based on an individual’s academic potential and demonstrated case for financial support. We will be particularly encouraging of women whose identities include multiple intersecting factors, including race, class, and religion, and women who are single mothers.
• Provide selected scholars with a foundation to launch their careers in creative economy and research in their home country.
• Enable individuals to promote and enhance creative economy opportunities in India through their exposure to the expertise in the UK’s renowned creative economy sector.
• Ensure scholars create strong and lasting connections with the UK through active engagement in the alumni network, directly contributing towards/supporting the success of this programme in possible future iterations of the Scholarship.
• Provide a platform for India and the UK to work together to address the significant opportunities in creative economy

4. Opportunity for UK Higher Education Institutions

This call seeks proposals from UK institutions, with a commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) values, who wish to host Scholars, in an eligible programme in the field of creative economy.

• This programme will cover tuition fees, for full-time study, a 1-year Master’s programme in the UK, beginning in September/October 2021.
• Please consider that the programmes selected should meet the spirit of ODA, with the potential to focus on outcomes that promote the long-term sustainable growth.  

5. Terms and conditions for UK Higher Education Institutions

• British Council will contribute 150K GBP towards this scholarship to the selected UKHEI.
• The participating UKHEI is requested to offer 20 per cent discount on the published tuition fee to the selected scholar awardees.
• UKHEI should be T4 sponsors
• The UKHEI will nominate students for the scholarship as per their prescribed format and share them with British Council who will then the students for the scholarship. The final decision on selection of the students will be with British Council.
• After confirmation of award, and payment transfer to the UKHEI, if the scholar decides to withdraw from the scholarship, the UKHEI can nominate a new candidate after confirmation from British Council on who will be the candidate with the same eligibility criteria within 10 working days from the date of withdrawal of the scholar. If the new scholar nomination is accepted, no extra funds will be transferred to meet higher costs of tuition.
• After confirmation of award, and payment transfer to the UKHEI, if the scholar decides to withdraw from the award, and the UKHEI is unable to nominate a new candidate, the full paid amount will be refunded back to British Council before July 31, 2021.
• Once the UKHEI and the scholar has confirmed the programme and course details, no change in course area will be permitted without prior approval from the British Council. In exceptional conditions, if a request for course change is made, it will need to be within the arts management and cultural policy field of study and no additional payments will be made towards higher tuition costs.
• Selected scholars cannot accept any additional funding towards tuition that will be covered by the British Council India Creative Economy Scholarships.
• Selected scholars will need to make their own financial arrangements for their boarding, living and other on-campus expenses.
• Selected candidates will need to participate in all trainings, professional development and networking opportunities provided by the British Council in India and the UK. 
• Selected candidates must act as a brand ambassador for the British Council and India while in UK. British Council will engage with the scholars all through the study period for this.
• Scholars are expected to engage on social media platforms during their stay in the UK and share their experiences about studying in the UK.
• On return from the UK, scholars need to maintain contact with the British Council and contribute as a brand ambassador for Study UK by attending interviews and share experiences on platforms such as exhibitions and the pre-departure events.
• UKHEIs interested to apply are encouraged to read the British Council polices as annex.

6. How will the programme be managed?

The UK University selected to receive scholars will go through a screening process and shall then sign a Grant Agreement with the British Council. This Grant Agreement will detail all items to be funded, payment methods, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting requirements. A template Grant Agreement can be found in the Annexes of this Call. (There might be some change to the template/clauses when it is finalised.)

The UK Universities will also be responsible for reporting proof of enrolment in the Master’s programme by the end of September 2021.

7. Timeline

      Please consider the following timeline for the implementation of this programme:

8. Proposals and selection criteria                

     The following selection criteria will be used:

If eligible institutions are awarded evaluation scores within 5% of each other, the British Council reserves the right to award the grant with consideration to the geographical spread of institutions across the UK.

All participating institutions will be informed of the results of the bid, and written feedback will be provided upon request. Appeals can be received by 20 February 2021 and will be reviewed by
25 February 2021.  Any complaints will be taken seriously and processed in line with our Global complaints policy.

Interested UK HEIs are requested to fill out the form and submit by 01 February 2021 to CreativeEconomy.Scholarships@britishcouncil.org