Being Human Festival is the UK’s national festival of the humanities – a place-based celebration of humanities research through public engagement.
Each year the festival invites researchers at universities and other research organisations to collaborate with local community and cultural partners to create exciting and engaging events and projects for all to enjoy. Such events are expected to take place off campus.
Being Human Festival 2025 will take place from 6 to 15 November, with the theme ‘Between the Lines’ – a space of hidden histories, shifting borders, and unspoken meanings. From migration routes that redraw the map to the traces of erased histories, to the margins of a poem, and the frontlines of protest, we invite researchers to explore boundaries, crossings, and intersections—and the spaces in between—where meaning is made and remade.
ELIGIBLITY
Projects and initiatives funded by the festival should be planned and delivered by professional researchers at a Higher Education Institution or an AHRC-recognised independent research organisation. The definition of professional researchers includes university lecturers and researchers (at any career stage), curators and research librarians.
Applications that show evidence of collaboration with internal colleagues or external partners, or that build on successful past collaborations, are welcome. The festival is also keen to support partnerships in which the external partners are providing substantial input to the application and activities, such as through coproducing and co-developing the activities.
VALUE
Two types of grants are offered:
Institutional Grants of £4000-£8000 to coordinate and deliver a Festival Hub:
- Intended to support the development of institutional capacity for public engagement activity in the humanities (e.g. by offering opportunities for public engagement teams to do something humanities-focused, to try something new or to work with new communities).
- For working with multiple cultural/community partners (e.g. a school, charity, arts organisation) across a programme of 4-8 separate events delivered in a range of formats.
Festival Grants of up to £4000 to run a single event or multiple events:
- Designed to support ambitious, ‘best practice’ activities that would not run without financial support from the festival.
- Can be used to fund projects culminating in either a single event or a small series of activities (if used to run a small series of events, you are encouraged to think about the events as a coherent series of related events, and to convey the relationship between the events in your application).
- Projects are usually led by individual researchers.
Festival events funded through these grants must engage with carefully chosen cultural or community partners (e.g. school, a charity, an arts organisation etc.), engage with priority audiences, and support excellent two-way public engagement with humanities research.
In addition to grant-specific support, all festival organisers will have access to the following support and resources:
- Training programme run throughout the festival year for practical advice on designing, planning, promotion and delivery of your project.
- Public engagement toolkits, resources and helpful advice from the festival team.
- Guides to promoting your event that contain hints and tips about marketing and press.
- Copies of Being Human print and digital materials geared towards promoting the national festival and access to other marketing materials to promote your activity.
- Templates you can use to produce your own marketing materials (posters, banners, digital and PowerPoint templates).
- Support from the central Being Human social media accounts.
While there is no rule against organisations submitting multiple applications for funding, they are encouraged to apply for an Institutional Grant where there is widespread interest and an opportunity to collaborate. The Research, Innovation and Impact Office will therefore be running a coordinated bid process. Please email researchoffice@worc.ac.uk to discuss your proposal in the first instance.
KEY DATES
Webinar: 27 February 2025*
Deadline: 10 April 2025 (5pm)
While the main activity should take place within the festival dates (6-15 November), funded projects can incorporate elements of activity outside the festival dates, working directly with communities.
*This webinar is part of a series of Being Human Festival training sessions exploring public engagement with research. The sessions will be led by expert facilitators with experience in their field and the Being Human Festival team. While the sessions are primarily aimed at those taking part, or thinking of taking part, in Being Human Festival, they are open to all. The sessions run from February to October 2025. Sign up to each session here.
Further details can be found in the supporting documents below and on the Being Human Festival website, where you will find additional resources including case studies and toolkits.