The Award

Culture for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace (CUSP) received a Development Award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to conduct the groundwork for a larger project. Launching on the 1st June 2019 the DA set out to:

  1. Strengthen and capacitate the research base on conflict transformation and cultures of peace through mutual design of full Network Plus application
  2. Meet in person to capacitate all partners to carry out decolonising research
  3. Develop partners’ capabilities to progress the Network Plus proposal and/or the knowledge and know-how to actively pursue funding calls

This funding allowed all partners to work online together, across borders, to develop the CUSP Network Plus proposal thus ensuring that both academic and non-academic partners could help shape the full proposal and prepare for interview. The DA set in place the structures needed for CUSP N+ whilst also strengthening capacity in non-academic partner organisations.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, part of objective 2 of the DA, for all partners to meet in Ghana, could not be met. Instead, induction and capacitating were carried out through a series of online meetings. The remaining funds were used to further strengthen capacity and/or internet access in partner organisations.

Award dates: 1st July 2019 – 30th June 2020 (extended to 31 Dec 2020 due to Covid-19)

Award Value: £60,000 & £100,000 Inception funding

AHRC GCRF Grant Reference: AH/T005424/1

PI: Dr Giovanna Fassetta

We foresee that the CUSP Development Award will make a contribution to the welfare of people in CUSP’s LMIC partner countries (i.e. Ghana, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine and Zimbabwe).

1

This will be achieved through the strengthening of academic and non-academic institutions and organisations, in line with SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) by:

  • Capacitating local researchers to carry out investigation on conflict transformation and cultures of peace through the mutual design and sharing of full CUSP Network Plus application;
  • Developing peer-learning sessions on decolonising research methodologies during a face-to-face meeting

2

The economic development and the welfare of people in partner LMIC countries, in line with SDG 16, by:

  • Empowering non-academic partners to actively pursue funding calls to meet the needs and priorities they have identified by sharing knowledge and know-how on UKRI funding requirements and processes

3

The welfare of women and girls in CUSP partner countries, in line with SDG 5 (gender equality and empower all women and girls) by:

  • Actively encouraging the participation of women at all stages of the full CUSP Network Plus application Ensuring that LMIC women’s needs and priorities are central to the full development of CUSP Network Plus full application;
  • Ensuring that the majority of participants at the face-to-face meeting are women