If you have previously applied for an ACU grant, you are welcome to apply again. However, please note if your previous application was successful and you have already received an ACU grant, you will not be eligible to reapply for the same grant.
Yes, you can apply for more than one grant.
An ACU member university can be awarded more than one grant within the same year. However, individuals cannot be awarded more than one grant within the same year.
Yes. However, although a member university is welcome to submit more than one grant application for different projects, the university could only be awarded up to one grant.
No, you can only make one application per grant.
No. We are only able to accept applications submitted via the myACU Application system and before the deadline specified for each grant.
If you are having issues with the application form, it is possible that you have not completed a required field or have entered the wrong type of data into the field. Check whether it requires a number or text.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their ACU Grant application, regardless of whether their application has been successful or not. The ACU aims to provide application outcomes promptly following the application assessment period.
It is not possible to provide individual feedback. Please ensure your answers are detailed and that you clearly respond to the questions and statements outlined in the application form.
Grantees are required to:
- Submit a final report after completing their project, a link for which will be sent to grantees in due course.
- This will include sharing any outputs (e.g. toolkits, papers, etc) developed through the grant awarded so that they can be made available to all ACU members.
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If you have indicated on your application form that you would like to open your project/training to other ACU members, send the ACU Grants Team the invitation information to be distributed accordingly.
Yes. If you received a 2023-24 grant you will need to take it up by July 2025. If you receive a 2024-25 grant you will need to take it up by July 2026. Please note that due to the selection process, projects/conferences taking place prior to August of the year of application cannot be funded.
Yes, you can accept additional funding to supplement your costs if the grant doesn’t cover all the costs required.
No, funding cannot be extended past the tenure of the grant. However, if the project overruns this date, the project completion date can be extended and the final report can be shared once the project has been completed.
Yes, this is fine, as long as this is related to the project that the ACU grant was awarded for.
ACU grants will be paid to the awardee’s university of employment. It is recommended that you get in touch with your university’s accounts/finance office as soon as you are notified of your provisional offer to avoid delays. You should ask for the following:
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Clarification on how your university disburses grant funds to staff as some universities set up new project accounts, which can take additional time.
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Bank details of the account through which the university will receive your grant funds.
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The contact details, including the email address, of the accounts officer who manages the bank account that will receive your grant.
The beginning of an academic career is defined as the start of employment within an institution. This is with the exception of those who have had career breaks. A career break is a period of time out from employment for personal or professional reasons, including to care for children.
Applicants need to either be chairing a session, presenting a paper, or presenting a poster.
Applicants need to be employed as an early career researcher/academic at an ACU member university to be eligible to apply.
Applicants need to be employed as an early career researcher/academic at an ACU member university to be eligible to apply.
If you have not travelled for work purposes, you are eligible to apply. The aim of the grant is to provide an opportunity to individuals who have not had the opportunity to attend an international conference before.
Yes, both full- and part-time staff are eligible to apply.
No. The grants only offer funding for conferences taking place in a Commonwealth country.
No, the ACU cannot act as a sponsor for visa purposes.
If you are unable to attend the conference of choice you applied for in your application, you should notify the ACU Grants Team as soon as possible. The Team will then advise if you are able to attend an alternative conference.
Yes, it is fine to use leftover funds towards another aspect of the conference funding.
All candidates should receive the outcome of their application by September 2024.
Yes, you will need to take it up from 1 November 2024 to July 2025.
As an example, a research project comparing LGBT rights in South Africa and Uganda would be eligible, and a project on the reform of colonial-era anti-LGBT legislation in India would also be eligible. However, a project on the role of Stonewall in advocating for LGBT rights in the UK would not. Also, a project on media bias or election law in Canada would not be eligible, but a project comparing Canada with Jamaica or Australia would.
The ACU Grants Team are not able to sign certificates.
Currently, we do not award certificates to ACU Grant Awardees. If you need to prove that you are an ACU Grant recipient, we recommend that you use your ACU Grant Offer Letter as proof of your award.
Please use the ‘contact us’ form to ask any additional questions.