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The Association of Commonwealth Universities | ACU
Application guidance

Supporting Research Community Training Grants

The application form requires the following details to be provided. As part of the application form, applicant institutions must: 

  • Describe the focus, goals and content of the training to be delivered. Training with practical aspects will be looked upon favourably.
  • State the target audience and the number of people who will benefit, including whether any training will be accessible by other ACU members.
  • Give detailed information about the trainer.
  • Describe the training format and platforms to be used.
  • Provide a detailed time plan, including preparation time and how much time is to be dedicated to each activity. The training must take place between August 2025 and 31 July 2026. Timelines that include gaps between sessions for participants to reflect and practice and give feedback will be looked upon favourably.
  • State the planned outcomes, showing the connection between objectives and outcomes and ensuring outcomes are measurable.
  • List the outputs – one output must be shareable with other ACU members.
  • Explain how the training will be evaluated and how success will be measured.
  • List the costs for which funding is to be claimed: these can include materials, trainer fees, staff time and data costs.
  • Provide a letter of support from a senior university leader that demonstrates buy-in from your university and how your university will support the training.  

One of the aims of the Supporting Research Community is to share knowledge and good practice through international collaboration. Therefore, we strongly encourage applicants to make their training available to other ACU member universities if possible. One output from the training must also be made available to be shared with other ACU member universities after the training takes place. 

Successful applicants will be required to submit a report into the training delivered, which compares the outcomes to those projected as part of the application and provides a list of attendees including their gender. Please ensure this is included in your workplan.