ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) 2019-2023

The University was awarded a £1M Impact Acceleration Account 2019-2023 by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), a block grant to accelerate the impact of research. This funding programme ended in March 2023.

Knowledge Exchange with the Faulty of Arts and Social Sciences

Project Funding - now closed to applications

The ESRC IAA responsive mode funding ended with the last call in July 2022 and the funding programme ended in March 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact us esrciaa@lancaster.ac.uk

What is an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)?

IAAs allow us to respond to impact opportunities in more flexible, responsive and creative ways. They provide us with agility and flexibility to make decisions about how to invest IAA funding in ways that best suit our institutional strategies and opportunities. The IAA funding builds capacity and creates opportunities for the social sciences to work across disciplines to progress research outputs and outcomes towards impact.

Our aims

  • ESRC IAA funding allows us to respond to social science knowledge exchange opportunities in more flexible, responsive and creative ways
  • The IAA introduces agility and flexibility for us to take strategic-level decisions about how to invest the funding in ways that best suit our strategies and opportunities
  • It includes the opportunity to work across disciplines and leverage other funding to progress research outputs and outcomes towards impact

Our objectives

  • To strengthen knowledge exchange through culture change, including through the development of skills for Knowledge Exchange activity
  • To strengthen research organisation and researcher – research user engagement
  • To support knowledge exchange – including at early stages of progressing research outputs and outcomes to the point when they can be supported by other funding
  • To support new, innovative and imaginative approaches to KE and impact, including processes that enable “fast failure” and appropriate learning
  • To support activities that enable impact to be achieved in an effective and timely manner, including secondments and people exchange