The aim of the Faculty of Humanities URC Block Grant distribution model is to support research projects that advance publication output and postgraduate supervision within the Faculty. The model is designed to address the prospective research needs of applicants, as articulated in a short research proposal and budget. All awards are transferred to the recipient’s URC fund and must be used solely for research-related purposes.
Only the following are eligible to apply:
Permanent UCT academic staff
Emeritus Professors and Emeritus Associate Professors
Current Honorary Research Associates and Honorary Professors
As past performance serves as a useful indicator of future research productivity, applicants are evaluated on the basis of their past publications (as reported on the eRA system) and successfully graduated research students, in addition to the submitted research proposal and budget, using a formula similar to the one employed by the URC in its macro-allocation of the Block Grant to Faculties. The applicant's contribution to the total number of output units assigned to the entire Faculty of Humanities applicants is assessed and used as a guide in determining the size of the grant to be awarded to achieve the specified research objectives.
For staff members who have been at UCT for three years or more the unit allocation is the average of their per annum unit allocation for the previous three years of the cycle. For staff who have been at UCT for two years their unit allocation is the average of their per annum unit allocation for the previous two years. For staff members who have been at UCT for one year the unit allocation is the unit allocation for that year.
Academic staff in their first year of employment at UCT are encouraged to apply for a URC Start-Up Grant, as only outputs published while affiliated with UCT are eligible for consideration. The start-up grant application form is available online here.
For more details about the Block Grant award and the application form, click here.