A UK funder has reported a significant increase in the number of grants awarded to ethnic minority academics after it started awarding research grants using randomisation.
The British Academy announced last September that it would launch a “partial randomisation trial” for its Small Research Grants scheme, which offers support of up to £10,0000 for innovative projects in the humanities and social sciences. Applications are still screened by experts to ensure that they pass a high-quality threshold, but those that pass this stage are then awarded funding randomly.
This came after international trials that have sought to ease the burden placed on peer reviewers and eliminate bias against female and ethnic minority applicants, or those from less prestigious universities. Typically, research applications are ranked based on excellence.
Sharing the results of the first two rounds of its experiment, the British Academy reported a “notable” increase in awards to candidates from black, Asian and other ethnic backgrounds, with this group accounting for 27 per cent of successful applicants, compared with 18 per cent under the old scheme.
