Innovation Fund

What is the Innovation Fund?

The Innovation Fund is a Fund that will award grants to successful applicants that meet the Fund’s criteria and the M25 Consortium’s aim to support all members across the South East of England in their personal, professional and institutional development through cooperative and collaborative endeavours.

Successful grants will be awarded to enable, deliver and/or support a project, resource, research or other activity that works towards one or more of the themes in the Consortium’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. The four themes are:

• People: Inspiring and developing our staff

People are at the heart of the Consortium and our member libraries. We recognise that supporting all staff to achieve their potential is key to the success for our members. We will provide a range of opportunities to enable members to maximise staff potential.

• Collaboration: Connecting and collaborating through our membership

Collaboration across and within the Consortium is essential to the mission of the Consortium and our members. Our diverse membership enables us to work together at scale to address the problems and concerns of all our libraries. We will provide a regional network whose members offer multiple perspectives which can inform decision making and facilitate opportunities for networking and joint working on shared issues.

• Diversity: Celebrating diversity in our institutions and our staff

Recognising and championing the diversity of all staff within our member libraries and the diversity of our institutions is essential to our success. The diversity of individuals and our membership helps us thrive and develop for the benefit of all our libraries. We will ensure that the consortium reflects the richness and diversity of our membership and the communities they serve.

• Sustainability: Acting sustainably

The climate crisis is an imperative upon which the Consortium and our membership must take action. Our member libraries have a vital role to play in addressing the ecological crisis that we all face. We will promote and support sustainable action by our members to ensure that we act in accordance with economic, environmental and social sustainability concerns.

You can read further details of the themes and the full Plan here: https://www.m25lib.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/M25-Consortium-of-Academic-Libraries-Strategy-2023-2026.pdf

What innovations will be considered

We want to encourage the broadest range of ideas rather than prescribe types of projects. The following are given only as indicative examples to prompt creative thinking. It is not an exhaustive list and other types of proposal are equally encouraged.

• Supporting the establishment of themed regional networks where there is an identified gap in provision – e.g. communities of practice, action-learning sets, or reading groups.
• Undertaking research into an under-investigated area of interest and benefit to M25 members.
• Developing themed outputs of wider benefit to M25 members such as toolkits and case studies.

How much grant money is available?

The total amount in the Fund for 2024-25 is £1,000 and applicants can apply for grants from the fund from £100 up £1,000.

How to apply

When the application window for 2025-26 is open, we will warmly welcome all applications. Applications are by sending a short document to m25libadmin@london.ac.uk addressing each of the criteria:

1. Explain briefly why your Task Group, Working Group or Network is applying for the Fund. 
2. How much are you applying for? What will the money be used for? Please provide brief budget details of expected expenditure.
3. Set out the activities and actions that will be undertaken with the grant money and expected outputs from them. 
4. How does the work and its expected outputs link with one or more of the Strategic Themes and therefore benefit M25 Consortium Members?
5. How will you ensure that the outputs are shared and disseminated across the M25 Consortium? 

Assessment

Applications will be considered by the Innovation Fund Assessment Panel, comprising of an M25 Consortium Trustee and three members of the M25 Consortium Steering Group. Applications will be considered against the criteria set out above.

Innovation Fund Assessment Panel:

• Fiona Ainsworth, Steering Group member
• Christopher Cipkin, Treasurer
• David Clover, Steering Group member
• Cathy Phillpotts, Steering Group member

Pilot Year Successful Applicant: Diversity Group

We are pleased to announce that the M25 Diversity Group was successful in its application to the M25 Innovation Fund.

The Diversity Group are using their Innovation Fund award to put on a high profile event to launch the results of a recent survey to consortium members and other interested parties. They will also offer bursary places and travel costs to enable people to be able to attend where cost might have been a barrier. By doing this, they aim to maximise the impact of the findings of their second Library diversity survey.

We wish the Diversity Group every success with this work and look forward to the relevant and thought-provoking event in 2025.

Sharing success

A condition of receiving a grant from the Innovation Fund will be that successful applicants will be expected to share information about their project/activity at its conclusion and by no later than the end of August 2025. Sharing can be achieved in different ways and could be in the form of a report, a conference presentation or an online resource. ​​​​​​

Restrictions

Grants can be applied from £100 up to the maximum of £1,000.

Grants will not be awarded for events that could be delivered as part of the normal activities of the Consortium, including cpd25 and M25 events.

Grants awarded cannot be used to employ staff (but consultants undertaking short-term activities or projects may be permissable).

Year Two 2025-26

Details of applications for 2025-26 will be announced in due course.

Year 2 eligibility

At the end of the Pilot Year, we will assess how the Innovation Fund was used. Subject to an end of pilot assessment, our hope is to extend eligibility for applications to the Innovation Fund to the wider M25 Consortium membership from Year 2: 2025-26.

Further information

If you have any questions please contact the Innovation Fund Assessment Panel via the M25 Operations Manager m25libadmin@london.ac.uk