Launch of CPRL Small Grants Pilot Scheme: Testing Policing Innovations

As announced at the CPRL Membership Group meeting on Thursday 07 March we are delighted to have launched the CPRL Small Grants Pilot Scheme following approval at the membership group meeting in December 2023.

This exciting new funding initiative aims to support innovative thinking in police forces to explore new solutions to current challenges in UK policing. It is accessible to all CPRL member police forces who wish to create new engagement opportunities with CPRL, related to research, Knowledge into Practice, and learning. In our first call we will provide funding for three projects in total. We will subsequently review the process based on the learning gained and launch a more wide-ranging CPRL Funding Scheme for the new CPRL membership year (October 2024 to September 2025). 

Criteria of the CPRL Small Grants Scheme

1. The scheme is targeted at police partners (including officers and staff) which are members of CPRL. It is sufficient for one CPRL member police force to apply. However, there should be potential for interest from other forces.

2. Projects must fall within the CPRL priority areas agreed with members. This will ensure they maximise the benefits for all members of the Centre.

3. The scheme will focus on innovative ideas for either research, KE/Impact or Learning, which need to be given an initial test.

4. Successful project applications will have considered how the work will be disseminated and shared, as well as potential pathways to impact and the development of a learning output such as an Open Learn article.

5. The project will need to be feasible within a maximum period of 12 months and a budget of max. £10k.

6. The scheme will also consider the development of CPD and/or other learning material (i.e., through OpenLearn Create). 

7. The proposed work must have letters of support from each participating force, confirming that the end products of the project will be shared with the CPRL membership and that the team of the police force concerned will engage with the involved academics in a collaborative way.

Amount awarded

The maximum award will be £10k for projects running up to 12 months. Depending on the application, the funding will cover research assistance, data collection, travel, and subsistence in the UK (both for the involved police partners and academics), workshops, knowledge exchange or learning material development activities. The budget might take into account academic time, but this needs to be decided on a case by case basis, depending on the nature of the application.

Application process

The application process will open on 7 March 2024 and the closing date will be 12.00 noon, 17 May 2024. Applications should be sent to oupc@open.ac.uk. It will be a light-touch application process based on a user-friendly one-page application form. In particular, we strongly advise all potential applicants to engage in a conversation with the relevant CPRL Director if you are considering to apply, so that we’ll be able to give you a steer on whether the idea falls within a CPR priority area – specifically, for potential applications related to:

• research, contact elke.loeffler@open.ac.uk

• knowledge into practice, contact nicky.miller@open.ac.uk

• training and development, contact paul.walley@open.ac.uk.