Deadline extended to 2nd February 2024 due to membership subscription delays


These notes have been produced to guide applicants in the submission process. Please contact the Design History Society administrator Jenna Allsopp at: designhistorysociety@gmail.com if you have any queries further to the below.


1. The Award

1.a The Virtual Event Award (Student) facilitates interaction, debate, and research activity in design history through virtual initiatives proposed by student researchers. It represents the Society’s commitment to promoting and to supporting access to the field of design history, encouraging transnational dialogue with less negative impact on the environment and greater inclusivity.

1.b The total funding for all successful projects will be £1,000; this sum will be divided amongst several applications deemed of high merit, at the discretion of a judging panel drawn from the DHS Executive Committee who undertake a blind peer review of anonymous applications. Requests for individual funding should not exceed £150.

1.c All applications must contain full information about the project to be conducted. Any grant made by the DHS will only be given towards the activity as described in the application. Any change in the project must be communicated immediately to the DHS and approved.


2. The Application Process

2.a There are two rounds of applications, on 31 January 2024 or 30 April 2024, both to be submitted by 11:59pm UTC on those dates. No applications submitted after these dates will be considered. Applications should be sent to the DHS administrator, Jenna Allsopp at: designhistorysociety@gmail.com

2.b The application form can be downloaded from the DHS website or requested via email from the DHS administrator, Jenna Allsopp at: designhistorysociety@gmail.com

2.c
Applicants are requested not to send CVs, as these will not be taken into consideration in the judging process.

2.d
We aim to inform all applicants of the outcome of their submission within three weeks of the submission deadline via email.

2.e This award is open to DHS Student members only (please include your membership number on the application form).


3. Eligibility

3.a The Virtual Event Award (Student) is open to all international registered undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of design history. Inter-disciplinary projects are welcomed providing they demonstrate a genuine focus upon design history. Applications involving collaborations across multiple institutions, localities and/or constituencies are encouraged.

3.b The editing of a podcast series as part of the virtual event may be undertaken in house by our DHS administrator dependent upon the quality of the recording and complexity of content - please indicate the length in minutes and number of episodes in the application and the Society will determine the funding required.

3.c Ideally the project outcome will be recorded and made accessible through one of the DHS virtual platforms (Spotify, Blog, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) and permanently archived there.

3.d Unsuitable costs might include, but are not limited to: travel, accommodation, physical equipment, subsistence (food and drink), employment of other persons to conduct research.

3.e Applicants are required to give as detailed a budget as possible, including a clear identification, itemisation and proof of current price points of the proposed costs.


4. Assessment Criteria

Applications are anonymised and judged on the following criteria:

• original and significant contribution of the outlined activity to the discipline of design history and its dissemination

• impact the event will have in facilitating collaboration across a global student design history community and furtherance of research in our field

• articulated and appropriate objectives, strategies and implementation

• clear demonstration of how the project will be realizable in terms of technology and archival preservation

• contribution to the aims and activities of the Society which aims to support activity that cannot be effectively or entirely funded through other funding avenues.

• suitability of the applicant(s) to achieve the proposed project

• feasibility of timeline, outcomes and efficacy of dissemination by virtual means

• value for money and justification of costs

Priority will be given to applications which provide sufficient, detailed information of all of the above.

5. Dissemination

5.a Recipients of this grant are asked to provide a report of 500-800 words of their project (with a copy-right free image and caption) to be published on the DHS website, within 6 months of notification of receipt of the award.

5.b. All outcomes of the award/grant must acknowledge the Design History Society Virtual Event Award/Grant and must include the DHS logo on the landing page.


6. We wish to remind our applicants that;

  • the DHS is committed to supporting equalities and therefore invites applicants to reflect on and state clearly how their proposed projects address inequalities.
  • the DHS is also committed to addressing sustainability issues and invites applicants to state how their project has been shaped with an environmentally-conscious approach (in relation to travel, participation and use of resources).