SOAS Impact Acceleration Account

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SOAS has successfully secured a 5-year, £1.25 million Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) from 2023-2028, to develop impact in the areas of migration, displacement, minorities and marginalisation.

Co-managed by the SOAS Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies and the Research and Knowledge Exchange Directorate, the IAA will contribute to raising the profile and achieving greater impact for SOAS research in these thematic areas.

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SOAS IAA models new approaches to impact, innovation and commercialisation by utilising a thematic research portfolio to work across disciplines and across sectors.

Key component of the SOAS IAA's activities include:

Global thematic roundtables that foster knowledge exchange between SOAS academics, policy makers, social activists and migration practitioners
Development of an Open Online Shared Learning and Collaboration space for continuous sharing of information, resources and cross-network collaboration
An annual mobility programme of short-term, high impact knowledge exchange fellowships
Rapid response and strategic grants of £2,500 to £10,000 that support co-production of knowledge and impact-oriented outputs

SOAS researchers will also be gaining expertise in knowledge exchange practices and approaches through partner-led capacity building, and will have the opportunity of showcasing their research and engage the public during the annual ESRC Festival of Social Science.

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AThe SOAS IAA offers competitive strategic and rapid response grants for collaborative projects between SOAS researchers and non-academic partners.

The first round of grant applications, launched in March 2024 was a great success. To showcase these IAA impact projects and the achievements of the grant recipients, an IAA Grant Celebration Event will be held on 27 February 2025.

The second round of grant applications is now open. SOAS researchers interested in developing research impact projects in the areas of migration, displacement, minorities and marginalisation are invited to submit their application by 23 April 2025. Please read the full call for proposals for details and FAQs.

In partnership with RKED, the IAA team is also hosting the “Designing an IAA Impact Project” workshop on 19 March 2025 for prospective applicants. Register here.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to attend both the celebration event and the impact workshop. You can register here and submit your questions to the grantees in advance.

Key dates

Date	Key dates
27 February 2025	IAA Grant Celebration Event, 5pm-6.30pm, SALT
19 March 2025	Workshop: Designing an IAA Impact Project, 10am-12pm, B203
23 April 2025	Deadline for application

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SOAS held a successful ESRC Festival of Social Science, the annual celebration of social science research that looks to engage audiences through a range of public events, on 7 and 8 November 2024.

Groups of 13-to-18-year-olds learning English as an Additional Language were invited to explore engagement activities designed by SOAS researchers, and research partners.

The theme for the 2024 festival is ‘Our Digital Lives’. In keeping with this theme, as well as SOAS IAA’s thematic focus: 'Migration, marginalisation, displacement, and minorities', SOAS researchers conducted a series of interactive workshops and activities, including:

The Power of Video Games for Social Justice: The potential of video games to promote education about anti-slavery and influence policies to combat modern slavery.
Digital Solutions Making for Food Insecurity: The role of technology in tackling food insecurity.
What is a Home? A series of creative activities that discuss what it is to be displaced from home, to rebuild it, and to imagine a future home.
Exploring Cultural Memory Through Creativity: How can theatre and creative practice help us to see history differently?
When Belongings Return: The role of objects in cultural memory, identity-making, and heritage activism.
Reclaiming Your Digital Space: Exploring how computers "think" and the role of coding in reclaiming personal space and identity in the digital world.
Echoes From the Ruins: An interactive event exploring the plight of forcibly displaced people in Nigeria’s Northwest region due to armed conflict and banditry.