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Event Funding Guidelines

The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities (BIH) was established in 2004 to stimulate research, public debate and collaboration among academics and intellectuals on important public issues of our time.

Key to its remit is the promotion of new ideas and forms of understanding in the humanities. As part of this mission, the BIH fosters a climate of interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration across five schools — Creative Arts, Culture and Communication; Historical Studies; Social Sciences; the School of Law; and Psychological Sciences — spanning three faculties at Birkbeck, University of London: the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Business and Law, and the Faculty of Science. It also actively engages academics and researchers from across the UK and internationally.

You may wish to apply for funds for a conventional academic conference. We do, however, also encourage experimental forms of intellectual exchange: collaborative workshops, public conversations, artistic interventions, screenings with discussion or events that bring together academic and non-academic forms of knowledge.

Guidelines

  • Each year, the committee will determine the maximum amount available to support successful event proposals, taking into account the annual budget and any external funding available.
  • In 2026/7, we can fund up to 2 events (up to £2,000K in total), to take place strictly between early December 2026 and the end of March 2027.
  • Priority will be given to proposals that align with the BIH’s remit of promoting interdisciplinary research in the humanities, with a particular focus on critical thinking and social justice. Relevant topics include rising inequalities, the rise of authoritarianism, decolonisation, sexuality and gender. We particularly welcome proposals that challenge conventional thinking and engage with urgent critical questions under one or more of our three main themes: Dissent; Aesthetics and Transformational Politics; and Psychoanalysis and Freedom.
  • The BIH is an outward-facing institute, and all its events are open to the public. Accordingly, any funded event must include a public-facing element. This may involve opening the entire event to the public or making selected sessions, such as a keynote lecture, publicly accessible. Events must take place at Birkbeck.
  • BIH event funding may be used to cover speakers’ fees, travel and accommodation expenses, and other general event costs, as detailed below. Catering costs are not eligible for funding.
  • The event organiser is responsible for providing the BIH office with the information required to publicise the event and liaising with the FHSS Finance Office regarding payment of approved costs. A schedule outlining the required information and deadlines will be provided when funding is awarded.

Budgeting

To help you budget for your event, please find below some guidance and information to support your planning for these aspects of your event.

  • Travel

    The BIH does not have the capacity to book travel or accommodation. Organisers and speakers must therefore make their own arrangements and submit claims for reimbursement in accordance with the guidelines below.

    Guidelines for travel

    International air and rail travel may be claimed, subject to the following conditions:

    • Only standard-class rail fares and economy-class airfares are eligible for reimbursement.
    • Travel must follow the most direct route, unless a deviation is required for business purposes.
    • The full ticket showing the name of the person travelling, the route and the amount paid should be attached to the claim.
    • Birkbeck will not cover the cost of travel for dependents, spouses, partners, friends or family members so this must not be claimed.
    • Travel should be booked in advance by the person travelling. Following the event, the traveller must submit the relevant claim form, together with the tickets and receipts, to the FHSS and BIH teams for reimbursement.

  • Hotel accommodation and subsistence

    All accommodation and subsistence claims must comply with Birkbeck’s expense guidelines. The maximum amounts specified below are reimbursement limits, not allowances; claims will be reimbursed only up to these limits and upon submission of the required receipts.

    A completed non-staff expense claim form, together with itemised receipts, must be submitted to support each reimbursement request.

    Guidelines for hotel accommodation and subsistence

    The cost of hotel accommodation should be approved by the budget holder prior to booking. The cost of meals should be reasonable. Excessive claims will be rejected by the relevant approver.

    Actual expenditure should be claimed subject to the maximum rates set out below:

    Night subsistence

    • Bed, breakfast and evening meal (less £9.95 if no evening meal): £105.00 (London: £146.68)
    • Mid-day meal: £9.85
    • Daily rate for personal incidental expenses £3.50

    Day subsistence

    • Absence of 7-10 hours: £10 (including VAT)
    • Absence of over 10 hours: £30 (including VAT)

    Employees may claim up to a maximum of £30 (or rate of exchange) for each day on which they purchase meals, snacks, etc. while necessarily away from both home and their normal place of work exclusively for work purposes, provided they are absent from each for more than 10 hours, spanning two normal meal times.

    Please note that these amounts are not allowances, but are the maximum amounts that can be claimed. Receipts must be provided in support of claims for subsistence costs where it would be reasonable to expect a supplier to give them.

    An alcoholic drink is permitted as part of an evening meal, claims for alcoholic drinks alone are not permitted.

  • Room bookings

    The BIH can arrange room bookings at Birkbeck. During term time, bookings for evening events will be confirmed up to three weeks before the event. Daytime bookings are likely to be confirmed earlier, subject to availability.

    Alternatively, organisers may book externally. The BIH can cover a proportion of the associated costs, but organisers must make the arrangements themselves and submit the relevant details to the BIH for payment. This option is preferable if you wish to arrange catering for your event.

    If you intend to charge attendees to recoup costs, please note that Birkbeck Room Bookings will charge for the use of Birkbeck venues. As a guide, the cost of hiring a lecture theatre is approximately £70 per day.

  • AV/Tech

    For larger events requiring a lecture theatre, additional AV equipment can be booked, including handheld, lapel and conference microphones. Handheld and lapel microphones are available free of charge, with a maximum of two microphones per event. Conference microphones are also available but incur a £60 setup charge and this charge is static regardless of how many you book.

    If you wish to record your event, you can use the built-in cameras and AV equipment available in the lecture theatres at no additional cost.

    If you require high-quality livestreaming and dedicated AV support, the BIH can put you in touch with the Derek Jarman Lab to discuss your requirements and obtain a quote. To ensure availability and allow sufficient time for arrangements, bookings should be confirmed at least one month before the event.

  • Event assistance

    The BIH does not have the capacity to provide on-site assistance at events. Organisers should therefore make their own arrangements if they require support with registration (e.g. checking attendees’ names and distributing programmes or name badges) or other event-related tasks, such as passing microphones around the audience.

    Team Birkbeck offers a useful service, providing trained student staff to assist with events. Students are paid by the hour at the rate of £16.73 per hour with a minimum booking of two hours.

  • Catering

    The BIH cannot cover catering costs. If you have access to additional funding for your event, you may contact Birkbeck's catering team to arrange internal catering from the hospitality menu. Please note that external catering is not permitted.

    For queries relating to the theme or scope of your proposal, please contact the BIH Co-Director, Professor Esther Leslie. For all other queries, please contact BIH.