British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

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The BASIS Terms of Reference and Strategic Objectives

Terms of Reference | Strategic Objectives

1. Terms of Reference

1. to oversee the work of the overseas Institutes and Societies sponsored by the Academy, with particular regard to those activities supported from public funds
2. to advise Council on the resources needed from the Academy's grant-in-aid to support the work of the Institutes and Societies
3. to establish a Forum in which representatives of the Institutes and Societies can discuss together and with the members of the BASIS general issues of policy and matters of common interest, and contribute to the development and dissemination of good practice amongst them
4. to prepare, in consultation with the Institutes and Societies, and to review annually, an overall mission statement in which the Academy's aims and objectives in supporting the various organisations are set out
5. to ensure that the individual organisations' own mission statements and objectives and the overall mission statement are in harmony
6. to develop, in consultation with the Institutes and Societies, a co-ordinated strategy for the framing of their forward looks and financial bids to Council, together with appropriate funding mechanisms
7. to scrutinise and evaluate organisations plans, financial bids and programmes of activities, and to ensure peer review of their research plans and fieldwork programmes
8. to distribute to the Institutes and Societies the funds allocated by Council; and to monitor their performance and expenditure
9. to seek new ways in which the Institutes and Societies can serve the needs of the research community in the UK and facilitate its work overseas in as wide a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences as possible
10. to oversee the work of the Council for British Archaeology, with particular regard to those activities supported from the Academy's grant-in-aid; to advise Council on the resources needed to support its work; and to monitor its performance and expenditure
11. to report annually to Council.

2. The Committee's Strategic Objectives

In support of the British Academy's strategic objectives, BASIS will:

1. Provide grant-in-aid to the currently-supported British research institutes and societies working overseas (from April 2007, this covers six institutes and eight societies)
2. Provide grant-in-aid to the Council for British Archaeology for its work in the UK to promote knowledge, appreciation and care of the historic environment
3. Provide direction and guidance to the organisations so that their plans and budgets reflect the changing needs and interests of the UK humanities and social sciences research community
4. Develop robust systems for identifying the needs of the various BASIS-supported organisations, analysing and disaggregating their expenditure, presenting the best case for their support to the Academy's Research Committee and Council, and allocating the funds provided in the most appropriate way
5. Continue and develop the established rolling programme of reviews of the work of the organisations, in order to evaluate their success in serving the needs of the UK's research community in as wide a range of humanities and social science disciplines as possible
6. Work in partnership with the organisations to raise their profile, develop their potential, and promote their work and achievements
7. Hold an annual meeting of the BASIS consultative Forum composed of the members of BASIS and representatives of the organisations in order to develop and share common insights and promote best practice
   

BASIS's own overall general objective is to maintain, and where possible extend, the traditional strengths and standing of British scholarship and field research overseas, to which it has added the following:

1. Provide means to enable British scholars across a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences to undertake original research and fieldwork in areas of major scholarly interest overseas;
2. Provide a base, where appropriate and/or necessary, offering a range of academic and logistical support services in those areas, including buildings and residential accommodation, computing services, library, archive and other facilities for British scholars and students;
   
3. Provide means for the dissemination of the results of the research and field work;
   
4. Facilitate and encourage coordination with and contribution to the activities of the Academy's International Policy Committee and its Area Panels;
   
5. Encourage related research by other UK institutions, in particular through the establishment of formal or informal collaborative links between them and the Institutes and the Societies; and
   
6. Promote and facilitate collaboration between British scholars and institutions and scholars and institutions in the 'host' countries.