Matariki Engagement Grant
Call for 2025/2026 – now closed. Please check back in early 2026 for details of the new call.
Following on from the success of the Matariki Leadership Programme which has been running since 2021, the Matariki Network has launched a call for a funding opportunity open to Professional Services staff across the Network – The Matariki Engagement Grant.
What is the fund to be used for?
The Matariki Engagement Grant (MEG) is intended to enhance personal- and career development, professional leadership expertise and international collaboration.
Successful applicants were expected to identify a collaboration project commencing in 2025 and running for a maximum of 12 months. The lead collaborator will work with at least one other Matariki institution and share their learning and any other outputs with the Matariki Network in the form of a short summary report.
Grants were awarded up to a maximum of £5,000 per project. The number of grants awarded was limited, and four awards were granted across the entire Matariki Network in the first call.
Application
Colleagues were asked to complete an application outlining their project proposal and confirming who their collaboration partner/s would be. This application opened on February 3rd and closed on April 30th at 23.59 BST. Further guidance can be found via the grant’s information page and the online application can be accessed via this link (currently closed).
Management approval
The applicant’s manager was required to endorse the application through a letter of support to ensure that their proposal could be accommodated within their divisional workload requirements, complied with their institutional employment terms and conditions and their institutional policies and procedures for engaging with cross institution working and data protection.
Selection process
Applications were initially assessed locally by a panel of senior leaders, and then up to two project nominations per institution were forwarded to the central Matariki Judging Panel for final assessment. Successful candidates were notified by the end of June 2025.
Consideration was given to try to ensure as wide a representation as possible from the Matariki partners and the various Professional Service areas found within institutions. It is hoped that this could also provide an opportunity to develop cross-institution discipline-specific networks and contacts within the Matariki partner institutions.
Contacts
Please consult the grant’s information page which contains further information and FAQs, and send any queries to your institution’s respective Matariki Coordinator.
Further Information
An online information and networking session was held on 20th January 2025. This provided an opportunity for colleagues to find out a bit more about the fund, ask any questions, and meet prospective project partners. The recording can be accessed below (please see here for a transcript of the Q&A chat):