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Creative Initiatives Fund
The Creative Fund for supporting Initiatives in Training, Research, Supervision and Practice in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice in the UK (formerly the David Campbell Fund)

 

 

The Creative Initiatives Fund was formerly named the David Campbell Fund in honour of the life and work of David Campbell (1943-2009).

David was a founder member of AFT and made a major contribution to building resources for the family therapy discipline throughout his long, rich and immensely productive career. He was renowned for his imaginative approaches to a wide range of systemic applications and for encouraging trainees and colleagues to widen their horizons and tackle new opportunities. The fund is a continuation of David's inspiration.

We would like to invite all AFT members to pause, and consider ways that the fund might help to develop one of your imaginative and novel ideas. AFT is keen to encourage and enable a variety of projects that will support the wellbeing of couples and families, promote systemic ideas, and extend our knowledge and understanding.

 

What is the purpose of the fund?

The fund aims to empower creative and novel initiatives and research that support the welfare of families by strengthening and expanding family therapy and systemic practice in the U.K., through teaching, supervision and research projects.  

The fund is limited, and cannot be used:
  • to provide bursaries for training or post-qualifying courses. 
  • for travel expenses to attend UK/international conferences or to provide money for standard equipment.
  • to fund activities undertaken as part of training.
 
Who can apply?
  • All applicants must be current AFT members, and can apply for funding as an individual or as a group.
  • Part or full funding of initiatives will be considered.
 
What funding is available?

Funding is usually given in sums of around £500 to £1000. However, the Board has agreed that the Fund Committee can exceptionally approve projects up to £1500 when this is essential for the viability of a particularly worthwhile proposal.

Who reviews the applications?

AFT has nominated a group of AFT members to consider all the applications to the Creative Initiative Fund. Applications are considered by this committee and the current chair is Professor Peter Stratton.

When you apply you will be allocated one member of the group who will be your point of direct contact, and they will keep you informed and advised during the process.

When will I/we find out about the outcome of the application?

Applicants are usually informed whether they have been successful within 6 weeks.

Please do not submit proposals that depend on financial support less than 6 weeks from the date of application.

We do not want to specify constraining conditions to maximise applications which are inventive and resourceful.A prime consideration for any application is that it has demonstrable benefit for AFT members. We want to encourage access to the widest range of our members, so the group considers equality and diversity as decisions about funding allocations are made.

 
How do I apply for funding?

Complete and submit the form at the bottom of this page. When completing your proposal please think carefully about what you can undertake to ensure that members of AFT will benefit from the work.

Follow the instructions and headings provided on the form. State when the funding would be needed and if it is in stages please specify when each tranche of funding will be needed.

 
How can I support the work of the Creative Initiative group?

We also welcome financial support to the fund through gift aid or legacies. Any donations will allow us to increase the range and number of projects that we can support. 

Alternatively, if you wish to support the work of the Fund by joining the committee group or make a donation please contact us.

 
What kinds of projects have received an award?
  • A 2-year programme of multi-family group training sessions for families with a relative experiencing first onset diagnosis of psychosis
  • A resource package and training programme to introduce teachers to the use of systemic ideas in the classroom
  • Support for the development of a course at IFT aimed at children and families going through the process of separation and divorce.
  • Short-term support for a researcher undertaking a systematic review of the evidence base for systemic family psychotherapy.

 

The Fund for Creative Initiatives in Training, Research, Supervision and Practice in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice in the UK

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The purpose of the fund is to “To drive creative and novel initiatives which support the welfare of families and other relational systems by strengthening and expanding family therapy and systemic practice, teaching, supervision and research projects in the U.K.”   Eligibility for Funding:

  • Applicants should be members of AFT.
  • Applications for funding can be from individuals or groups.
  • Part or full funding of initiatives will be considered. For larger projects applicants should demonstrate that they have pursued a range of funding options.
We are keen to support creative and novel ideas so we do not want to specify constraining conditions. However, a prime consideration for any application is that it has demonstrable benefit for AFT members. The fund is unable to provide bursaries for family therapy training or post-qualifying courses, or travel expenses to attend UK/international conferences or money for standard equipment, nor to fund activities undertaken as part of training.
You can find your AFT membership number by logging into the website and viewing 'my profile'

Please give below a description of the project that funding is required for – between 250 and 600 words – and please explicitly detail:

  1. how this proposal will benefit AFT members.
  2. how much the whole project will cost approximately.
  3. how much funding you are seeking.  The maximum award will normally be £1000 but exceptionally an extension up to £1500 will be considered.
  4. A schedule with dates of how this funding will be allocated (we will require a statement of your expenditure on conclusion of the project) and the timescale of your project.
In the event that the above proposal is successful, you agree to prepare a summary report for the membership for Context. We also reserve the right to inform the AFT membership about this project and the funding allocated through the Creative Initiatives Fund, including a breakdown of how allocated funds have been utilised.