![William Lever](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/William_Lever.jpg)
The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It was established in 1925 under the will of
the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."
It is based in London and is a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
under
English law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, be ...
.
Activities
Since its foundation in 1925, the Trust has provided funding for research projects, fellowships, studentships, bursaries and prizes; it operates across all the academic disciplines, the intention being to support talented individuals as they realise their personal vision in research and professional training.
With annual funding of some £100 million, the Trust is amongst the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK.
The Trust places special weight on:
* the originality of the projects put to them;
* the significance of the proposed work;
* the ability to judge and take appropriate risk in the project;
* the removal of barriers between traditional disciplines.
History
![William Hesketh Lever](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/William_Hesketh_Lever.jpg)
The Victorian businessman and entrepreneur
William Hesketh Lever
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme , (, ; 19 September 1851 – 7 May 1925) was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Having been educated at a small private school until the age of nine, then at church schools ...
manufactured and marketed
Sunlight soap
Sunlight is a brand of laundry soap, laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent manufactured and marketed around the world by Unilever, except in the United States and Canada, where it has been owned by Sun Products (now Henkel Corporation) ...
. In order to produce the soap so cheaply, and so as to ensure he could undercut competition and be so prolific, he controlled large concessionary areas in
the Congo. These were granted to him by
King Leopold with whom he was a close friend. Many Congolese were exploited for use in forced labour which was allowed to continue for many decades before coming to light.
[Marchal, J. (2008). ''Lord Leverhulme's Ghosts: Colonial Exploitation in the Congo''. London: Verso Books.]
Lever extended his business activities in ways that both served and profited from the rapid rise of a mass market for basic consumer products. He was also a philanthropist, supporting a variety of educational, religious, civic, community and medical causes. His achievements were recognised in 1922 when the title of Lord Leverhulme of the Western Isles was conferred upon him.
On his death in 1925, Lord Leverhulme left a proportion of his interest in the company he had founded,
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...
, in trust for specific beneficiaries: to include first certain trade charities and secondly the provision of "scholarships for the purposes of research and education". The Leverhulme Trust was established. In the succeeding years, Lever Brothers became a cornerstone of
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
, a major multinational company, created in 1930 by the merger of Lever Brothers with
Margarine Unie
Naamloze Vennootschap Margarine Unie (English: Margarine Union Limited) was a Dutch company formed in 1927 in Oss by the merger of four margarine companies, Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's. Margarine Unie was the dom ...
of the
Netherlands
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. The Leverhulme Trust's shareholding thus became part of Unilever plc. November 1983 saw an evolution in the arrangements for the two charitable objectives. Subsequently, the Leverhulme Trust has been able to give concentrated attention to research and education.
Grant schemes
The Trust seeks to provide mechanisms for the support of researchers and students which can be effective at all stages in their careers; and currently offers the following schemes:
;Research Project Grants: Provide funds to employ research staff for up to five years on an innovative and original project of high quality and potential, the choice of theme and the design of the research lying with the applicant.
;Research Leadership Awards: These awards are available every three years. They support researchers who have succeeded in beginning a university career but who are then confronted with the task of building a research team adequately able to tackle an identified but distinctive research problem. Each UK institution is limited to one bid only.
;Study Abroad Studentships: Support up to two years of advanced study or research at a centre of learning in any overseas country, with the exception of the United States.
;Early Career Fellowships: Provide career development opportunities, of two or three years, for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers but with a proven record of research.
;Research Fellowships: Provide support for up to two years for experienced researchers, particularly those who have been prevented by routine duties from completing a programme of original research. Awards are not limited to those holding appointments in higher education.
;International Academic Fellowships: Open to those holding a full-time post in a UK institution of higher education or comparable institution and support a period overseas in a stimulating academic environment for up to two years.
;Major Research Fellowships: Provide up to three years of full-time teaching replacement so that the applicant can concentrate on a piece of research, typically bringing it forward to publication as a monograph.
;Emeritus Fellowships: Provide support for up to two years of research to be conducted by the applicant following retirement from an academic post.
;Visiting Professorships: Enable distinguished academics based overseas to spend up to ten months at a UK university, primarily in order to enhance the skills of academic staff or the student body within the host institution.
;
Philip Leverhulme Prize
The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded by the Leverhulme Trust to recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize schem ...
s: Awarded to outstanding scholars who have made a substantial and recognised contribution to their particular field of study, are recognised at an international level, and where the expectation is that their greatest achievements are yet to come.
;Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships: Support doctoral studies in UK universities and nurture the future generation of aspiring young researchers. Each award funds 15 Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships at that institution.
;Arts Scholarships: Provide training opportunities across the whole range of artistic disciplines in the fine and performing arts. Arts Scholarships may be in the form of (a) Bursaries to enable individuals to develop their talent and/or (b) Innovative teaching awards to provide new and original training opportunities for the students concerned.
See also
*
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present sci ...
*
Leverhulme Medal of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
*
Leverhulme Medal of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
References
External links
Leverhulme Trust websiteLeverhulme Trust – Grants in focusLeverhulme Trust on Twitter
{{Authority control
1925 establishments in the United Kingdom
Funding bodies in the United Kingdom
Science and technology in the United Kingdom
Foundations based in the United Kingdom
Charities based in London