Funding Success

We are delighted to announce that we were successful in the recent British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants scheme. This funding award, which will run from May 2025-June 2026, will enable us to advance Freelance Advisor from a HiFi design prototype to a working prototype of the front-end of the application, which we will be able to test with an expanded user group. The title and abstract of the funding award are given below:

Freelance Advisor: Scoping the future of peer advice systems using advanced technology

The creative industries are notoriously difficult to break into, and business knowledge is key for those who are starting out, particularly for freelancers. However, recent research shows that 57% of freelancers don't feel well informed of their rights, 69% have issues with late or non-payment, and 57% rely on peer advice to solve contract negotiation problems and ‘grey issues’ not easily resolved by a quick internet search, such as setting rates. Existing advice systems rely on the inefficient mechanism of experienced freelancers repeatedly answering similar questions, and new freelancers tend not to know where and how to access reliable peer advice due to exclusionary networks . This research project uses an engaged scholarship approach to scope the potential for advanced technology to produce new forms of peer advice system, by developing an existing design prototype into a functional prototype and piloting it with a group of users.

We look forward to working with our collaborative partner in this project, Creative Edinburgh, to pioneer a new type of advice system that can contribute towards reducing knowledge gaps in the sector, making rates and contracting clearer and fairer for all.