FAQs
Photos: (left) Annette Walker (2019); (top right) Errol White (2009); (bottom right) Claire Becket (2014)
How to apply
Applications open in November and close in January. Please sign up to our mailing list for announcements and follow us on social media for the exact dates each year. More information on how to apply is here.
Increasing access
If you have any questions or difficulty accessing this application, or have any additional access needs please email info@lutsf.onmicrosoft.com
We can provide financial support to remove barriers and improve access for applicants to the awards. This additional resource could support you to access: translation from other languages, transcription of audio and video files, or the support of a producer to write an application. To find out more please email info@lutsf.onmicrosoft.com at least 4 weeks in advance of the closing date. Email us at info@lutsf.onmicrosoft.com if you feel your needs are not outlined here please contact us and we will do our best to support you.
What are the minimum and maximum amounts which can be applied for?
We do not set minimum or maximum funding limits. The average award is around £600 but we regularly make awards for amounts smaller and larger than this for outstanding “value for money’ applications.
What costs will LUTSF fund?
LUTSF funds travel costs only:
- Excluding travel costs to/from your home to/from your departure point (eg airport)
- Excluding local bus and rail fares and taxi costs
- Including, where required, connecting long distance travel in your country of destination e.g. internal flights, long distance rail fares
We do not fund:
- Fees
- Visa costs
- Accommodation or subsistence costs
- Covid-19 tests
- Travel insurance
Please note we accept applications that budget for standard class fares only. We expect applicants to research the most economic routes available.
Can I travel to a country which the Foreign Office advises against visiting?
We will not support travel to a country that the Foreign Office advises against traveling to, and we reserve the right to withdraw scholarship offers where there is a change in Foreign Office advice between the grant offer and date of travel.
I am registered disabled, what costs will LUTSF fund?
In addition to the point above about increasing access for making applications, for applicants who are disabled, we will fund the following, subject to providing evidence of disability:
- All travel costs from your home to your destination and return
- Where the need for a carer is evidenced, we will provide return travel costs for the carer in addition to the applicant’s travel costs
Applicants who are registered disabled are expected to research the most viable economic route.
Can I send the reference, budget or confirmation from my host organisation/s after the application deadline?
No, we are sorry we cannot accept incomplete applications. All supporting documentation must be included with your application.
What information do you require for the ‘Host/s Letter of Confirmation’
The letter of confirmation from the host organisation/s is essential so we can ensure any award offered can be used for the purposes outlined in the application form.
- Where you are applying for travel to an event such as a conference, course or workshop, we require confirmation from the relevant organisation that you have a place. If this cannot be confirmed because, for example, the results of your application are not yet known, then please include confirmation you have applied for a place.
- If you are applying for travel to support a residency or project with an organisation/s, please include written confirmation from each organisation/s you will be working with (either an email including header or a letter on headed paper).
- Where you are planning a self-directed trip visiting one or more organisations, we require evidence that you have made contact with the organisations you plan to visit and that they are happy to host/meet with you. Where you are planning to visit a number of organisations, it may not be possible at the application stage to obtain confirmation from all of them, but we would expect confirmation from the most significant.
What financial information do you require?
All applicants must complete the Budget Template with financial information for their entire trip. We require information about all the costs of your trip including those not funded by LUTSF and the other income streams you are accessing to support the trip. This reassures us that you have properly researched the costs of your trip and how you anticipate funding them, and allows us to assess the likelihood of the trip taking place.
Please also supply screenshots or travel agent quotes for all the travel costs you are applying to LUTSF to fund. We cannot accept applications without a completed Budget Template and travel quotes.
Who should provide the reference attached to the application?
The reference you attach must be from one of the referees listed on the application form. Wherever possible, it should be on headed paper and signed, or include the email header to show the name and email address of the sender. Referees must be professional or from an education provider only and may not be from a friend, partner or relative.
How can I increase the chance of my application being successful?
Ensure that you complete the application properly and that you are eligible to apply.
Your application will be more likely to be funded if it is for an innovative programme of professional development which clearly relates to your professional work and interests. We prefer to fund plans which are more individually tailored; build on the applicant’s previous experience and which demonstrate significant benefits in terms of the applicant’s artistic and/or career development. We also like to see plans which will creatively enrich the wider dance or arts sector in some way.
It is important you provide details for your programme of activity – aims of the trip, details of host organisation(s), what you will explore and what you hope to gain from each aspect of the trip. Vague plans will not be successful.
It is also important to outline the value added by your trip compared to professional development opportunities which could be obtained more locally. We would be unlikely to fund a significant overseas trip unless it was clear from your application that you had progressed as far as you could accessing local, regional or national opportunities.
Please think about whether your project is ‘value for money’ – does the benefit of the trip in terms of the professional development content warrant the cost? We would be unlikely to fund costs of eg £1,200 for a trip which consisted of only a weekend or a week’s professional development, unless the applicant could clearly demonstrate significant benefits to them professionally and that these were not available elsewhere at lower cost.
Can I change my plans and/or travel dates after being given an award?
The award is made on the basis of the travel dates and plans outlined in your application. Your project must take place sometime between the April of the year of application and the end April of the following year. You must inform the Chair immediately if travel dates/plans change after notification of an award. In the event of major changes, the award is usually withdrawn.
Exceptions:
- Ill health (a medical certificate to be provided)
- The host/organisation cannot accommodate you on the original agreed dates
- An applicant wishes to add additional professional development opportunities to the original project outlined in their application.
What won’t LUTSF fund?
Please ensure you read the information on the Applications page of our website for full details of what we will and will not fund.
We do not usually fund travel which is related to professional engagements even where an element of ‘professional development’ is included in the trip. However, in exceptional circumstances and at the panel’s discretion, we may make a contribution to travel costs where there is significant relevant professional development and the organisation engaging the applicant professionally is not making any travel contribution. In this case, the award will relate to the proportion of the trip which is dedicated to professional development. Where part awards for travel are made, applicants must seek the cheapest fares as per full awards.
The fund is for travel for individuals. We will not fund any applications from organisations or companies. We do not fund travel where the trip is being undertaken on behalf of a company or organisation.
I am an advocate of slow travel and don’t want to fly, can I still apply?
Yes. Simply make your budget based on road/sea based options. A useful search site is here.
Where are the Report Writing Guidelines?
If successful in your application, you are expected to write a report about your project. Here are the guidelines for writing your report that we wish to receive one month after your project has taken place.