Leverhulme Trust

The Leverhulme Trust is a major British charitable foundation that funds research, education, academic development and artistic training. It was established in 1925 under the will of William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, the industrialist associated with Lever Brothers and the Sunlight soap business. Leverhulme directed that part of his estate should support certain trade charities and provide scholarships for research and education. Although the Trust’s original charitable purposes were broader, its principal focus has increasingly become support for research and education. The organisation is based in London and operates as a registered charity under English law. It is independent of the UK government and higher-education institutions, distributing grants through competitive schemes rather than functioning as a university, commercial research organisation or conventional educational provider. Its programmes are intended to support individuals and institutions across a wide range of academic disciplines, including areas that cross or challenge established disciplinary boundaries. The Trust’s funding model encompasses both individual awards and institutional programmes. Its research support includes project grants, fellowships for researchers at different career stages, research leadership awards, visiting professorships, and awards for scholars taking time away from routine teaching or administrative duties. It also supports doctoral education through Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships and provides opportunities for UK-based researchers to undertake advanced work overseas. The Study Abroad Studentships and International Fellowships are designed to expose researchers to international academic environments, with the Study Abroad Studentships excluding the United States under the stated scheme rules. The organisation also operates awards for researchers and scholars with established achievements. Major Research Fellowships provide periods of teaching replacement for substantial research projects, while Philip Leverhulme Prizes recognise scholars who have made an important contribution to their fields and are expected to continue developing their work. Emeritus Fellowships extend support to researchers after retirement from an academic post. Visiting Professorships bring distinguished academics based outside the UK to British universities for periods of up to ten months, with the goal of strengthening teaching, research and student learning. The Trust’s activity is not limited to universities. Its Arts Scholarships support training across the fine and performing arts through individual bursaries and innovative teaching awards. Across its programmes, the Trust places particular emphasis on originality, significance, the applicant’s ability to assess and manage risk, and the removal of barriers between traditional disciplines. This gives it a distinctive position within UK research philanthropy: it seeks to back people and ideas that may not fit neatly within standard funding categories and gives applicants considerable freedom over research themes and project design. The Trust’s endowment has historical links to Lever Brothers. Following Leverhulme’s death, an interest in the company was placed in trust for the specified charitable purposes. Lever Brothers subsequently became part of Unilever after its 1930 merger with Margarine Unie, and the Trust’s company holding became associated with Unilever plc. Changes to the arrangements governing the Trust’s two charitable objectives in 1983 enabled it to concentrate more directly on research and education. The foundation is now recognised as one of the largest UK providers of independent research funding, with annual grant-making reported at more than £100 million in the reference material, although the precise year and financial statement for that figure are not specified here. The Trust’s historical legacy is connected to both Leverhulme’s philanthropy and the controversial colonial dimensions of his business interests. His commercial operations included activities in the Congo concessionary system associated with King Leopold II, where Congolese people were subjected to forced labour and exploitation. This background forms an important part of the historical context surrounding the institution’s name and endowment, even though the Trust’s present-day activities are focused on charitable funding for research, education and the arts.

The Leverhulme Trust was created in 1925 under the will of William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme. Lever was a Victorian industrialist and entrepreneur who built a large consumer-products business around Lever Brothers and Sunlight soap. His commercial success was accompanied by extensive philanthropy in education, religion, civic life, community development and medicine. He was granted the title of Lord Leverhulme of the Western Isles in 1922, three years before his death. Lever’s business career also involved the colonial concessionary system in the Congo. He obtained large concessionary areas through an association with King Leopold II, and the production system connected with those interests relied on forced labour and the exploitation of Congolese people. That history is part of the broader context of the wealth from which the Trust developed and remains relevant when assessing the legacy attached to its name. When Lever died in 1925, a portion of his interest in Lever Brothers was placed in trust. The will specified two broad charitable purposes: support for certain trade charities and the provision of scholarships for research and education. The Leverhulme Trust therefore began with a mixed charitable mandate. Over time, research and education became the dominant focus, while the organisation developed into a national grant-making body supporting researchers, students and academic institutions throughout the United Kingdom. The Trust’s corporate endowment was affected by changes in the structure of Lever’s original company. In 1930, Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unie of the Netherlands to form Unilever. The Trust’s shareholding consequently became connected with Unilever plc. The relationship between the Trust’s two original charitable objectives was subsequently reorganised in November 1983. That change allowed the Trust to devote concentrated attention to research and education rather than maintaining the same balance between trade-related charities and scholarship activity. The modern Trust funds people and projects across the academic disciplines. Its programmes include research project grants, early-career and established-researcher fellowships, major research fellowships, research leadership awards, international fellowships, overseas study studentships and visiting professorships. It also supports doctoral training through institutional scholarships and recognises achievement through the Philip Leverhulme Prizes. Emeritus Fellowships provide a route for researchers to continue original work after retirement, while arts scholarships support professional and educational development in the fine and performing arts. A recurring feature of the Trust’s approach is its emphasis on originality, significance and appropriately assessed risk. Applicants are given scope to define their own research themes and methods, and the Trust seeks to reduce barriers between conventional disciplines. This approach has made it an important source of independent support for projects that may be exploratory, interdisciplinary or difficult to place within narrowly defined funding programmes. The Trust is headquartered in London and is constituted as a registered charity under English law. It is not a listed company and does not operate as a commercial brand. Its public identity is instead built around the Leverhulme name, the independence of its endowment and the breadth of its grant-making. The organisation is currently chaired by Alan Jope CBE, according to the cited reference material.

• 1983

  Charitable arrangements reorganised

  [1]Leverhulme Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Changes made in November 1983 enabled the Trust to focus more directly on research and education.

• 1930

  Lever Brothers becomes part of Unilever

  [1]Leverhulme Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unie to form Unilever, linking the Trust’s original company holding to Unilever plc.

• 1925

  Trust established under Leverhulme’s will

  [1]Leverhulme Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Following the death of William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, part of his interest in Lever Brothers was placed in trust to support trade charities and scholarships for research and education.

An independent, risk-tolerant UK research and education funder distinguished by its cross-disciplinary scope, support for individual researchers, and willingness to fund original work across the academic and artistic spectrum.

• Research funding

  Research Project Grants

  Competitive awards supporting research staff for projects lasting up to five years. Applicants determine the research theme and design, while the Trust assesses originality, significance, feasibility and the potential value of taking an appropriately judged risk.

• Research leadership funding

  Research Leadership Awards

  Awards intended for researchers who have begun university careers and need to assemble or develop a research team around a distinctive research problem. The scheme operates on a periodic basis and limits each UK institution to one application.

• International student funding

  Study Abroad Studentships

  Studentships supporting up to two years of advanced study or research at an overseas centre of learning. The stated scheme rules cover countries outside the United States and are intended to broaden researchers’ access to international academic environments.

• Academic fellowship

  Early Career Fellowships

  Two- or three-year career-development awards for researchers at a relatively early stage of their academic careers who have already demonstrated a record of research achievement.

• Academic fellowship

  Research Fellowships

  Awards of up to two years for experienced researchers, including people whose routine professional responsibilities have prevented them from completing a programme of original research. Eligibility is not restricted solely to higher-education staff.

• International academic fellowship

  International Fellowships

  Fellowships allowing people holding full-time posts at UK higher-education or comparable institutions to spend up to two years in an overseas academic environment.

• Research fellowship

  Major Research Fellowships

  Up to three years of full-time teaching replacement for researchers undertaking substantial original work, often with the aim of bringing a major project toward publication as a monograph.

• Post-retirement research funding

  Emeritus Fellowships

  Support for up to two years of research undertaken after retirement from an academic post, allowing experienced researchers to continue developing original work.

• Academic exchange

  Visiting Professorships

  Awards enabling distinguished academics based outside the UK to spend up to ten months at a British university. The intended benefits include strengthening academic staff capabilities and enriching student learning.

• Academic prize

  Philip Leverhulme Prizes

  Prizes recognising scholars who have made substantial and recognised contributions to their fields, achieved international standing and are considered likely to make further progress in their work.

• Doctoral scholarship

  Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships

  Institutional doctoral awards supporting the development of new researchers at UK universities. Each institutional award funds a cohort of 15 Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships.

• Arts training funding

  Arts Scholarships

  Training support covering the fine and performing arts. Awards may take the form of individual bursaries that help artists develop their talents or innovative teaching awards that create new training opportunities for students.

• 1983

  Concentration on research and educationStrategy

  Background

  The Trust had originally been established with both trade-charity and research-and-education objectives.

  Action taken

  Changes to the charitable arrangements in November 1983 allowed the organisation to give concentrated attention to research and education.

  Aftermath

  The Trust’s modern identity became centred on competitive support for researchers, students, universities and the arts.

  Source

• 1930

  Corporate endowment linked to the formation of UnileverM&A

  Background

  Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unie, creating Unilever.

  Action taken

  The Trust’s original shareholding became associated with Unilever plc as the corporate structure changed.

  Aftermath

  The Trust’s endowment developed within the ownership and corporate history of Unilever.

  Source

• 1925

  Creation of a dual-purpose charitable trustStrategy

  Background

  William Hesketh Lever’s will directed part of his Lever Brothers interest toward both specified trade charities and scholarships for research and education.

  Action taken

  The Leverhulme Trust was established to administer those charitable purposes after Leverhulme’s death.

  Aftermath

  The research and education purpose gradually became the organisation’s central area of activity.

  Source

1. 1Leverhulme Trusten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Leverhulme Trust official websiteleverhulme.ac.uk