ACCA is a global professional accountancy body with more than 188,000 fully qualified members and 480,000 students worldwide. They have more than 80 global partnerships with accountancy bodies, universities and international donor communities. They offer professional qualifications and have 16 joint exam partnerships with national accountancy bodies around the world that allows their trainees to qualify using the ACCA Qualification structure. Their expertise is widely recognised, and their input and opinion is sought by governments, professional bodies, academic institutions, employers and the media, worldwide.

ESRC is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. They are a non-departmental public body (NDPB) established by Royal Charter in 1965 and receive most of their funding through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). They support independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and civil society.

The Leverhulme Trust was established by the Will of William Hesketh Lever, the founder of Lever Brothers. Since 1925 they have provided grants and scholarships for research and education; today, they are one of the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK, distributing approximately £80m a year. The Leverhulme Trust awards funding across academic disciplines, supporting talented individuals in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences to realise their personal vision in research and professional training. As well as substantial grants for research, they offer fellowships for researchers at every stage of their career, grants for international collaboration and travel, and support for the fine and performing arts.

The British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences – the study of peoples, cultures and societies, past, present and future. They have three principal roles: as an independent Fellowship of world-leading scholars and researchers; a Funding Body that supports new research, nationally and internationally; and a Forum for debate and engagement – a voice that champions the humanities and social sciences.