ABSTRACT
The British Academy (BA) was formed in 1902 under a Royal Charter after an abortive attempt to widen the scope of the Royal Society. The heading of the Charter describes the BA as being 'for the promotion of historical philosophical and philological studies'. The mission of the BA is to serve as the national academy for the humanities and the social sciences, promoting, sustaining and representing advanced research'. Two separate groups exist within the BA, one for social sciences, the other for humanities. Recognising that the nature of the social sciences is increasingly interdisciplinary, the BA is currently planning two large-scale programmes which would be highly interdisciplinary. The idea for an academy of social science came from the Association of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences. Many academicians serve on government advisory boards, research council boards and on the councils of community and charitable organisations.
