BU Research Blog

The following selection of BU-relevant funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Stodmarsh Site – Water Quality Study

Incidences of fish kill and algal blooms have given rise to concerns with regards to water control and water quality in the main NNR Reserve Lake at Stodmarsh NNR. This project will also provide recommendations for improvements in water control and water quality, which should work towards improving the ecological condition of the site.

Max Award: £20,000 over 6 months Deadline: 2 September 2015 for EOI

Aqualate Mere Site – Water Quality Project

The aim of this contract is to understand if catchment sources of nutrients and sediment are still significant and therefore if further reductions are needed to achieve the SSSI water quality objectives.

Max Award: Unspecified Deadline: 2 September 2015 for EOI

Food Standards Agency

Invitation for Expressions of Interest in Strategic Evidence Programme Research Projects: Exploring the potential of integrating next generation sequencing and other ‘big data’.

Max Award: Unspecified Deadline: 14 September 2015 for tenders

EPSRC

Trust, Identity, Privacy & Security in the Digital Economy

The Research Councils UK Digital Economy Theme and the cyber security strand of the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security are investing up to £10 million to support user-driven and interdisciplinary research that solves real problems in establishing trust, identity, privacy and security in the digital economy.

Max Award: Total of £10 million to fund up to 10 projects Deadline: 14 September 2015 for “Intent to Bid” and 13 October 2015 for full submission

Industry Fellowship

This scheme is for academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry and for scientists in industry who want to work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation. The scheme provides a basic salary for the researcher and a contribution towards research costs.

Max Award: Fellow’s basic salary & up to £2000 research expenses per year Deadline: 24 September 2015

Telling Tales of Engagement Competition 2015

The RCUK Digital Economy Theme (DET) is running a competition designed to help capture and promote the impact that your digital economy research is having. Three prizes of £10,000 are available to support researchers to further tell the story of research impact in an interesting and engaging way to a wider audience.

Max Award: £10,000 Deadline: 1 December 2015

Innovate UK

Digital Forensics

The challenge from the Home Office’s Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT), is to improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of recovering and automatically analysing data from the seized digital devices of suspects under investigation. Up to £300k will be spent on Phase 1 proof-of-concept projects, each with a nominal maximum value of £40k.

Max Award: Up to £300,000 Deadline: 7 October 2015

Advancing the commercial applications of graphene

The aim of this competition is to stimulate the exploitation of this high-performance material, as well as related carbon-based 2D materials that have emerged from the research base. These studies should evaluate the feasibility and potential of the use of graphene in a specific application, with relevant data to support its performance against current market specifications.

Max Award: Up to £2.5 million Deadline: 28 October 2015 for registration & 4 November 2015 for full submission

Optimising food composition: fat, sugar, salt & fibre

This competition will support collaborative R&D projects aimed either at reducing levels of salt, sugar or fat in food, or at increasing dietary fibre, or any combination of these. The competition is designed to encourage innovation right across the food chain.

Max Award: Up to £10 million Deadline: 18 November 2015

Leverhulme Trust

Senior Research Fellowship for Engineering Academics

The RAEng/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowships allows academics to concentrate on full-time research and be relieved of teaching and administrative responsibilities. The purpose of the Fellowships is to cover the salary costs of a replacement academic who will take over the awardee’s teaching and administration duties for up to one year.

Max Award: Contributes to salary costs of replacement teaching & £2,500 support fund Deadline: 26 October 2015

Wellcome Trust

Investigator Awards in Humanities & Social Science

Investigator Awards are aimed at exceptional researchers with bold and intellectually rigorous ideas. They provide flexible support at a level and length to enable humanities and social science research to explore any aspect of human and animal health. Applicants should be able to articulate a compelling vision for their research and demonstrate the track record and originality to achieve it.

Max Award: £100,000 – £200,000 per year for up to 5 years Deadline: 22 January 2016 for preliminary applications & 30 March 2016 for full submissions

European Food Safety Authority, EU

Data Collection for the Estimation of Ecological Data

Data collection for the estimation of ecological data (specific focal species, time spent in the treated areas collecting food, composition of diet), residue level and residue decline of pesticides on food items to be used in risk assessment for birds and mammals.

Award max: 300,000 euros for 15 months Deadline: 11 September 2015 for tenders

Database of non-QPS production strains of industrially produced food & feed additives

The aim of this procurement procedure is to conclude a direct contract for the preparation of a database from a review on the taxonomical identification and potential toxigenic capacities of microorganisms used for the industrial production of feed additives and food enzymes.

Max Award: 200,000 euros Deadline: 15 October 2015

Directorate-General for the Environment, EU

The objective of the service contract is to support technically DG Environment by providing information, reports and analysis on: — the role of agri-environment and context indicators in the development of the choices of Member States, — the illustration of trends in the state of the environment which are expected as a result of the elements notified under good agricultural and environmental conditions and the greening components, — the uptake of agri-environment measures by different farmers and farming communities, including the identification of barriers to environmentally sufficient uptake of agri-environment measures, — the potential to use more widely innovative funding mechanisms such as results-based payments for areas beyond biodiversity protection, and collective rural development funding.

Max Award: 330,000 – 360,000 euros Deadline: 25 September 2015

Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services & Capital Markets Union, EU

Study on Access to Comprehensive Financial Guidance for Consumers

The objective of this study is twofold: first, identify and investigate examples of good practices of financial guidance and describe their functioning, including who gives guidance, financing and business models; second, identify potential incentives which could encourage consumers to take up financial guidance.

Max Award: 75,000 euros Deadline: 25 September 2015

Study on the role of digitisation and innovation in creating a true singe market for retail financial services & insurance

Contract for a study to investigate the areas in which innovation and digitalisation could help build a more integrated and competitive European market for retail financial services, for instance by removing some of the obstacles faced by providers and consumers. This will include a review of the current state of digitalisation and innovation in the retail financial services and insurance markets and a projection of the likely future direction of this trend.

Max Award: 250,000 euros Deadline: 29 September 2015

Framework contract for assistance services in the field of compliance assessment

The subject of this call for tenders is to select economic operators for the provision of services in connection with the assessment of the compliance of the national measures of EU Member States with legislation of the European Union in selected legal fields, in particular in the areas of banking and finance. It falls within the responsibility of the Commission to make sure that Member States’ legislation is compliant with Union law. The services required under this contract will assist the Commission in assessing the compliance of national measures with the relevant Union law.

Max Award: 5,000,000 euros Deadline: 30 September 2015

Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your  RKEO Funding Development Officer

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.