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You reap what you sow? The importance of seed-corn funding

Guidance

Obtaining ‘seed-corn’ funding to get a new research idea off the ground can be crucial in developing your work, especially for early-career researchers. Whilst the initial ‘seed’ may be a relatively small amount of money, if spent wisely then watch it grow! This is particularly relevant at the moment due to the internal funding opportunities currently open for BU academics.

To show how seed-corn money could work for you, here’s an example of where it helped me. Back in 2009, the then School ofConservation Sciences (CS) ran an internal research funding scheme where the maximum amount awarded per project was £3000 and priority was given to applications with match funding. So I firstly had to formulate my research question and obtain some match-funding. After much reading and thinking I finally settled on my question (in a relatively new area for me but related to my other research) and successfully approached the Environment Agency for a modest amount of match-funding. The subsequent application to the CS scheme was successful.

Given the limited amount of money available, it had to be spent very carefully. A part-time researcher was used to complete the data collection and as the work progressed, further seed-corn funds were secured from external sources. These enabled us to expand the work and resulted in the subsequent publication of several journal articles. These were important in underpinning further funding applications as we could now show the work was relevant and we were competent in doing it! Inevitably, a number of these funding applications failed but through perseverance and refining the ideas (reading, discussions with colleagues etc), we have recently been awarded two separate PhD studentships by external funders. This includes a NERC CASE studentship, where the industrial partner is the same Environment Agency collaborator I first approached in 2009. Looking ahead, as these PhDs deliver their research then this should enable the development of more ambitious projects ideas that enable larger grant applications to be submitted.

So – hopefully- this example of showing how seed-corn funds can quite literally grow has motivated you to take advantage of those open internal funding schemes. Remember, the process of then turning seed-corn funds into something more substantial and long-term may not be easy: I have not mentioned the long hours spent putting together the funding applications that were turned down. But as a collaborator put it when I recently asked him how he managed to increase his NERC standard grant application success rate from 0 to 40 %:

‘…….the more I practised, the luckier I got’.

Sustainable Design Reseach Centre’s successful EUNF application

It was good to know that our BU EUNF application was a success. At SDRC we have been working on several research projects. One of which is a collaborative research project with the Tank Museum, a match funded PhD. The research is conducted by SDRC PGR Adil Saeed with supervisory team including Dr Zulfiqar Khan, Dr Nigel Garland and Professor Mark Hadfield. This research project has attracted significant interests from academia e.g. Oxford and Cranfield Universities, industrial interests from BAE Systems, AGR Field Operations, DSTL, PMI analytical, PAN analytical, Carl Zeiss and NASA Materials Testing and Control Branch. These industrial partners have been engaged with our current research through in-kind support by providing stat-of-the-art experimental and analytical resources.

The current research is looking into understating the failure mechanisms in Tanks within the museum environment due to aging and corrosion. Our current fundamental research will provide a springboard to develop sustainable models for museum environments and modern large vehicles’ industry to develop sustainable methodology of decelerating or even stop degradation due to aging and develop models of live health monitoring.

In addition to the above SDRC have forged international collaborations which have led to various research and education activities. These include

  • Ashikaga Institute of Technology (Japan)
  • National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India
  • PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India
  • Wisconsin University Milwaukee (US)
  • Texas A&M University at Galveston (US) and
  • Qinghua University Beijing (PR China) – previously developed RAE UK-China collaboration bid

SDRC has experience in EU biding and has recently submitted an EU Interreg bid by participating in a consortium which include 13 EU partners in renewable named as GReen Energy Channel Cluster, GRECC.

Through the BU EUNF it is anticipated to bring our partners closer to initiate the process of incubating current research and the next steps through securing EU funding. Initial meetings with EU partners and The Tank Museum will be organised to discuss the project ideas, and relevant EU funding stream. BU EUNF will help initiating discussion and the formation of a consortium for future collaborative research activities.

This will provide opportunity of further raising BU profile in proactively engaging with national and international academic and industrial partners, showcasing BU current research project(s), resources and expertise to external partners, hence there is a significant PR opportunity, developing research proposals that are inline with the BU andREFstrategic attribute of societal impact, BU will act as a magnet for the proposed research programme and working closely with regional partners e.g. The Tank Museum.

This is an exciting opportunity to develop EU relationships across disciplines with in collaboration with the Tank Museum in Bovington. Our specialised expertise of understanding contacting surfaces contrasts with issues concerning public historic values from EU museums. If successful in attracting additional external funds it will have potential significant research impact, Professor Mark Hadfield said.

BU strategy of internationalisation and fusion puts international and EU collaboration through research, education and professional practice engagement at the heart of academic activity. It is very important that we proactively seek and capitalise on such opportunities for putting BU on the global map of academic activity, Zulfiqar said.

AHRC seeks applications in Environmental Change and Sustainability

Funding opportunities

Applications for up to £1.5m (full economic cost) are invited under a highlight notice in AHRC’s standard and early career research grants routes. The highlight notice addresses the ‘Environmental Change and Sustainability’ area within the Care for the Future theme and is open until 30th October 2012.

Aims and Scope of the Highlight Notice

The aim of the highlight notice is to encourage collaborative arts and humanities-led research which explores the potential of a temporally inflected lens to provide new insights on the challenges of environmental change and sustainability.

For the purposes of the highlight notice, ‘environmental change’ is defined broadly and includes climate change, environmental hazards, agriculture and food security, water, landscape and natural resources. The issues may be at any environmental scale and be focused geographically anywhere in the globe. ‘Sustainability’ is also defined broadly but with particular reference to inter-generational relationships, and the broader ways in which the past, the present and the future inter-relate, in respect to issues of environmental change. There is no limit to how far back in time (or how far forward in the future) the temporal horizon may reach, but proposals must demonstrate a significant temporal dimension which extends beyond contemporary or near contemporary themes.

More information on the call can be found on the AHRC website and in the call document.

The RDU wants YOU!

Research Ethics

Calling all Supervisors and Staff – this is your opportunity to comment on BU’s ethics review process!

Do you supervise students on their research projects (or do you conduct your own research)?  Are you happy with the current BU research ethics review process?  Do you have suggestions/comments/frustrations about the policies and procedures in place?

If you find yourself gnawing at the bit with comments but not knowing how to express them, you’re in luck – I’m conducting a University-wide research ethics review, which will seek to validate implementation of a more streamlined ethics review process while also creating policies and procedures that are both robust and flexible…..and I want to hear from YOU!

Over the past couple of weeks I have met with each School Representative to the University Research Ethics Committee (UREC) and over the coming weeks I will meet with the Deans and/or Deputy Deans to discuss the current ethics review policies and to propose changes to the process.  My aim for this review is to be as inclusive as possible, so I would like to open the opportunity to comment to all supervisors and staff involved in research here at BU.  If you’d like to meet with me as a group (School, framework, etc.), I’m happy to work out a day/time that works for everyone.  However, if you’d like to meet one-on-one, that suits me just fine as well.  Please send me an email at jhastingstaylor@bournemouth.ac.uk if you’d like to get involved!

My EUNF Success

The aim of the specific EU Network Fund is to create a strong link and to provide support for the development of large-scale, complex, inter/multi-disciplinary collaborative research activities leading to external funding between the Sustainable Design Research Centre (SDRC) at Bournemouth University (BU), the Tribological Department of Tekniker inBilbao,Spainand the Democritus University (DU) inGreece. The objective of this network activity is to establish a consortium of appropriate academic and industrial partners in order to develop a research application related with the sustainable development and durability of low friction PTFE composites used for industrial, aeronautical and aerospace applications.

An action plan (funding body choice, application process, role of its party, experimental techniques etc.) which will clearly define the steps and priorities for the completion of a major European research funding application will be developed. The plan will consist of regular meetings during the project period (March-August 2012) with the research team at Tekniker and DU, discussing the current research and industrial issues associated with using PTFE materials and ensuring that ideas, suggestions and innovations will be effectively presented with the application, while methods and strategies will be properly followed by all the parties. Methods require the innovative research concept to be implemented to a robust practical methodology scheme. Additionally Dr. Tzanakis will attend the well-known international conference of Tribology and Design whilst visitingDemocritusUniversityinGreecein order to gain further industrial partners and improve networking.

The Network Fund will massively support this potential collaboration among BU, DU and Tekniker allowing the parties to work efficiently towards the completion of a major European research funding application. The nature of the project is novel, realistic and would be highly applicable within many technological, design and manufacturing domains. BU will be the leader partner for the project application while the international exposure for BU research activities within DEC will be significantly increased.

 

EU funding for ‘Youth in the World’

The European Commission has launched a call for proposal for the co-operation with countries other than the neighbouring countries of the European Union, under the Youth in Action Programme. The purpose of this call for proposals is to support projects, which promote co-operation in the youth sector between Youth in Action Programme Countries and Partner Countries other than those which are neighbours of the European Union (countries which have signed with the European Union an agreement relevant to the youth field).
This call provides grants to projects. It is addressed to organisations working in the youth sector that are interested in running projects promoting cooperation in this field, involving youth workers and youth leaders, young people themselves and other actors involved in youth organisations and structures.

Its objectives are as follows:

  • to improve the mobility of young people and youth workers, as well as youth employability;
  • to promote youth empowerment and active participation;
  • to foster capacity-building for youth organisations and structures in order to contribute to civil society development;
  • to promote co-operation and the exchange of experience and good practice in the field of youth and non-formal education;
  • to contribute to the development of youth policies, youth work and the voluntary sector; and
  • to develop sustainable partnerships and networks between youth organisations.　

Projects must start between 1 September 2012 and 31 December 2012, with a minimum duration of six months and a maximum duration of 12 months. The deadline is May 15th and all the documentation you need is on the EACEA website.

PhD Studentship Competition 2012 – 2nd Call for Matched Funded Studentships

PG research

Following the successful allocation of 28 PhD Studentships (fully and matched funded) under the 1st call, we are delighted to announce a 2nd call of the competition in which there are 13 matched funded studentships available for candidates starting in October 2012 as outlined below:

  • Matched-funding (50% equivalent to £21k over three years) may come from:
    • Industry/business partners,
    • Government and non-government organizations,
    • Academic Schools,
    • NHS,
    • Research Councils, or
    • Other external bodies. 
  • In seeking match-funding and developing the associated projects applicants are encouraged to avoid a local or regional focus.
  • Priority may be given to applications that involve supervisors from two or more Schools and/or those from early career researchers.
  • All proposals should match clearly to one of the eight BU Research Challenges:
    • Creative & Digital Economies
    • Culture & Society
    • Entrepreneurship & Economic Growth
    • Environmental Change & Biodiversity
    • Green Economy & Sustainability
    • Health, Wellbeing & Aging
    • Leisure & Recreation
    • Technology & Design.
  • Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential applications to this funding strand with their Deputy Dean Research or equivalent within their School.

As with the 1st call, the PhD Studentships will be awarded to Supervisory Teams on the basis of a competitive process across the whole of BU led by Professor Matthew Bennett (PVC Research, Enterprise & Internationalization) and managed by the Graduate School.  

Applications will be assessed and awards made by a cross University Panel consisting of the academic members of UET and independent professoriate. In selecting proposals for funding, emphasis will be placed on the excellence of the research and quality of proposal in the first instance.  Strategic fit with the REF and Societal Impact will also be assessed. The panel will individually score each proposal and meet formally to select the successful projects.  

Only the best projects will be funded and proceed to advert. Full details and criteria are set out in the BU PhD Studentship Competition 2012 – Policy.  Staff are asked to check the eligibility criteria carefully before applying and note the revised time line below.

15 March 2012 Launch 2nd call for internal competition to fund projects
5pm 12 April 2012 Deadline for submission of proposals to the Graduate School
(week 3) April 2012 Panel meeting to review proposals
(week 3) April 2012 Supervisors to be informed of the panel decision
(week 4) April 2012 Launch external competition to find candidates
31 May 2012 Deadline for submission of applications
(week 1&2) June 2012 Interview short listed applicants
(week 3) June 2012 Approval of nominated candidates
(week 3&4) June 2012 Offer letters to nominated candidates
01 October 2012 Studentships Start
30 September 2015 Studentships End

Proposals should be submitted on the PhD Studentship Project Proposal 2012 (Matched Funding) to the Graduate School (graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk) no later than 5pm on Thursday 12th April 2012.

All proposals must be completed fully, include all appropriate signatures and be accompanied by a supporting document from the matched funder (letter, email, etc).

Good luck!

Wowsers! COST receives €10m bonus!

As many of you will know from my previous blogpost (which features also features a simple guide) COST is a Brussels-based intergovernmental network for Cooperation in Science and Technology. It was announced last week that it will receive an extra €10 million from the European Commission.

The Commission had so far withheld part of Cost’s funding for Framework 7. In 2010, the FP7 mid-term evaluation made several criticisms about Cost’s complex governance structure. But the evaluators also said the programme fulfilled its mission nevertheless and should receive “the additional €40m reserved in Framework 7 for Cost”.

In April 2011, the Commission decided to release only €30m for Cost to begin with. In June 2011, Cost launched a revamped strategy aiming in particular to increase efficiency and better demonstrate impact (see RE 10 Nov 11 via link below). The €10m top-up now brings Cost’s overall budget to the planned €250m for 2007-13.

Marie Curie Calls for Proposals officially launched!

Several Marie Curie calls have been finally officially been released today!

Remember to check out my previous blogposts on:

And if you attended our fantastic Marie Curie proposal writing workshop last month, you can send your proposal off to Dr Martin Pickard for one review. I am also currently establishing a specialist Marie Curie RPRS which I will circulate the details of soon.

If you are planning a submission, don’t forget to contact RKE Operations straight away so they can get to work helping you with your costings etc

Thinking of applying for FP7 Transport? Then you should attend this Maritime Transport and Innovation Brokerage Event

The Maritime Transport and Innovation Brokerage Event, MIBE2012, will take place in Santiago de Compostela, Spain on 20-21 June 2012.

From the Atlantic Area, a Pan-European conference on the latest innovation and development within the European Maritime Industry, showcasing a selection of leading EU projects.

This is a unique opportunity to network and find out how to participate in FP7 funded projects, in particular the latest Transport Call for Tenders, with a total budget over €20M.

URGENT! Your chance to get involved in EC policy (and therefore funding priority) setting!

I have just been made aware that the European Commission has launched a call for expressions of interest for a new initiative, the “Voice of the Researchers”. The aim is to appoint 20 researchers to advise the Commission on a range of issues.  This is a key opportunity to get your views heard in Europe and help shape EU policy which will then influence funding calls for proposals.

The call for expressions of interest is targeted at researchers of all ages, nationalities and disciplines and it is hoped that  20 candidates will be appointed to advise on policy issues such as:

  • Defining the researchers’ role and contribution to global societal challenges;
  • Improving the career prospects and working conditions of researchers in Europe;
  • Strengthening the social prestige and recognition of researchers; and
  • Developing new, interactive communication channels between researchers and the Commission.

Selected candidates will be invited to a brainstorming session on 23 April 2012. This is an excellent opportunity for researchers to provide input into future policy. To apply you have to answer 4 questions with no more than a 150 word answer for each in an online expression of interest , but the deadline is Thursday (15th March)  so be quick!

Looking to recruit a potential Post Doc – Food and Tourism

We are looking for a potential overseas Post Doc to work in the area of Food and Tourism.  In the first instance the candidate would work with collegues to secure the funding for this one or two year post, though we are looking at a funding route with a good success rate.

The specific package of work for the two years will be negotiated depending on the research interests of the candidate and the research team.

So if you have any connections with an individual that might fit the bill please get back to Sean for a chat. (sbeer@bournemouth.ac.uk )

Marie Curie Template Application

A number of you have expressed an interest in seeing a Marie Curie application to get a feel for the form. I have placed a blank version on our I drive so any BU member of staff thinking of submitting can take a look I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Marie Curie Form Template . The forms for all the Marie Curie schemes are similar and therefore only one is provided. The form is strictly for internal BU circulation only.

Presenting student research internationally

It’s a long way in place and time from October 2010 in the Media School to March 2012 at the International Public Relations Research Conference at the University of Miami in sunny Florida. That’s the journey that BAPR graduate Lauren Willmott has taken from first thoughts on her dissertation to presenting the results at the conference, along with academics and practitioners from 24 countries and over 100 other papers.

Lauren Willmott and Prof Tom Watson at IPRRC Miami

Lauren’s research on the use of Twitter as a crisis communication tactic was supervised by Prof Tom Watson.  It reviewed two transport crises in 2009 and 2010 and investigated the role and usage of the 140-character medium in keeping passengers, their families and the media abreast of the news.

The investigation won her the Wessex CIPR award for the best public relations dissertation and also helped Lauren gain a position at the leading international PR consultancy A&REdelman in London where she works on Olympics-linked accounts. The firm also sponsored her attendance at the conference.

With Prof Watson’s assistance, an abstract from the dissertation was submitted to the prestigious Miami conference, and chosen for presentation. “This is a highly competitive review process with an acceptance rate of less than 50 per cent. Lauren’s research was pitted against some of PR’s best known academic researchers and so it was a real success that the jointly-authored paper was accepted,” said Prof Watson. “It was also the only paper accepted from a first author/early researcher who was not on a postgraduate or doctoral programme.”

So on Saturday March 10, Lauren presented her paper and got feedback (and applause) on the paper and for next stages of research. Amongst the responses to Lauren and Tom was that the paper’s standard was much higher than expected from US bachelor-level graduates: “Are all your students producing work as good as this?”

“Lauren’s achievement in presenting her paper at this high international level shows that BU students, with supportive supervision, can share the stage with the best researchers. It’s been a rewarding experience for everyone involved,” said Prof Watson.

Lauren’s verdict was, “It was amazing to be given the opportunity to present my dissertation in front of professionals who had inspired my research topic. The conference enabled me to network with a diverse range of PR professionals and as a result I have been presented with several opportunities such as Skyping into a lecture of students at the University of South Florida to talk about working in a London agency.”

Looking for FP7 Health partners or attending an infoday? Then this is unmissable!

Fit for Health and Health-NCP-Net are organising a partnering event in Brussels on 30.05.12  for the next FP7 Health Call for Proposals, due to be published in July 2012.

The main aim of the event is to facilitate consortium building for future bids to the FP7 Health Theme. The day will mainly consist of bilateral meetings which will be arranged between groups interested in the same topics of the forthcoming FP7 Health Call for Proposals.

The European Commission will also hold an infoday on the Call the day before the brokerage event on 29.05.12 which is essential for finding out more about the Call and meeting potential partners.

New EU IPR guidance for SMEs

SMEs can sometimes be  nervous of getting involved in FP7 projects because of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The European Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Helpdesk has published new guidance intended to give SMEs an overview of how IP should be managed within FP7.  The guide addresses issues faced by participants at the proposal stage, during negotiation and implementation, and upon completion of the project. It also contains a glossary and a list of links to useful resources.  The guide can be used in conjunction with the three more detailed guides addressing IP issues at different stages of FP7 projects which were published at the end of 2011.

‘Consensus statement’ on research integrity released

Guidance, Research Integritiy

The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) has welcomed calls for it to be placed at the centre of a toughened research integrity oversight regime in the UK.  Agreed at a high-level meeting organised by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Committee on Publication Ethics and attended by a variety of senior figures from journals, funders and institutions, the Consensus Statement calls upon institutions and research funders to do more to prevent and detect misconduct.

According to a recent BMJ survey, research misconduct is “alive and well” in the UK; 13 percent of UK-based scientists and doctors claimed they had witnessed colleagues fabricating or altering research data ahead of publication in peer-reviewed journals and of the 2,700 scientists and doctors who responded, 6 percent admitted misconduct themselves when preparing or presenting research papers.  Research misconduct is important as it wastes resources, damages the credibility of science, and can cause harm (for example, to patients and the public). 

As part of my role as the Conduct Officer in the RDU, I’m currently undertaking a University-wide ethics review, which will (among other things) actively promote a high level of research integrity in all BU endeavours.  Within this review, I will ensure that the University is compliant with the guidelines agreed in the Consensus Statement and that we are doing our part to educate and inform staff and students on the importance of good research conduct.

Below is an abbreviated list of points agreed at the meeting:

  • The UK’s mechanisms for ensuring good research conduct and investigating research misconduct need to be strengthened.
  • Research misconduct is defined as behaviour by a researcher, intentional or not, that falls short of good ethical and scientific standards (Edinburgh 1999).  Research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, suppression, or inappropriate manipulation of data; inappropriate image manipulation; plagiarism; misleading reporting; redundant publication; authorship malpractice such as guest or ghost authorship; failure to disclose funding sources or competing interests; misreporting of funder involvement; and unethical research (for example, failure to obtain adequate patient consent). 
  • Primary responsibility for good research conduct rests with individual researchers.  However, institutions have direct responsibility as employers to ensure good research conduct, and funders have a duty to hold institutions to account.
  • Research funders should require research institutions to appoint a senior named person as a research integrity officer and to adhere to an agreed code of conduct for research.
  • The code of conduct should mandate the setting up of effective systems to prevent and detect misconduct and proper investigation of allegations of research misconduct.

UKRIO is an independent body which provides expert advice and guidance about the conduct of research.  They cover all subject areas and help all involved in research, from research organisations, including universities and the NHS, to individual researchers and members of the public.

Come along to the next Fusion Seminar on 21 March!

Fusion

The fourth event in the Fusion Seminar and Conference Series is due to be held on Wednesday 21 March and will focus on the Inspiring aspect of the BU2018 strategy.

The March Seminar will take place between 12:00-1:30pm. Registration will open at 11:45 and the sessions will begin at 12:00. There will be one hour of short and focused presentations followed by 30 minutes of networking opportunities over lunch. The Seminar will be hosted by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Tim McIntyre-Bhatty who will open the seminar with a 10 minute presentation. This will be followed by five brief and succinct presentations by invited speakers, with each presentation lasting no more than ten minutes including questions.

The draft programme is available here: Fusion event – Inspiring – programme

The Seminar will be held in Kimmerdige House and will start promptly at 12pm. Please arrive for registration from 11:45am, ready for the 12pm start.

To book a place at the event visit the booking page here: http://fusionseminar3.eventbrite.com

For an excellent summary of BU’s Fusion strategy, watch this short video from Professor John Vinney:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrUxINNWzjQ&