Category / Funding opportunities

GoodBye JeS, Hello TFS

Funding opportunities, Research communication, Research news

 

 

 

UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Simpler and Better Funding (SBF) programme has been creating a funding service that is easy to use and supports everyone involved in research funding.

The new Funding Service is designed to be simpler and more intuitive to use. It will provide consistent information requirements and assessment criteria, making it simpler for applicants and assessors.

Guidance on the application process will be supplied within the service, reducing the need to look for additional information in multiple places.

UKRI will continue to operate the existing system (Je-S) system for application and award management. When applying for an opportunity on the UKRI funding finder, you will be taken directly to the correct application system.

Over time, opportunities will be transitioned to the new service. For the details of each council transitioning from JeS have a look at this page.

If you have projects in planning stage get in touch with RDS and we can help you with any queries about transitioning to the new service and calls affected by the move.

If you have not used the Funding Service before, the first step is to create an account. The process is straightforward and quick, so you can get started on your application as soon as possible.

RDS will continue to support you as before from your bid preparation stage and approvals before submissions to award management in the new service.

Updated Intention to Bid form – March 2023

BU research, ECR Network, Funding opportunities, Guidance, PG research, policy, Postgraduate Research, pre-award, research opportunities, Research Training

Since the introduction of the new electronic ITB form on 24 January 2022, there have been incremental updates and the current e-ITB form is now available.

The e-ITB form continues to give a better user experience, creates a more efficient administrative control process for Research Development and Support (RDS) and provides accurate reporting outcomes for management.

 

Updated ITB form: The  Intention to Bid (ITB) form and the updated Research Costings Request Sheet are both available now in the Policies & Procedures/Research/Pre-award section of the intranet under Research > Pre-award. Please complete the Research Costings Request Sheet and attach it to the e-ITB form for completion. PDF copies of all submissions can be printed or saved but there are limitations to editing a form once it has been submitted.

Please send RDS the completed e-ITB form and Costing Request Sheet by the latest 4 weeks before the deadline.

 

Bid Enquiry Process: If you have more than 4 weeks to the submission deadline and need advice or support regarding a bid, please access the same form link and select ‘Enquiry/Advice on Bidding’. This ensures that the pre-award team will see your Enquiry, rather than emailing a sole officer who may not be available at the time.

 

As a service, RDS is committed to delivering service excellence to enable BU’s academic community to deliver and grow world-leading research for societal benefit. The program of work continues to look at processes to enhance the user experience.

 

Changes include improvements to the pre- and post-award support being offered. Building on the delivery of a new Principal Investigator report which is currently in the final stages of being rolled out, and continuing our collaboration with the Transformation Team.

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 8 – Internal Process Launched

Events, Funding opportunities, UKRI

Deadline for expression of interest: 12pm on Thursday 30th March 2023.

The UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships will grow the strong supply of talented individuals needed to ensure a vibrant environment for research and innovation in the UK. The scheme is open to researchers and innovators from across business, universities, and other organisations and from around the world.

This scheme is looking for early career researchers and innovators who are either:

  • looking to establish or transition to independence
  • developing their own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting.

UKRI are offering funding to support ambitious research or innovation programmes across UKRI’s remit. You must be based at, and have the support of, an eligible academic or non-academic institution.

There is no minimum or maximum award value.

Your project can last for up to four years, with the option to apply to renew for a further three years.

The external deadline for this call is 4th July 2023.

 

BU internal competition:

​For Round 8 we are running an internal process at BU to ensure we support and encourage submissions from the highest standard of candidates. For this round, BU is capped at a maximum of 3 applications.

The focus is to ensure candidates are eligible and have a high chance of success, providing them with comprehensive advice and support, to develop a high-quality programme of research and proposal for submission. Applications are welcome from internal academics (both as prospective fellows and/or mentors of prospective fellows) and external academics to be hosted by BU.

Prospective applicants should complete an Expression of Interest and send to Research Development by 12pm on 30th March 2023. A panel of subject experts, DDRPPs and SIA Conveners will review each EoI and selected applicants will be notified by end of day on 21st April 2023.  All documents relating to this internal competition are available on the I Drive here: I:\RDS\Public\FLF Round 8 July 2023

Selected applicants will then be supported to progress with their application and receive internal and external support as required.

A briefing on this call will be held on 1st March 2023 at 12 noon, including an overview of the scheme and a Q&A session. You can access the meeting here. For those who cannot attend on the day, the briefing will be recorded and shared on Brightspace.

Process for selecting applications timeline:

Date Action
23rd February 2023 Internal Launch of Call
1st March 2023 Future Leaders Briefing and Q&A for Fellows and mentors – at the Funding Development Briefing.
30th March 2023 Noon EoI deadline
30th March 2023 5pm Applications sent to reviewers
w/c 17th April 2023 Panel Meeting
21st April 2023 Notify successful FLF/s

Please contact Lisa Andrews, RDS Research Facilitator for further information on this scheme.

Save the Date – 26 April 2023 – UKRO Annual Meeting with BU Academics

EU, Events, Funding opportunities

RDS will host the annual UK Research Office virtual visit to BU on 26 April 2023. This will be organised as part of funding briefing series but will start at 12:30.

Please make a note in your diaries – all academic staff interested in Horizon Europe framework programme and EU funding in general, either experienced or new to it, are invited to attend this session. The session will be hosted by RDS and led by our UKRO European Advisor Ms Malgorzata Czerwiec from Brussels.

Meeting agenda and instructions how to join the meeting will follow. However, it’s definite that the main discussion will be about UK’s association to Horizon Europe. Later in March or April this year it may be clear if we associate or go for government’s plan B. The agenda will be adjusted accordingly.

For now, I still would like to encourage our academic colleagues to apply for Horizon Europe funding. So far, we have been really successful with 6 awarded Horizon Europe grants – three in 2022 and other three just now in the beginning of 2023, including highly prestigious European Research Council’s Consolidator Grant.

UKRO delivers subscription-based advisory service for research organisations and provides Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and European Research Council (ERC) National Contact Point services in the UK. As part of UKRO services, BU members of staff may sign up to receive personalised email alerts and get early access to the EU funding related publications on UKRO portal. More about UKRO services you can find here.

Please contact Research Facilitator International Ainar Blaudums if you have further questions.

BA/Leverhulme Small Grants 7th June 2023

Funding opportunities, Research communication

BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants

The call for the next round of BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants will be opening soon.

We will be welcoming your proposals for the upcoming BA/Leverhulme Small grants call!

The below deadlines will be in place to ensure that the pre-award team can provide all interested academics with optimal support in a timely manner.

Please see below our timelines and the updated process.

 

 

Wed 22nd Feb 2023

 

 

Wed 22nd Feb 2023- 5th April

 RDS British Academy Guidance session 

Join us to review the guidance and then start work on your application; Slides and proposal form will be available after the session on Brightspace.

 

Work on your proposal and once ready, forward to RDS.
5th April 2023 Call Opens – latest date to send your proposal to RDS for peer review.
5th April- 17th April 2023 Proposal reviews, RDS  will inform you of your peer review results and advice on next steps.
24th April 2023 Intention to bid form latest date to be submitted, only for peer reviewed applications that have been advised to progress.

Remember to advise your referee that you will be sending them your completed application on FlexiGrant and they will need to provide their supporting statement by 26th May.
24th April 2023 If you are Grade 8 or below and you wish to use the support of an External Application Reviewer (EAR), you must submit your draft application to RDS by this date.
26th May 2023 Nominated referee supporting statement to be completed via FlexiGrant

Note that the earlier you complete you application on FlexiGrant, the more time the referee will have to review your bid and provide the supporting statement.
31st May 2023 Your final application must be submitted on FlexiGrant by this date at the latest.

Click ‘submit’ and the form will be sent to BU’s account for RDS checks.
31st May -6th  June 2023 Institutional checks to take place by RDS

RDS will work with you to ensure compliance with all funder’s requirements.

 

If you have any queries, please contact Eva Papadopoulou or your Funding Development Officer. 

COST Information and Networking Event

BU research, EU, Events, Funding opportunities, Info Days, pre-award

A while ago I published a blog about opportunities to join COST | European Cooperation in Science and Technology actions, you can read the article here.

The University of Leeds, in collaboration with the COST Association, will host an in-person COST Information Day & Networking Event on Thursday, 23 March 2023 from 9:30 to 14:00.

This event will provide researchers with information on COST Actions and how to submit a COST proposal. It will also outline the impact of participating in COST Actions on researchers’ careers, highlighting specific opportunities for young researchers.

Speakers will include a representative from the COST Association, who will present the COST Programme, and Leeds researchers, who will share their experiences from participation in COST actions. There will be an opportunity to ask questions in a dedicated Q&A session, and to network with other attendees.

The event will be recorded and the video will be published on the University of Leeds events page.

Further information, including the full agenda and the registration link, can be found on the event registration webpage.

Please note that those interested to participate in person will have to seek options for covering travel costs in their faculties; event itself is free of charge.

If you plan to get involved in a COST Action, please get in touch with your RDS Funding Development Officer.

Funding Development Briefing 08/02/23 Spotlight on: BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants

Funding opportunities

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 08 February 12:00-12:30, we will cover the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants

Research Professional – all you need to know.

BU research, Funding opportunities

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise. The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to Research Professional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using Research Professional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of Research Professional. To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on Research Professional. They are holding two monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with Research Professional. The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat. Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the second Tuesday of the month. You can register here for your preferred date:

9th May 2023

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you. Previous recordings can be found here if you can’t attend a session.

Have you noticed the pink box on the BU Research Blog homepage?

By clicking on this box, on the left of the Research Blog home page just under the text ‘Funding Opportunities‘, you access a Research Professional real-time search of the calls announced by the Major UK Funders. Use this feature to stay up to date with funding calls. Please note that you will have to be on campus or connecting to your desktop via our VPN to fully access this service.

Funding Development Briefing 01/02/23 Spotlight on: KTPs – with Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers_re-scheduled!

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Guidance

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 01 February 12:00-12:30, we will cover the Knowledge Exchange Partnerships (KTP) and we will have the pleasure of having the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers along to talk to us about the KTP process and tips about getting partnerships together.
Sessions will be recorded and made available after the session for those who cannot attend.

Funding Development Briefing 25/1/23 Spotlight on: Horizon Europe Guarantee

Funding opportunities

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 25 January 12:00-12:30, we will cover the Horizon Europe Guarantee.

Sessions will be recorded and made available after the session for those who cannot attend.

Funding Development Briefing 18/1/23 Spotlight on: Medical Research Council

BU research, Funding opportunities

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 18 January 12:00-12:30, we will cover Medical Research Council (overview).

Sessions will be recorded and made available after the session for those who cannot attend.

Studentship Funding Panel: call for Chair, Deputy Chair & Panel Members

BU research, BU2025, Doctoral College, Funding opportunities, Fusion, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Supervision, Uncategorized

***DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 6 FEBRUARY 2023***  The Studentship Funding Panel is responsible on behalf of the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC) for providing internal funding and support to ensure the University maximises opportunities for investing the University’s QR RDP Supervision grant in match funded studentships, in line with the BU2025 Research Principles.

We are seeking expressions of interest (EoIs) for the Chair, Deputy Chair and Panel members for the new panel.

Chairs should be members of the Professoriate – this is extended to Associate Professors for the Deputy Chair role. Applications from underrepresented groups (minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

EoIs for Panel members are open to the wider academic community, not just the Professoriate.

Application: EoIs will be reviewed against selection criterion which includes knowledge and experience of knowledge exchange, innovation and impact, experience of chairing meetings and plans for leading the research agenda across the university.

EoIs for the Chair and Deputy Chair roles should consist of a short case (maximum length of one page) on the form provided outlining suitability for the role. These should be submitted to the Doctoral College mailbox by the deadline of 5pm on 6 February 2023.

EoIs for Panel member roles should consist of a short case (maximum length of half a page) on the form provided outlining suitability for the role. These should be submitted to the  Doctoral College mailbox by the deadline of 5pm on 6 February 2023.

Please note: EoIs should specify to which role the applicant is applying.

There will be a delay in response to Panel member applications until the Chair and Deputy Chair roles are appointed by 6 March 2023. After this the Panel Members will be contacted about their appointment.

There will be an orientation meeting on at 10am on 9 March 2023 for the Chairs and Deputy Chairs. This will be with Deputy VC Tim McIntyre-Bhatty.

Full details are available here:

BU Studentship Funding Panel – ToR.pdf

BU Studentship Funding Panel – Chair & Deputy Chair Role Descriptor

BU Studentship Funding Panel – Panel Member Role Descriptor

BU Studentship Funding Panel – Expressions of Interest

Knowledge Exchange & Innovation Funding Panel – call for Chair, Deputy Chair and Panel Members

BU2025, Funding opportunities, Fusion, HEIF, Impact, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, research opportunities, research staff

The Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Funding Panel is responsible on behalf of the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC) for providing internal funding and support to ensure the University maximises opportunities for investing internal funds in projects that support knowledge exchange (KE) in line with the BU2025 Research Principles. 

We are seeking expressions of interest (EoIs) for the Chair, Deputy Chair and Panel members for the new panel. 

Chairs should be members of the Professoriate – this is extended to Associate Professors for the Deputy Chair role. Applications from underrepresented groups (minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome. 

EoIs for Panel members are open to the wider academic community, not just the Professoriate.

Application: EoIs will be reviewed against selection criterion which includes knowledge and experience of knowledge exchange, innovation and impact, experience of chairing meetings and plans for leading the research agenda across the university. 

EoIs for the Chair and Deputy Chair roles should consist of a short case (maximum length of one page) outlining suitability for the role. These should be submitted to the  KE & Innovation Fund mailbox by the deadline of 5pm on 23rd January 2023. 

EoIs for Panel member roles should consist of a short case (maximum length of half a page) outlining suitability for the role. These should be submitted to the  KE & Innovation Fund mailbox by the deadline of 5pm on 23rd January 2023. 

The successful candidates for the Chair and Deputy Chair roles will be required to attend an orientation meeting with Deputy VC Tim McIntyre-Bhatty on Thursday 9th March at 10am. 

Please note that applications for Panel members will be processed following the successful recruitment of the above role- this is likely to be after 6th March 2023. 

Full details are available here:

KE Innovation FP Chair and Deputy Chair role descriptor.docx

Process and criteria for KE Funding Recruitment.docx

KEI Panel Member Role Description.docx

NIHR Bulletin

Funding opportunities, NHS, pre-award, Research news

RDS NEWS

RDS Blog: Researcher, adviser, committee member – we’re all on the same side
The RDS blog this month looks at the many hats that our RDS advisers wear to support you develop the best application for submission to NIHR funding programmes. Find out more.

NIHR News

NIHR publishes its 2021-22 Annual Report
The NIHR has published its annual report and accounts, highlighting milestones and achievements during 2021/22. Find out more.

eBulletins and Newsletters

CRN West of England – AcoRD Specialist Update

NIHR ARCs Your Path in Research: January 2023,  New Year Special

NIHR Evidence: December 2022

NIHR News and Research: December 2022

 

Funding Opportunities

Latest NIHR funding calls

Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme
22/564 Evaluating the Efficacy of Metformin in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme
22/563 Evaluating new models of care for children and young people with excess weight and related complications

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme
23/1 Health Technology Assessment Programme researcher-led (primary research)
23/2 Health Technology Assessment Programme researcher-led (evidence synthesis)
23/3 NIHR NICE rolling call (HTA Programme)
23/4 NIHR James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships rolling call (HTA Programme)
23/6 Motor Neurone Disease (HTA Programme)

Public Health Research (PHR) Programme
Health Determinant Research Collaborations (HDRCs) – webinar on 1 February

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) should you need help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body or if you’re hoping to resubmit the panel can provide some excellent tips and feedback.

Contact us as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.

Research Professional – all you need to know

BU research, Funding opportunities

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise. The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to Research Professional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using Research Professional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of Research Professional. To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on Research Professional. They are holding two monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with Research Professional. The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat. Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the second Tuesday of the month. You can register here for your preferred date:

9th May 2023

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you. Previous recordings can be found here if you can’t attend a session.

Have you noticed the pink box on the BU Research Blog homepage?

By clicking on this box, on the left of the Research Blog home page just under the text ‘Funding Opportunities‘, you access a Research Professional real-time search of the calls announced by the Major UK Funders. Use this feature to stay up to date with funding calls. Please note that you will have to be on campus or connecting to your desktop via our VPN to fully access this service.

Funding Development Briefing 14/12/22 Spotlight on: KTPs (Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers)

BU research, Events, Funding opportunities

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 14th December 12:00-12:30, we will have presentation from the BEKEMs and they will discuss KTPs and CPD within BU.
Date Spotlight Funding Opportunity Briefing Research Facilitator Lead
14/09/2022 Innovate UK SMART Grants Innovation & Infrastructure
21/09/2022 NERC Pushing the Frontiers Life Sciences
28/09/2022 23/24 Horizon Europe Work Programmes EU & International
05/10/2022 ESRC Humanities & Social Sciences
12/10/2022 EPSRC Innovation & Infrastructure
19/10/2022 Wellcome Trust Life Sciences
26/10/2022 HALF TERM
02/11/2022 MSCA Overview of Actions EU & International
09/11/2022 No spotlight
16/11/2022 UKRI FLF All
23/11/2022 NIHR Overview Life Sciences
30/11/2022 Horizon Europe Societal Challenges EU & International
07/12/2022 Leverhulme Trust to be rescheduled for January Humanities & Social Sciences
14/12/2022 KTPs (Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers) Innovation & Infrastructure

Sessions will be recorded and made available after the session for those who cannot attend.