Category / Funding opportunities

Technical assistance for grant applications – workshop places available!

Funding opportunities

In the UK, £4.7 billion is being expected to be invested in R&D over the next 4 years. Will you be ready to apply?

Much of this funding will be available to academia, in partnership with business, through Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund competitive grants. Writing these grants is an art in itself, because word counts are tight and the demand for detail high. And then there is the human factor – convincing five under-pressure assessors that your idea is novel, experimental, leading edge, etc. These are the people who will score you and ultimately decide whether you make it to the fundable zone…

BU’s Research & Knowledge Exchange Office is hosting a technical writing workshop, where the art of writing these grants will be unpacked by a successful bid writer, who has won them, spoken with the assessors to learn how to win even more of them, and is almost in daily contact with the funder, Innovate UK.

The workshop, on 10th December 2018, will include discussions on:

• Knowing your funder – vital background on what makes Innovate UK tick…
• Knowing your assessors – vital tips to improve your score…
• Unpacking the application questions – what you must write and how you must write…

After the workshop attendees will have the opportunity to have a one-to-one session with the bid writer to discuss project ideas and to explore suitable grants.

This workshop directly supports and is targeted towards those academics proactively working within the context of BU2025 Actions: 28, 29 and 30.

To attend, please see further information available on the BU staff pages and review the calendar of events for further opportunities.

Research Council Development Scheme – applications now open

Funding opportunities

BU is introducing the second round of the Research Council Development Scheme which is a coordinated, targeted set of activities designed to inspire and equip BU researchers to achieve greater success with Research Council funding.

The aim is to:

  • Increase awareness of the Research Councils opportunities
  • Equip researchers with the confidence and skills to apply for the Research Councils funding in line with their career stage
  • Fast-track the development of a portfolio of proposals by facilitating proposal writing, setting next steps and allocating support

Due to the wide range of opportunities offered by Research Councils, the RCDS will feature a range of activities which may be generic in scope or targeted to a cohort as follows.

  • E cohort – early career researchers and those new to Research Councils (learning aims: first grants, fellowships, general mind-set and approach)
  • M cohort – mid-career researchers and those with some Research Councils experience (learning aims: project leadership and moving up to larger grants/collaborations)
  • P cohort – professorial level and those with significant Research Council experience (learning aims: high value, strategic and longer-larger funding)

As the RCDS is being piloted, this first cohort will have access to the ‘gold standard’ of a mix of development activities:

  • As a group and within targeted cohorts: training, workshops, structured proposal writing sessions and opportunities to build peer-to-peer support.
  • 1:1 support for scoping/identifying funding streams and planning/starting proposals.
  • Hands-on work to develop proposals through the scheme, including bid surgeries.

The criteria for membership, expectations of membership, and the training and development timetable for the RCDS can be found in the scheme document. Those wanting to participate in this great opportunity will need to submit an expression of interest to: researchdev@bournemouth.ac.uk stating:

  • Why they are applying to the RCDS
  • What (if any) Research Council Bidding experience they have to date
  • Which targeted cohort they consider themselves to be in: E, M or P
  • Do they have a funding proposal in development? If so, to provide details of the proposal (this is not essential to be a member)

Please submit your expression of interest by 18th December 2019. RKEO will then send a membership agreement form to potential members, where they will agree to attend the training sessions and submit proposals to the research councils. As this scheme is part of the RKEDF, potential members will need to seek approval from their Head of Department or departmental nominated approver.

Please read through the scheme document and if any clarification is required then contact Rachel Clarke, Research Facilitator, RKEO. This scheme is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate your research council funding track record.

RKE News issue 3 out now

Funding opportunities

The third issue of RKE News is now available. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide a termly update of internal and external research and knowledge exchange news, successes and opportunities.

This issue focuses on research at BU and BU2025, some of the many funding opportunities which are available and upcoming events.

I hope this information is helpful and of interest to you. If you would like to send in any stories or ideas for inclusion or if you have any feedback in general, please let me know.

Looking for a Challenge?

Funding opportunities, Guidance

Bournemouth University invites expressions of interest from internationally recognised mid-career to senior researchers who currently work outside the UK, and are active within the social sciences and humanities who wish to apply for the British Academy Global Fellowship scheme (BAGF).

The purpose of the Global Professorships is to enable world-class scholars to further their individual research goals while strengthening the UK research base and advancing the research goals and strategies of their UK host universities. Each four-year appointment is intended to be a complete project in itself and is expected to involve a specific research focus.

More information about the scheme will be available presently from the British Academy. There are strict eligibility requirements and potential candidates are advised to check these carefully.

Candidates who intend to apply for a BA BAGF at Bournemouth University as the host institution are asked to submit the following BA EOI form – Prof 2018  application to apekalski@bournemouth.ac.uk no later than 27th November 2018.

There is no guarantee that applications which arrive after this date will be supported or processed.

 

Procedure For applicants applying through Bournemouth University

Should you be interested in applying through Bournemouth University for a BAGF, please note that your expression of interest application will be assessed by the relevant Faculty in the first instance.

Once your application has been approved by Faculty, it will be sent for internal review. The panel will be convening on the 13th December 2018, and candidates can expect feedback by 4th December 2018.

If your application has been approved, the research facilitator responsible will work with you on your application.

The internal deadline for submitting applications via the BA’s Flexi-Grant system will be 5 working days before the external BA deadline (28 February 2019) – this is to allow time for institutional approval of your application, a requirement by the British Academy.

If you have further questions or queries please contact lease contact apekalski@bournemouth.ac.uk.

HE policy update for the w/e 2nd November 2018

Funding opportunities, international, NHS, Student Engagement

The Budget

As previously trailed in the media the Autumn Budget was focused on demonstrating the end of austerity. There wasn’t much in the way of HE announcements, however paperwork released with the budget confirms that the Government intends to continue to freeze the maximum tuition fees at the current £9,250 level (UUK report this means £200 million less funding for the sector by 2023-24). Previously announced increases to research and development funding (£1.6 billion more) were reiterated:

  • £1.1 billion through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund
  • £120 million through Strength in Places fund
  • £150 million for research fellowship schemes
  • Funding for 10 university enterprise zones, and for catapult centres

(more…)

Research Professional – all you need to know

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 ResearchProfessional. 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 ResearchProfessional.

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 ResearchProfessional. 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 ResearchProfessional. They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional. 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 fourth Tuesday of each month. You can register here for your preferred date:

27th November 2018

22nd January 2019

26th February 2019

26th March 2019

23rd April 2019

21st May 2019

25th Jun 2019

23rd July 2019

27th August 2019

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.

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.

Forthcoming RKEDF events

Funding opportunities, Fusion, Research assessment

We have some great events coming up over the next few weeks to help support you in your research activity within the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework (RKEDF)

We have also grouped the RKEDF events around your needs, so if, for example, you are an Early Career Researcher or need to know about external funding, you can click on the link to find all the RKEDF sessions that may assist you. You can also find related events by using the link on each session’s page.

November

Tuesday 6th November RKEDF: Research Ethics @ BU
Tuesday 6th November RKEDF: Impact Basics (FMC)
Wednesday 7th November RKEDF: Research Outputs – Writing Day
Wednesday 7th November RKEDF: Main Panel B UOA 11 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Wednesday 7th November RKEDF: Main Panel B – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Monday 12th November RKEDF: Main Panel B UOA 12 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Thursday 15th November RKEDF: Main Panel C UOA 14 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Thursday 15th November RKEDF: Main Panel C UOA 18 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Thursday 15th November RKEDF: Main Panel C UOA 23 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Thursday 15th November RKEDF: Main Panel C – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Friday 16th November RKEDF: Impact Basics (HSS)
Friday 16th November RKEDF: Impact Case Study Writing Retreat
Tuesday 20th November RKEDF: Impact Basics (FST)
Friday 23rd November RKEDF: SciVal Development – Scopus
Friday 23rd November RKEDF: SciVal Development – SciVal Introduction
Friday 23rd November RKEDF: SciVal Development – SciVal Intermediate
Friday 23rd November RKEDF: SciVal Development – SciVal for REF Purposes

December

Wednesday 5th December RKEDF: Writing Academy – Day 1 of 3
Monday 10th December RKEDF: Technical Bid Writing Workshop
Wednesday 12th December RKEDF: Main Panel D UOA 27 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Wednesday 12th December RKEDF: Main Panel D UOA 32 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Wednesday 12th December RKEDF: Main Panel D UOA 34 – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Wednesday 12th December RKEDF: Main Panel D – Improving the Quality Score of Your Output
Friday 14th December RKEDF: Impact Case Study Writing Retreat
Monday 17th December RKEDF: Main Panel A – Developing Impact Case Studies for your REF Panel: the good, bad and ugly
Tuesday 18th December RKEDF: Main Panel B – Developing Impact Case Studies for your REF Panel: the good, bad and ugly

The above list does not include events where attendance requires faculty nominations / applications or are part of the Early Career Researcher Network schedule for 18/19.

You can see all the Organisational Development and RKEDF events in one place on the handy calendar of events.

Please note that all sessions are now targeted, so look closely at the event page to ensure that the event is suitable for you. In addition, RKEDF events now require the approval of your Head of Department (or other nominated approver). Please follow the instructions given on the event page and the template email for you to initiate the booking request.

If you have any queries, please get in touch!

Blue Economy call 2018 Info day in Brussels

Funding opportunities

The following event may be of interest for BU academics considering applying for EU grants.

The European Commission invites to join the Info day of the new Blue Economy call. The event will be held in Brussels on Thursday 22 November 2018 from 9:30 to 15:30 (a draft programme of the event has been published).

Blue Economy call 2018: Blue Careers, Blue Labs and Grants for the Blue Economy aims to accelerate the implementation of the EU Maritime Policy and the sustainable development of the blue economy across Europe. The call has a focus on three topics – Blue Labs: innovative solutions for maritime challenges, Blue Careers in Europe, and Grants for the Blue Economy: investing in innovation.

EASME and DG MARE will then provide useful information about the new call and the application process. For more details and registration please refer to the event’s web page.

ERC Consolidator Grant 2019 call published

Funding opportunities

The European Research Council (ERC) has published its 2019 Consolidator Grant call; applicants have to submit their proposals before 4 PM (UK time) 7 February 2019 (104 days left until closure from now).

The fundamental activity of the ERC is to provide attractive, long-term funding to support excellent investigators and their research teams to pursue ground-breaking, high-gain/high-risk research.

ERC Consolidator Grants are designed to support excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Applicant Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.

Consolidator Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of EUR 2 000 000 for a period of 5 years. The Principal Investigator shall have been awarded their first PhD over 7 and up to 12 years prior to 1 January 2019. The effective elapsed time since the award of the first PhD can be reduced in certain properly documented circumstances.

A competitive Consolidator Grant Principal Investigator must have already shown research independence and evidence of maturity, for example by having produced several important publications as main author or without the participation of their PhD supervisor.

For more information please refer to Guide for Applicants. There also are great support opportunities available at BU for academics planning to apply for EU and International funding. If you are considering applying for international funding, contact international research facilitator or any member of RKEO Funding Development Team at your faculty to individually discuss your ideas and the ways we could support you.