Category / Funding opportunities

TENDER opportunity : Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments in the energy sector

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation

The European Commission is currently advertising a tender opportunity on the ‘Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments in the energy sector’ with the following aim:

The aim is to collect information on energy generation costs, system and external costs in the energy sector, in parallel with looking at taxes related the use of energy paid to the general budget, and to build up an inventory on government interventions related to energy. The study will cover the 28 Member States of the EU, all major energy sources and beyond the energy sector the main energy consuming branches, such as industry, transport and agriculture. Beyond the EU the study aims at building a database as complete as possible for G20 countries. In order to feed in the initiatives of the Energy Union, the study will identify best practices in the EU Member States to measure subsidies to fossil fuels, and it will analyse the impact of fossil fuel subsidies on decarbonisation objectives of EU policies and investments in climate friendly energy technologies. The next energy prices and costs report and the State of the energy Union report could use the results of the study.

Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:

Deadline for requests to participate: 24 October 2018

Available funding : EURO 2,000,000 (excluding VAT)

Duration : 18 months

Please see this link for more information on this tender opportunity.

 

 

Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security – EPSRC funding opportunity

Funding opportunities, Industry collaboration, innovation

EPSRC intends to establish a NetworkPlus to develop and build on industry-academic relationships in Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security (TIPS), bringing together relevant parts of the TIPS community and a variety of stakeholders, including the CyberInvest members and other users, to identify the key opportunities where industry-academic collaboration is needed, build collaborations and grow the area of research and innovation for the benefit of the UK.

Involvement from a broad range of disciplines relevant to TIPS is required to include those beyond the purely technical elements, such as psychology, politics, legal and ethical studies among others. Non-academic stakeholders, including CyberInvest partners, will be essential participants. The NetworkPlus could undertake a variety of activities including workshops, events, feasibility studies, secondments and horizon scanning. Applicants are encouraged to be innovative in their approach.

Please find a summary of the call below:

Opening date : 3 September 2018

Closing date : 3 December 2018

Available funding : £1.7m

There will be a webinar on 18 October at 14:30 which will feature a presentation from EPSRC contacts and an opportunity to ask any questions. To register to participate, please complete the registration form embedded on this call page. Please note: registration for the webinar will close on 17 October 2018 at 17:00.

Please see this link for more information about this funding call.

Predictive Cyber Analytics – Funding opportunity

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition welcomes proposals for novel approaches to predictive cyber security to address challenges in defence and/or security.

A total funding of £1M will be available in this Phase 1 of this competition. Around 5 to 10 proof-of-concept research projects up to 6 months of duration are expected. Further funding into future phases beyond this competition is anticipated to be available.

Details on how to apply will be included in the full competition document which will be available soon. Please sign up to alerts to keep up to date.

In the meantime, you will need to register for the new DASA Submission Service, noting you will not be able to view the competition until the full competition document is published.

Please click on this link to find out more about this competition and more on the submission process can be found here.

Queries should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

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:

25th September 2018

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 a new box appear 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.

Save the date – 10 October 2018 – UKRO Annual Visit to BU

Funding opportunities

RKEO will host annual UK Research Office visit on 10th October 2018. The event will take place provisionally in FG06 seminar room. All staff interested in EU funding are invited to attend. This session will be delivered by Dr Andreas Kontogeorgos, European Advisor of the UK Research Office.

We are preparing agenda which is expected to include such topics as Brexit and the next EU framework programme Horizon Europe. More information on agenda will be provided in September. Academics are kindly requested to submit any other EU funding related topics for discussion to Ainar Blaudums at RKEO by the end of August.

UKRO is the European office of the UK Research Councils. It delivers a subscription-based advisory service for research organisations (in the main UK HEIs) and provides National Contact Point services on behalf of the UK Government. UKRO’s mission is to maximise UK engagement in EU-funded research, innovation and higher education activities. As part of UKRO services, BU members of staff may sign up to receive personalised email alerts.

N.B. BU staff considering applying for EU and other international funding should contact Research Facilitator for EU and International funding Ainar Blaudums for further information and support.

International funding opportunities – upcoming information and brokerage events

Funding opportunities, international

The following events may be of interest for BU academics considering applying for grants in their respective research area.

Thursday 13 September 2018 (between 09:00 – 11:00) – Work towards a greener future at Low Carbon Vehicles

Enterprise Europe Network and Innovate UK invite you to participate in a B2B matchmaking event as part of Low Carbon Vehicles 2018 (In order to participate in the B2B matchmaking event, attendees must be also registered for LCV2018 event). The aim of the event is to provide the opportunity for UK and overseas delegates to arrange 1-2-1 meetings to identify and explore potential areas of mutual benefit.

Tuesday 18 September 2018 (09:00 – 16:30) – UK Info & Brokerage Event: Horizon 2020 – Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing

Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network are hosting the Horizon 2020 NMBP event which is aimed at supporting collaboration across the UK and Europe. Event is organised to promote funding opportunities available for Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing through Horizon 2020 programme.

Wednesday 26 September 2018 (09:45 – 16:15) – Horizon 2020 Information & Brokerage Event: Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy

Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network are hosting the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2 event which is aimed at supporting collaboration across the UK and Europe. Event is organised to promote funding opportunities available for food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy through Horizon 2020 programme.

 

Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. The aim of Innovate UK is to drive productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas, including those from the UK’s world-class research base.

Enterprise Europe Network mainly provides specialist support to small businesses to help to do business in Europe and beyond, however their database of events may also be useful for academics.

Funding available : Developing early-stage, user-centred design

Funding opportunities, innovation

Up to £1million is available to UK businesses to apply for early-stage, human-centred research and design projects to influence future R&D activity, with an aim to help businesses that want to explore opportunities to innovate based on customer, user and stakeholder needs and behaviours.

To be eligible to lead a project you must:

  • be a UK-registered business or RTO (non-profit research and technology organisations including catapults)
  • carry out your project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results in or from the UK

Businesses can work alone or in collaboration with project partners. If an RTO is leading the application, they must have at least one business collaborator.

Collaborative project partners can include:

  • businesses
  • universities (higher education institutions)
  • non-profit research and technology organisations (RTOs) including catapults
  • public sector research establishments (PSRE)
  • research council institutes
  • public sector organisations or charities undertaking research activity

See a summary of the funding opportunity below:

Deadline : Wednesday, 19 September 2018, 12noon

Funding available : between £10,000 and £40,000

Project dates : must start by 1 January 2019; end by 31 March 2019 and last no more than 3 months

Click this link to find out more.

Funding available : boosting SME productivity through proof of concept

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation

The government has announced the Business Basics Programme through its Industrial Strategy which will test innovative ways of encouraging micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt existing technologies and business practices that can boost productivity.

This is the first phase of the Business Basics Fund. This strand of funding is for undertaking proof of concept (PoC) or feasibility projects with a potential of applying for further funding to scale up successful PoC or feasibility projects into full trials in the future.

Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:

Deadline : 4 September 2018; 12noon

Funding available : £60,000

Project dates : Must start by 1 November 2018; end by 31 April 2019; can last between 3 and 6 months.

Click on this link for more information on how to apply.

 

Update on ERC Starting Grant 2019 call opening

Funding opportunities

European Research Council has announced that the adoption of the 2019 ERC Work Programme, originally planned for mid-July, is expected in mid-September. The 2019 Starting Grant call, which was expected to be opened in mid-July, will open upon Work Programme adoption. It means that the Starting Grant call will be open for a shorter time than usual, as the call closure date is expected to be 17 October 2018.

The annual Work Programme for the European Research Council is the legal document which sets out how the ERC will allocate its funding for the corresponding year. It is established by the Scientific Council of the ERC and subsequently adopted by the European Commission.

Although, the new Work Programme will be similar to the Work Programme 2018, the Scientific Council has decided on the introduction of some novelties. Main changes expected in the ERC Work Programme 2019 relate to the following:

– evaluation criteria of Frontier Research Grants;
– calculation adjustments for Starting and Consolidator Grants eligibility windows;
– Open Access.

You may find more information on anticipated changes in this document.

According to the UK Research Office whilst none of these changes can be confirmed definitively until the publication of the 2019 Work Programme, applicants are encouraged to begin their development of proposals on this basis and to utilise the support documents available for the Starting Grant 2018 call as an initial guide.

If you are interested in applying to any of ERC grants, please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer or Research Facilitator – International Ainar Blaudums for further information and support regarding ERC and other international funding opportunities.

Biomedical Catalyst 2018 round 2: late stage and primer awards

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation

Late stage

UK SMEs can apply for a share of up to £10 million to work on solving healthcare challenges in a clinical setting or a relevant late stage environment. Apply now for a late stage award in the Biomedical Catalyst. Biomedical Catalyst supports the development of innovative healthcare products, technologies and processes.

There are 4 types of funding award: feasibility, primer, early stage and late stage.

Please see below a summary of the funding call:

Project size: From £200,000 to £4million

Project duration : 12 to 36 months (must start before 1 July 2019)

Deadline : 3 October 2018, Wednesday

Primer

UK SMEs can apply for a share of up to £5 million to work alone or with others on solving healthcare challenges in a model system. Apply now for a primer award in the Biomedical Catalyst. The primer award is running alongside the late stage award. Applications welcome from any sector or discipline.

Please see below a summary of the funding call:

Project size: From £200,000 to £1.5million

Project duration : 12 to 24 months (must start before 1 April 2019)

Deadline : 3 October 2018, Wednesday

AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinkers 2019 scheme launched

Funding opportunities

The Arts & Humanities Research Council and BBC Radio 3 are on the lookout for a new generation of arts and humanities broadcasters.

The New Generation Thinkers 2019 scheme has been launched with a call for entries.  Once again, ten academics will be given the chance to front engaging and innovative programmes on BBC Radio 3 and beyond, as well as working with the AHRC on public engagement opportunities.

Now in its ninth year, the scheme aims to cultivate talented, articulate academics into exceptional all-round communicators. It provides a variety of training opportunities and the chance to work with world-class broadcasters from across the BBC.

The 2019 New Generation Thinkers scheme is open now to early career researchers from all research backgrounds, provided their research is linked to one or more arts and humanities disciplines.

The ten chosen academics will be picked from a shortlist of 60 applicants who will all be given the chance to attend one of three workshops to develop their media skills and receive guidance from experienced BBC producers.

The final ten – selected by a panel of BBC programme makers – will then be given media training by the AHRC and the unique opportunity to develop a 15-minute programme based on their research for BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking, as well many other opportunities to appear on air.

For more information on the call – which is open until 4pm on, Thursday 4 October 2018 – and details of eligibility and how to apply please visit the New Generation Thinkers 2019 call page here.

Interreg France (Channel) England has introduced new website

Funding opportunities, innovation

Good news for those interested in applying for Interreg Europe funded grants.

Interreg France (Channel) England (Interreg FCE) has introduced channelmanche.com website, updating website address to something more user-friendly. The new site incorporates a simple, modern design allowing users to easily access the information they need.

Other changes include new pages for both Micro-Projects and Regular Projects, with the application processes now clearly laid out in a step-by-step guide. Layout of the Programme’s specific objectives also has been improved and created a dedicated page for new Targeted Projects initiative.

If you have an idea for a cross-border project what fits into Interreg France (Channel) England scope, please get in touch with your contact person from RKEO Funding Development Team to discuss further steps for developing a competitive proposal. The process starts with submitting a brief outline of your idea.

Interreg Europe helps regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better policy. By creating an environment and opportunities for sharing solutions, Interreg Europe aims to ensure that government investment, innovation and implementation efforts all lead to integrated and sustainable impact for people and place.

Interreg FCE has been set up to foster economic development in the south of the UK and north of France by funding innovative projects which have a sustainable cross-border benefit in the Programme’s eligible regions. Eligible area consists of the South and East Coasts of England from Cornwall to Norfolk, and the North Coast of France from Finistère to Pas-de-Calais.

Open competition for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Awards 2018

Funding opportunities

While at RKEO we are busy with supporting BU applicants writing proposals for MSCA Individual Fellowships 2018 call (deadline 12 September 2018), the European Commission has opened the fifth edition of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Awards competition to all current and former MSCA Fellows.

The procedure is rather simple – together with a short video, fellow should submit a current CV including the following information:

  • Full name and contact address/Email address/Telephone number;
  • Current affiliation and organisational address including country;
  • Reference number and title of your grant agreement and the MSCA Action under which your project was/is funded;
  • Link to your project and overall work.

The deadline for submissions of videos and supporting documents is on 31 August 2018.

The competition is organised alongside the MSCA Conference 2018 hosted in Vienna by the Austrian EU Presidency on 1-2 October 2018. Please find more information on competition following this link.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) aim to support the career development and training of researchers in all scientific disciplines through international and intersectoral mobility. By funding excellent research and providing attractive working conditions, the MSCA offer high quality professional opportunities open to researchers of any age, nationality or discipline.

Bournemouth University currently hosts six MSCA fellows. If you have an excellent research project idea and need help in finding EU or other international funding source, please contact Ainar from RKEO Funding Development Team.

VISTA AR – Interreg have released promotional video about the people behind their projects

Funding opportunities

Bournemouth University as a partner is involved in Interreg project “Visitor experience Innovation through Systematic Text Analytics and Augmented Reality” (VISTA AR).

The project deals with development and implementation of a range of exciting augmented reality and virtual reality experiences for a number of tourist attractions in the South of England and the North of France.

The Vista AR project is featured in a promotional video of Interreg. In the video Prof Andi Smart (project PI, University of Exeter) introduces the project.

You can watch the video on-line here.

 

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:

28th August 2018

25th September 2018

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 a new box appear 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 available: Next-generation low carbon vehicle technology

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation

Image from www.horiba-mira.com

Up to £20million funding is available from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) where upon investment will be made in technologies that support the development of low carbon propulsion technology in the UK and ancho a next-generation supply chain.

The APC is particularly looking for projects that support the UK’s long-term capabilities and supply chain in the design, build and manufacture of low-emission vehicle technologies.

Projects must help make capabilities a permanent part of the UK supply chain. They must be in the following areas:

  • alternative propulsion systems
  • electric machines and power electronics
  • energy storage and energy management
  • lightweight vehicle and powertrain structures
  • thermal propulsion systems

Projects must have a proven technology concept and demonstrate that there is a clear route to market. The primary technology application must be automotive.

Please see below for a summary of funding opportunity:

Competition Opens: 6 August 2018

Deadline for competition: 3 October 2018

Requirement : Must be led by a business working in partnership with others; must include SME; and a vehicle manufacturer/ tier 1 supplier

Funding available: £5m to £40m

Project duration: 18 to 42 months

A briefing event will be held on 16 August 2018 where further advice on applying for APC funding will be available. Please click on this link to find out more.