Category / Funding opportunities

NERC Innovation Placements- call opens 11/4/18

Funding opportunities

NERC have issued a pre-call announcement of funding available to support Innovation Placements of academic staff for research related to the natural environment.  The placements will cover the pro rata salary costs and associated expenses for the duration of the placement with the host organisation. Further details will be announced as they become available. The closing date for this call will be 4/7/18.

If you are interested in applying to this scheme, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

Acorn Fund Launch – Internal funds for ECRs

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund

The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office is pleased to announce the launch of the Acorn Fund (Acceleration Of Research & Networking) for Early Career Researchers.

This new scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £5,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects. These award support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and is made possible by the BU Fusion Investment Fund

There will be a strong link to the new ECR Network and the ECR Showcase event, also being launched in 2018. In this way, those who do not benefit directly from the Acorn funds scheme by receiving funding, will benefit indirectly though interaction with those ECRs who receive support via the scheme.

An ECR, for the purpose of this scheme is the REF definition modified to: an ECR in this case is defined as someone who started their research career on or after 1 August 2013. This is the point at which they held a contract of employment of 0.2 FTE or greater, which included a primary employment function of undertaking ‘research’ or ‘teaching and research’, with any HE or other organisation, whether in the UK or overseas

Find out more and apply. The closing date for applications is 18th April 2018. As these require faculty support, start your application and obtain faculty approval as soon as possible.

To assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Sample Costs, within the Research > Pre-award area on the staff intranet.

Please address any queries to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Industrial Challenges STEAMLab on 11/4/18 – New speakers confirmed

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation

On Wednesday, 11th April 2018, BU’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be facilitating a STEAMLab event on the Industrial Challenges.

External Speakers include: 

Jayne Codling of the Enterprise Europe Network

Dr. Herbert Daly, IBM Champion, University of Wolverhampton

with other speakers to be confirmed.

What will happen…?

We’re seeking to come up with novel research that could form part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

So, who should attend?

We want anyone who thinks they might have something to contribute, and who is available all day on Wednesday 11th April to come along. We will also be inviting relevant external attendees to contribute to the day.  We welcome academics, NGO/business/government representatives who wish to contribute to having a positive impact through addressing Industrial Challenges.

What do I need to prepare in advance? What will the sandpit entail?

Absolutely nothing in advance. During the STEAMLab, you’ll be guided through a process which results in the development of research ideas. The process facilitates creativity, potentially leading to innovative and interdisciplinary research ideas. These ideas will be explored with other attendees, and further developed based on the feedback received.

What if I don’t have time to think about ideas in advance?

You don’t need to do this. Some inspiring speakers with a range of backgrounds will be coming along to give you ideas…

What about afterwards? Do I need to go away and do loads of work?

Well… that depends! The STEAMLab will result in some novel research ideas. Some of these may be progressed immediately; others might need more time to think about. You may find common ground with other attendees which you choose to take forward in other ways, such as writing a paper or applying for research funding.  Support will be available to progress project ideas after the day.

What if my topic area is really specific, such as health?

Your contribution will be very welcome! One of the main benefits of a STEAMlab event is to bring together individuals with a range of backgrounds and specialisms who are able to see things just that bit differently to one another.

So, is this just networking?

Definitely not! It is a facilitated session with the primary intention of developing innovative research ideas, which also enables the development of networks. It gives you the opportunity to explore research ideas which you may develop over time, together with the chance to find common ground with academics from across BU and beyond.

So, how do I book onto this event?

To take part in this exciting opportunity, all participants  should complete Eventbrite form here and return this to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk by Friday, 6th April. Places are strictly limited and you will be be contacted to confirm a place place on the STEAMLab with arrangements nearer the time.  The event will be held in Bournemouth at the Executive Business Centre.

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event on 11th April (c. 9:30 – 16:30). Spaces will be confirmed from 28/3/18.

If you have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Ehren Milner, RKEO Research Facilitator.

 

2018 BU PhD Studentship Competition closes at 5pm on Monday 26 March 2018

Funding opportunities, PG research

Call for submission of a further 18 matched funded Postgraduate Research Projects for the 2018 BU PhD Studentship Competition closes at 5pm on Monday 26 March 2018.

Academic staff are invited to submit proposals for matched funded studentship projects which, if successful, will be advertised to recruit PhD candidates for a September 2018 start.

Full details can be found on the Doctoral College Staff Intranet where the following information can be found:

Submission Deadline:

Applications should be submitted on the Studentship Proposal Form to the Doctoral College via email to phdstudentshipcompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk no later than 5pm on Monday 26 March 2018.

The Doctoral College will manage the recruitment process along the following timetable:

Date Action
February 2018 Launch PhD Studentships Internal Competition – development of proposals
26 March 2018 Closing date for submission of proposals
w/c 2 April 2018 Faculty panel meetings to rank projects
w/c 16 April 2018 Central panel meeting to allocate funding
14 May 2018 Launch PhD Studentships External Competition – recruitment of candidates
30 June 2018 Closing date for External Competition
September 2018 Successful Candidates start

Speed Collaboration – Interdisciplinary – Think Outside the Box! Find New Research Partners! Your funding will depend on it!

Funding opportunities

We are running an exciting Speed Collaboration session on Thursday 22 March, starting at 11.30 and including a networking lunch. It is part of a stimulating Interdisciplinary Research Week program starting next week.

Comments about Speed collaboration/networking events from all over the world:

“It was kind of fun, it was kind of light, it wasn’t highly pressured… It was just ‘Lets see if we can make a connection and then take it further if we need to’.”

“What appealed to me about speed networking was the opportunity to meet a lot of people within a short space of time.”

 

On 31 January 2018, I attended a Speed networking event run by Innovate UK in London to see what the fuss is all about. They have gone for the structure where there are 5 Challenge Proposers – Siemens, Deloitte, European Space Agency, Jaguar Land Rover and Reed Smith. The Proposers list their challenges and organisations (about 30 reps attended) apply to pitch their ideas to each Proposer. The Proposers are set up in 5 tables and each organisation is given 5 minutes to present. The Hostess rings a bell and they have to move on to  the next Proposer.

There was fantastic energy and buzz floating around; and I can feel that definite connections were made. Attend our RKEO Speed Collaboration event and you will find out for yourself how we will be running it and what you can take away from it.

 

 

You have to be in it, to win it! A last comment to leave you with:

“It’s a research project that may never have come together, or at least come together as quickly, if it hadn’t been for the speed-networking event. The bottom line is, if you don’t meet people, you will never find someone who can find you new information and a new vision. Breakthroughs can only happen if you acknowledge you don’t know everything.”

All you have to do to book your place is to click here and see what happens next!

Deadline Approaching – 2018 BU PhD Studentship Competition – Round 2

Funding opportunities

Call for submission of a further 18 matched funded Postgraduate Research Projects for the 2018 BU PhD Studentship Competition is closing soon.

Academic staff are invited to submit proposals for matched funded studentship projects which, if successful, will be advertised to recruit PhD candidates for a September 2018 start.

Full details can be found on the Doctoral College Staff Intranet where the following information can be found:

Submission Deadline:

Applications should be submitted on the Studentship Proposal Form to the Doctoral College via email to phdstudentshipcompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk no later than 5pm on Monday 26 March 2018.

The Doctoral College will manage the recruitment process along the following timetable:

Date Action
February 2018 Launch PhD Studentships Internal Competition – development of proposals
26 March 2018 Closing date for submission of proposals
w/c 2 April 2018 Faculty panel meetings to rank projects
w/c 16 April 2018 Central panel meeting to allocate funding
14 May 2018 Launch PhD Studentships External Competition – recruitment of candidates
30 June 2018 Closing date for External Competition
September 2018 Successful Candidates start

 

Real-time Research Professional Updates at the click of a button

Funding opportunities

Have you noticed this box on the BU Research Blog?

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.

Alternatively, receive regular alerts by signing up to as many groups as you want by clicking on ‘Bournemouth University‘ on the Research Professional home screen and selecting relevant searches that have been set up to locate funding calls. Just find the ones which suit your needs, click on the name of the group and select ‘Join this Group’.  You can also modify a shared search to save into your own alerts area by clicking on the padlock symbol.

You can find out more about Research Professional from the RKEO monthly updates which give further details of this service and the help available to BU staff. Just search ‘Research Professional or click on Research Professional tag at the bottom of this post to see all our posts about this subscribed service for BU staff.

We will still continue to blog about specific calls of note as usual.

If you need further assistance with using Research Professional, please contact your Funding Development Officer.

NERC – Scoping group for Earth system plastics

Funding opportunities

Closing date: 16:00 on 4 April 2018

NERC invites applications to join a scoping group that will develop the science case for a potential large strategic research programme on Earth system plastics.

 

The overarching aim is to provide an understanding of the pathways and fate of plastics in the environment.

Potential research questions include:

  1. What is the nature and scale of plastic sources to the Earth system?
  2. What are the main pathways of plastics across the Earth system? What are the potential stocks and flows of plastic between terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems? What are the key physical, chemical and ecological mechanisms that control fate, behaviour, concentration, decomposition, distribution, and transport over various time scales?
  3. Across their entire life-cycle, how are different types of plastics modified physically, chemically and biologically? What environmental processes promote their degradation or fragmentation? At what point, if any, do plastics no longer interact with the environment and cease to present a risk to the biosphere?
  4. At which points in the cycle might interventions be effective, and which interventions are most appropriate? How can science and industry collaborate to deliver some of these interventions? What is the environmental impact of plastic alternatives?

The SPA will support research on pathways and fate of a range of plastic types, shapes and sizes to gain a comprehensive picture of the behaviour of plastics in the environment to ensure that effective interventions are developed.

Applications are invited from individuals wishing to join the scoping group that will develop the science case for consideration by NERC.

Please click here for further details on the background, details of the scoping group meeting, and how to apply via their online registration form by 16:00 4 April 2018.

ESRC Pre-call announcement ‘Trust and Global Governance Large Grants’

Funding opportunities

ESRC will shortly be inviting applications of between £1 million and £2.5 million (at 100% fEC) to take forward an exciting research agenda in the area of Trust and Global Governance. They expect to fund between two to three large grants under this theme.

Four priority areas for research proposals have been identified under this call. While proposals may exclusively focus on one area, they strongly encourage proposals to explore a range of questions within and between each of these cross-cutting priority areas:

  • Trust in a world of inequalities
  • Trust and the future of democracy
  • Identity, community, and the social and psychological foundations of trust
  • Trust, ethics and international security

The call will launch for full proposals in April 2018. The closing date for full applications will be late June 2018, with awards expected to start from Spring 2019. There will be no demand management measures in place for this call.

If you are interested in applying then please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance.

NERC standard grants (July 18 deadline) – internal competition launched

Funding opportunities

NERC introduced demand management measures in 2012. These were revised in 2015 to reduce the number and size of applications from research organisations for NERC’s discovery science standard grant scheme. Full details can be found in the BU policy document for NERC demand management measures at: http://intranetsp.bournemouth.ac.uk/policy/BU Policy for NERC Demand Management Measures.docx.

As at March 2015, BU has been capped at one application per standard grant round. The measures only apply to NERC standard grants (including new investigators). An application counts towards an organisation, where the organisation is applying as the grant holding organisation (of the lead or component grant). This will be the organisation of the Principal Investigator of the lead or component grant.

BU process

As a result, BU has introduced a process for determining which application will be submitted to each NERC Standard Grant round. This will take the form of an internal competition, which will include peer review. The next available standard grant round is July 2018. The process for selecting an application for this round can be found in the process document here – the deadline for internal Expressions of Interest (EoI) which will be used to determine which application will be submitted is 28th March 2018.  The EoI form can be found here: I:\R&KEO\Public\NERC Demand Management 2018.

NERC have advised that where a research organisation submits more applications to any round than allowed under the cap, NERC will office-reject any excess applications, based purely on the time of submission through the Je-S system (last submitted = first rejected). However, as RKEO submit applications through Je-S on behalf of applicants, RKEO will not submit any applications that do not have prior agreement from the internal competition.

Following the internal competition, the Principal Investigator will have access to support from RKEO, and will work closely with the Research Facilitator and Funding Development Officers to develop the application. Access to external bid writers will also be available.

Appeals process

If an EoI is not selected to be submitted as an application, the Principal Investigator can appeal to Professor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty, Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Any appeals must be submitted within ten working days of the original decision. All appeals will be considered within ten working days of receipt.

RKEO Contacts

Please contact Rachel Clarke, RKEO Research Facilitator – clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk or Jo Garrad, RKEO Funding Development Manager – jgarrad@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to submit an expression of interest.

ESRC Pre-call announcement ‘Open Large Grants Competition’

Funding opportunities

ESRC will be inviting applications of between £1 million and £2.5 million (at 100% fEC) for an open Large Grants Competition. They expect to fund up to four new large grants under this competition.

The call will have an outline stage which will open in early April. The closing date for applications will be in June 2018 and grants will start from 1 October 2019. This call will be a quota-based competition, with the same allocations for proposals as the current ESRC Centres Competition.

Further details will be available when the call opens.  If you are interested in applying then please inform your RKEO Research Facilitator in the first instance as we have been allocated a quota and will manage the submission going in.

Catapult Researchers in Residence Programme

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

The Catapult centres are a network of world-leading centres designed to help transform the UK’s capability for innovation in specific areas and drive future economic growth. To find out more, please visit this link.

To encourage increase in the connections between the UK research base and the Catapults, RCUK is supporting the development of new collaborations through research visits/ residencies for university (and other eligible research organisations) academics to spend time embedded within the Catapult teams through the Catapult Researchers in Residence (RiR) Awards. Please see a summary below of what this scheme offers:

Aims:

  • Accelerate the impact of RC-funded research
  • Increase knowledge exchange and co-creation between academia and Catapult centres
  • Develop new collaborations between academia and Catapult centres
  • Expand the capabilities and knowledge of the Catapults
  • Nurturing talents and skills development of researchers and Catapult staff
  • Create a cohort of RiRs able to share their experiences with a wider network of academics.

Funding:

  • value of up to £50k (100% FEC); flexibly spread between one and four years.
  • Funding awarded directly to the host university and not the Catapult.
  • Funding to cover the salary costs for the visit of each RiR, travel and subsistence costs, and any consumables used at the Catapult.

Timeline:

The programme will run until March 2023, with two RiRs announcements of opportunity each year, with the last RiR opportunity announced in January 2019. 

Current closing deadline is 23 March 2018; 5pm.

Eligibility:

  • applicants must be employees of eligible organisation; must be resident in the UK
  • EPSRC eligibility criteria apply

Please visit this link for more information on how to apply or speak to your Funding Development Officers.

NERC announces funding opportunities

Funding opportunities

Two NERC funding calls have been released.  One is a pre-announcement so please do look out for the announcement if you’re interested in this call.

 

Pre-announcement: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2018

NERC is launching a new annual scheme, the Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund, to support UK environmental science researchers to establish new collaborations with international partners. This scheme replaces NERC’s International Opportunities Fund (IOF).

The Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund will support UK environmental science researchers to develop new, ‘best with best’ international partnerships and networks, which underpin the development of long-term collaborations.

Key features of the scheme are:

  • Standard NERC principal investigator eligibility rules apply. New investigators, who may not already have international research partners, are encouraged to apply.
  • A single level of grant up to £100,000 (100% full economic cost) over two years, with a total annual budget of £1 million.
  • One or more international project partners are mandatory.
  • Proposals will be directly evaluated by an assessment panel of independent academic experts.
  • An announcement of opportunity will be published annually in March and close in early May. Funding decisions will be made in July with awards to start from September.

Call for Open Knowledge Exchange (KE) Fellowships 

Proposal deadline: 16:00 on 17 April 2018

Interview dates: 12, 13 & 14 June 2018

NERC wishes to award a number of Open Knowledge Exchange (KE) Fellowships. The NERC Open Knowledge Exchange (KE) Fellowships are intended to enable the sharing and flow of knowledge and expertise between the NERC funded researchers and their user communities with the aim of generating impact from NERC funded research. KE Fellows work between 20% and 80% of their time on a work plan of their own choosing to generate impact from NERC-funded research in their host institution. The KE Fellowships will cover 100% of the Fellow’s salary on a pro-rata basis including superannuation, NI and specific allowances, plus up to £40,000 for travel and other associated costs. They cover direct costs only and do not include overheads. There is no budget limit for salary costs and applications are particularly welcomed from individuals who are working at a senior level within a department or school. The KE Fellow must be employed by their host institution for the duration of their fellowship.

If selected for interview, the applicant will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation followed by 35 minutes of questions from a panel of up to four people. In addition, the applicant’s head of department (or, if the head of department is the applicant, then a more senior individual) is expected to join the interview in person or by telephone to provide a strategic overview of the work. Success rates appear to be the same regardless of whether the supporter appears in person or telephones in.

Further information including supporting documentation can be found here.

If you are interested in applying, please inform your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance.

PGR funding with EPSRC – Connected Nation Pioneers

Funding opportunities, PG research

Connected Nation Pioneers is an exciting partnership between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and key stakeholders. They have come together to recognise exceptional UK doctoral students whose research contributes towards the development of a Connected Nation.

The competition is open to all UK doctoral students in the final two years of their doctorial training. Applicants need not be funded by the EPSRC to participate.  This competition is being sponsored by DSTL, Facebook, BT, Samsung, Huawei, Thales, Amazon and NVIDIA.

This competition celebrates the transformative and pioneering research of UK-based doctoral students in contributing to up to two of the following category topics:

  • Safe and Secure Cyber Society
  • Intelligent Informatics
  • Making Digital Technology Work for People
  • Creative Computing for the Digital Economy

Applicants will be assessed per category by a panel of industrial sponsors in three stages:

  • An Expression of Interest statement (500 words)
  • A three-minute video pitch
  • An exhibition and pitch presentation

All applicants reaching the third stage of the competition will receive media and presentation training and will have an excellent opportunity to network with representatives from both academia and industry. Each of the four category winners will receive a prize of £2,000 and a NVIDIA graphics card at a VIP Awards Ceremony Dinner, to be held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. The category winners will also compete in an elevator pitch contest as part of the Awards Ceremony to select an overall winner, who will receive a further £1,000.

How to apply

Before applying for the 2018 Connected Nation Pioneers competition, please read the call document for full information regarding eligibility and assessment criteria. Please forward questions or comments to PioneersCompetition@epsrc.ac.uk.

The Expression of Interest form should be completed and submitted by the closing date of 16:00 on Thursday 26 April 2018.  This can be found here.  Key dates are also on the link.

You must contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer for your Faculty in advance of applying.  Their name will need to be given on the expression of interest and we will need to record the application on BU’s database for research and innovation.

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 March 2018

24th April 2018

22nd May 2018

26th June 2018

24th July 2018

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.