Category / Funding opportunities

Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework : Pre-Award at BU

Funding opportunities, Training

research_strategyWe have previously posted about the Research and Knowledge Exchange (RKE) Development Framework. Here, we introduce another of the pathways: that focusing on the Pre-Award process when applying for funding. Please see the previous blog posts on the Development Framework for information on the separate  pathways.

The ‘Pre-Award at BU’ pathway will provide details about the information and tools that will aid BU academics applying for funding.  Sessions will include details about ‘Searching for research funding’, ‘Getting started on applying for research funding’, understanding ‘Pre-award finances’  and ‘Intellectual property at pre-award’.  Training will also be provided as part of this pathway for those conducting Quality and Financial approvals.  More events will be added to this pathway in 2017-18 and beyond, with a focus on emerging priorties for BU.

We’ll be populating the the OD website with more information and the booking link over the coming weeks. We’ll also be providing a timetable of all events as soon as possible. In the meantime, updates will be posted on the BU research blog and the Faculty blogs.

RCUK GCRF Call for Evidence

Funding opportunities

RCUKlogoThe Government Spending Review on 25th November 2015 announced “a new £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund, to ensure UK science takes the lead in addressing the problems faced by developing countries, whilst developing our ability to deliver cutting-edge research”. The Global Challenges Research Fund is a BIS initiative which operates across a number of delivery partners, including the Research Councils, National Academies and HEFCE.

The RCUK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) represents the largest portion of this Fund. They have launched a call for evidence to gather your views on the high-level challenges that will form the basis of the funding calls from the GCRF Collective Fund, the information gathered will also be shared with the other delivery partners so that it may inform their own strategies. They would also like your views on the most effective ways of delivering GCRF.

They are seeking inputs from individuals and institutions across all academic disciplines, non-governmental organisation and industrial sectors both in and outside of the UK.

The results from the survey will be reviewed alongside feedback from the Town Meetings. They will share a short summary of evidence they have collected and outline how that has informed their strategy in the autumn.

This call for evidence forms part of a broader programme of strategic engagement activities taking place under the GCRF programme. They will be running focus groups later this year and opening a Call for Ideas early next year to generate priority themes within each challenge.

You can complete the survey by clicking the link below. The survey closes at 16.00 on 22 August:

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/6LOJI/

Respondents are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the following background information whilst completing the survey:

NERC/AHRC/ESRC GCRF Building Resilience call

Funding opportunities

NERCAs part of the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the UK research councils, led by NERC, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), are taking a leadership role in generating inter-disciplinary research and communities which can address the issue of ‘Building Resilience’.

AHRC_logo_anniversaryBuilding resilience rests on the ability to take a holistic approach which encompasses environmental knowledge, socio-economics, infrastructure, governance, and the history and culture of a community or region that is affected. It will require new inter-disciplinary research and recognition of the importance of engaging with local actors to understand what knowledge is required and how it can be implemented to design solutions that help all parts of society.

ESRC logoThe call is open to proposals addressing resilience to natural and man-made environmental hazards in a range of developing world contexts. The focus is on how to build resilience in relation to both sudden and slow-onset environmental hazards (eg land-degradation, deforestation, drought, hurricanes, climate change) taking into account the intersections and relationships with other contexts such as conflict and fragility, poverty and famine, urbanisation, economics and health / disease risks.

The call will fund foundation-building activities to stimulate the creation of inter-disciplinary international research communities; to enable broader, deeper and more effective collaborations with beneficiaries and user organisations at the forefront of the development agenda; test new innovative ideas and inter-disciplinary approaches for addressing the issue of developing resilience. All proposals are expected to take an inter-disciplinary approach, bringing together environmental science with social science and arts and humanities.

A total of £3.3 million of funding is available for this call. Awards are expected to vary in scale according to the nature of the activities proposed and not to exceed £200,000 (at 100 per cent full economic costs). The funders anticipate funding 15-20 projects ranging from 3-9 months. A small number of projects of 12 months duration can be funded. Successful projects will be expected to start no later than 1 November 2016.

The closing date for applications is 16.00 on 6 September 2016.

Networking-300x140Workshop

There will be a workshop on 19 July 2016 to provide more information on the call and facilitate the development of collaborations between academics from different disciplines and between academics, beneficiaries and users. To apply to attend please complete the online application form by 27 June 2016.

Further information

Further details about the call and workshop can be found on the NERC website.  If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact the RKEO Funding Development Team in the first instance.

Deadline for latest HEIF call – Friday 1 July

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

andrew archery

Friday 1 July is the deadline for applications to be submitted in response to the latest HEIF funding call.

Quick tips if you have yet to submit your final proposal.

  • Make sure your word count is within the limits where specified.
  • The review panel is made up of internal and external members – consider this when writing your proposal in terms of language, acronyms and abbreviations.
  • Contact your DDRP if you have not already done so . Their signature is required. An electronic version is acceptable.
  • Make sure the budget section has been completed and the totals add up.
  • Supporting documentation is not needed. (Website links can be used within the proposal if relevant to your application.)
  • Please submit your proposal in word format  – so using the original application template.

Next steps

Based on the call schedule:

Action Date
Call w/c   – applications open w/c 06/06/16
Proposal deadline – applications close 01/07/16 Friday
Proposal review process 04/07/16   – 18/07/16
Successful projects announced w/c 18/07/16
New project funding starts 01/08/16

For all details on the latest HEIF call click here.

Good luck!

Your Research: Science for Global Good

Funding opportunities

UKCDSUKCDS have launched  ‘Your Research: Science for Global Good’ a new researcher hub with information for researchers who want to use their knowledge and skills to help tackle global development challenges. The hub includes inspiring case studies from nanotechnology to behavioural science, a new funding hub with an overview of the main programmes within the UK, such as the Newton Fund and Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), and tips for building partnerships.

This is an excellent source of information for anyone interested in applying for funding, particularly those who want to tap into the £1.5bn funding available from GCRF (see my blog article on this fund for more information).

UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS) is a group of 14 UK government departments and research funders working in international development.

What’s been happening at the research councils?

Funding opportunities

RCUKlogoAs you will know, the Government has published a White Paper which details its planned policy to reform support for higher education and research, including proposals on the future of the Research Councils. ‘Success as a Knowledge Economy’ outlines how Government intends to take forward the implementation of the recommendations of Sir Paul Nurse’s Review.  What does this mean for the research councils, and more importantly, how will this affect the pots of money available for funding?

The quick facts on the over-arching changes are as follows:

  • New organisation to be formed: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI replaces RCUK (can you spot the difference?)) with John Kingman (HM Treasury) being appointed as interim Chair of the board for UKRIJohn Kingman
  • This will include the seven research councils plus Innovate UK and part of HEFCE (Research England)
  • New organisation to be headed by a single Chief Executive/Accounting Officer with existing RC Chief Executives to become ‘Executive Chairs’
  • Councils will retain names and will each have a council of 7-10 individuals (Council members will no longer be ministerial appointments)

The role of the UKRI will be as follows:

  • UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a new research and innovation funding body that will allocate funding for research and innovation and act as a champion for the UK’s world class system.
  • The names and brands of the Research Councils and Innovate UK will be retained.
  • UKRI will have a strong board with responsibility for leading on overall strategic direction, cross-cutting decision making and advising the Secretary of State on the balance of funding between research disciplines.
  • The board will manage funds with cross-disciplinary impact and a ‘common research fund’ as proposed by Sir Paul Nurse.
  • They will retain and strengthen leadership in specific research discipline areas, innovation and England only research funding by establishing nine Councils within UKRI with delegated autonomy and authority.
  • The Councils will be responsible for the strategic leadership of their disciplines and on scientific, research and innovation matters.
  • The Secretary of State will set budgets for each of the nine Councils through an annual grant letter.
  • There would be a new legislative protection for the dual support system in England and they are formally restating the Government’s commitment to the Haldane principle.

The second reading of the Bill is likely to be in July and it will then go to the ‘Commons Committee’ for intensive work for 6-8 weeks.  However, given the current uncertainty of who will be running the country and which MPs will form a new cabinet, this could change (see the latest Research Professional article on the uncertainty of the HE and research Bill).

If the Bill does go through, the RCUK Change Programme will move to centrally led corporate functions, such as HR and Finance, but this will also include the grant funding platform.  They are aiming for a (much welcome) single common approach as the default for all activities.  The overall aim is for better ways of working and responding to new challenges, such as the Global Challenges Research Fund (see by blog post on what this is).

You may also have heard that the research councils are replacing their electronic grants submission service, Je-S, in 2017.  Please see my other blog post on how you can be part of the testing group for the new system.

Applying for research funding post EU referendum

Funding opportunities

European IPR webinarsAcademics who are applying for external funding from the EU, such as Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellowships, have been asking whether the EU referendum results will impact on funding available. The RKEO advise that at this stage, there has been no confirmation received that funding will not be available to UK HEIs. As we are unsure how things are going to pan out and it potentially could take 2 years for us to leave the EU from when they operationalise article 50, we would suggest you continue as planned. We should operate on the basis of business as usual and continue to develop high quality bids.

For internal staff, please see the notification to staff from Professor John Vinney.

Impact funding available

Funding opportunities

ahrc

 

The Arts and Humanities Research Council invites applications for its follow-on funding for impact and engagement scheme: connected communities highlight notice on creating living knowledge.

This supports new and unanticipated pathways to impact which have emerged or evolved from the connected communities programme on participatory research processes and practices.

Proposals must be based on either previous or current research directly funded by the AHRC, or on research that has been co-funded with another UK research council.

Grants are worth up to £100,000 over a maximum period of one year. Smaller grants of up to £30,000 may be awarded for shorter or higher risk activities.

Click here for further information.

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.
If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

 

Funding opportuntity for knowledge exchange and innovation

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

andrew archery

Research  shows that HEFCE funding for university knowledge exchange (KE) activity delivers significant and increasing return for public investment. The return on investment from £1 of Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF)  is currently estimated at £9.70 in benefits for the economy and society, and may deliver even higher returns in future.

Why not apply for the next round of HEIF funding available?

These results reflect the way universities overall are gaining greater expertise in KE, using HEIF more effectively and developing stronger partnerships, particularly with businesses. The research studies demonstrate the range and breadth of KE activity, and the significant benefits it brings to the economy and society.

The research studies describe positive feedback from businesses and social and community groups working with universities, on the benefits they have received from KE activities. Businesses feel that universities have become much more willing to engage and that higher education KE delivers value for money.

Funding call is now live!

Read the full article on the HEFCE website.

Innovate UK – Current funding opportunites to develop innovative products or services

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange

 

InnovateUK_LogoA_Interim_RGBx320govuk[1]Open funding competition

Innovate UK is investing up to £15 million in innovative R&D projects, in an open competition targeted at a whole range of technology, engineering and industrial areas. Are you working with a UK company that may be interested ? (This competition is open to all UK companies.)

For more information click here.

Manufacturing and materials

Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovation projects in manufacturing and/or materials. These projects will focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. Funding for projects will be for  projects that aim to lead to increased UK SME productivity, competitiveness and growth.

Click here to find out more.

Women in Innovation: infocus award

Innovate UK has up to £200,000 and a package of tailored support to award to businesswomen who have exciting ideas and the potential to become leaders in innovation and deliver economic growth.

To find ouut more and apply click here.

Connected digital additive manufacturing

Apply for a share of £4.5 million for innovation projects that develop smarter, better connected 3D printing solutions. Projects must show a significant innovation step in both additive manufacturing and connected digital manufacturing.

Click here to find out more.

Agri-food innovation in Turkey

Innovate UK is to invest up to £1.5 million for UK participants developing innovative solutions to challenges within the agri-food sector in Turkey. We are running this competition in partnership with the Newton-Kâtip Çelebi Fund.

Find out more and apply.

Energy Catalyst round 4

Technology innovation is needed to solve the global energy sector ‘trilemma’ of: low carbon, security of supply and affordability.  Innovate UK are  looking for innovative solutions in any technology or sector area. For round 4, applications must also be relevant to the needs of developing countries.

Click here to find out more.

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

HEIF – Frequently asked questions

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

andrew archery

Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF): money available to support your business engagement and knowledge exchange ideas – call deadline Friday 1 July

More information can be found here.

HEFCE provide funding for knowledge exchange –  Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) to support and develop a broad range of knowledge-based interactions between universities and colleges and the wider world, which result in economic and social benefit to the UK. The current round of funding is referred to is HEIF 5+1+1 and runs until 31st July 2017.

There is a variety of  information  to help you with your application and provide answers to some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs):

Current projects

BU has a proven track record with this funding stream and our success continues. Currently there are 13 live projects funded from HEIF 5+1. Examples of current projects can be found on the project pages on the BU research website and include:

Why not talk to current HEIF project leads? Click here. (Scroll down the page for contact details and project information.)

FAQs information

Click here.

Common questions include:

Q: Do I need external letters of support?

A: These are not required as part of your application. On the application form there is a requirement to list members of the project board so naturally they would need to have been contacted to advise them of your project proposal and their involvement. There is no reason why you can’t mention the background behind the formation of your project board but letters of support are not needed.

Q: How much can I bid for?

A: Whilst there is no minimum or maximum amount  for HEIF funding you do need to be realistic in terms of your project proposal and budget. All monies need to be spent and this is not always easy within a 12 month timescale. On average previous 12 month HEIF project bids have been between £20K – £50K, however both smaller and larger amounts have also been awarded.

RKEO contact

For more information on HEIF and other knowledge exchange opportunities, please contact Jayne Codling Knowledge Exchange Adviser (RKEO).

HEIF call is now live – reminder

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Transfer

andrew archery

Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF): money available to support your business engagement and knowledge exchange ideas – call deadline Friday 1 July

More information can be found here.

HEFCE provide funding for knowledge exchange –  Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) to support and develop a broad range of knowledge-based interactions between universities and colleges and the wider world, which result in economic and social benefit to the UK. The current round of funding is referred to is HEIF 5+1+1 and runs until 31st July 2017.

BU has a proven track record with this funding stream and our success continues. Currently there are 13 live projects funded from HEIF 5+1. Examples of current projects can be found on the project pages on the BU research website and include:

Interim funding has been made available to run from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017. This is known as HEIF 5+1+1. (Funds cannot be carried over.)

The call is now open.   (These innovative projects can be new or build on existing activity that may strengthen and/or facilitate future funding applications.)

Call schedule

Action Date
Call w/c   – applications open w/c 06/06/16
Proposal deadline – applications close 01/07/16 Friday
Proposal review process 04/07/16   – 18/07/16
Successful projects announced w/c 18/07/16
New project funding starts 01/08/16

These projects will need to reflect our interim strategy sent to HEFCE (as below):

“BU will continue to invest in innovation themes with a strong focus on network creation, with a particular focus on digital and creative industries, health and wellbeing, and regional development. The additional year of funding will enable BU to continue to develop our existing area in addition to investment to develop new innovations. This will allow BU to create innovations in key areas, whilst developing closer links with regional initiatives to enhance local development opportunities, working with the Dorset LEP and other organisations. We will also consider the use of HEIF funds to invest in effective mechanisms for engaging with business/industry. Our core strategy of investing in sector-specific themes with a strong focus on network creation remains; what has changed in light of emerging opportunities is the nature of the themes in which we will invest and the mechanisms through which we will engage with the region.”

Themes could include but are not exclusive to:

  • Biodiversity, Natural and Cultural Assets (e.g. environmental sciences, archaeology,)
  • Global Security
  • Healthcare technologies (e.g. sensors, robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification, mobile apps)
  • Economic growth and innovation.

Interdisciplinary working will need to be evident in successful proposals. Project boards including academics and external organisations will also need to be identified as part of the proposal.

If you are considering an application for HEIF funding you may find it helpful  to speak to the current HEIF project leads (HEIF 5+1: 01/08/15 – 31/07/16) to identify how best to develop your proposal and consider existing HEIF project activity where relevant.  More information is listed below:

PI PI email PI ext Title of proposal
Adrian Newton anewton@bournemouth.ac.uk 65670 Development of a toolkit for modelling natural capital
Alison McConnell amcconnell@bournemouth.ac.uk 62313 Final stage development and validation of a mobile device App to reduce blood pressure
Genoveva Esteban gesteban@bournemouth.ac.uk 68936 The Dorset Coast Digital Archive (DCDA)
Heather Hartwell hhartwell@bournemouth.ac.uk 61712 FoodSMART (proof of concept)
Hongnian Yu yuh@bournemouth.ac.uk 66150 Sensor-Integrated Urometer for measuring real-time urine output
Jian Chang jchang@bournemouth.ac.uk 61881 Virtual Prototyping of New Lifeboat Launching System with Unmanned Vehicles to Enhance Safety
Kathy Hodder khodder@bournemouth.ac.uk 66784 Enhancing Urban Green Space for Pollinators – Decision Making Hub
Kevin McGhee kmcghee@bournemouth.ac.uk 68189 Psychiatric Genetic Counselling for Healthcare Professionals (PGC4HP): First UK pilot study, regional knowledge exchange and global impact.
Mark Brisbane mbrisbane@bournemouth.ac.uk 65166 Building Roman Britain: Innovative investigations of Roman building material and knowledge exchange through museum interpretation and learning.
Richard Stillman rstillman@bournemouth.ac.uk 66782 Simply communicating complex research to inform environmental decision-making
Sarah Bate sbate@bournemouth.ac.uk 61918 Superior Face Recognition: Generating Knowledge Exchange with the Police Force
Stephen Jukes sjukes@bournemouth.ac.uk 65630 Hazardous environment training for journalists: a mobile training platform
Wen Tang wtang@bournemouth.ac.uk 62498 “PLUS” Knowledge Exchange Partnership Building with Regional Police Forces on Developing  New Police Training Methodologies Using Role-playing Games Technology

FAQs click here.

Application form click here.

For more information on HEIF and other knowledge exchange opportunities, please contact Jayne Codling Knowledge Exchange Adviser (RKEO).

CLASP – Energy and Environment Call

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange

energy management
Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Innovations Club are holding a Launch Event for the STFC 2016 Challenge Led Applied Systems Programme (CLASP) call. The event will be held in the Harvey Goodwin suite of the Church House Conference Centre, London on the 5th July 2016.
CLASP is intended to support the de-risking of the R&D process for industry through the development of technology demonstrators and industry-ready prototype systems.
The focus of the 2016 CLASP call is Energy and Environment. The launch event aims to bring together academia, industry and knowledge exchange professionals to discuss how CLASP can support projects that apply STFC-funded research and capabilities to address key energy and environment challenges.
Up to £1.5M will be available in this call to fund a range of projects, from short feasibility studies to larger developmental projects.  Proposals will have a focus on, but not limited to, key priority areas that will be identified by a focus group composed of stakeholders.  These priority areas will be announced shortly before the launch event.
The day will comprise of presentations from academic researchers and industry figures highlighting their work in energy and the environment, as well as information on funding opportunities and opportunities to meet potential future collaborators.
For more information contact: Stephen Loader or Vlad Skarda or go to www.stfc.ac.uk/clasp
Please register here to attend the day.
If you are interested in developing a proposal following this launch event, you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.
For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.
If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.
 

Changes to MRC funding policy

Funding opportunities

logo_mrcMRC have written to us outlining a recent update to its funding policy to allow the inclusion of a one-page ‘methodology and experimental design’ annex to the case for support.

MRC have stated “The methodological rigour of all applications to the MRC is scrutinised closely during the peer-review process. However, we are increasingly aware that applicants often focus on presenting a compelling scientific rationale at the expense of providing sufficient methodological detail to persuade reviewers that the study will deliver robust and convincing findings. To help address this deficit, and in response to feedback from the community, we are making an important change to our application process; with immediate effect, the MRC is introducing an optional one page annex to the case for support within all research proposals. This will allow applicants to specifically detail the methodology and experimental design aspects of their proposals, and to include figures, tables and/or diagrams relevant to this, where appropriate. Full details can be found in the MRC Guidance for applicants (Sections 2.4.3 and 4.1.4).”

You are strongly encouraged to use the new guidance.  Applications for funding will be rejected outright if they do not provide sufficient detail to convince MRC Research Boards and Panels that the proposed experiments will be carried out appropriately; i.e. in the context of a robust study design; with the necessary statistical power to answer the research question; and with an analysis plan that is fit for purpose.

If you are interested in applying to the MRC then please contact the RKEO Funding Development Team in the first instance.

BFI London Film Festival announces 2016 dates and major new filmmakers bursary

Funding opportunities

The 60th BFI London Film Festival will run 5-16 October 2016 and is launching a major new initiative to support British filmmakers with an annual £50k bursary award.

As the deadline for this is very tight, this coming Friday 17th June, please get in touch with Eva Papadopoulou email: epapadopoulou@bournemouth.ac.uk so you can complete an expression of interest in relation to the Bursary.

full call available at BFI

Higher Education Innovation Fund – Call is now open!

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

andrew archery

Further to the blog post advising this call was soon to be announced – applications are invited for the latest round of HEIF funding. This call is now open.

All the information can be found here.

This includes:

  • Call schedule
  • Application form
  • Frequently asked questions (FAQS)

Both the application form and the FAQs contain a lot of information relevant to the call in addition to a number of useful links that will help when completing your application form.