Category / Funding opportunities

Cross-Research Council Interdisciplinary Funding Opportunity

The Government Spending Review on 25 November 2015 announced “a new £1.5 billion Global Challenges 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”. It operates across a number of partners, including the Research Councils, National Academies, UK Space Agency and HEFCE. The RCUK GCRF represents the largest portion of this Fund and is a strategic fund spanning all seven Research Councils.

The Research Councils have each received directly allocated portions of the GCRF and the MRC, AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC and NERC are drawing on their allocations to support this opportunity.

Foundation Awards are expected to vary in scale, as appropriate to the specific needs of each foundation case. The total funding requested is not normally expected to exceed £600k. Possible uses of Foundation Awards include but are not limited to the following, innovative approaches are encouraged:

  • Early phase discovery and translation research
  • Extending scope of existing research to wider global settings
  • Population studies, sample/data collection, data integration
  • New research tools and techniques
  • Development of collaborations, partnerships, teams
  • Creating pathways to impact in LMICs.

Submission Deadline: 22 June 2016

For more information, you can refer to the MRC call details page or the BBSRC call details page.

If you are interested in applying, please contact your Funding Development Officer no later than 3 June.

NERC_ Oil and gas decommissioning brokerage event

As part of the Oil and Gas Innovation Programme, NERC invites applicants to participate in a one-day interactive brokerage event on decommissioning and its environmental management, with the ultimate aim of funding research translation projects which address industry challenges related to:

  • Development of environmental baselines and innovative monitoring techniques and approaches.
  • Data management, sharing, access and collaboration.
  • Impact of man-made structures on the natural environment and options for decommissioning.

Following the event, £850k will be available for research translation projects. Participants will have the opportunity to develop and submit a research translation project proposal through Je-S. Proposals will only be accepted from those who have participated in the brokerage event.

Further information is included in the announcement of opportunity below:

Announcement of opportunity (PDF, 763KB)

Deadline for applications Monday 6th June at 16:00

FHSS PhD student awarded prestigious Churchill Medallion in London

new medallion Anita

129 Fellows awarded a prestigious new Churchill Medallion at a London award ceremony

 

Anita Immanuel, PhD student in FHSS was presented with a newly designed Churchill medallion at a prestigious biennial award ceremony in London this week (Wednesday, 18th May), after successfully completing  her Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship.

Anite was presented with the stunning blue cloisonné enamelled silver Churchill medallion by its designer and Guest of Honour, Professor Brian Clarke, who is a world renowned architectural artist. Professor Clarke presented 129 Fellows with their medallions at a ceremony in Church House, in Central London. Church House has significant Churchillian associations as during the Blitz, Winston Churchill requisitioned Church House as a makeshift Houses of Parliament after the originals had been damaged by bombing.

As part of  her Fellowship and linked to her PhD research, Anita travelled to Australia and Canada.  Her PhD reserach examines the quality of lives of adults who have survived cancer of the blood or lymphatic system. Patients with haematological cancers have frequently reported lack of care-coordination as an unmet need following their intensive treatment.   Anita’s Fellowship has been outlined in a previosu BR Research Blog (click here!).

Speaking about the Fellowship, Prof. Stephen Tee (Executive Dean FHSS) said: “These Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowships provide opportunities for UK citizens to go abroad on a worthwhile project, enriching their lives through their global experiences.  We are proud of Anita’s PhD research focusing on the quality of life in people who have survived cancer.  This Fellowship has also benefited Anita and her colleagues at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trustwhere she works as specialist nurse in this field”.

Anita’s PhD is supervised by: Dr. Jane Hunt and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (both FHSS) and Dr. Helen McCarthy, Anita’s clinical Ph.D. supervisor.

In 2017 The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust will be awarding 150 Travelling Fellowships. This will directly support British citizens who want to travel overseas to gain knowledge, experience and best practice to benefit others in their UK professions and communities, and society as a whole. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established shortly after Sir Winston’s death in 1965, as his national memorial and living legacy. Since then it has awarded over 5,250 Travelling Fellowships.  The application process for travel in 2017 is now open!  Visit www.wcmt.org.uk for more details, or to apply before 5pm on 20th September 2016, for travel in 2017.

 

What’s new in KTP?

Innovate UK have recently announced new changes across their KTP programme.

“So what’s new in KTP?” (if you’re new to this acronym, an explanation can be found here)

I’m glad you asked.

  • Firstly, the application process has changed.  The previously known Expression of Interest form has now been removed from the process and replaced with a one-page optional Fact Finding Form.  There is also a new application form that is shorter than the previous form yet more or less requires the same information as the previous application form.  This has changed to be more in line with other Innovate UK competitions
  • Innovate UK do not want to see applications for multiple projects with the same company.  A project would have to be deemed as exceptional to receive KTP funding for a third project with a company
  • There are six submission deadlines a year and each deadline is classed as a separate competition and thus each proposal will be ranked among the applications within that competition
  • The awarding process will no longer approve applications subject to amendments – applications will now either be awarded or rejected
  • The Associate employment costs caps as part of the project budget have been removed.  The total amount the partnership can request funding for is £35,000, though as ever, this request will need to be justified
  • The Associate recruitment is a solid nine months to recruit.  If a partnership fails to recruit an Associate in those nine months, the partnership will have to apply for funding again and resubmit their project application

The aim of these changes are to increase the speed of the KTP process to get projects started quicker and to simplify the process of KTP.

If you have any questions about these changes or KTP in general, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser (KTP) on (01202 9)61347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk

KTP@40-block-logo

Newton Fund International Calls Update

newton fundThe following Newton calls are currently open. If you are thinking of applying, please contact Emily Cieciura, REKO’s Research Facilitator: EU and International, as soon as possible, so that we can support you.

 

DEADLINE TIME DETAILS OF CALL
1 June 2016  DEADLINE SOON! MALAYSIA- UK-Malaysia Joint Health Research Call in Non-Communicable Diseases
20 June 2016 4pm GMT CHINA- Developing financial systems to support sustainable growth in China
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI- COUNTRY- Newton Institutional Links
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI-COUNTRY- Travel Grants – Newton Researcher Links
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI-COUNTRY- Workshop Grants – Newton Researcher Links
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI-COUNTRY Trilateral workshop grants – Newton Researcher Links
30 June 2016 SOUTH AFRICA- NRF Fellowships for Early Career Researchers from the UK
14 July 2016 4pm GMT NEW OPPORTUNITY! INDONESIA- UK-Indonesia Joint Health Research Call on Infectious Diseases
20 September 2016 12pm GMT NEW OPPORTUNITY! CHINA- UK-China PhD Placement Programme
22 September 2016 12pm GMT NEW OPPORTUNITY! TURKEY- Agri-food innovation in Turkey

Smart Cities Sandpit – One week to go!

creativity road signThere are still a few places remaining at the RKEO Smart Cities Sandpit on Tuesday, 24 May 2016.

We have a fast-moving and interactive day planned for attendees. Amongst others, we will be joined by Dr Adorkor Bruce-Konuah from Oxford Brooks’ Low Carbon Building Group, who will talk about ERIC – a smart energy system project in Oxford.

So, how do I book onto this event?

To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU staff  should complete the Smart-Cities-Sandpit-Application-Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Thursday, 19th May (extended)

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event on 24th May (c. 9:30 – 16:30). This event will be held in BU’s Executive Business Centre (EBC).

If you have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO Research Facilitator: EU & International.

Funding – 3D printing solutions

InnovateUK_LogoA_Interim_RGBx320govuk[1]

Are you working with a business that may be interested in this funding opportunity?

Businesses can apply for a share of £4.5 million for innovation projects that develop smarter, better connected 3D printing solutions.

Innovate UK is investing up to £4.5 million in industrial research projects that will stimulate innovation in additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing.

Additive manufacturing is a well-established tool for rapid prototyping and tooling. It can provide direct production of end-use components and consumer goods. These can be in a wide variety of global market sectors – from medical devices to aerospace.

Businesses can apply for funding to help them explore and develop their wider digital manufacturing capability. Projects must show a significant innovation step in both additive manufacturing and connected digital manufacturing.

Competition information

  • the competition opens on 23 May 2016
  • applicants must register before noon on 20 July 2016
  • a UK-based business must lead the project and work with at least one other business
  • businesses could receive up to 70% of their project costs for industrial research
  • we expect projects to last between 1 and 3 years
  • we expect total eligible project costs for each project to be between £500,000 and £1.5 million
  • there will be a briefing event for potential applicants in London on 7 June 2016

Click here for more information.

Competion brief can be found here.

EU and International Research Facilitator Surgery – Thursday 14th May 2016

emailEmily Cieciura, RKEO’s Research Facilitator for EU and International funding will be available to chat about funding opportunties from 1-2pm on Thursday 12th May 2016, based in the Global Hub room (DG68).

As these sessions have not proved popular with academics, as has been the case with the RKEO Drop-in Sessions, this will be the last one.

If you need support regarding EU or International funding, please contact Emily to arrange a one-to-one meeting.

Innovate UK launches £15m manufacturing call

InnovateUK_LogoA_Interim_RGBx320govuk[1]
Innovate UK has opened a £15-million competition to support the development of novel technologies or production processes across the manufacturing industry.

Projects need to focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. Innovate UK will fund projects that aim to lead to increased UK SME productivity, competitiveness and growth.

Projects need to be led by a business and must involve at least one SME. They can be carried out by an SME working alone or in collaboration with other organisations. Projects with costs of £100,000 or more must involve working with other partners

Innovate UK are looking for projects which focus on any of the technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development research categories.

Projects should last between 6 months and 3 years. They should range from total costs of £50,000 to £2 million.

Competition brief in full.

Competition guidance.

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.

Research Councils publish Delivery Plans for 2016-2020

RCUKlogoThe UK Research Councils have published their Delivery Plans for the period 2016-2020.

The plans outline how the Research Councils individually and collectively will use their allocations from the Science and Research Budget announced in March to meet their strategic aims and to support the research base to benefit the economy and wider society.

Each Research Council plan is available on their individual websites:

The RCUK Executive Directorate has published a Delivery Plan for the first time which is available here . The Executive Directorate was established a year ago from the former RCUK Strategy Unit to give leadership for the collective activities across the Research Councils and to support the individual Councils to focus on their disciplines and communities. The Directorate’s Delivery Plan outlines future plans for policy and analysis, international, communications and public engagement, the Global Challenges Research Fund and the RCUK Change Programme.

In addition to outlining individual priorities for this period the Research Council Delivery Plans provide information on collective commitments to reform of the Research Councils, equality and diversity, partnership with Innovate UK and the Global Challenges Research Fund.

A helpful summary of each councils delivery plan is provided by Research Professional.

Innovation awards – Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS) – new call to be announced

esrc logo

 

Innovation awards under PaCCS focusing on Conflict and International Development

The ESRC and AHRC will shortly be launching a further call for interdisciplinary innovation awards under the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS) focusing on Conflict and International Development. (Pre-call.)

Find out more information including the proposed call timescale here.

AHRC information.

If you are interested in submitting to this call 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 launched to encourage entrepreneurs in engineering or technology

Royal Academy Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering invites applications for its launchpad competition. Funding aims to encourage young entrepreneurs to start a new business based on their innovation in engineering or technology, with engineering defined in its broadest sense. The competition aims to:

•improve the skills of the awardee:

•develop role models of entrepreneurship;

•bring engineering innovations to market for a wider public benefit.

Applications are open to individuals or small teams. The lead applicant must be UK-based and aged between 16 and 25. They should have a viable and commercial business proposition with a large market opportunity, and be planning to set up a business within the 18 months following the application deadline. The feasibility of the initial product or service must have been proven preferably with a basic prototype.

The winner receives the JG Gammon award, which includes a cash prize of £15,000 and a year’s membership of the enterprise hub. This provides mentoring, training and networking opportunities with UK entrepreneurs and investors. Up to two other individuals or teams may be chosen as runners up.

Click here for more information on support for entrepreneurs.

Click here for more information on the launchpad competition – now live !

Latest Funding Opportunities

money and cogs
The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.

British Council

The British Council have announced the opening of a number of Newton funded grants.

The Newton Institutional Links grant aims to build innovative collaborations directly relevant to social welfare and economic development between the UK and any of the following countries:  Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Thailand and Mexico.  Grants are available for amounts between £50k-£300k. Closing Date 27/6/16 at 16:00

The Newton Researcher Links Travel Grants has made available funds for international research placements (for 1-6 months, dependent on the country) for researchers that reside in the UK with partners in Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey or those from the partner countries to visit the UK. guidance may be found here.  Closing Date 27/6/16 at 16:00

The Newton Workshop Grants fund aims to bring early-career researchers together with a partner country (Brazil, Egypt, India, Turkey, South Africa and Vietnam.  Mexico may also be added to this fund in the future.)  to address problems of low-income and vulnerable populations.  The level of the grant funding available depends on the specific partner country. More guidance may be found here. Closing Date 27/6/16 at 16:00

Economic and Social Research Council

The ESRC, together with DFID, welcome applications to the Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme.  The topic for 2016 relates to ‘how do accountability relationships and processes within developing country education systems enable or inhibit the raising of learning outcomes?’ A total of £6.5M will be made available with projects expected to be between £200k-£700k.  Closing Date 26/7/16 at 16:00

European Commission

The  Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport have announced a tender opportunity to apply for a “Study on the implementation of Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20.12.2006 on driving licences“.  Applications are welcome for amounts up to €200k to provide analysis for the project which can last a maximum 12 months. Closing Date 7/6/16

The  Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion has opened a call for proposals which offer “Support for Social Dialogue“.  A total fund of €9.3M is available with expected grants to be between €150k-€500k.  Closing Date 30/6/16

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) welcomes applications for the provision of services in relation to research on “Italy-Parma: Wildlife: collecting and sharing data on wildlife populations, transmitting animal disease agents“. The maximum amount to be tendered for is €3m for a study lasting no more than 72 months. Closing Date 13/6/16

As part of H2020, 27 calls related to Bio-Based Industries (H2020-BBI-JTI-2016) have opened.  An overall budget of €188.6M will be available with a minimum amount of €110M to be awarded. Closing Date 8/9/16

Wellcome Trust

Applications are invited for an Early Career Fellowships who wish undertake research in a laboratory in India.  Fellowships are for up to five years and will cover personal support for the fellow, research and travel expenses. Closing Date 6/6/16 

The Seed Awards in Science scheme provides one-off grants of up to £100k for projects lasting up to two years.  Funds cannot be used to pay for personal salary costs but are intended to pay for research and travel costs. Closing Date 20/6/16

The Collaborative Awards in Humanities and Social Science invites applications for projects proposing to conduct research into major health-related questions in the humanities and social sciences.  Awards cannot exceed £2M but are expected to be in the range of £1M to £1.5M. Preliminary Application Closing Date 8/7/16

The Collaborative Awards in Science makes available an award of up to £4M over five years for interdisciplinary research collaborations of scientists and/or clinicians (medical and veterinary) and/or non-biologists (e.g. mathematicians, physicists, chemists, engineers and social scientists). Preliminary Application Closing Date 22/8/16

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

Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer.

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.

Vocational Learning Technology Fund

online training

The aim of this Ufi Charitable Trust investment programme is to offer early-stage funding of up to £50k to organisations that are looking to develop new services or improve access to and delivery of adult learning through the imaginative use of digital technology. This programme will provide funding and support to help ventures in developing their ideas into a more robust digital product or service. Click here for more information, including  funding criteria and deadlines.

 

 

New £10 million community business fund

coins money

Power to Change, a community enterprise support organisation, has launched a new £10 million Community Business Fund, which will provide grants of between £50,000 and £300,000 to community enterprises in England.

The funding is intended to increase the social impact of community enterprises and support them to increase trading income, secure assets or reduce costs.

Find out more here.

Research Professional – all you need to know

Research-Professional-logoEvery 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 fuorth Tuesday of each month. You can register here for your preferred date:

24th May 2016

28th June 2016

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.

24/5/16 – Smart Cities Sandpit

creativity road signJust a quick reminder before the long weekend, to sign up for the forthcoming Smart Cities sandpit on Tuesday, 24th May 2016.

To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU staff should complete the Smart-Cities-Sandpit-Application-Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday, 17th May (extended to allow for those taking leave around the Bank Holiday). Places are strictly limited.

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event on 24th May (c. 9:30 – 16:30). This event will be held in BU’s Executive Business Centre (EBC).

If you are one of our external blog subscribers and you are interested in attending or if BU staff have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO Research Facilitator: EU & International.

 


 

This event is especially pertinent given this announcement from the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership:

£23.3 million will be invested into four major transport schemes to improve access into and around the Port of Poole and help boost economic growth in the area.  The funds have been secured by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership as part of the Dorset Growth Deal.

The four schemes will be delivered by the Borough of Poole and include:

  • A £4.3 million investment into the A349 (the main link road into the Port of Poole and the town centre from the A31) at Gravel Hill:
    • Stabilising and strengthening embankments
    • Increasing capacity for motor vehicles at the Queen Anne Drive junction
    • Improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists
  • £2 million junction, pedestrian and cyclist improvements at Darby’s Corner and Dunyeats junction.
  • New ‘approach spans’ for Poole Bridge i.e. the parts of the bridge that carry traffic from the land to the main section of the bridge (the green copper towers).  This £4.2 million superstructure replacement will ensure the bridge continues to offer a vital route into the port:
    • Carriageway widened to 6.5 metres
    • Conversion of footpath into a 2.5-metre-wide shared footway/cycleway
    • Extension of shared footway/cycleway along the lifting spans
  • £13 million worth of major access improvements to the Port of Poole on the town side of the Backwater Channel and new development sites.  Improvement to a number of key junctions including redevelopment of Hunger Hill.

What will these improvements achieve?

These major transport infrastructure projects will improve access into and around the Port of Poole, unlock regeneration sites, create more highly skilled jobs, improve housing and drive local economic growth.

When will work start?

The current work schedule start dates are as follows:

  • Dunyeats junction – May 2016
  • Darby’s Corner – 2018
  • Gravel Hill – July 2016
  • New approach spans for Poole Bridge – September2016
  • Townside access improvements – 2017/2018.

What are ‘Growth Deals’?

Growth Deals provide funds to local enterprise partnerships for projects that benefit the local area and economy. A total of £79 million for Dorset has already been successfully bid for by Dorset LEP through the Dorset Growth Deal, which aims to bring together local, national and private sector funding to unlock and unblock key housing and employment sites, create more highly skilled jobs and support economic growth.

£23,310,000 has been allocated to fund transport infrastructure improvements into and around the Port of Poole.  This figure includes both Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership’s growth deal funding (90%) and a local contribution from the Borough of Poole (10%).

 For more information

For more details about the Port of Poole growth deal visit www.poole.gov.uk/dorsetgrowthdeal

“This multi-million-pound investment into the Port of Poole’s transport infrastructure will not only safeguard important road and bridge routes but will also unlock economic growth into the region.” 

Gordon Page, Chairman, Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership