Category / Funding opportunities

Top tips from the Leverhulme Trust

BU research, Funding opportunities, Guidance

The Leverhulme Trust have provided us with helpful notes when submitting an application to them.  They have provided notes on the most common errors made, which result in an application being returned.  These are as follows:

• Applicants should only use their institutional email address – gmail, hotmail, etc addresses are not allowable.

• Principal and co-applicants cannot claim for direct salary costs for themselves nor be a consultant, research assistant, local researcher or PhD student.

• There must be at least one research assistant, local researcher or PhD student working for at least 50% in each year of the grant.

• Percentages must be based on the time spent on the project as a whole, not yearly. For example a research assistant working on a project for 100% would have to be costed in every year, not just one.

• Replacement teaching must not exceed 33% on any grant, this equals a third of the time of any project, e.g. 1 year on a 3 year grant.

• Consultants must be named and be crucial to the project, they cannot claim a salary only a reasonable fee.

• If you are requesting administration/secretarial/technician/technical assistance then this must be listed under associated costs.

• Leverhulme Trust do not provide funding for setting up a conference, only to attend ones relevant to the research being undertaken.

If you are thinking of applying to the Leverhulme Trust then please contact the RKEO Funding Development Team and we will assist you with your application.

Design Council Spark: a new kind of product innovation fund – up to £65K available

Funding opportunities

 

 

 

 

Have a great product prototype but not sure what to do next?

Design Council Spark is a new kind of product innovation fund to uncover the UK’s next great inventions. Apply now for a chance to win a place on this 20 week bespoke support program, as well as up to £65k investment to help bring your physical product prototype or idea to market.

Design Council Spark is a fund and accelerator that provides support and investment into product innovations which are primarily physical. It is looking to attract individuals/teams with revolutionary product ideas that offer brilliant solutions to everyday problems. 

The not-for profit programme is unique. Participants donate 5% of future sales revenue back into the fund, fuelling a movement of revolutionary products for the UK and beyond. The call for entries will last until  31 January 2015. 

Click the link for further details.

ESRC turns 50!

Funding opportunities, PG research, Research news

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK’s largest organisation for funding on economic social issues. 

This year ESRC celebrates its 50th anniversary and will be holding a variety of exciting activities and events, such as a writing competition for ESRC-funded PhD students (May 2015), a look at 50 Years of Population Change (June 2015) and the ESRC Festival of Social Science (31 October to 7 November 2015).  For further details of events that they intend to hold as part of their anniversary celebration, along with details of potential funding opportunities, please follow the link.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

BU research, Funding opportunities

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

Arts and Humanities Research Council, GB

The AHRC, with the Indian Council for Historical Research and the British Library invites expressions of interest for researchers to attend a workshop on ‘Cultural Heritage and Rapid Urbanisation in India’. The event will bring together academic experts from both countries to address an issue of growing importance as India seeks to preserve and position its rich cultural history within the context of an emerging urban landscape. It will draw on a range of disciplinary perspectives including urban history, heritage, languages, the digital humanities and archaeology. The workshops are open to UK-based researchers meeting the AHRC’s standard eligibility requirements from all disciplines within the arts and humanities. Applicants should have a particular research interest in the topics noted above and be able to articulate this in their expression of interest. Closing date: 30/01/2015 at 4pm.

British Institute of Persian Studies, GB

Applications are invited for research grants to support primary research in all fields of Iranian  and wider Perisianate world studies in any relevant subject, including anthropology, archaeology, the visual arts and architecture, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, religion, political science and cognate subjects, as well as for the organisation of conferences, lecture and workshops. Grants are worth between £200 and £8,000 each. Closing date: 16/02/2015.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GB

EPSRC invites proposals for investigator-led projects under its manufacturing the future theme. Proposals should address key research challenges facing manufacturing in the UK, both currently and in the future. Investigator-led projects should address the following research priorities: innovative production processes; manufacturing informatics; sustainable industrial systems; frontier manufacturing. There is no maximum award amount, but the total award budget is £5,000,000.  Closing date: There is no official closing date but batching dates  have been identified, the next one being 27/02/2015.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GB

EPSRC together with Natural Environment Research Council invites technical assessments and applications for its ARCHER leadership project. Applicants may apply for a minimum of 100,000 kAU for maximum of two years. The resource is for pre-competitive research only and the research area must lie within the remit of either the EPSRC or NERC. This call is for compute resource only, including core Computational Science and Engineering support as provided by the ARCHER Service to all users. However, no additional support for staff or consumables can be applied for. Thus applicants must demonstrate substantial high performance computing expertise within their team in order to be considered for funding. Individuals eligible to hold a full EPSRC or NERC grant, and persons of similar standing in industry or the third sector, may apply. Closing date: Technical assessments due by 4pm, 11/02/2015. Full applications due by 4pm, 23/02/2015.

Fisheries Society of the British Isles, GB

The FSBI invites applications for its PhD studentships. Applicants must have the agreement of a supervisor based at a university or research institute in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Studentships are based on the NERC stipend rate plus a £1,000 supplement, and include a contribution of £1,500 per year towards consumables.Closing date: 13/01/2015.

Innovate UK, GB

Better interactions between people and machines-feasibility study  aims to encourage innovation in improving the interaction between people and computer devices and systems. Proposals may address innovations in underlying technologies, in combining emerging technologies, or in employing tools to improve the user experience. Projects must be collaborative and business-led. The competition is open only to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with the option to collaborate with one additional SME or research organisation or academic partner. Projects should last between three and 12 months and have total project costs of up to £50,000 with small businesses receiving up to 70% of their eligible project costs and medium-sized businesses up to 60%. Closing date: 25/03/2015.

Smithsonian Institution, US

The Smithsonian Institution’s Tropical Research Institute invites applications for the three-year Tupper postdoctoral fellowship. This supports research conducted under a designated advisor in one of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s facilities. Applicants may be of any nationality and from anywhere in the world. Applicants in the disciplines of ecology, anthropology, palaeontology, evolutionary biology, molecular phylogenetics, biogeography, animal behaviour, neurobiology, soils sciences, and physiology of tropical plants and animals are strongly encouraged. One fellowship, which includes an annual stipend of US$48,000 plus travel and research allotments, is awarded for a three-year period. Closing date: 15/01/2015.

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.

Autumn Statement: funding announced to help businesses create the next generation of products

Funding opportunities

New funding announced in the Autumn Statement will help businesses create the next generation of products in innovative areas from robotic tools and printable electronics to carbon fibre composites.

  • £61 million will be invested across the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres whose cutting-edge equipment and expertise is helping around 2,250 manufacturers create innovative technologies and products
  • a £28 million investment will create a new world-class research and development centre – the National Formulation Centre – specialising in the development of formulated products such as medicines and chemicals

For the full news story click here. 

 

£210K available for Wearable Technologies Innovation

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Transfer

 

 

 

 

The IC tomorrow Wearable Technologies Innovation contest will offer six businesses up to £35k each, to encourage innovation in wearable technology across the themes of hospitality, accessibility, entertainment, design, sport and wellbeing, health and safety. Winners will benefit from the contest funding as well as the opportunity collaborate with the one of the contest challenge partners, which include Disney, Amey and Network Rail, Atos, Queen Mary University London, Loughborough University and McLaren, and glh Hotels.

Click below to   register your place:

London: 28 January 2015

Manchester: 29 January 2015

Have your say on an a 2015 Cyber Security Innovate UK funding competition scope

Funding opportunities

Innovate UK is committing up to £4M to fund novel and innovative ideas in ways to counter cyber threats in industries such as healthcare, transport, energy and smart cities through a competition opening in March 2015.  

Attend the workshop in London on 15 January 2015 and have the chance to help identify challenge areas to be addressed that will feed into the scope of the competition brief. Also your knowledge can help shape the competition by providing insights and observations around cyber threat challenges facing our digital economy.

Click here to register your place.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

EU, Funding opportunities

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

Arts and Humanities Research Council

Applications are being can be made to the International Placement Scheme for  short term fellowships to the Yale Center for British Art, The Huntington Library, The Smithsonian Institution, The Harry Ransom Center, National Institutes for the Humanities Japan, The Library of Congress and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Scholars receive a contribution of up to towards their travel, their visa costs paid,  plus a monthly allowance. Closing Date: 15/01/15 at 16:00

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

BBSRC/EMBRAPA joint wheat call – pump-priming awards. Together with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation ( Embrapa) a joint call for collaborative research proposals in wheat research. Up to £75k over a maximum duration of 12 months will be provided to the UK partners. Closing Date: 24/2/15

Economic and Social Research Council

There will be up to six fellowships available as part of the UK in a Changing Europe Senior Fellowships. The aim of the Fellowship programme is to provide evidence and analysis across the broad range of issues and policy areas affected by the UK’s position in a changing European Union (EU). The maximum amount available for each Fellowship is £200,000.  Closing Date: 22/1/15

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

The SUPERGEN WIND CHALLENGE 2015 invites proposals for collaborative research projects to undertake fundamental research that will underpin the development of Wind Energy technologies.  Up to £3m will be available and anyone intending to submit a proposal must register their intent by e-mail.  Registration of intent: 20/1/15 at 16:00; Closing Date: 26/2/15 at 16:00

European Union

Transnational SOLAR-ERA.NET. The objective of the SEII is to boost the development of the PV and CSP sector beyond “business-as-usual” in the areas of Research and Development, Demonstration and Deployment with €12M available between 17 countries.   Closing Date: 27/3/15 at 17:00 CET

Innovate UK

Agri-Tech Catalyst – round 4. The Agri-Tech Catalyst, run by Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, offers funding to innovative businesses and researchers to develop solutions to global agricultural challenges.  Early and Late Stage Projects will have a typical project size between £150K and £500K. Closing Date: 17/6/15

The Industrial research awards for the Agri-Tech Catalyst fund can have a duration up to three years and a budget up to £3M.  Closing Date: 1/4/15

Building whole-life performance. There are funds of £4M for collaborative R&D projects that can lead to better whole-life performance of buildings. Closing Date 1/4/15

Integrated supply chains for energy systems. Investment up to £9.5m in innovations that will address the need for a diverse mix of energy sources and systems over the next three decades and beyond. Closing Date: 11/2/15

Natural Environment Research Council

Sustaining Water Resources for Food, Energy & Ecosystem Services in India- Scoping workshop. NERC is inviting applications from UK scientists to attend a jointly organised workshop with the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), in India on 11-12 March 2015. Applications from researchers working in the fields of water security, ecosystem services, hydrological processes, hydrogeology, freshwater ecology, water quality and related disciplines are welcome. Closing Date: 12/1/15 at 16:00

Royal Society

International Exchanges Scheme. This scheme is for scientists in the UK who want to stimulate new collaborations with leading scientists overseas through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel with up to £12000 available. Closing Dates: 10/2/15 (cost-share round with Russia/RFBR) or 17/2/15 (standard round).

Wellcome Trust

Principal Research Fellowships are available for seven years in the first instance, and provide both a personal salary and research programme funding in full. Closing Date: Open

Research Resources grant,s forming part of the Medical Humanities grants portfolio, are available between £10 000 and £100 000. Small grants of up to £10 000 may be awarded to assess the content, condition and research potential of collections in preparation for a full application. Closing Date: 15/4/15

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.

European Funding Opportunities for SMEs – Webinar 12/1/15

EU, Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Training

Join the Knowledge Transfer Network for a lunchtime webinar on 12th January 2015 to hear more about European funding opportunities and initiatives available to UK registered SME’s.

Although, universities cannot always bid directly to all calls (some must be submitted by the company), knowing what is available may enhance your conversations with business contacts.

Find out more about the Horizon 2020 SME instrument from the UK National Contact Point, Jane Watkins, who will also introduce the new ‘Fast Track to Innovation’ instrument to be launched in January 2015.

SME Instrument

  • A new-dedicated SME scheme to fill gaps in funding for early stage, high-risk research and development. It targets all types of SMEs and provides support across all areas of innovation, science and technology

Fast Track to Innovation Instrument

  • Fast Track to Innovation instrument aiming to speed up the time from idea to market and to increase the participation of industry, SMEs and first time applicants. It will support small consortia of three to five organisations with strong business participation to give promising ideas the last push before entering the market. It is open to ideas in any area of technology or application and to any legal entity established in the EU or in a country associated to Horizon 2020

In addition, Graham Mobbs (European Operations Manager – Innovate UK) will discuss the Eurostars Initiative.

Eurostars

  • The Eurostars programme is targeted at innovative SMEs wanting to take part in collaborative research with partners across Europe and associated countries. The SME takes the lead in a transnational consortium, with the aim to develop innovative products, processes and services, ultimately to gain a competitive advantage.

If you can’t wait until January please take a look at the dedicated UK SME Horizon 2020 and European Initiatives webpage: www.h2020uk.org/smes

The webinar will be on the 12th January 2015 at 12 noon. To book your place please register via the eventbrite link below:

http://ktnsmeeuropeanfunding.eventbrite.com

marc.burke@ktn-uk.org

07515334818

Open for registration – Up to £2m funding for feasibility studies available

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities

Innovate UK  has launched a funding competition for feasibility studies with up to two million pounds funding available.

The competition is open only to small and micro companies (click here for eligibility) across the following technology sectors:

Advanced materials
Biosciences 
Electronics, Sensors & Photonics
Information & Communications Technology 

A briefing event for this competition was held on 25 November.  You can view the webinar recording here. 

For any queries on this competition, please contact support@innovateuk.org.

Latest Funding Opportunities

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research news

 

 

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

 

 

Medical Research Council GB – Tackling antimicrobial resistance theme one: understanding resistant bacteria in context of the host – Innovation grants

Innovative Medicines Initiative invites proposals for its call on The Medical Research Council and partners have delayed the expected opening and closing date for proposals for their innovation grants within the theme tackling antimicrobial resistance – understanding resistant bacteria in context of the host. The expected opening date has been delayed from 3 November 2014 to 19 January 2015, and the expected closing date has been delayed from 13 January to 17 March 2015. Award amount – up to £250,000. Closing date 17/03/2015

Natural Environment Research Council – NERC – Large Grants

Large Grants replaced the consortium grant scheme in 2012.

They support adventurous, large-scale and complex research tackling big science questions that cannot be addressed through other NERC funding opportunities.

The minimum funding level for large grant proposals is £1·2m. The maximum funding level for large grant proposals is £3·7m, with a duration of up to five years. Closing date for outline proposals is 10/03/15

Innovate UK, GB – Urban Living – integrated products and services

Innovate UK is to invest up to £7m in collaborative R&D projects that develop products and services from integrated data generated by cities.

The aim of this competition is to stimulate innovations that can help cities meet the challenges of achieving sustainable growth and other pressures.

Ultimately, the goal is to make the lives of the people who live and work in them happier, healthier and more harmonious.

They are seeking proposals to prototype, develop and evaluate products and services. Specifically, these will need to use data from an integrated city management system to solve problems around the management and operation of cities.

They expect to fund projects of £350k to £700k. Closing dates – please note this is a two-stage competition that opens for applicants on 15 December 2014. The deadline for registration is at noon on 4 February 2015 and the deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 11 February 2015.

 

British Academy, GB – International Partnership and Mobility Scheme

Wellcome Trust, GB The International Partnership and Mobility Scheme aims to support the development of partnerships between the UK and other areas of the world where research excellence would be strengthened by new, innovative initiatives and links.

The Scheme intends to strengthen research capacity/capability, with all partners gaining from the collaboration, and to initiate the development of long-term, links between the UK and overseas scholars whilst also encouraging an intra-regional exchange of expertise and knowledge sharing.

In this round the Scheme is open to three-year and one-year awards for research partnerships between scholars in the UK and scholars in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eurasia, South Asia, East and South-East Asia. Grants are offered up to a maximum of £10,000 per year for a period of one year or three years (£30,000) Closing date 11/02/2015

 

The Wellcome Trust, GB – Senior research fellowships in basic biomedical science

The Wellcome Trust invites applications for its senior research fellowships in basic biomedical science These support outstanding postdoctoral scientists based in academic institutions in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Fellowships are tenable for five years in the first instance, and provide a basic salary, normally of up to £55,000 per year, with an additional trust supplement of £12,500 per year.

Closing date 08/05/2015

The Wellcome Trust, GB – Senior research fellowships in clinical science

This scheme provides support for clinical investigators to further develop their research potential and to establish themselves as leading investigators in clinical science

The fellowship is for five years in the first instance, and provides:

  • a basic salary, as determined by the host institution
  • research expenses essential to the research programme
  • provision for public engagement costs.

Closing date 08/05/2015

Leverhulme Trust, GB – Philip Leverhulme Prizes

Philip Leverhulme Prizes recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize scheme makes up to thirty awards of £100,000 a year, across a range of academic disciplines. The 2015 round opens on 5 January 2015 and closes to nominations on 14 May 2015

Please note that some funders 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.

 

Funding Opportunity: The International Partnership and Mobility Scheme

BU research, Funding opportunities

The International Partnership and Mobility Scheme aims to support the development of partnerships between the UK and other areas of the world where research excellence would be strengthened by new and innovative initiatives and links.

In this round the Scheme is open to three-year and one-year awards for research partnerships between scholars in the UK and scholars in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eurasia, South Asia, East and South-East Asia.  Please note that  applicants must be of postdoctoral or equivalent status. Research must be in the field of the humanities or social sciences.

 Both a principal applicant and co-applicant are required for this scheme. The principal applicant must be ‘ordinarily resident’ in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands and must be able to demonstrate that they will be based at their present employing research-active institution in the UK for the duration of the award.  The co-applicant must be an academic based in a research-active institution in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eurasia, South Asia, East or South-East Asia and must also be able to demonstrate that they will be based at their present employing institution for the duration of the award.

 The 2015 round is now open for applications. The deadline for applying will be Wednesday, 11 February 2015 (17:00 pm UK time).

Applications must be submitted via e-GAP2, the Academy’s electronic grant application system, but please note that preliminary enquiries should be directed through the RKEO Funding Development Team.

Applicants are asked to read the International Partnership and Mobility Scheme Notes before beginning an application.  For further information about the scheme, please follow the link.

 

EUADS: Deadline tomorrow!

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, Training

The EU Academic Development Scheme (EUADS) is a unique scheme developed to kick start your career in EU research, and is open to all BU academic staff.  The scheme will help you work towards making a submission by providing unlimited 1-2-1 support from an expert EU bid writer, group mentoring and unlimited assistance in actually writing your application over a 12 month period.  In addition to the training, the EUADS scheme also includes an individual fund. Each successful participant will have access to grants up to £3ooo to spend on activities supporting bid development, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Pilot research work
• Fieldwork
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations
• Preparation of specialist material or data
• Replacement teaching 

You can read more on this scheme in the EUADS Policy Document  and make a submission using the  EUADS Application Form.   

The deadline for applications is Friday 19th December 2014.  Applications and any questions should be submitted to the Funding Development Coordinator, Giles Ashton, gashton@bournemouth.ac.uk

How to use the Participant Portal to find relevant EU funding

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities

The easiest way to find Horizon 2020 EU funding opportunities is to search the Participant Portal (the place to go for all things EU funding related).

How to search:

  • Click on Funding Opportunities
  • If you know your topic, click on Search Topics
  • To browse all calls, click on Calls and use the filters – for example, use the radio buttons to select Open and Deadline Date to see a chronological list of all calls closing in the coming months
  • Further filter by type of call, for example, you may want to see Excellent Science only

This is the page you will see following a search:

 

You can then click on the relevant box to access all the information about that call:

From here you can find all the documents related to the call.

You can also subscribe to RSS feeds from the Participant Portal.

If you are looking for non-Horizon 2020, EU funding, some are listed on the Portal, but you may need additional help in locating some schemes.

If you need any further help in using the Participant Portal, please contact your Officer in the Funding Development Team, Paul Lynch or Emily Cieciura – all listed under our team’s page.

 

Bidding opportunity for Fair Access Projects

Funding opportunities

BU’s Fair Access Agreement includes a project fund to support fair access and widening participation projects. Faculties and Professional Services are invited to bid for these funds up to £5,000 for specific and targeted projects which will be monitored and evaluated to form part of the growing evidence base on Fair Access and Widening Participation work.

The aims of these projects are to generate interest in widening participation communities in going into higher education and to support the equality and diversity agenda.

More information can be found on this document: Final Fair Access Project Proposal Grant Application under £5000 

Please contact Lukasz via e-mail lnaglik@bournemouth.ac.uk or 01202 961031 if you are unsure about aims or targeting or if you have questions about filling out this form.