Category / pre-award

NIHR Grant Applications Seminar ONLINE- 23rd March 2021

BU research, COVID-19, EPSRC, ESRC, NHS, pre-award, Research Centres, Research Training

  

Dear colleagues

– Do you have a great idea for research in health, social care or public health?
– Are you planning to submit a grant application to NIHR?

Our popular seminar continues online and will take place on Tuesday 23rd March 2021 from 10.00am – 12.30pm.

The seminar provides an overview of NIHR funding opportunities and research programme remits, requirements and application processes. We will give you top tips for your application and answer specific questions with experienced RDS South West advisers.

We also have a limited number of 20-minute 1-to-1 appointments available after the seminar should you wish to discuss your proposed study with an RDS adviser.

Find out more and book a place.

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

We can help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body.

Contact us as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.

Big Grant Briefing (ASV)

BU research, Funding opportunities, PG research, Postgraduate Research, pre-award, Research news

This is a special briefing session to look at 5 funds for large projects that could be useful for ASV projects. Most of these are open now! This will be an opportunity to find out more and meet potential collaborators.

There are two iterations of the event and it will be recorded.

Wednesday 27th January 13:00 – 14:00

Wednesday 3rd February 13:00 – 14:00

Call Details Call Start Call Close
UKRI uk-ireland-collaboration-in-digital-humanities 08/01/2021 18/03/2021
For large, innovative and multidisciplinary projects involving the collaboration of both UK and Ireland-based researchers . Up to £320K.
Horizon 2020: Excellent Science 21/01/2021 20/04/2021
These grants support principal investigators in establishing a research team.
Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRH) 22/04/2021
For collaborative research that has the potential to create transformative change to health response within the humanitarian sector. £1 – £3M.
AHRC/SBE(US National Science Foundation (NSF)) open open
A transatlantic collaborative research which allows US and UK researchers to submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process. It must be led by a US PI. Up to £1M.
Wellcome Trust: Ideas Fund late Jan 21 01/10/2023
A new grants programme to think about, develop and test new ideas related to areas of mental wellbeing that are relevant to the UK public. Focused initially on four localities – more information on these to be announced.

To book onto one of these briefings, please email RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk

UK’s participation in Horizon Europe

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, international, pre-award

There was an earlier blog regarding UK participation in EU programmes for research, innovation and higher education last week. As promised, here is more information related to Horizon Europe (HE) Framework Programme.

Based on UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the TCA) the UK will be HE Associated Country. The association secures participation of UK and EU entities in Horizon Europe Programme on equivalent terms. This will ensure that via the Horizon Europe Programme UK organisations have access to R&I funding, infrastructure and markets; according to the TCA, UK organisations can lead projects and UK experts can take part in evaluations. It also provides association to COST programme and the UK plays an active role in the ongoing governance and development of the HE programme.

UK entities will be able to access grant funding from all parts of HE, including European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and all application and grant management process will be the same as for Horizon 2020, unless any changes are made for the whole HE programme.

There are certain steps to be completed before the UK formally associates to the HE Programme – EU to ratify HE Regulation (expected in January/February) and to finalise Protocol between UK and EU, which sets out all terms of UK participation.

I believe, this is fantastic news for the whole UK academic community and wish you success in applying for research funding.

For EU funding related questions, contact RDS Research Facilitator International Ainar Blaudums. I will post further information as soon as new information regarding EU programmes becomes available and important decisions are reached.

Applying for Interreg funding from January 2021

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, international, pre-award

Interreg has been one of the funding sources where BU academics have been successful during previous years. RDS have had a number of enquiries from academics regarding our eligibility to apply for Interreg funding after the UK has left the EU. The answer may be both – yes and no.

According to the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK continues participation in all EU programmes funded from the 2014-2020 EU budget. There are final calls for proposals under the 2014-2020 programmes which are ongoing and will close in 2021. The UK continues to be eligible to apply for these, including Interreg, and EU funding will be provided for the whole lifetime of the project.

The next EU budget period is designed for 2021-2027; if Interreg calls for proposals are to be funded from the EU 2021-2027 budget, UK participants will not be eligible for EU funding.

Theoretically there may be a situation that there are two open Interreg calls for proposals with different eligibility criteria for UK participants. Our advice to academics would be to check first if funding for the particular call comes either from the EU 2014-2020 or the 2021-2027 budget.

There will be another blog post in the coming days, providing more details regarding our participation in the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact Research Facilitator – International, Ainar Blaudums, if you have specific questions regarding EU funding.

10 things you need to know about the BU Financial Regulations and RKE

BU research, policy, Post-award, pre-award

Please read the following 10 things you need to know about the BU Financial Regulations in relation to research and knowledge exchange (RKE).

1. The purpose of the BU Financial Regulations is to provide control over university resources, ensuring the resources are being properly applied to achieve the university’s objectives. They provide practical guidance on the university’s policies relating to financial control. All matters concerning finance must be carried out in line with the Financial Regulations.

2. They apply to all of us, irrespective of your grade, role, department that you work in or what type of employment contract you hold.

3. Non-compliance with the regulations is potentially a disciplinary matter. See below for a non-exhaustive list of examples of potential breaches of the Financial Regulations in relation to RKE.

4. They apply to all university activities irrespective of the source of funding. Specific external funding such as research grants are still subject to our Financial Regulations because the funds are awarded to the university and not to an individual member of staff.

5. All bids/applications/quotations to external funders/clients must be costed by RDS and approved via the Activity Proposal Form (APF) process, prior to submission. The approved costs must match those submitted to the funder. If a named sub-contractor is included within the bid/application, this will be subject to BU Procurement procedures (see #7).  No commitment to outside agencies or to incur expenditure can be made without the proper approval being in place.  If a bid commits BU at the time of submission then the Contract Signing Policy & Procedures will need to be followed at bid stage.

6. A contract/agreement/grant offer letter, etc. cannot be signed until it has been reviewed by Legal Services. There are only certain people who can sign documents or agreements/contracts ‘on behalf of the university’. RKE projects cannot start until there is a signed contract in place. See the Financial Authority Limits and the Contract Signing Policy & Procedures.

7. All purchasing must be made in accordance with the BU Procurement Manual. There are thresholds determining when quotations and tendering procedures are required.

8. Principal Investigators are responsible for ensuring their RKE projects do not exceed the funds available/the approved budget. This can be monitored using the Research & Enterprise Database, RED.

9. All purchases must be approved prior to commitment. All purchases must have a purchase order raised prior to the order being placed or the work taking place.

10. Travel and Business Expenses can only be incurred in accordance with the Financial Regulations. The specific rules in are in the BU Business Travel Policy and the Staff & Visitors Expenses Policy.

Examples of potential breaches of BU Financial Regulations, which could lead to further action (such as disciplinary proceedings):

  • Signing a contract that has not undergone legal review and/or without the required approvals in place.
  • Changing the financial figures in an external funding application so they no longer match those approved via the APF process.
  • Starting work on an externally-funded RKE project, before a contract has been signed.
  • Committing to purchases, without prior approval or without having a purchase order.
  • Exceeding the budget available for an RKE project.
  • Spending more on travel, subsistence or accommodation than the rates specified in the Staff & Visitors Expenses Policy, without prior approval.
  • Not adhering to the procurement procedures set out in the BU Procurement Manual.

Training in Developing a Search Strategy

BU research, ECR Network, PG research, Postgraduate Research, pre-award, Research Training, RKE development framework, student research, Training

Wednesday 2nd December 10:00 – 12:00

Finding literature about your research project is a fundamental step to understand where your project sits and what societal contributions it can make.

Attendees will learn

  • about accessing and using library resources
  • developing systematic search strategies
  • setting up citation alerts and using citations smartly
  • using analytical tools to aid publication and research

This is suitable for Early Career Researchers and anyone starting work on a new research project.

For more information and to book, please see here.

British Academy Newton International Fellowships – Information Session

BU research, Funding opportunities, PG research, Postgraduate Research, pre-award, Research news, Research Training

Wednesday 11th November 10:00 – 11:00

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

This session provides support for preparing an application to the British Academy Newton International Fellowships. Potential BU mentors and international candidates are welcomed.

The session will provide an understanding of the Newton International Fellowship Scheme, and it’s aims and objectives, and provides support for those considering applying. This is also suitable for those who are not sure if this is the right fund to apply to.

To book, please email Organisational Development with evidence of approval from your departmental Head or Deputy Head.

For more details see here, and if you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@Bournemouth.ac.uk

*New* Full Economic Cost thresholds for research and knowledge exchange (RKE) activity

EPSRC, ESRC, EU, Funding opportunities, Guidance, Industry collaboration, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, pre-award

A review of BU’s research and knowledge exchange activity demonstrated that over the past three years BU’s RKE income met c. 80% of the full economic costs (fEC) of the projects. The review also looked at the fEC thresholds and found they were out of date and unrealistic, for example, a number of the thresholds did not match the funding models provided by funders.

The Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC) have therefore approved changes to the fEC thresholds for RKE activities at BU. The new thresholds have been chosen to make it easier to work with organisations on RKE projects that will benefit society. Moreover, the new thresholds set realistic expectations for working with a range of funders so that research activity is sustainable at BU.

In addition to the thresholds, the RPMC has confirmed an expectation that all new costs to the project (Directly Incurred costs) must be covered by the income to be received from the funder. Ideally the income will be sufficient to also provide a contribution to the other costs to the project (i.e. existing staff time and overheads). This will enable BU to ensure RKE activities are financially viable and sustainable.

The new thresholds set a minimum fEC recovery rate by funder/activity type (see Table 1). They should be discussed with your Funding Development Officer at the start of the bidding process and before any conversations take place with external organisations/partners. All Principal Investigators will be asked to design their projects around meeting or exceeding these minimum thresholds and making sure the Directly Incurred costs will be covered. This may not be possible for all funding schemes. Where there is a strategic reason for applying to such a scheme and there is no alternative funder (such as some prestigious fellowship schemes) then this should be discussed with your Funding Development Officer who will advise on options.

If you have any queries about what this will mean for your research, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

UKRO annual 2020 (remote) meeting with BU academics

EU, Events, Funding opportunities, Info Days, Post-award, pre-award

As usual, RDS will host an annual UK Research Office visit to BU in 2020.

This year’s event has been scheduled for November 18 and is organised in a form of a remote zoom meeting. Please make a note in your diaries – all academic staff interested in EU funding, the new Horizon Europe framework programme and future implications of Brexit are invited to attend the event.

The event will be hosted and run by our UKRO European Advisor Ms Malgorzata Czerwiec from Brussels.

At this point, we have a draft agenda and some input from academics before finalising the agenda, as a minimum to register your interest to attend particular session by 6th November 2020, will be appreciated.

The link to the zoom meeting will be provided after the registration is closed; some of agenda items may be changed or removed depending on your feedback.

Please see the draft agenda below and register your attendance preferences (at the end of the registration, click on DONE button to complete the form).

Draft agenda of the webinar

10:30 – 11:45

UK Participation in Horizon 2020

BU involvement in H2020

Update on Horizon Europe developments

12:00 – 12:40

H2020 Evaluation process and proposal writing hints and tips + questions – session for PIs involved in the Green Deal Call for proposal submission

In the afternoon

Previously booked one-to-one sessions with UKRO representative

Obviously, lunch will not be provided this year, although there will be some flexibility to have a coffee at home or in the office between the sessions.

During registration, academics are welcome to submit any other EU funding related topics for discussion; those may either be included in one of the above sessions or discussed individually during one-to-one meeting.

UKRO delivers subscription-based advisory service for research organisations and provides Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and European Research Council (ERC) National Contact Point services in the UK. As part of UKRO services, BU members of staff may sign up to receive personalised email alerts and get early access to the EU funding related publications on UKRO portal.

Please contact Research Facilitator International Ainar Blaudums if you have further questions.

NIHR Grant Applications Seminar ONLINE

BU research, COVID-19, Events, Funding opportunities, HSS Our 9 Research Entities, innovation, NHS, pre-award, Research Centres, Research news, Research Training, writing

  

Dear colleagues

– Do you have a great idea for research in health, social care or public health?
– Are you planning to submit a grant application to NIHR?

Our popular seminar has now moved online and will take place on Tuesday 24th November 2020 from 10.00am – 12.30pm.

The seminar provides an overview of NIHR funding opportunities and research programme remits, requirements and application processes. We will give you top tips for your application and answer specific questions with experienced RDS South West advisers.

Find out more and book a place.

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

We can help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body.

Come as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.

 

Procedures for late submission of external research and KE applications

BU research, Guidance, pre-award, R & KE Operations, Research news

The procedures for late submissions of external research and knowledge exchange applications has been updated in line with strategic guidance from UET to ensure that quality applications are submitted and adhere to BU’s financial regulations. The updated procedure can be found on the staff intranet here. The Faculty Executive Deans and Deputy Deans for Research and Professional Practice have provided input and their support to the procedure.

RDS will endeavour to support and submit all applications where possible. We recognise that some funders will give short-notice of a call and that there may be other circumstances where sufficient notice cannot be given. However, all applications, regardless of time to submit, have to go through the same costing and approval process and there is an expectation that only good quality and competitive applications should be submitted. Applicants should also note that time has to be factored in for Faculty Executives and/or UET to read and sign-off final submissions (these are busy people who spend a lot of time in meetings). RDS will be flexible where we can for those exceptional cases.

If you have any queries then please contact Jo Garrad, RDS Funding Development Manager.

InnovateUK Smart Grants: Internal Deadlines

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Guidance, Knowledge Exchange, pre-award

The current round of the Innovate UK Smart grant call has a submission deadline of 25 November 2020 at 11.00 am.

Due to the volume of bids that are received by RDS in every round, the internal deadlines will be strictly applied to ensure that the pre-award team can provide all interested academics with optimal support in a timely manner.

Innovate UK has provided guidance for academic partners participating in proposed Smart grant projects.

INTERNAL DEADLINES

21 October, close of business*
Intention to Bid forms to be submitted to your Faculty Funding Development Officer (FDO).

28 October at 12 noon
Completed Due Diligence form and draft application to be sent to FDO.
Costing to be finalised with FDO.

This will enable the FDO to move the bid to the next step of internal approvals, which is the review by Legal Services and Finance.
This Legal Services/Finance step is required before the approval request can be sent to the Dean and the University Executive Team.

17 November, close of business
PI to complete all Je-s form sections, upload all required attachments and submit on Je-s.

18 – 24 November
PI and FDO to work on final checks of the Je-s application to get it submission-ready.

24 November
Latest date for FDO to officially submit on Je-s, pdf the Je-s form and forward to the Lead.

25 November
Lead to submit the main application on the Innovation Funding Service by 11.00am.

*Where ITB forms are received after 21 October 2020, they will be moved automatically to the next round or alternatively, RDS will work with you to find another funding opportunity.

Unfortunately, if any of the internal deadlines above are not followed, the bid cannot proceed as approvals will not be obtained on time.

Please fully consider this timeframe and if you wish to submit, please commit to being available to work with your FDO to support you through the internal approval process.

If you have any queries, please contact Ehren Milner, the Research Facilitator for Industrial Collaborations.

Early Career Researcher – NERC Paleo Seminar Series

BU research, ECR Network, Events, PG research, Postgraduate Research, pre-award, Research communication, Research news

From 8th September, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) are launching a weekly zoom for early career researchers working in the broad field of Paleo sciences.

PERCS (Paleo EaRly Career Seminars) is a weekly seminar series that promotes and features work by Early Career Researchers in a range of paleo sciences including paleontology, paleoecology, paleoceanography and paleoclimatology. While the speakers will be Early Career Researchers, the seminar is for people at every career stage. PERCS take place on Zoom, and consist of a live streamed short (~30 min) seminar followed by a Q&A session and an opportunity for small group discussion and networking with other attendees using break-out rooms. Recordings of most PERCS will be available to participants unable to attend live seminars. Seminars are (mostly) weekly on Tuesdays at 1500 UTC. PERCS are intended as a venue to share research, strengthen our global community, and facilitate collaboration between the Palaeo sciences. All palaeo-researchers and fans (regardless of career stage) are enthusiastically welcome.

NERC strive towards diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility with a diverse line-up of speakers from around the world, and a strong commitment towards fostering an inclusive environment. They also implement live auto-captions, and have both synchronous and asynchronous viewing options.

To be added to the email list that receives seminar invitations and announcements, please review their code of conduct and then sign up through a google form. 

The full schedule of events and the speakers/topics is available on the website. https://paleopercs.com/.

 

Writing Week – support from BUCRU and RDS

BU research, COVID-19, Funding opportunities, HSS Our 9 Research Entities, NHS, Postgraduate Research, pre-award, Research Centres, research staff

Writing Week in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences is coming up next week and we wanted to highlight some of the expertise within BUCRU and NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) and remind you that we’re available to provide support for your health or social care research.

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) supports researchers in improving the quality, quantity and efficiency of research across the University and local NHS Trusts.

We do this by:

  • Helping researchers develop high quality applications for external research funding (including small grants)
  • Ongoing involvement in funded research projects

How can we help?

BUCRU/RDS can provide help in the following areas:

  • Formulating research questions
  • Building an appropriate team
  • Study design
  • Appropriate methodologies for quantitative research, e.g. statistical issues, health economics
  • Appropriate methodologies for qualitative research, e.g. sampling, analytical strategies
  • Advice on data management and data analysis
  • Identifying suitable funding sources
  • Writing plain English summaries
  • Identifying the resources required for a successful project
  • Critical reviews of proposed grant applications can be obtained through our Project Review Committee before they are sent to a funding body.
  • Patient and public involvement in research
  • Trial management
  • Ethics, governance and other regulatory issues
  • Linking University and NHS researchers

Over the coming weeks we’ll cover some of these areas in more detail in future blogs and how we can help you.

Our support is available to Bournemouth University staff and people working locally in the NHS, and depending on the support you require, is mostly free of charge. There are no general restrictions on topic area or professional background of the researcher.

If you would like support in developing your research please get in touch through bucru@bournemouth.ac.uk or by calling us on 01202 961939. Please see our website for further information, details of our current and previous projects and a link to our recent newsletter.

BUCRU (Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit) – Bulletin

BU research, NHS, Post-award, pre-award, Research Centres, Research news

Please see the latest BUCRU Bulletin from the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit. We hope you find it interesting.  Featuring details on our online NIHR Grant Applications Seminar next week (28th July) and how to register.

BUCRU supports researchers to improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency of research locally by supporting grant applications and providing on-going support in funded projects, as well as developing our own programme of research.

Don’t forget, your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) staff are working remotely at present so please call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email in the first instance.

Due Diligence: International Research Collaborations & Partnerships – Best practice guidance

BU research, Funding opportunities, Guidance, international, pre-award

The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) has provided guidance on due diligence regarding the legitimacy of international research collaborators and partners.

We recommend that academics wishing to apply for research funding with collaborators and partners, particularly those out of the UK, should peruse this guidance.

Typical calls requiring such collaborations include funding opportunities that involve the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the Newton Fund and many others.

When you have fully considered this guidance when developing your networks and have identified a call, please contact your pre-award team for submission support. The more partners are involved in a bid, the more work will be required in co-ordinating the research writing and budgets. In parallel, we will need more time to support you with due diligence checks, costing and internal approvals, so please give yourself a minimum of 3 months before the deadline to work on such bids. The earlier you contact us, the more time we will have to work with you.

NIHR Grant Applications Seminar ONLINE

Events, HSS Our 9 Research Entities, NHS, pre-award, Research news, Research Training

  

Dear colleagues

– Do you have a great idea for research in health, social care or public health?
– Are you planning to submit a grant application to NIHR?

Our popular seminar (which was previously planned in Bournemouth on 24 March and cancelled due to lockdown) has now moved online and will take place on Tuesday 28th July 2020 from 2.00pm – 4.30pm.

The seminar provides an overview of NIHR funding opportunities and research programme remits, requirements and application processes. We will give you top tips for your application and answer specific questions with experienced RDS South West advisers.

We will also be joined by Simon Goodwin – RfPB Programme Manager for the South West and East of England. Find out more and book a place.

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

We can help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body.

Come as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.

 

MSCA NCP Virtual Drop-in Sessions

EU, Events, Funding opportunities, Info Days, pre-award

This is a quick reminder for those BU academics interested in applying for the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships call in September 2020.

The UK Research Office (UKRO), in its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), will be holding a virtual drop-in session for organisations and individuals interested in applying to the 2020 MSCA Individual Fellowships call (call deadline of 9 September 2020).

The virtual drop-in session will provide with an opportunity to speak directly with the MSCA NCP on specific elements of their proposal. The event is aimed at potential UK academic and non-academic based supervisors, and their prospective fellows, who are planning to submit a proposal to the Individual Fellowship 2020 call.

If you would like to attend, please visit the events page and register MSCA Individual Fellowships, Wednesday 22 July 2020 14:30-16:00 CET (13:30-15:00 UK Time). Further information on the event will be provided to delegates once registration for the sessions has closed.

Direct link to registration

If you have any BU specific queries, please contact EU & International Research Facilitator Ainar Blaudums or your RDS Funding Development Officer.