BU Research Blog

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

EPSRC is inviting outline proposals for its call  Novel Manufacturing Instrumentation. This call provides an opportunity for the development of novel manufacturing instrumentation to improve existing processes and develop new capabilities. The principal outputs of research projects funded through this call will be bespoke equipment. The closing date for outlines is 15/05/14. 

EPSRC through the Research Councils UK Energy Programme Supergen Fuel Cells Challenge is looking to support projects that help address the key research challenges that underpin the deployment of Fuel Cell Technologies. These areas are: Degradation and Failure, Electrodes and Interfaces, Sensors and Diagnostics, and Fuel Flexibility. There is up to £5M available to support projects submitted in response to this call. Register by 16:00 on 23/05/14 with applications submitted by 16:00 on 03/07/14.

ESRC has announced the call for outline proposals for their 2014/15 Centres and Large Grants Competition. This competition is aimed at experienced researchers who require longer-term or extended support for research groups, inter-institutional research networks, project-linked programmes, medium-to-large surveys, other infrastructure or methodological developments, or any related larger-scale projects. They welcome applications of excellent quality in any area of social science. This year’s competition also has two specific strategic steers, on ‘The Future of Higher Education’ and on ‘Sustainable Prosperity’, which sit alongside the normal open element of the call. To facilitate the new interdisciplinary relationships and networks that may be required to address the ‘Sustainable Prosperity’ steer, it is strongly advised that potential applicants attend the information and consortium-building event being held in central London on 28 April 2014. The competition is for proposals ranging from £2 million to £10 million. Outline proposals are to be submitted via Je-S by 16.00 on 05/06/14. Invited full applications will be required in late September 2014.

The Technology Strategy Board and the Welsh Government are to invest up to £8m in single-company and collaborative R&D projects to support the UK’s burgeoning regenerative medicine and cell therapy industry. This competition, Advancing regenerative medicines and cell therapies, will focus on the preclinical testing, clinical development and manufacture of regenerative medicines and cell therapies, and the development of associated underpinning tools and technologies. A briefing event and webinar for potential applicants will be held in London on 10/06/14.  Applicants must register by 09/07/14 with the deadline for expressions of interest being noon on 16/07/14.  

The Wellcome Trust scheme, Science Learning+ , aims to make a transformational step to improve the knowledge base and practice of informal science experiences, to better understand, strengthen and coordinate their vital role in science engagement and learning. Phase 1: Planning Grants (2014) is now open. This supports Short-term Planning Grants of up to £70 000 to enable groups of people and organisations in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and/or the USA to meet with each other and develop ideas and strategies. The funder aims to support up to ten Planning Grants in phase 1 and it may be that applicants in receipt of separate grants coalesce to develop collaborations together for application to phase 2, with The Wellcome Trust possibly facilitating this process. The deadline for phase 1 is 10/07/14.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014.

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

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

The AAL Association is pleased to launch the 2014 call Care for the future. The 2014 Call Challenge of the AAL Programme aims at funding the development and testing of ICT-based solutions in real life situations which enable and support sustainable care models for older adults. The scope and the application modalities will be presented during the Info Day of the Call, which will take place on 16 April in Brussels. Closing date 26/06/14, 17:00 (CET)

AHRC has announced an open call inviting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to attend the Connected Communities Festival on 1st and 2nd July and a Research Development Workshop on 3rd July aimed at supporting ECR-led co-produced research projects of relevance to the Connected Communities Programme.  Please note, attendees are normally expected to attend for at least three days, 1-3 July 2014, of the Festival in Cardiff. This call is open to early career researchers of post-doctoral (or equivalent) standing from a range of disciplines both within the arts and humanities and beyond, interested in contributing to the development of the Connected Communities Programme. Closing date 16:00 on 25/04/14

AHRC and the Design Council have been working in partnership over the past two years to demonstrate the key role design plays in creating economic benefits and social value in the UK, and to explore design research in UK universities and its connections with businesses and policymakers. They now wish to test some of these ideas in a study which will examine how businesses and public sector organisations in a particular location use design in their work, and what the impact of this is on their ability to innovate and their economic performance in the Bristol and Bath design research project. Funding of up to £750,000 is available on full economic costs basis with the AHRC meeting 80% of the FEC.  Awards should last between 12 to 24 months and will be overseen by an independent steering group, established by the AHRC and the Design Council.  Closing date 22/05/14.

As part of the BBSRC‘s 20th anniversary programme, the BBSRC is seeking to recognise the excellence of the UK bioscience research base as supported and championed by BBSRC  and to provide a platform to demonstrate their support and pride for the research community. As such the  BBSRC Anniversary Awards for Excellence in Bioscience and Bioscience Communication call is now open. These two awards will be awarded to up to four individual researchers, in recognition of outstanding scientific contributions to UK bioscience in fields within the BBSRC remit. An additional award will be made to an individual scientist or professional science communicator who has made a significant contribution by raising the level of debate about our bioscience research with the public. Up to £2,000 is available. Closing date 15/07/14 at 16:00.

BBSRC‘s FLexible Interchange Programme (FLIP) supports the movement of people from one environment to a different one to exchange knowledge/technology/skills, developing bioscience research/researchers and addressing our strategic priorities. FLIP awards provide flexible opportunities for individuals (“the interchangers”) moving between different organisations, disciplines and sectors at all stages in their career beyond the PhD (or equivalent). Closing date 16/07/14.

The EPSRC are supporting a number of Fellowships. From April 2013, a biannual process has been introduced with guidance in place to publicise the on-going refresh of thematic priority areas, aligned to fellowship start dates and the peer review process. Please refer to the Guidance for further details.

 NERC has announced an opportunity within the UK International Ocean Discovery Program (UKIODP) for Site Survey Investigations (SSIs) and requests outline proposals from the UK science community for Ship-borne Site Survey Investigations (SSIs) and ‘Virtual’ SSIs (desk-based SSIs using already collected geophysical data requiring no extra ship-time). Full proposals will be invited following outline proposal evaluation. Closing date for outline proposals: 02/09/14 and for full proposals: 02/012/14.

The Royal Society‘s Brian Mercer Award for Innovation scheme is for scientists who wish to develop an already proven concept or prototype into a near-market product ready for commercial exploitation. The scheme provides an award of up to £250,000 (including VAT where applicable). Awards are not expected to exceed 24 months in duration. Closing date 23/04/14.

Linked to this is the Royal Society‘s Brian Mercer Feasibility Award, which is a scheme is for scientists who wish to investigate the feasibility of commercialising an aspect of their research. The scheme provides an award of up to £30,000 (including VAT where applicable). Awards are not expected to exceed 12 months in duration. This scheme is currently open to applications.

The Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2014, in association with the ‘Guardian’ and the ‘Observer’, is now open. The winning articles from each category will be published in the ‘Guardian’ or the ‘Observer’. Winners will also receive a £1000 cash prize. Closing date 11/05/14.

Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKE Support Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014.

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

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

The BBSRC is inviting applications for research grants from eligible researchers with a strong track record of research in their remit to purchase items of advanced research equipment via this Advanced Life Sciences Research Technology Initiative (ALERT14) call. The capital equipment budget for this call is approximately £8M. In addition, up to £2M in additional funding may be available to purchase computing equipment (hardware and software) that provides new capability or enhances capacity for the management and analysis of ‘big data’. Applications should be in the range of £250k-£750k excl. VAT. Closing date 16:00 on 13/05/14.

ERASynBio have announced the 2nd joint call for transnational research projects – Building Synthetic Biology Capacity through innovative transnational projects. Closing date 03/07/14.

The ESRC, in partnership with the Public Policy Institute for Wales, invites proposals for research on what works in tackling poverty from eligible research organisations across the UK. A briefing event will take place in Cardiff on 08/04/14. Five projects with costs up to £250,000 will be funded with 80% of costs covered by the funder. Closing date 16:00, 24/04/14.

Are you working with a company (SME) developing innovative products and is driven by research? Then EUREKA‘s Eurostars might provide the funding which they require to gain competititve advantage. Closing date 11/09/14.

The Royal Society‘s India-UK Scientific Seminars scheme is for mid-career scientists who want to organise a small three-day scientific seminar between groups of scientists from India and the UK. The meeting may take place in either the UK or India and may have up to 20 attendees (5 from the visiting country and up to 15 from the host country). The scheme is intended to encourage scientific discussion and to promote collaboration and knowledge transfer by encouraging interaction within the wide research community. Up to £12,000 is available. Closing date 10/06/14

IC tomorrow, via the Technology Strategy Board, is offering five businesses up to £25k each to encourage digital innovation in data. They are looking for innovative commercial solutions that meet broad objectives set in conjunction with industry partners – Ingram Content Group, EE Limited, Ordnance Survey, Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust and British Library. There will be a briefing event for the contest at BL-NK, London on 09/04/14. Up to £25,000 (excl. VAT) is available. Closing date 07/05/14.

The Technology Strategy Board is investing up to £3.5m in collaborative R&D that can help businesses establish secure, resilient and reliable connections with staff who need to work remotely. They are looking for novel proposals that address the challenge of integrating different technologies to make remote working easier and more cost-effective while sharing data securely with employees operating in the field.  There is a briefing event on 08/04/14. Applicants must register by 30/04/14. Expressions of Interest must be submitted by noon 07/05/14, with successful applicants invited to submit a full proposal by noon on 10/07/14.

SMART 2014-15 Round 1 from the Technology Strategy Board is now open. Smart is a grant scheme which offers funding to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in R&D projects in the strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology, from which successful new products, processes and services could emerge. The scheme supports SMEs carrying out R&D which offers potentially significant rewards and that could stimulate UK economic growth. Three types of grant are available: Proof of Market, Proof of Concept and Development of Prototype. A brouchure for businesses is available on the webiste or hard copies can be requested from Emily Cieciura (ecieciura@bournemouth.ac.uk) The batch assessment date for Round 1 of the current financial year 2014/15 is noon on 22/05/14.

Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKE Support Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014.

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

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

Proposals are invited by EPSRC for collaborative research projects to undertake fundamental research that will advance the case for Bioenergy. The successful projects will be expected to become members of the SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub. Funding up to £1m for one of three projects is available,. Closing date 16:00 on 24/06/14.

ESRC and the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) jointly invite proposals for Early Intervention Evaluation Partnerships between eligible UK research organisations and the EIF’s Pioneering Early Intervention Places. These Places are a number of local areas across the country, committed to sharing information on best practise in early intervention. Closing date 15/04/14.

MRC  has issued a highlight notice regarding Environmental Exposer and Chronic Disease. The MRC states that a better understanding of the associations between environmental exposures and health effects will inform risk assessment by policy makers and individuals and facilitate the development of strategies for the prevention of diseases. Exploring the impact of environmental exposure on health is an objective in the MRC Strategic Plan Research Changes Lives, which MRC addresses jointly with partners under the auspices of the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership. Please see the website for details of action areas and closing dates.

NERC invites proposals for the pilot phase of the Strategic Research Impact Scheme(SR-IS), a scheme aimed at research translation, utilisation and informing future strategic research directions to deliver defined and tangible impacts. This pilot call focuses on previously funded active or completed NERC research relevant to the remit of the proposed programme area. Applications should focus on one (or more if appropriate) programme areas and justify why this has been chosen. A full list of past and current NERC programmes is available. Closing date: 15/05/14

The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £6m in collaborative R&D that supports the digitisation of the construction sector supply chain. This will bring together the construction, digital and ICT communities to develop innovative new products, processes or services that could revolutionise collaborations between supply chain partners and unlock new business models. This will help the sector to reduce costs, speed up delivery times, increase efficiency, cut waste, and deliver solutions that are ‘right first time’. The deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 30/04/14. The second stage deadline for invited applications is at noon on 03/07/14.         

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014. If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on ResearchProfessional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

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

The BBSRC‘s Bioinformatics and Biological Resources (BBR) Fund aims to: support the bioscience research community with the establishment, maintenance and enhancement of infrastructures; support high quality bioinformatics and biological resources that align with otheir updated Strategic Plan: The Age of Bioscience; supply long-term funding and provide a stable environment for resource development and provision. The indicative budget for the call is £6.5M, subject to the quality of applications received, and will incorporate capital investment in software infrastructure. Full applications must be submitted using Je-S by 08/05/14 16:00.

The BBSRC Enterprise Fellowships aim to increase exploitation of ideas with commercial potential from BBSRC supported research.  The Enterprise Fellowships are designed to enable an individual to advance the commercialisation of existing research results or technological developments and are tenable for a period of one year.  The Fellowships enable the holder to concentrate on developing the commercial potential of their research, whilst also receiving formal training in relevant business skills. The Enterprise Fellowship programme provides entrepreneurship and business skills training through the participating Training Provider, currently the Entrepreneur Business School (EBS), which will be directly relevant to the Fellow as they seek to build their new business. Closing date 16/05/14.

The British Academy receives a generous grant from the Sino-British Fellowship Trust (SBFT), established by the late Dr Elizabeth Frankland Moore, to support individual or co-operative research projects. Research may be conducted either in Britain or in China, or in both countries, and must involve person-to-person contacts. Up to £10,000 is available. The closing date is 16/04/14.

Through the British Academy, the Ancient Persia Fund was established in 1988 in memory of the distinguished Russian scholar Vladimir G Lukonin. The aim of the fund is to encourage and support the study of Ancient Persia and related areas including Central Asia, in the period before the coming of Islam. Activities supported by the Fund include research grants for the study of Ancient Iran and neighbouring areas, covering the travel costs of students and scholars. Applications should be submitted by 16/04/14.

The Leverhulme Trust are inviting university applications to their new Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships scheme which was announced  in January 2014 as a means to support doctoral studies in UK universities and to nurture the future generation of aspiring young researchers. At a time of growing undergraduate debt, the Board wishes to ensure that increased indebtedness does not discourage graduates from undertaking doctoral study. The initial investment in the scheme is over £10 million, providing for 150 scholarships over the next three years. Closing date 11/09/14 at 16:00

NERC seeks proposals to host a new Centre for Doctoral Training specialising in risk and mitigation; using big data. Funding for ten studentships will be awarded per annum, and the CDT award will provide funding for three years of new student intake from 2015-16. Closing date 16:00 on 26/06/14

NERC and BBSRC invite proposals from consortia of research organisations interested in hosting a new Centre for Doctoral Training, specialising in the training of scientists with a high level of rounded skills and knowledge to tackle current and future challenges in soil science. Funding for eight studentships will be awarded per annum, and the CDT award will provide funding for three years of new student intake from 2015-16. Closing date  16:00 on 26/06/14

NERC is inviting proposals to its International Opportunities Fund (IOF). The IOF scheme provides resources to NERC-supported researchers to allow them to forge long-term partnerships with overseas scientists that add value to current NERC-funded science. IOF grants are pump-priming, to help stimulate novel research collaborations. up to £40,000 is available. The closing date is 16:00 on 22/04/14.

The Wellcome Trust is offering funding for accommodation and travel for ‘Gathering Intelligence: A free seminar regarding Thomson’s life and work’ to be held at Edinburgh University Library on 16th May 2014. Applicants must apply by 28/04/14.

 Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKE Support Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014.