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International placements deemed priceless

Bournemouth University’s Professor Jonathan Parker and Dr Sara Crabtree have been examining the true benefits an international placement has on a student’s learning experience, employability and future career.

The study, conducted alongside Parker and Crabtree’s BU colleague Clare Cutler, examined a range of aspects of inter-cultural learning arising from placements. Current students and graduates were questioned about their confidence, cultural attitudes, employer feedback and other factors arising from the international placement experience.

Professor Parker explained: “This research has shown how working in totally different and sometimes physically inhospitable cultural environments, develops students’ confidence to practice in varied, challenging and unknown situations. This is so important when they come back to work in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country like the UK.”

While the study has primarily focused on international placements in Parker’s own research area of social work, it is already being applied to other disciplines. “We are now surveying students taking international placements in our School of Tourism and these research findings are equally positive,” he explained. “But the concept can be much more widely applied to encompass any career working with the general public.”

But there’s one big problem holding many UK students back: “As a general rule, UK students are very poor at languages, which are so important in so many aspects of life.”

This apparent ‘failing’ of the school system, whereby languages are not compulsory at GCSE level, needs to be addressed if students are going to reap the rewards of international placement schemes such as Erasmus. “Students need a basic degree of language skill,” Parker concluded. “It should be compulsory”.

This international placements research project is supported through BU’s Fusion fund, promoting projects which create a unique academic experience through the powerful fusion of research, education and professional practice.

More information about Professor Jonathan Parker’s and Dr Sara Crabtree’s research can be viewed on BURO.

Digital Economy Strategic Partnerships Proposals

At the Strategic Partnership workshop for the Connected Digital Economy Catapult last month the Technology Strategy Board presented the nature of strategic partnerships and other models of engagement, the process to develop strategic partnerships, guidelines and next steps. The presentations can be found on the _connect webpage 

The next step in the process involves interested companies/organisations preparing 2-3 page strategic partnership proposals, which need to be submitted to the Technology Strategy Board by 25th May 2012. You can read more on this, on the _connect website.

Remember, if you aren’t already signed up to _connect, you can read the benefits of creating an account here.

Good luck and Congratulations!

Awarded & submitted bids

Congratulations to Tania Humphries-Smith (DEC) for securing funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering for an industry visiting professor, Zulfiqar Khan (DEC) for winning a contract with My Floodmate Ltd to research a revised flood barrier and for a contract with IT & Engineering Services Ltd, Richard Stillman (ApSci) for securing funding from Cefas for phase 2 of the Bridgewater Bay Project and for a contract with HR Wallingford, Roger Herbert (ApSci) for a contract with Natural England to research marine food webs, Tim Darvill and Bronwen Russell (ApSci) for securing further funding from English Heritage for the AIP project, Carol Bond and Marilyn Cash (HSC) for a contract with NHS Bournemouth and Poole, and to Adam Blake and Nicky Pretty (ST) for winning funds from UK Music 2009 Ltd to research the potential impact of the live music bill legislation.

Congratulations are also due to Martin Smith (ApSci) for running the BABAO Conference in Bournemouth later this year, Bronwen Russell (Bournemouth Archaeology, ApSci) for securing a contract with Wardall Armstrong, Stephanie Farmer (RedBalloon, MS) for securing a contract with Poole Tidal Energy Project and another contract with Mobile Media, Mike Molesworth (CEB, MS) for winning two contracts – one with JC Decaux Airport Advertising and one with ITV Cross Media Communication and Partnership, and to Vanessa Edwards (MS) for running the Journalism 4G Conference later this year and for running the Media Mash Up short courses.

Good luck to Emma Jenkins (ApSci) for submitting an early career researcher grant to the AHRC, Genoveva Esteban (ApSci) with a bid to SempCorp, Eileen Wilkes (ApSci) for a bid to the British Academy to continue her research at Mount Folly in Devon, Adrian Newton (ApSci) for a bid to the STFC, Rudy Gozlan, Anita Diaz and the CEES Group (ApSci) for submitting three bids to the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus scheme, Anita Diaz (Raian Ali (DEC) for an FP7 bid to the European Commission, a large bid to the EPSRC and a bid to Google, Venky Dubey (DEC) for a bid to UKIERI, Christos Gatzidis (DEC) for a bid to hold the 5th IEEE VS-Games 2013 Conference in Bournemouth, Hamid Bouchachia (DEC) for a large bid to the European Commission, Jian Jun Zhang (MS) for submitting a bid to the Leverhulme Trust’s Research Leadership Scheme, Stuart Allan (MS) for a bid to Humanities in the European Research Area, Venora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen (HSC) for a bid to the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation to research women’s self-help groups and empowerment, Jonathan Parker (HSC) for a bid to the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, Kip Jones (HSC) for a bid to the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, Peter Thomas (HSC) for a large collaborative bid to the NIHR, and to Khurshid Djalilov (BS) for two bids – one to the ESRC and the other to the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Good luck also to Jan Wiener (DEC) for submitting a bid to Army of Angels, Jacqui Taylor (DEC) for two bids to the HEA, Joanna Hawkes (ST) with a bid to the National Osteoporosis Society, and to Steve Calver and the MRG team (ST) for a bid to work with Dorset Police.

Thanks

Matthew

 

New user friendly ESRC Research Funding Guide

Guidance

A new version of the ESRC Research Funding Guide is now available to download on their web site.

It has been thoroughly reviewed and substantial changes made to the layout and content.  The contents page now includes hyperlinks so that you do not need to scroll through the document to find what you need; relevant links to current Funding Opportunities and assessment information are included; as are guidance in chronological order from beginning to end of the grants process; annexes have been removed and where appropriate the information is now included within the document; and a revision to the OJEU threshold has also been included.

The new streamlined version is much more user friendly and easier to keep up to date. This document will now only be updated on a bi-annual basis – in April and October – where changes are required (unless exceptional circumstances require immediate revision). Where possible amendments will be implemented at the point at which the guide is updated. Any changes which occur during the interim period will be captured as amendments on the web page so that they are easy to find and will be communicated as appropriate (this may be via RCUK or the normal ESRC channels).

BU REF Code of Practice available now!

Research assessment

As I mentioned in my previous post about the forthcoming outputs mock REF exercise, we have recently submitted our final draft REF Code of Practice document to the REF Team for their approval. We produced this document to help inform staff about the policies and processes around submitting to the REF in November 2013, as well as to meet the four UK higher education funding bodies’ request that each institution making a submission to the REF must develop and apply such a code when selecting staff to include in their submission.

The BU REF Code of Practice is the culmination of months of drafting and approval, and sets out the approach that will be, and has already been, taken by BU in preparing its REF2014 submission. It therefore includes important information about the schedule of mock REF exercises that you are able to take part in (Chapter 3), and about declaring any circumstances that may have affected your ability to produce the four outputs required (Chapter 5), along with other equality and diversity aspects. Staff eligibility and selection are also covered.

Throughout the document there are references to the relevant paragraphs within the key publications published by the REF Team, which are: Assessment Framework and Guidance on Submissions and Panel Criteria and Working Methods.

Because this document is still subject to the approval of the REF Team’s Equality and Diversity Advisory Panel (EDAP), the Code is currently available to BU staff via the new Staff Intranet under ‘Policies, Forms and Procedures/Research’. We will make it fully available here on the Blog once we’ve received the EDAP feedback, so watch this space!

European Innovation Partnerships Updated Website and FAQs

You may remember I recently  published a blog post on Partnering in Research and Innovation which laid out the EC’s plans for how to improve partnering across Europe for research in Horizon 2020. This was particularly relevant for BU as topics included are Active and Healthy Ageing. The EC has recently updated its European Innovation Partnerships website and has added a FAQ section. The website now has a separate section on each of the three EIPs:

  1. Active and Healthy Ageing;
  2. Raw Materials;
  3. Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability.

The EIP on Active and Healthy Ageing was the first Partnership to be set up, and there are several pilot calls currently open under different programmes for projects in support of its Strategic Implementation Plan (please see the “Funding” section of the EIP Active and Healthy Ageing part of the website).

The FAQs contain questions and answers on topics such as:

  • the role of the Strategic Implementation Plan for an EIP;
  • how funding will be provided for Strategic Implementation Plans;
  • the timing for possible new EIPs;
  • the role of the Steering Group and Action Groups for the Active and Healthy Ageing EIP; and
  • the role envisaged for EIPs in implementing Horizon

I would recommend taking 10 mins out of your day to check out oen of the EIP websites if the areas are relevant for you.

NERC announce first round of the 2012/13 Follow-on Fund

Funding opportunities

Applications are invited to NERC’s first round of the 2012/13 Follow-on Fund.

The aim of this scheme is to develop outcomes from previous funding to a stage where commercial opportunities are possible.  The fund is open to researchers in UK universities and research council institutes with current or past research council funding.

Funds are typically requested to further develop the scientific or technical aspects of an idea.  This may be to strengthen the intellectual property position, carry out further market research or investigate possible licensees.

Applications must be made through the JeS system (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).

The closing date for applications is 4pm, 6 June 2012.

NERC also funds a Follow-on Fund ‘Pathfinder’ scheme to support small-scale, specific activities that can help develop a better understanding of future work needs and may be beneficial when submitting a full Follow-on Fund application.

For more information and contact details go to http://www.nerc.ac.uk/using/schemes/followonfund.asp

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.

Useful documents

To find out more, please download the documents you need from the list below.

Guidance to applicants

Eligibility and assessment criteria

Specific guidance – ‘Full’ Follow-on Fund

Specific guidance – Follow-on Fund Pathfinder

Moderating panel membership

Guidance for writing supporting letters

EPSRC announce call: Working together in ICT

Funding opportunities

Summary

EPSRC’s ICT Theme intends to commit around £5M of funding for research projects which will directly address its Working Together priority.

Projects submitted in response to this call should comprise two or more ‘streams’ of research which run concurrently and show significant mutual benefit. These streams may include ICT researchers working with researchers in areas outside ICT, as long as the potential benefit to ICT research is the main driver for the project.

Full call document including background, funding available, aims and scope of call, eligibilty, how to apply and assessment can be found here.

Closing date: 16:00 on 10 July 2012

Submitting application

You should prepare and submit your proposal using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (Je-S) System (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).

When adding a new proposal, you should select: Council ‘EPSRC’; Document type ‘Standard Proposal’; Scheme ‘Standard Research’; On the Project Details page you should select the ‘Working Together in ICT’ call.

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.

Master the art of using Twitter to enhance your research profile, impact and visibility!

Those of you who are regular visitors to the Blog will be aware that we regularly promote the benefits to academics of using social media channels, such as Twitter (read our previous Twitter posts here).

The Training Gateway are hosting a ‘Twitter Made Simple’ workshop in London on 14 June to help those new to Twitter to master the art!

The course will cover:
• An Introduction to Twitter – what it is and how it can be used
• Profile – How to set up your profile
• Twitter Terms – e.g. hash tags and how to set up your bio
• Setting a plan / strategy for content and networking
• Interacting with other Twitter users – who and how to follow, what to say and managing the noise
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Twitter – Twitter etiquette

The Research Development Unit has funding available if you would like to attend. Please contact Julie Northam if you are interested.

Alcohol Research UK announces Small Grants Scheme

Funding opportunities

Alcohol Research UK have reopened the Small Grants Scheme.

Competition is always tough for a small grant award, so please check the criteria before applying:

Criteria for Funding Projects:

Small grants could fund small research projects, pilot research studies or demonstration projects with a strong evaluation component, up to £5,000 in total. The following criteria are used to judge all applications for small grants:

  • Does the project have the potential to make a significant new contribution to the alcohol evidence base, either in its own right or as a precursor to a larger project?
  • Are the aims well defined and achievable?
  • Is there a sound evaluation component to check whether aims have been achieved?

Preference will be given to projects that will have a demonstrable impact.

Alcohol Research UK is unable to contribute to the running and general costs of organisations, make donations or fund ongoing service provision.

Download a copy of the Small Grant Project application form

Conferences and Conference Attendance:

Applications may be made for a contribution towards running a suitable conference of up to £3,000 subject to the following criteria:

  • The conference would help to disseminate important new evidence or theories;
  • It has clear and identifiable aims; and
  • There would be some post event evaluation regarding the influence on policy and practice and Alcohol Research UK would be provided with a conference report.

Applications for conference attendance to present a paper will only be accepted from Alcohol Research UK funded individuals.

Download a copy of the Small Grant Conference application form

Download a copy of the Small Grant Conference attendance application form

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.

 

MRC announce Special training fellowship in biomedical informatics

Funding opportunities

Special training fellowship in biomedical informatics (computational biology, neuroinformatics and health informatics)

The MRC has identified the application of informatics as an area of strategic importance to health and medical research. This special training fellowship is aimed at developing outstanding individuals who are seeking to move into the application of mathematical, statistical and computational methods to biomedical and health research problems.

The MRC is keen to support individuals with a clear ambition for their research and a strong and practical sense of how they develop their careers as leading biomedical scientists and informaticians. The special fellowship is awarded at the post-doctoral entry level only and all proposals must include a well-specified formal training element in addition to a research project. The award commonly provides 3 years support and the opportunity to enhance the research training through placement in an overseas research centre, a second UK research centre or in UK industry.

The MRC expect to make up to five awards a year.

Who can apply?

The fellowships are aimed at those with non-biological, biological, non-clinical or clinical backgrounds who wish to undertake training and research in biomedical informatics. This is a prestigious fellowship; therefore applicants are expected to demonstrate an excellent track-record relative to their time in research.

Applications are particularly encouraged from those with advanced training in the physical or mathematical sciences or in information technology, who wish to apply their expertise to biomedical problems. In particular, applications are encouraged in imaging informatics.

Applicants should hold either a PhD or DPhil in a relevant discipline or expect to do so by the time they intend to take up the award. Medical or dental applicants holding a PhD can apply at any stage in their careers from immediately post-registration up to specialist registrar grade or be at the equivalent level in general practice or dentistry. The majority of successful applicants are within six years of the completion of their PhD but this is not an absolute requirement.

Post-doctoral applicants have no residential restrictions and may come from any country. If you are invited to interview by the biomedical informatics training and career development panel, you would be expected to demonstrate a commitment to the UK research effort in the area of biomedical informatics beyond the period of a special training fellowship award.

What funding is provided?

An MRC special research training fellowship in biomedical informatics is usually awarded for three years or occasionally up to four years when there is special justification.

The fellowship provides the fellow’s personal salary, research training support costs, annual travel costs, and all other relevant costs under Full Economic Costs (see the guidance notes for completing the application form and the form itself for more details). Salaries for clinical applicants will be payable up to, but not including, NHS consultant level. In addition, a small amount of salary can be requested for supervision but this should be appropriately restricted.

Where the fellowship includes attendance on a formal course leading to a Masters degree, or parts of a taught course, course fees may be requested. All applications must include an appropriate taught training component.

Overseas/Second UK Centre/UK Industrial Training Period

The special research training fellowship in biomedical informatics provides the opportunity to spend time in an overseas research centre, a second UK research centre or UK industrial centre in year two or three of the award. The aim of this training component is to provide a concentrated period of training that cannot be achieved as effectively within the academic host institution. MRC would normally expect this training component to be a single visit lasting up to 12 months. However, the assessment panel may agree to requests for visits to more than one centre, if this can be justified on the grounds of training needs. These should not be simply collaborative visits but applicants are encouraged to consider this opportunity by the assessment panel. You should be prepared at interview to discuss in detail any visits proposed.

Deadlines and submission details

The MRC special research training fellowship in biomedical informatics competition is held once a year. There is no need to submit an outline application.

Please see fellowship deadlines dates for application deadlines.

Closing date: 19 September 2012

Short listing: January 2013

Interviews: 27 – 28 February and 1 March 2013

Take up dates: April – September 2013

Please apply for the Special Training Fellowship using the RCUK Je-S application system. Your proposal must be submitted through the MRC Je-S system by 4pm on the relevant Fellowhip Application deadline date.

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.

Completion of specialist clinical training

If you are medically and dentally qualified and have not already completed your specialist or vocational training, you should have a clear idea of your plans for doing so at the time of application. Applicants wishing to pursue specialist or vocational training must consult their Postgraduate Medical Dean, Regional Advisor in General Practice, and Royal College prior to submitting the fellowship application to find out if the research may be acceptable as training towards the Certificate of Completion of Training. Enquiries and subsequent applications to the relevant body should be made in consultation with the prospective head of department.

Flexibility

The MRC tries to operate this scheme as flexibly as possible. As part of the MRC’s equal opportunities policy, consideration will be given to applicants who are returning to science following a career break. There are no age limits for any of our schemes and all fellowships may be held part-time to fit in with domestic responsibilities.

The MRC recognises the challenges faced by clinicians in combining research training with the demands of a clinical career. MRC therefore allow up to 20 per cent of fellows’ time for NHS sessions.

Alternatively, Fellows may spend up to six hours a week on other work such as teaching or demonstrating. The payment for this work may be retained in full if this is the host institution’s normal policy. Fellows may seek other research grants to be held concurrently with their award during its last six months only. However, they may not exceed the permitted time for other work on research grants.

Please see fellowship terms and conditions for further details.

Applications for further fellowship support

MRC special research training fellows who wish to consolidate their research skills and make the transition from post-doctoral research and training to become independent investigators are eligible to compete for an MRC clinician scientist fellowship (medical/dental graduates, nurses, midwives and members of the allied health professions) or, an MRC career development award (non-clinical scientists).

Guidance for applicants

 

For further information please refer to MRC’s contacts page.

Arts and Humanities Research Council – KTP Funding Criteria

KTP diagramThe AHRC has announced that it will support Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects in which knowledge, skills and/or technology/technologies arising from arts and humanities research are transferred to businesses and other sectors within the UK. These can range from commercial to, not for profit, charity, and publicly funded organisations.
Project subjects which qualify for funding consideration include law, archaeology, journalism, and media and communication studies, artistic design and media.
The funding is focussed on meeting the needs of small/medium sized organisations.
A KTP project can last from 26 weeks to 3 years. The funding pays for a full time post-graduate and 1/2 a day per week of an academic supervisor’s time. Projects need to be co-funded by an organisation from any of the sectors listed above. For small/medium sized organisations their contribution to the funding costs is approximately £308 per week.
If you require any further information on this post or KTPs in general please contact Peter Delgado, Commercialisation and KTP Officer, e-mail – pdelgado@bournemouth.ac.uk

Changes to the AHRC’s Fellowships Scheme

Guidance

The AHRCs Fellowships scheme has recently been refreshed with an enhanced focus on the development of research leadership across the arts and humanities.

The scheme now provides time for researchers to undertake focused individual research projects alongside collaborative activities which have the potential to generate new ways of thinking and engagement within their subject area and beyond. In addition to demonstrating plans for high quality, world leading research and associated outputs, proposals must include collaborative activities to support the development of the Fellows capacity for research leadership in the arts and humanities.

The AHRC consider the new Fellowships to be a partnership between the AHRC and Research Organisations to support the development and maintenance of the UKs research leadership capability in the arts and humanities. Institutions are expected to be selective in the applications they put forward and provide evidence that the institution has supported and will support the Fellows career and leadership development before, during and after the proposed Fellowship funding period. This could come in a variety of forms depending on the career stage and the nature of the Fellows research.

Research excellence remains the core requirement of the scheme, and Fellowships will continue to support concentrated time for individual research. Reviewers are asked, however, to ensure that all aspects of the scheme are considered and commented upon in their reviews. We ask that you reflect the aims of the scheme and assess each of the following:

* the quality of the research

* the proposed leadership activities

* the plans for collaboration

* the support given by the institution

A compelling case needs to be made across both the research and research leadership elements of the proposal given the prestigious, competitive and high profile nature of these awards.

Full details of the changes to the scheme can be found in the recent PRC Newsletter and in the AHRC Funding Guide.

Limber up for the next BU mock REF exercise

Research assessment

Just as the Olympic athletes are getting set for the 2012 games, so are we gearing up to launch the summer 2012 mock REF exercise for BU academic staff, this time looking at research outputs. This follows on from our previous light-touch review exercise, which was open to all academic staff and took place over the winter of 2010/2011.

This latest exercise will be the fourth in a series of different preparation exercises that have been held or are due to take place at BU ahead of the REF2014 submission deadline on 29 November 2013. Just as the athletes will have taken part in warm-up events and qualifiers to test their fitness and shine before selectors, so the mock REF exercises are a useful ‘dry run’ to give you a feel for what’s going to be required for the real thing. Equally, you’ll get valuable feedback on your outputs from external reviewers and your UOA Leader, and it will enable us to test out our data collection processes.

As in the light touch review, the outputs mock will be open to all academic staff. The relevant form will be distributed via your UOA leader in due course so it would be a good time to start thinking about which outputs you’re likely to put forward. Although REF2014 requires a maximum of four outputs, we’re giving you the opportunity to get feedback from the reviewers on up to six outputs, so make the most of this chance to really shape your outputs submission.

Also under starter’s orders – the BU REF Code of Practice will shortly be circulated to all staff, which outlines the timetable of REF preparation exercises and includes a host of other useful information related to how BU is preparing for REF2014. The final draft of this document has just been submitted to the REF Team for formal approval so watch this space for more information about this.

If you need any more information about the REF, have a look at all the previous blog posts that we’ve included here, or visit the new-look REF website. Alternatively, you can contact myself or Julie Northam in the Research Development Unit, or leave a comment below.

BU Researcher Development Programme – May/June 2012

PG research

Sessions for the BU Researcher Development Programme from May to June 2012 are below. Booking is essential as places are limited – details of how to book are listed under each session.

Statistics Surgeries: Individual statistics advice with Dr John Beavis

 Preparing for your Viva

  • Outline: Getting yourself prepared for your viva voce?
  • Date: Wednesday 16 May 2012
  • Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm **NOTE REVISED TIME
  • Room: PG22 Poole House, Talbot Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Heather Hartwell
  • Booking: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk

Public Engagement Workshop

  • Outline:  The workshop will look at What Public Engagement is; Why does it matter?; How to do it: Engagement in practice; Internal support for creating a supportive environment for engagement
  • Date: Wednesday 23 May 2012
  • Time: 9.30 am – 11.30 am
  • Room: PG22
  • Facilitator: Dr Rebecca Edwards
  • Booking: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk

Practice-Led Research

  • Outline: What are the fundamentals of practice-led research?
  • Date: Wednesday 23 May 2012
  • Time: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
  • Room: PG22 Poole House, Talbot Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Stephen Bell and Associate Professor Neal White
  • Booking: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk

 Academic Writing Skills Course

  • Outline: This workshop covers essential good practice in writing, editing techniques and methods of improving organisation
  • Date: Monday 18 June 2012
  • Time: 09.30 am – 4.30 pm (lunch will be provided)
  • Room: P401, Poole House, Talbot Campus
  • Facilitator: Sue Mitchell (external visitor)
  • Booking: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk  There are limited places available for this workshop, so book early to avoid disappointment!

Academic Writing Skills Course

  • Outline: This workshop covers essential good practice in writing, editing techniques and methods of improving organisation
  • Date: Tuesday 19 June 2012
  • Time: 09.30 am – 4.30 pm (lunch will be provided)
  • Room: EBC704, Executive Business Centre, Lansdowne Campus
  • Facilitator: Sue Mitchell (external visitor)
  • Booking: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk There are limited places available for this workshop, so book early to avoid disappointment!

Postgraduate Research Conference

  • Outline: This annual conference is designed to showcase the best of BU’s postgraduate research and to provide a unique opportunity for PGRs to present their work within a learning environment. Our multi-disciplinary conference will allow for cross-school interaction as well as opportunities for collaboration, where appropriate. Full details can be found here
  • Date: Thursday 28 June 2012
  • Time: 09.30 am – 4.30 pm (lunch will be provided)
  • Room: Thomas Hardy Suite
  • Booking: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk  

Details of further workshops coming soon!

Details will be published on the BU Research Blog, so subscribe today to the BU Research Blog to keep in touch with current events to avoid the disappointment of missing out!

Leisure and Recreation Theme Meeting up

Fusion

In order to further develop some of the ideas that are driving the Leisure and Recreation Theme we are arranging to get together at 11am on Wed 23 May in TAG 02. 

The sort of things that we are currently exploring is: 

  • Hosting the Leisure Studies Association Conference. (Lead member of staff Dr Ian Jones).
  • Hosting the AEM conference 2013, (lead member of staff Dr Julie Whitfield).
  • Bidding for an ESRC seminar series.
  • Investigating the current government initiative relating to Healthy Leisure.
  • Establishing a Healthy Leisure, Healthy Living Research Group.
  • Possibly further dividing theme into work groups?
  • Running a seminar series (4-6) in the University, each session on a different aspect of University research relating to the theme.
  • Holding an Internal Research conference looking specifically at Leisure and Recreation, highlighting work across university.
  • Holding an internal PhD student conference or poster conference specifically on Leisure and Recreation highlighting work across University 

All input will be gratefully received, all are invited. Julie Northam will be e-mailing all those who have previously signed up to the Leisure and Recreation Theme to confirm attendance.  If you have not signed up please could you confirm attendance with Julie by e-mail so that we have an idea of numbers.

MRC EoI for Research Consortia to establish a new cohort for intellectual disabilities research

Funding opportunities

The purpose of the MRC Call for Expression of Interest (EoI) is to gauge the likely interest in establishing a new cohort for research on intellectual disabilities. The EoIs solicited will inform discussion at a workshop to be held in the autumn and representatives from those submitting EoIs will be invited. The objective of the workshop will be to scope the feasibility and discuss the logistics of establishment and maintenance of a cohort in intellectual disabilities research in the light of the EoIs submitted.

The establishment of a cohort in this area would meet one of the recommendations of the Mental Health Review that was led by the MRC and published in 2010. The cohort would be a resource for high quality, hypothesis-driven research in an area where there is a perceived research gap. The final decision will be taken following the workshop and is dependent on establishing its feasibility. Funds have provisionally been set aside.

Remit of this call for EoIs

  • At the moment MRC are seeking interest in establishing a cohort that would cover any condition or conditions that have arisen due to impairment of brain development before or during birth, or in the childhood years before the brain is fully developed; and which has been caused by any biological and/or environmental factors.
  • The cohort will be established for epidemiological research on mental health and to provide information on risk factors and interventions. MRC also intends to explore the opportunity for designing the cohort to provide health care providers and care-givers with information that will inform the design of better care.
  • The cohort should initially be established within the UK.

Rationale

The rationale for considering establishing a cohort is as follows:

  • The MRC-led review of mental health research noted the higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and other co-morbidities among children with learning disabilities compared to children without learning disabilities; and the fact that those with more severe conditions are routinely excluded from patient and population based cohorts.
  • There is a strong need to understand how certain factors such as mental and physical health relate to health outcomes in those with intellectual disabilities.
  • From a scientific perspective, the study of rare and severe disorders can provide a unique insight into issues of much wider public health significance.
  • Establishing a well-characterised cohort of people with intellectual disabilities will enable more immediate studies of the different aspects of the possible phenotypes and might also provide the epidemiological information to assist the establishment and optimisation of clinical and social management across the age range.
 

What your EoI should address

At this stage MRC are seeking information about you, what research questions you consider to be most pressing, the feasibility and logistics issues you envisage and how you would seek to overcome them.  EoIs should provide the following information:

About you

  • Please provide the name of a single Principal Investigator, with host institution, who might lead a future bid and be administratively responsible for any award.
  • Names and institutional affiliations of up to three co-workers.
  • Please do not include CVs or any information that cannot be shared. Information on relevant funding and publications would be useful.
  • Please indicate your consent for information from the EoI to be shared with delegates in order to inform the autumn workshop.

Note: MRC will consider proposals from any UK-based researcher who can demonstrate that they will direct the proposed research and be actively engaged in carrying it through. Researchers from overseas institutions may be included in a proposal as a collaborator where the nature of the research makes this necessary but it is anticipated that this cohort will be wholly UK-based at least at the start.

About the research question

It is important that EoIs make clear what new health research questions or hypotheses it will be possible to answer over the next five to ten years using the cohort resource. Therefore you should address the following

  • A description of the most pressing research questions for the next 5 years listing the expected outcomes (maximum 2 sides of A4).
  • What the proposed cohort will offer that other cohorts do not (nationally and internationally) and how it relates to other relevant cohorts?

Logistics and feasibility

As many of these syndromes are rare, undertaking research in this area presents very particular challenges such as recruiting large enough samples and the associated geographic spread of any cohort. Therefore you should address the following:

  • What will be the target population (inclusion/exclusion)?
  • What will be the starting age for cohort subjects?
  • Who will be the comparison groups?
  • What sample size do you envisage?
  • Who would be the participating centres?
  • What expertise do you have (or plans do you have to engage with specialists) in the area?
  • What would be the plans for establishing the cohort as a resource – how is it/ will it be used by the wider research community?
  • What questions do you think the workshop should address?
  • What costs to the nearest million do you envisage the cohort costing, broken down into three or four major headings
  • Initially, if funded, the cohort would be supported for five years. How would you manage continuation or discontinuation of the cohort beyond five years?
  • How will the cohort be used to inform clinical decision making and inform policy or social care?

At this stage no details are needed on governance arrangements for data sharing and data access by the wider research community but please make you ensure that you are familiar with MRC policy on data sharing and preservation.

 

How to submit the EoI

There is no template or form and EoIs should be emailed, by 4pm Friday 8th June 2012, to: sarah.main@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Do not exceed 6 sides of A4 (Arial 11 point) including references but you may append a 1 page diagram (e.g. Gantt chart/ flow chart).

 

Process and timescale following submission of EoIs

Following the workshop, the outcome will be reported to MRC Boards. If agreed, we hope that we will be able to invite proposals from competing consortia or commission a single group depending on how researchers agree amongst themselves to organise their response to any call. We anticipate that a call for funding will be issued in the spring of 2013.