Tagged / AHRC

AHRC Annual Report 2015-16

Funding opportunities

ahrcThe AHRC’s Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16 have been published.

The report is a reflection of the last 12 months, highlights of follow-on fund awards, and key achievements.

For the first time you will be able to view the annual report data via a new visualisation tool. This visualisation highlights the wide range of research organisations from which excellent arts and humanities research proposals were drawn and where new postgraduate studentships were funded in 2015-2016. They will continue to share more dynamic visualisations of data in the future.

Click here to access the AHRC Annual Report and Appendices for 2015-2016. (PDF, 2MB)

AHRC Call for nominations to Peer Review College

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is seeking nominations for new members to be appointed to its Peer Review College (PRC).ahrc

Peer review lies at the heart of the AHRC’s operations, and they are fully committed to the principle of peer review for the assessment of proposals to our schemes and programmes. PRC members provide expert quality reviews of proposals within their areas of expertise, which inform the AHRC’s decision making processes. Members can also be called upon to sit on assessment or moderation panels and Strategic reviewers can be called upon for guidance. As well as making an important contribution to the AHRC’s peer review processes, the experience gained by membership of the College provides benefits to individuals, departments and higher education institutions.

This is an open call for membership to the AHRC Academic College, although nominees can also additionally apply for membership to any our college groups. The call is open to any organisation that has eligible staff (including organisations from the charitable, third and private sector) and who can supply eligible nominators. The nominations process will need to be centrally managed and supported by the institution (not the nominee), with all nominations being submitted by institutions rather than individual nominees.  Nominators please note: You must be a senior staff member or representative within Higher Education Institutions (for example Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dean, Head of School or College, Head of Faculty, Research Director).

cartoon readingPlease refer to the PRC Recruitment 2016 Call Document on the PRC News Webpage for further information and application guidance.

The most important part of the guidance is that AHRC insist that all nominations are submitted by a single contact within BU, which will be RKEO.  Whilst the deadline for nominations to AHRC is officially 4pm on 22nd September 2016, to ensure that the single contact can submit all applications on behalf of BU, please send your nominations to Jo Garrad no later than 4pm on 20th September 2016 (this is the BU internal deadline).

If successful, College members will be appointed for a term commencing 1 January 2017 and ending 31 December 2020.

Inductions will start in December 2016 and newly appointed members are encouraged to make every effort to attend the Induction to which they will be invited.

If you have any queries regarding the nomination process please do not hesitate to contact:
Russell Leake – Evidence and Analysis Manager
Email: r.leake@ahrc.ac.uk
Tel: 01793 416035

Impact funding available

Funding opportunities

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The Arts and Humanities Research Council invites applications for its follow-on funding for impact and engagement scheme: connected communities highlight notice on creating living knowledge.

This supports new and unanticipated pathways to impact which have emerged or evolved from the connected communities programme on participatory research processes and practices.

Proposals must be based on either previous or current research directly funded by the AHRC, or on research that has been co-funded with another UK research council.

Grants are worth up to £100,000 over a maximum period of one year. Smaller grants of up to £30,000 may be awarded for shorter or higher risk activities.

Click here for further information.

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

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.
If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

 

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

Funding opportunities, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange

esrc logo

 

Innovation awards under PaCCS focusing on Conflict and International Development

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

Find out more information including the proposed call timescale here.

AHRC information.

If you are interested in submitting to this call you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

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

AHRC Research in Film Awards opens for submissions

Funding opportunities

AHRC_logo_anniversaryThe Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is launching its 2016 Research in Film Awards in a bid to find new and emerging talent that straddle the worlds of both film making and arts and humanities research.

The 2016 awards will be judged by panel of academics and film industry experts. Awards will be made in five categories (see below) and the winner in each category will win £2,000 towards their future film-making activities.

  1. Best Research Film of the Year
  2. Doctoral Award
  3. Utopias Award: Imagining our Future
  4. Innovation Award
  5. Inspiration Award – Best film inspired by the arts and humanities (public category)

To get a feel for the what the Research in Film Awards are all about, watch this short highlights film from the 2015 event.

The call for applications closes at 5pm on 1 July 2016

For more information about this call, please visit the funding call page.

 

Latest Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Medical Research Council

Public Health Intervention Development scheme (PHIND) supports the early stages of development of interventions that address an important UK or global public health issues; in particular non-healthcare settings with population level interventions.  Up to £180k is available for projects lasting up to 18 months.  Closing Date 12/7/16

The Royal Society

The Royal Society Research Grants scheme provide grants up to £15k for scientists in the UK who are in the early stage of their careers.  Closing Date 1/6/16

The International Exchanges schemes have available up to £12k (and an additional £2k for research expenses if applicable) for new collaborations between scientists in the UK and overseas.  The closing dates for the three schemes are as follows- Standard Programme Closing Date 7/6/16.  France Cost Share Scheme Closing Date 10/6/16. Kan Tong Po Visiting Fellowships Programme Closing Date 7/6/16

University of London

The School of Advanced Studies at the University of London is inviting participants to take part in the Being Human Festival run in Partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy.  Up to £5k is available to run 5-10 events as Being Human ‘Festival Hubs’.  Closing Date 16/5/16

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

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

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

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

AHRC New Generation Thinkers

Sam GoodmanBU’s Dr Sam Goodman is one of the AHRC’s New Generation Thinkers.  He features in this film from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which shines a light on the AHRC/ BBC Radio 3, New Generation Thinkers scheme.

Click on the link above to watch the film.  You can also find out details about the scheme and how you can apply for 2016 in this AHRC press release.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Arts & Humanities Research Council

The AHRC have announced a highlight notice for the Public Policy in the Leadership Fellows Scheme to enable researchers to work in collaborative engagement with policy makers. Closing Date: 30/9/16

British Academy

Proposals in the fields of Cognitive Benefits of Language Learning and Mathematics Anxiety are being welcomed to review ongoing policy and research activities as part of the Special Research Projects programme.  Funding of up to £150,000 is available.  Closing Date: 13/1/16

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Expressions of interest are welcome for the topic Reducing Industrial Energy Demand.  The EPSRC has made available up to £4m of funding available for multi-disciplinary collaborative research in order to reduce industrial energy demand.  Expression of interest Closing Date: 3/2/16.  Full proposal closing date: 25/2/16

Expressions of interest are welcome for the topic Systems Change – Towards a Circular Economy. The EPSRC are committing up to £5m for projects up to three years which focus on modelling and understanding whole systems approaches to the circular economy.  Expression of interest Closing Date: 11/2/16.  Full proposal closing date: April 2016

Innovate UK

5G applications and services. Investment of up to £1m is being made available for R&D projects to stimulate 5G use. Projects are expected to range in size from total costs of £150,000 to £220,000.  Registration closes: 20/1/17. Closing Date: 3/2/17

Surface engineering and coating technologies for high-value manufacturing. Awards of up to £2m are available for technical feasibility concept and application studies examining surface engineering and coatings, positioning the sector to identify potential areas for further innovation. Registration closes: 3/9/15 Competition closes: 16/3/15

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

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

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

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

AHRC Connected Communities Festival 2016

Funding opportunities

ahrcTaking inspiration from the 500th anniversary of the publication in 1516 in Latin of Thomas More’s Utopia, as well as a Connected Communities/ Care for the Future Symposium on ‘Utopias, Futures and Temporalities: Critical Considerations for Social Change’ held in May 2015, the 2016 Connected Communities Research Festival will have a central theme of Community Futures and Utopias. The Festival is being undertaken in partnership with The Somerset House Trust as a part of Utopia 2016: a year of Imagination and Possibility – four seasons of events, exhibitions and new commissions celebrating the idea of Utopia to mark the 500th anniversary of Thomas More’s influential text. Utopia 2016 is a partnership between the Somerset House Trust and its neighbours King’s College London and the Courtauld Institute and Gallery.

The 2016 Festival will support high quality participatory arts research and research co-production activities across the UK on the theme of community futures and utopias and will provide an opportunity to explore creative ways to build upon, and widen and deepen community engagement with, research being undertaken by the Connected Communities Programme and with wider AHRC/RCUK–funded research.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are now invited to contribute to the Festival which will run from February 2016 through to June 2016, culminating in a major weekend-long Utopia Fair at Somerset House on 24th-26th June. This call for EOIs will support participatory arts research and research co-production activities through two main strands of the 2016 Festival:

  1. A Programme of Local Festival Activitieswhich bring together at a regional / local /community level researchers from the arts and humanities (and other disciplines where appropriate), research organisations, community groups, creative practitioners and other community partners. These local activities can take place at any time from February 2016 to late June 2016 and will be brought together as a UK-wide Festival programme of local activities
  2. Participation in the Utopia Fair, 24th-26th Junethrough the partnership with The Somerset House Trust as a part of Utopia 2016: a year of imagination and possibility. Building on local Festival activities EOIs are invited to include ideas for participatory arts research co-production projects which will produce creative, co-produced/ participatory, research outputs which can be showcased at a weekend Festival, The Utopia Fair, to be held in the Edmond J Safra Fountain Court at Somerset House in London which will take place on 24th – 26th June 2016. The Utopia Fair will bring together representatives of contemporary utopian movements, celebrating projects already flourishing in the margins and liminal spaces around the UK, and the importance of the spaces that artists create for dreaming. It will enable visitors to join in and taste utopia now, inspiring them to take a piece of utopia home with them and into their lives. 25 stands are available at the Utopia Fair to showcase creative community –co-produced outcomes from local Connected Communities Festival activities. As well as the stands, there are also opportunities to showcase other outputs, such as film screenings or performances, at the Utopia Fair

Proposals which additionally or alternatively propose to showcase creative co-produced outputs locally or at other relevant events regionally or nationally in 2016 will also be welcomed.

Closing Dates

Closing Date: 16/12/2016

How to make an application

Applications should be submitted through smartsurvey using the following link http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/AHRCConnectedCommunitiesFestival2016/ at the latest by 12 noon on Wednesday 16th December 2015, and will need to go through the BU institution submission process.  Please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer if you are interested in applying.

Full guidance detailing the awards available and requirements for submission of proposals can be found in the EOI call document.

Further Information

Further information on The Somerset House Trust Utopia 2016 season Utopia 2016: a Year of Imagination and Possibility can be found at utopia.somersethouse.org.uk or from the press release at www.somersethouse.org.uk/press-releases

Contacts

Please contact connectedcommunities@ahrc.ac.uk with any questions.

AHRC Leadership Fellows

Funding opportunities

ahrcThe AHRC’s Leadership Fellows scheme provides time for research leaders, or potential future research leaders, to undertake focused individual research alongside collaborative activities which have the potential to generate a transformative impact on their subject area and beyond. In addition to demonstrating support for high quality, world leading research and associated outputs, proposals must include collaborative activities to support the development of the Fellow’s capacity for research leadership in the arts and humanities.

Leadership Fellows awards are supported as a partnership with Research Organisations. Applicants should discuss any potential application with their Research Organisation at an early stage, as strong evidence of institutional support for the proposed Fellow’s career and leadership development is required as part of the application process.

Applications to the scheme will be welcomed for research in any subject area within the AHRC’s remit. Proposals may be for research at a range of stages of development, provided that substantial high quality research outputs are planned to emerge directly from the Fellowship. A range of activities, including knowledge exchange, can be included in proposals and the scheme incorporates elements of the former Fellowships in the Creative and Performing Arts and Knowledge Transfer Fellowships schemes.

The scheme provides opportunities for mid and senior career researchers who meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the Funding Guide. There is a separate route to support applications from early career researchers with outstanding future leadership potential.

The Leadership Fellows scheme provides funding for a period of between 6 and 18 months. Proposals with a full economic cost of between £50,000 and £250,000 may be submitted.

Further details about changes to the scheme’s aims, eligibility requirements and assessment criteria are detailed in the Leadership Fellows Funding Guide (PDF, 1.2MB).

Public Policy Highlight Notice in the AHRC Leadership Fellows Scheme

AHRC is launching a highlight notice in its Leadership Fellows scheme as part of a range of activities to support the contribution which arts and humanities research can make to public policy.

The aim of the highlight notice is to encourage applications to the Leadership Fellows scheme which propose innovative ways to exercise leadership through engaging policy makers in their research, and explore the potential for impact in policy development. This can be in connection with any area of public policy.

Public policy in this context is understood broadly to include government at local, regional or national levels, as well as in connection with international governance bodies. Equally it covers the policies adopted by major civil society and third-sector organisations, such as major charities or charity partnerships, professional associations, etc, which effectively have a role in setting policy in areas which impact public life.

While proposals are welcome in any area of public policy, AHRC has been working with the Chief Scientific Advisors in Whitehall and devolved administrations to identify policy areas where input from arts and humanities researchers are particularly welcome. These areas, along with contact details for the Departments involved, are available in this Highlight Notice document (PDF, 157KB).

Closing Dates

Closing Date: 30/09/2016

The Leadership Fellows scheme does not operate under fixed deadlines. You may submit a proposal at any point during the year.

This highlight notice runs in the Leadership Fellows scheme until 30 September 2016.

Please note that the assessment process for applications submitted to the scheme (Standard and Early Career routes) takes approximately 30 weeks and the earliest start date for a project should be no earlier than 9 months after submission to the AHRC.

On occasions, there might be a delay in obtaining the peer reviews for an application and this may result in the assessment process taking longer. In such circumstances, the AHRC will contact the applicant to inform them of any delay.

How to make an application

For both routes of the Fellowships scheme you must submit an application through the cross-council Joint Electronic Submission – (JE-S) System. If you need any assistance to use the system, please contact the JE-S helpdesk by telephoning 01793 444164 or on JesHelp@rcuk.ac.uk.

If you are thinking of applying then you must contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance.

Further Information

The Leadership Fellows scheme has its own Funding Guide (PDF, 1.2MB). This guidance should be used for applicants who open their Jes Application form from 1st May 2014.

Leadership and Peer Review College: Members of the Strategic Reviewer Group of the AHRC’s Peer Review College met in February at two separate meetings. One of the areas they discussed was leadership in the context of the Fellowship Scheme and a PDF has been produced to summarise their comments (PDF, 121KB).

Impact Summary and Pathways to Impact: – Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 178KB)

RCUK Impact Requirements – Frequently Asked Questions

Examples of Impact from AHRC-funded projects (PDF, 296KB)

Support for Research Leadership

The AHRC has produced a film on Leadership in the Arts and Humanities which is available from the following page.

AHRC ‘Engaging with Government’ course

Funding opportunities

ahrcThe AHRC Engaging with Government programme is a three day course which will take place in March 2016 and is designed to provide an insight into the policy making process, and help participants develop the skills needed to pursue the policy implications of their research. It also aims to build links between policy makers and the most dynamic new research in the arts and humanities. AHRC are inviting eligible researchers to submit an application to attend the course.

The programme will:

  • Encourage you to see opportunities where your own research could make a valuable contribution in a public policy context;
  • Challenge you to think in more depth about the policy process, and the role of research within it;
  • Increase the influencing and communication skills that you need to achieve this.

Eligibility

The programme is for early career researchers (ECRs) and is open to ECRs working in any area of the AHRC’s subject domain. At the point of application, applicants must be either within eight years of the award of their doctorate or equivalent professional training, or within six years of their first academic appointment.

In addition, applicants must be employed in a full- or part-time postdoctoral or equivalent position, which may be either fixed term or permanent, and which lists academic research as one of its main responsibilities. Applicants must be in post at the time of application, and the position must extend beyond the delivery of the ‘Engaging with Government’ course in March 2016. Further, the position must be held at a research organisation which is eligible to apply to the AHRC.

The course will be held at the Institute for Government Offices in central London on 8, 9, and 10 March and applicants will need to commit to attending all three days in full. The costs of the course, accommodation, travel, and subsistence will be paid for according to AHRC’s standard terms and conditions.

  • Closing date: 5pm on Friday 27 November 2015
  • Notification of Outcomes: w/c 11 January 2016
  • Course information sent to participants: mid-February 2016
  • Course: 8, 9, and 10 March 2016

Closing Dates

Closing Date: 27/11/2015

How to make an application

Please apply via Smartsurvey.

Further Information

Engaging with Government – Call for Applications (PDF, 128KB)

Engaging with Government Case Studies (PDF, 101KB)

Contacts

If you have any queries about the programme or the application process, please contact publicpolicy@ahrc.ac.uk

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Arts and Humanities Research Council

The AHRC and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) provide funds to foster co0peration between UK and research organisations in the State of São Paulo. Closing Date: Open

The Research Grants Schemes makes funds between £50k and £1M available for well-defined research projects.  Projects are limited to 60 months. Closing Date: Open

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Research funding is available through the FAPESP Pump-Priming Awards (FAPPA) scheme to enhance food security and bioenergy and industrial biotechnology research in the UK and Brazil.  Funding will typcially be for £35k over two years. Closing Date: Open

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

The EPSRC will contribute funding to Laser Based Production Innovation Projects related to Micro-machining, Laster Development & Engineering, Fusion Based Processes and Sensing & Process Control. The maximum award is for £50k for projects up to six months. Closing Date: 10/12/15

Medical Research Council

Department of International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Medical Research Centre and the Wellcome Trust (WT) jointly fund this third call to the Health Systems Research Initiative for “Providing Evidence to Strengthen Health Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)“.  The scheme has £15m in total funds availabile.  Closing Date: 28/1/26.

Nesta

The Longitude Prize is a prize fund of £10m with a challange to find a solution for the global problem of antibiotic resistence. Closing Date: 31/12/15

Royal Society

The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship is available for scientists at the early stages of their career.  The scheme provides funding for up to five years and will cover a maximum £39389 per year and research expenses up to £13k for the first year and £11k thereafter.  Closing Date: 12/1/16

The International Scientific Seminars scheme provides funds for Royal Society Fellows to organise a small two-day scientific seminar at Chicheley Hall. Travel funds of up to £5k will be available. Closing Date: 16/2/16

Wellcome Trust

The Arts Awards provides support for the creation of new artwork for audiences within biomedical science.  Up to £40k is available for small projects and awards are also available over £40k for large projects which will have significant reach or impact.  Closing Date: 27/11/15

 

 

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

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

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

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

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

British Council

The british Council, via the Netwon Fund invite applications for grants to run international research workshops for UK and Brazilian researchers, as part of Researcher Links. These workshops will allow early career researchers  and a partner country to make international connections that could improve the quality of their research. Proposals should contribute to the development and social welfare of Brazil. Closing date: 4pm, 11/12/15

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, IE

The DFA invites applications for its reconciliation fund. The fund supports organisations involved in the reconciliation work between people on the island of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain. Support will focus on repairing issues which lead to division, conflict and barriers to a deeply reconciled and peaceful society; building a strong civil society that encompasses all communities, through the continued implementation of the agreements and promoting a rights-based society, political stability and respect for all. Award amount not specified. Closing date: 5pm, 11/03/16

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

EPSRC invites expressions of interest  for the near-term translation of regenerative medicine technologies for the treatment of civilian blast injuries fund. The fund aims to suport the academic community to propose approaches to accelerate the development of regenerative medicine technologies for the treatment of blast injuries, primarily in countries in which the civilian population is affected by landmines and other unexploded remnants of war. The total budget is worth £5million, which aims to fund one or two projects over a maximum period of five years. Expressions of interest due by 4pm, 27/11/15. Competition closing date: 24/03/16

EPSRC invites outline proposals for its call on intelligent technologies to support collaboratove care, which supports research that aims to develop reliable and intelligent technologies to support collaborative care in the community. Proposals should address the need for new technologies which can reliably and intelligently interpret multiple inputs from multiple sources and initiate actions as appropriate to support the self-management of chronic health conditions. A budget of £10million is available to fund between five and seven projects. Closing date for outline proposals: 05/01/16

European Commission

The EC invites tenders for media analysis services for the European Commission, which will provide high-quality expertise and support in undertaking in-depth media analysis on EU-related topics across different types of media. The evidence-based  analysis will contribute to the development and implementation of a long-term communication and media relations strategy. Contracts are worth €10million over four years. Closing date: 4pm, 04/12/15

The Directorate-General for the Environment invites tenders for evaluation studies that support the evaluation of the zoos directive. Studies will assist the European Commission in the evaluation of the zoos directive by compiling, assessing and synthesising evidence for evaluation. Studies will examine relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and cohrence as well as its EU added value. The contract is worth between €200k and €250k over 15 months. Closing date: 4pm, 08/12/15

The EC invites applications for its H2020 Clean Sky 2 call for core partners (third call). Funding supports proposals from partnerships in the form of innovation actions. The call supports a number of topics and you are advised to look at the funder’s call pages for more specific information. Award amount not specified. Closing date: 5pm Brussels time, 04/02/16

The EC invites applications for its  H2020 Competitive Low-Carbon Energy call. Funding supports proposals from partnerships in the form of innovation actions. The call supports a number of topics and you are advised to look at the funder’s call pages for more specific information. Each award will be in the region of €2million to €6million. Closing date: 5pm Brussels time, 16/02/16

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, EU

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions invites tenders for the provision of a research study on game-changing technologies in European manufacturing. The aim will be to develop five studies, each focusing on a different technology, which will take the form of exploratory case studies. Funding is approximately €120k over 15 months. Closing date: 07/12/15

Innovate UK

Registrations are invited for the innovation fund for preventing terrorism. The aim is to fund projects that develop new methods and / or technologies, which will protect vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism. New methods and / or technologies will have the potential for replication nationally. Proposals should be in the region of £100k or less. Registration closes 25/11/15.  Competition closing date: 12pm, 02/12/15

Natural England Environment Council

NERC invites applications for its follow-on fund pathfinder grants (up to £20K at 80%  fEC), which are designed to realise the commercial potential of NERC-funded research, using a combination of complementary technical and commercial engagement work programmes. The award is open to researchers with current or past NERC funding and proposals must build on the outputs of the previous NERC-funded research activity. Closing date: Not specified

NERC invites outline proposals for its Changing Arctic Ocean: implication for marine biology and biogeochemistry research programme. £8.4million is available to fund up to four research projects that address how the change in the physical environment (ice and ocean) will affect the large-scale ecosystem structure and biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic Ocean, the potential major impacts and provide projections for future ecostsem services. Closing date: 4pm, 08/12/15

Wellcome Trust

Wellcome Trust invites applications for its seed awards in Humanities and Scocial Science to develop a novel idea to a position where they could be competitive for a larger award from the Wellcome Trust or another funder. They can support research in any field of the humanities and social sciences that can enrich our understanding of human and animal health. Awards will typically range from £25-£50k. Closing date: 15/01/16

Wellcome trust invites applications for its engagement fellowships, which aim to support and develop upcoming stars in public engagement with science. Applicants should have a strong track record of engaging the public with ideas around biomedical science and/or medical humanities, who want to makea step change in their careers. Closing date: 12/02/16

Wellcome Trust invites applications for its capital awards for public engagement and medical history. The aim is to build or redevelop projects for public engagement with science. Awards will generally be upwards or £200k.  Closing date: 13/05/16

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

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

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

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

Pre-Call Announcement for AHRC Connected Communities Research Festival 2016

Funding opportunities

ahrcThe AHRC has announced that a Connected Communities Research Festival will be held in 2016. A call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to participate in the Festival will be issued in early November 2015.

Taking inspiration from the 500th anniversary of the publication in 1516 in Latin of Thomas More’s Utopia, as well as a Connected Communities/ Care for the Future Symposium on ‘Utopias, Futures and Temporalities: Critical Considerations for Social Change’ held in May 2015, the 2016 Festival will have a central theme of Community Futures and Utopias.

As with the 2015 Festival, the call for EOIs will support high quality participatory arts research and research co-production activities across the UK. Local activities can take place at any time from February 2016 to late June 2016. In addition, AHRC will be inviting projects to propose ideas for producing creative, co-produced, research outputs from their local activities which can be showcased at a high profile public event in London in late June 2016.

The call for EOIs will be open to a wide range of interpretations of the theme of Community Futures and Utopias, including – for example – :

  • what ‘utopia in the 21st century’ means for diverse communities;
  • past visions of the future and the role of the past in community futures;
  • the future as a lens or safe space for exploring challenges facing communities;
  • community fears and aspirations for the future;
  • the role of the future in bringing together or dividing communities;
  • utopia as participatory/ creative method;

and many other creative research ideas.

As well as providing opportunities to build on Connected Communities research, the Festival will provide an opportunity to link to other AHRC and Research Council-funded inter-disciplinary research, including under all other AHRC themes (such as Care for the Future and Translating Cultures) and priority areas (such as design, heritage, languages, etc.).

Expressions of interest will be encouraged to describe:

  • How they will build upon past research and work with local communities to co-produce new research insights on the theme of community futures and utopias, and the role of participatory and collaborative research methods in these processes
  • How the proposed festival activities will help to broaden and deepen community research engagement and partnerships – in particular, how projects will reflect and engage with diverse minority community groups and cultures
  • For those proposals involving more extended participatory arts approaches to research co-production, how they might use the opportunity of a high profile national showcase in London for community projects on utopias, and/or other similar event, to engage wider publics with the outcomes of their local activities.

Funding Available

AHRC anticipate that EOIs will be invited for two types of funding:

  • up to £5,000 to support a wide range of participatory/ co-produced research activities with diverse communities around the UK between February and late June 2016 on the theme of Community Futures and Utopias
  • up to £15,000 to support more ambitious local participatory / creative arts co-produced / collaborative research projects producing high quality creative / artistic outputs and the showcasing of these outputs at a two day high profile national public event on Community Utopias in London over a weekend in late June 2016.

Expected Timetable for the Call

AHRC expect to issue the full call for Expressions of Interest in early November. The planned outline timetable for the call is below:

Mid October Festival theme announced
w/c 2 November AHRC issues call for expressions of interest to participate in the Festival
w/c 7 December Closing date for EOIs (via SmartSurvey)
By end of January 2016 Notification of Outcomes of EOIs
February- June 2016 Festival events take place around the UK
24 -26 June (tbc) Showcase of creative outputs from selected local projects at weekend public event in London
Tbc Cross-theme Utopia 500 academic conference

This Festival will form part of a wider series of Connected Communities and collaborative activities on the theme of community futures and utopias, including a conference on ‘Utopia in the 21st Century’. Further details of these other events will be announced in early 2016.

If you intend to submit an expression of interest you will need to have your plan costed by the Funding Development Team and so please contact them in the first instance.