Tagged / ECR

Wessex REACH Initiative – ECR group discussion dates

Are you interested or involved in research?
Wessex REACH Initiative- training/mentorship/funding support

  • The Wessex REACH Initiative is an NIHR funded Incubator working to increase health and social care research capacity in the Wessex region. To help ensure that everyone has access to the training and support they need, we are undertaking a series of group discussions to explore experiences of accessing training/mentoring/funding opportunities. All discussions will be held online.
  • We would really like to speak to anyone who is in the early stage of their research career. You may be an early career researcher, a first time Principal or Lead Investigator or someone who has not held research funding previously but would like to.

    Available dates

  • Mar 21: 12pm-1pm
  • Mar 28: 10am-11am
  • Mar 29: 11am-12pm
  • Apr 4 : 1pm-2pm

    Expression of interest

Email your preferred date to info@wessexreach.org.uk

  • Further enquiries:

Eunice Aroyewun, info@wessexreach.org.uk

The ACORN Fund Round 4 Results

To support BU’s Early Career Researchers with the most promising talent, the ACORN Fund (Acceleration Of Research & Networking) Round 4 was announced in November 2021. This time, two options for ECRs were available – to apply for Standard Grant up to £5,000 or Large Grant up to £10,00; each applicant was allowed to only submit one proposal for Round 4. Before the closing date, 14 eligible applications were received.

After application evaluation and careful consideration at the panel meeting in early January, the ACORN panel suggested the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC) to fund 10 proposed projects according to their final ranking – two Large Grants and eight Standard Grants. All winners have returned signed Award Notification letters and we are glad to announce the results.

Large Grants have been awarded to:

PI Samuel Rennie (FST), project tittle ‘Ancient Migrations through the “Mesoamerican Corridor”

PI Melanie Stockton-Brown (FMC), project tittle ‘Copy Tatts: Copyright within Tattooing Culture’

Standard Grants have been awarded to:

PI Liam Wignall (FST), project tittle ‘An international study of pup play communities’

PI Reece Bush (FST), project tittle ‘Personality and gambling: An eye-tracking study on attention to responsible gambling messages and promotional content on webpages’

PI Matthew Armstrong (HSS), project tittle’The effectiveness of a physical activity behavioural modification intervention to promote activities of daily living in those with long term symptoms of COVID-19′

PI Sarah Collard (FST), project tittle ‘Physical activity levels of people with Epilepsy in the UK’

PI Samuel Hills (HSS), project tittle ‘Weather conditions and UK drownings: Progressing data reporting and targeted water safety policy’

PI Guljira Manimont (BUBS), project tittle ‘Exploring the role of FoodPorn in culinary precinct attractiveness: a case of Dorset, UK’

PI Mallika Tamvada (FMC), project tittle ‘Challenges under the Mandatory Form of Corporate Social Responsibility in a Globalised World – Can Collaborative CSR be a way forward for addressing the most compelling societal problems?’

PI Kate Terkanian (FMC), project tittle ‘Bournemouth and Beales: Department Stores, Community, and the Decline of the High Street’

Congratulations to all winners!

These awards support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and are made possible by BU’s QR (Quality Research) allocation for 2021/22 financial year.

We believe, our ECRs will be able to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects and successfully apply for external funding in the future.

On behalf of the ACORN panel, let me wish the best luck with implementation of your projects.

Sign up Sign up: British Academy ECR Network Southwest Hub

Are you an ECR who wants to start 2022 with an awesome opportunity??

Please sign up to the newly established British Academy ECR Network Southwest Hub. Led by the GW4 Alliance, in partnership with the British Academy and nine Southwest universities (including Bournemouth University). This is building an inclusive and researcher-led network to support the needs and interests of researchers in the humanities and social sciences – including subjects from Social Psychology and Anthropology to Law and History.
There will be events and activities both in the region and at the Academy that will provide an opportunity for capacity building, knowledge exchange and networking. Researcher interests will inform the activities and opportunities the network will offer.
For those that join, you will be invited to attend an Early-Career Researcher Network Welcome session, where you will learn more about the Network, meet and engage with other Early-Career Researchers and address any questions or concerns you have about the Network.
The Welcome session will take place on Thursday 20th January 2022 between 14:00 – 15:00pm on Zoom.
The Network is being piloted across the Southwest and is for researchers who identify as early-career. Although the Network does not have a strict definition of an ECR, it is anticipated you will be within 10 years of your PhD experience but recognise this will not be the case for all, given career breaks for MAT, PAT, sick leave, and other exceptional circumstances.
Further information can be found via the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network webpage.
To sign-up follow this link to register your interest to join the Network: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/BAECRN/

ACORN Round 4 Is Closing Soon

Dear ECRs,

this is a reminder that ACORN Round 4 is closing on 10 December 2021 at 5pm.

As advertised earlier, this round slightly differs from previous rounds. Two options for ECRs are available – Standard Grants up to £5,000 that can be delivered before the end of July 2022 and Large Grants up to £10,00 for projects to be completed within 12 months.

Each applicant is allowed to only submit one proposal for Round 4 and should use one of the supplied templates accordingly. The closing date is Friday, 10th December 2021 (5pm); to be considered eligible, all applications must be submitted to the email account acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk before the deadline.

For more details, refer to full text of advertisement.

Introducing the Early Career Researcher Network

Our established network of Early Career Researchers extends across the faculties. It provides support to Early Career Researchers from the experienced academic leaders of the network, Dr. Sam Goodman, and Prof. Ann Hemingway, as well as from peers, and highlights the support available from the Research Development and Support department and other BU teams. It also, as the name suggests, provides a forum for networking and making connections that can be of great benefit to an academic’s research career.

We have monthly networking events. We plan to continue holding them online for the time being, with a view to trialling at least a couple of hybrid events later in this academic year. We have a mix of themed discussions, (on topics like career planning, dealing with imposter syndrome, managing your profile as a researcher), plus open surgeries with more general Q&A.

For a more animated introduction, here is a short video of Sam and Ann talking about the network.

If you are not already a member of the network but would like to be, or if you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk. No restrictions apply, as long as you identify yourself as someone in the early stages of their research career.

To have a look at what sessions are on, and to book onto any of them, please see here.

The ACORN Fund Round 4 is Now Open for Applications!

The ACORN Fund (Acceleration Of Research & Networking) for Early Career Researchers Round 4 is now open for applications.

This round slightly differs from previous rounds. Two options for ECRs are available – Standard Grants up to £5,000 that can be delivered before the end of July 2022 and Large Grants up to £10,00 for projects to be completed within 12 months. For more details, refer to the ACORN Fund Policy Autumn 2021 document.

Each applicant is allowed to only submit one proposal for Round 4 and should use one of the supplied templates accordingly. The closing date is Friday, 10th December 2021 (5pm); to be considered eligible, all applications must be submitted to the email account acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk before the deadline.

This scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £5,000 each and up to two awards, of up to £10,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects. These awards support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and are made possible by BU’s QR (Quality Research) allocation for 2021/22 financial year.

For eligibility, you must be able to comply with the following:

  • Applicant must have completed their PhD;
  • Applicant must have a post at BU (established or fixed term) for the full duration of the award and the post-award commitments or longer;
  • To be considered an early career researcher (ECR), applicant should have held a 0.2 or above research contract for no more than six years in total, excluding periods where the applicant was involved in non-research employment or not at work (e.g. caring responsibilities);
  • ACORN award holders cannot hold more than one BU internal award concurrently.

Note that open access publication costs are not eligible, but these can be requested from the BU Open Access Publication Fund (OAPF). Any planned travel expenses are subject to COVID restrictions and, generally, are not recommended.

Following links, you can find ACORN Large Grant and Standard Grant application forms. In addition, to assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Internal Funding Sample Costs. As this does not require Full Economic Costing, you should not contact your faculty’s Funding Development Officer to complete the costing for you. Please address any queries as below.

Applications require support from faculty and mentor, so please start your application early and obtain all approvals as soon as possible. Applicants are responsible for obtaining faculty sign-off before submitting the application.

For those interested to find out more, we will be running a workshop led by the ACORN Panel Chair Prof Jan Wiener on Tuesday 23th November 2021 from 2pm to 4pm. Workshop will take place in a face-to-face setting, please come to F106 (Fusion Building) with your questions.

Please address any further queries to RDS via acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk

Putting the ACORN Fund into strategic context, under BU2025, the following funding panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC):

  1. HEIF Funding Panel
  2. Research Impact Funding Panel
  3. Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  4. ACORN Funding Panel
  5. Research Fellowships Funding Panel
  6. Charity Support Funding Panel
  7. SIA Funding panel

These panels align with the BU2025 focus on research, including BU’s Research Principles. Specifically, but not exclusively, regarding the ACORN Fund, please refer to:

  • Principle 5, which sets of the context for such funding panels;
  • Principle 6 and Outcome 9, which recognise the need for interdisciplinarity and the importance of social science and humanities (SSH);
  • Outcomes 4 and 5, where ECRs are provided with the mechanisms for support such as mentors and, through schemes including the ACORN fund, gain budgetary responsibility experience.

Research staff ‘virtual writing workshop’ 29 June 13.30-16.30pm

This is a reminder about our ‘Virtual Writing Workshop’ on 29 June 13.30 – 16.30pm. We will have 2 blocks of writing (just over an hour each and then a break in the middle to get a coffee and chat to other researchers if you wish). If you can’t make 13.30 you can join a bit later – no worries.

This is for anyone (PhD student, academic, full time researcher) who wants to/needs to write and would like to do that in the company of colleagues from across the university.

Please come prepared with something you are working on. We recommend turning off email notifications and anything else that could distract to help us get the most out of the time – but your decision – it’s your time!

Please click this Zoom link to join us.

Kind regards, BU Research Staff Association

The ACORN Fund Additional Round is Closing Soon

As advertised earlier, the ACORN Fund (Acceleration OResearch & Networking) for Early Career Researchers is open for applications  for projects that can be delivered before the end of July 2021. This round differs from previous rounds due to the short turnaround time, smaller budget and limited activities eligible for funding.

The  closing date is Tuesday, 4th May 2021 (5pm) and all applications must be submitted to the email account: acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk. Please use only this email address for submitting your applications.

On BU OneDrive, you can find out more by reading the updated ACORN Fund Policy (the guidance document) and apply using the Application Form for this round. In addition, to assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Internal Funding Sample Costs. As this does not require Full Economic Costing, you should not contact your faculty’s Funding Development Officer to complete the costing for you.

This scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £3,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects.

The ACORN Fund Additional Round is Now Open for Applications!

The ACORN Fund (Acceleration OResearch & Networking) for Early Career Researchers is now open for applications  for projects that can be delivered before the end of July 2021. This round differs from previous rounds due to the short turnaround time, smaller budget and limited activities eligible for funding.

The  closing date is Tuesday, 4th May 2021 (5pm) and all applications must be submitted to the email account: acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk.

This scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £3,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects. These awards support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and are made possible by BU’s QR (Quality Research) allocation for 2021 financial year.

For eligibility, you must be able to comply the following:

  • All applicants must have completed their PhD
  • All applicants must have a post at BU (established or fixed term) for the full duration of the award and the post-award commitments or longer
  • To be considered an early career researcher (ECR) applicants should have held a 0.2 or above research contract for no more than six years in total, excluding periods where the applicant was involved in non-research employment or not at work (e.g. caring responsibilities)
  • ACORN award holders cannot hold more than one BU internal award concurrently
  • Note that funds cannot be used to cover open access fees and travel

On BU OneDrive, you can find out more by reading the updated ACORN Fund Policy and apply using the Application Form for this round. In addition, to assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Internal Funding Sample Costs. As this does not require Full Economic Costing, you should not contact your faculty’s Funding Development Officer to complete the costing for you. Please address any queries as below.

The closing date for applications is 4th May 2021. As these require faculty support, please start your application and obtain faculty approval as soon as possible. Applicants are responsible for obtaining faculty sign-off and for submitting the application to the email provided in this post.

Please address any queries to Theresa MacManus at RDS via acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk

——

Putting the ACORN Fund into strategic context, under BU2025, the following funding panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC).

There are eight funding panels:

  1. HEIF Funding Panel
  2. GCRF Funding Panel
  3. Research Impact Funding Panel
  4. Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  5. ACORN Funding Panel
  6. Research Fellowships Funding Panel
  7. Charity Support Funding Panel
  8. SIA Funding panel

Please see separate announcements regarding each initiative.

These panels align with the BU2025 focus on research, including BU’s Research Principles. Specifically, but not exclusively, regarding the ACORN Fund, please refer to:

  • Principle 5 – which sets of the context for such funding panels;
  • Principle 6 and Outcome 9 – which recognises the need for interdisciplinarity and the importance of social science and humanities (SSH);
  • Outcomes 4 and 5 – where ECRs are provided with the mechanisms for support such as mentors and, through schemes including the ACORN fund, gain budgetary responsibility experience.

Missing out? The Early Career Researcher Network

I recently realised I had been missing out! Although I have worked at BU for 18 months there is so much about university life I still don’t understand. I find it hard to ask/disturb busy people and the temptation is to muddle through. Not being on campus – especially since the pandemic, makes it hard to get to know other researchers, potential collaborators, and share ideas or tips. Help is at hand though…

I have just discovered the Early Career Researcher Network. It is a relaxed, informal, safe place to ask questions and meet other researchers from across the university. (There are no demands!) Meetings are held once a month and run by two experienced academics Prof. Ann Hemingway and Dr. Sam Goodman who answer questions, discuss pertinent topics such as building your research profile, promotion and pay progression, networking, partnership and collaboration. You attend as you are able. There are no obligations, but a wealth of wisdom and support is on offer.

 

Dr. Rachel Arnold

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

 

Early Career Conference Grants 2020 – applications are now open

Early Career Conference Grants fund emerging researchers who have not yet had the opportunity to travel internationally beyond their region to present at overseas conferences. Applications for the Early Career Conference Grants are now open. 25 grants of up to £2000 are available in 2020.

To apply, researchers must:

  • Be employed as a lecturer, research fellow/associate or post-doctoral researcher (or equivalent) at an ACU member university
  • Be within 7 years of the start of their academic career – applicants who have taken a career break and returned to work will also be considered
  • Not have previously travelled for work beyond their home region
  • Already have submitted a proposal to present at an overseas conference

How to apply

Full details and the application form can be found on the ACU website

Applicants are required to complete four short personal statements, upload their conference proposal, and attach a letter of reference from their line manager or head of department.

The closing date is 23:59 GMT on Wednesday 25 March.

If you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@Bournemouth.ac.uk

 

The ACORN Fund is now open for applications!

The ACORN Fund (Acceleration OResearch & Networking) for Early Career Researchers is now open for applications.

This  closing date is Wednesday, 30th October 2019 and all applications must be submitted to the email account: acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk.

This scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £5,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects. These award support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and is made possible by BU’s QR (Quality Research) allocation.

There is a strong link to BU’s ECR Network and the forthcoming  ECR Showcase event. In this way, those who do not benefit directly from the ACORN Fund scheme by receiving funding, will benefit indirectly though interaction with those ECRs who receive support via the scheme.

For eligibility, you must be able to comply with these:

  • All applicants must have completed their PhD
  • All applicants must have a post at BU (established or fixed term) for the full duration of the award and the post-award commitments or longer
  • All applicants should have held a 0.2 or above research contract from no more than six years in total, excluding periods where the applicant was involved in non-research employment or not at work (e.g. caring responsibilities)
  • ACORN award holders cannot hold more than one award concurrently

Within the Research > Pre-award area on the staff intranet, you can find out more by reading the updated ACORN Fund Policy and apply using the Application Form for this round. In addition, to assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Internal Funding Sample Costs . As this does not require Full Economic Costing, you should not contact your faculty’s Funding Development Officer to complete the costing for you. Please address any queries as below.

The closing date for applications is 30th October 2019. As these require faculty support, please start your application and obtain faculty approval as soon as possible. Applicants are responsible for obtaining faculty sign-off and for submitting the application to the email below.

Help and Support: There will be a one hour information session on 25th September 2019 and a two hour pre-application workshop on 21st October 2019. You must reserve your place by emailing acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk and specify which sessions you wish to attend. You are welcome to attend both but places are limited.

Please address any queries to Emily Cieciura, Research Development & Support lead for this scheme, via acorn@bournemouth.ac.uk


Putting the ACORN Fund into strategic context, under BU2025, the following funding panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC).

There are eight funding panels:

  1. HEIF Funding Panel
  2. GCRF Funding Panel
  3. Research Impact Funding Panel
  4. Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  5. ACORN Funding Panel
  6. Research Fellowships Funding Panel
  7. Charity Support Funding Panel
  8. SIA Funding panel

Please see separate announcements regarding each initiative.

These panels align with the BU2025 focus on research, including BU’s Research Principles. Specifically, but not exclusively, regarding the ACORN Fund, please refer to:

  • Principle 5 – which sets of the context for such funding panels
  • Principle 6 and Outcome 9 – which recognises the need for interdisciplinarity and the importance of social science and humanities (SSH)
  • Outcomes 4 and 5 – where ECRs are provided with the mechanisms for support such as mentors and, through schemes including the ACORN fund, gain budgetary responsibility experience

Samreen wins Jane K. Fenyo Award!

Samreen Ashraf has presented her research paper titled’ Between a Banker and a Barbie: The illusions of social media’ at the ‘Academy of Marketing Science Conference’ which took place in Vancouver in May 2019. Samreen has won the best research paper (PhD) at the conference and is awarded with the prestigious Jane K. Fenyo Award. Samreen’s paper explores the gap between students’ digital identities and their potential professional identities.

Samreen Ashraf- AMS

 

The Research Impact Fund is open for applications for 2019/20

Demonstrating impact is becoming an increasingly normal part of academic life, with changes in the external environment underpinning the need to show how research is making a difference beyond academia. As well as forming a significant part of a university’s REF submission, impact pathways are often included as a routine part of funding applications.

In order to support impact development at Bournemouth University, an impact fund was established in spring 2019, overseen by the Research Impact Funding Panel. The first call for applications was launched in March 2019 for the remainder of the 2018/19 academic year. This call is now closed.

For 2019/20, the Research Impact Fund has been split into three strands:

  1. To support the development of new research partnerships and networks, to lay the groundwork for future research projects (£17,500)
  2. To provide support for emerging impact from existing underpinning research (£17,500)
  3. For the development of impact case studies for REF2021 (£15,000)

We are pleased to announce that the fund is now open for applications for strands 1 and 2. A separate call for strand 3 will be announced in the summer following feedback from the current mock REF exercise.

Eligibility

1. To support the development of new research partnerships and networks, to lay the groundwork for future research projects (£17,500)

This strand is aimed at Early Career Researchers (those who are within 7 years of completing their doctorate, or equivalent experience, and are not Associate Professors / Professors) and/or staff who are new to research (academic staff who have not published an academic output, or received internal or external funding for research).  The funding aims to support colleagues to engage with key stakeholders at the very beginning of the research process, to establish partnerships and networks to support the co-creation of research questions.

2. To provide support for emerging impact from existing underpinning research (£17,500)

This strand is aimed at academic staff who have evidence of existing underpinning research which has the potential for impact, or is starting to result in impact.  The funding aims to support the development of research impact across BU and begin to identify potential case studies for post-REF2021 exercises.

3. For the development of impact case studies for REF2021 (£15,000)

This strand is for academic staff already developing case studies for REF2021.  One funding call for this strand will be launched in August 2019, following feedback from the current mock REF exercise.

Application process

To apply, please read the application form and guidance. Applications must be submitted to researchimpact@bournemouth.ac.uk by Friday 2 August.

 If you have any questions about your application please email either Rachel Bowen (for HSS or FM queries) or Genna del Rosa (for FMC or SciTech queries).

You can also seek advice from the following RDS colleagues when developing your application:

  • Adam Morris – Engagement Officer
  • Amanda Edwards – Impact Officer for SciTech
  • Amanda Lazar – Impact Officer for HSS
  • Brian McNulty – Impact Officer for FMC
  • Matt Fancy – Impact Officer for FM

BU’s Research Principles

Putting the Research Impact Fund into strategic context, under BU2025, the following funding panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC).

There are eight funding panels:

  1. HEIF Funding Panel
  2. GCRF Funding Panel
  3. Research Impact Funding Panel
  4. Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  5. ACORN Funding Panel
  6. Research Fellowships Funding Panel
  7. Charity Support Funding Panel
  8. SIA Funding panel

Please see further announcements regarding each initiative.

These panels align with the BU2025 focus on research, including BU’s Research Principles.  Specifically, but not exclusively, regarding the Research Impact Funding Panel, please refer to:

  • Principle 5 – which sets of the context for such funding panels,
  • Principle 6 and Outcome 9 – which recognises the need for interdisciplinarity and the importance of social science and humanities (SSH).

ACORN Fund 2019 – update

In response to queries, the ACORN Fund application form and policy have both been updated to provide greater clarity, especially regarding eligibility. See the launch blog post for details. Please replace any previous downloads with the revised versions (Research>Pre-award)

Thank you to those who raised these queries for your help in making the scheme clearer for all.