Tagged / funding opportunities

Last Reminder for the 03/11/15 Research Professional visit – Book in now!

Funding opportunities

Research-Professional-logoThere is still time for you to attend our Research Professional visit taking place on the 3rd Nov and get expert help with setting up your personal account and searches!

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. Jordan Graham from Research Professional is visiting BU on the 3rd of November 2015 to demonstrate to academics and staff how to make the most of their Research Professional account.

This will include:

  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Location and the session timings are:

Talbot campus P424

10.15 – 11.15 – Research Professional presentation

11.15 – 11.45 – RKEO interactive session setting up searches

Lansdowne campus S103

13.30 – 14.30 – Research Professional presentation

14.30 – 15.00 – RKEO interactive session setting up searches

After the presentation, the RKEO Funding Development Team will be on hand for an interactive session where they will help you set up your Research Professional account, searches and offer advice from a BU perspective.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about funding opportunities and to meet the Funding Development Team, particularly if you are new to BU.

Please reserve your place now at a BU Campus to suit through Organisational Development

 

Reminder for the 03/11/15 Research Professional visit – Book in now!

Funding opportunities

Research-Professional-logoAttend our Research Professional visit taking place on the 3rd Nov and get expert help with setting up your personal account and searches!

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. Jordan Graham from Research Professional is visiting BU on the 3rd of November 2015 to demonstrate to academics and staff how to make the most of their Research Professional account.

This will include:

  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Location and the session timings are:

Talbot campus P424

10.15 – 11.15 – Research Professional presentation

11.15 – 11.45 – RKEO interactive session setting up searches

Lansdowne campus S103

13.30 – 14.30 – Research Professional presentation

14.30 – 15.00 – RKEO interactive session setting up searches

After the presentation, the RKEO Funding Development Team will be on hand for an interactive session where they will help you set up your Research Professional account, searches and offer advice from a BU perspective.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about funding opportunities and to meet the Funding Development Team, particularly if you are new to BU.

Please reserve your place now at a BU Campus to suit through Organisational Development.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Arts and Humanities Research Council

The 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. Funding is provided for research lasting between six and 18 months with amounts between £50,000 and £250000 at Full Economic Cost available. Closing Date: 30/9/16

British Academy

The Neil Ker Memorial Fund was created to promote the study of Western medieval manuscripts, in particular those with a British interest. Awards do not normally exceed £2000 and may last up to twleve months. Closing Date: 2/12/15

The Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund was created for aiding research on antiquities/historical geography/early history/early art of parts of Asia.  Awards are available up to £2500. Closing Date: 2/12/15

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

The EPSRC and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) wish to develop collaborative projects between the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the field of Smart Grids. up to £2m is available from the EPSRC and equivalent resource will be available within the ROK.  The EPSRC-KETEP Call for Call for Collaborative Research projects may be up to three years in duration. Expressions of Interest (EoI) Closing Date: 25/11/15 at 16:00

Innovate UK

Innovate UK is offering 4 businesses up to £35,000 (excluding VAT) each through its “Innovation in urban spaces” scheme to encourage innovation around smart urban spaces across the themes of engaging spaces, active citizenship and urban travel. Closing Date: 24/11/15 at Noon

Natural Environment Research Council

As part of the Oil and Gas Innovation Programme, a new opportunity on Decommissioning. NERC will invest up to £1m in a cohort of projects lasting six to 12 months which translate into existing NERC remits. Closing Date: 3/12/15 at 16:00

Wellcome Trust

Research Fellowships are available to support humanities and social science scholars who are not in an established academic post who wish to conduct research in any area of human and animal health.  Fellowships will provide research expenses and a salary. Preliminary application Closing Date: 22/1/16

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.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Arts and Humanities Research Council, GB

The Arts and Humanities Research Council invites applications for its short-term fellowships at the Harry Ransom Center under the international placement scheme, Fellowships allow the recipient to undertake research at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. The centre specialises in literature, photography, film, art and the performing arts, and is dedicated to advancing the study of the arts and humanities by acquiring, preserving and making accessible original cultural materials. Applicants must be resident in the UK and be one of the following: doctoral students who are enrolled at an approved UK research organisation and receive AHRC fees or full funding for their PhD; doctoral-level research assistants who have a PhD or equivalent research experience; early-career researchers, who must have a contract of employment with an approved UK research organisation and who may either be within eight years of the award of their PhD or equivalent professional training, or within six years of their first academic appointment. Placements last two to three months and may be taken between 1 September 2016 and 31 May 2017. Fellowships are worth up to £750 towards travel, coverage of visa costs and include a monthly allowance of £1,200. Fellows also receive a shared office space as well as access to the collections, resources, facilities, curators and other scholars at the centre and at the university. Networking and collaborating opportunities are also available.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 21/01/16.

AXA

The AXA Research Fund invites applications for its chairs programme. The scheme aims to create an academic full time position in the host institution and at encourage a step change in the career of the appointed AXA professor, whilst promoting scientific excellence, innovative and groundbreaking research relevant beyond the borders of the institutions geographic location. The focus areas are: environmental risks including climate change, natural hazards and human-driven environmental changes; life risks including ageing, biomedical risks and addictions and risky behaviours; socio-economic risks including geopolitical risks, macro-economic and systematic financial risks, individual and collective behaviours when facing uncertainties and large corporate risks. There are two types of chairs; the AXA chair position, held on a long term basis by an individual chair holder, and the AXA successional chair programme, where the endowment will serve to support a series of temporary short term appointments. The proposed chair holder must have at least 10 years of experience since receiving his or her PhD. The schemes is tenable from five to 30 years and long term partnerships are favoured by the AXA scientific board. The grant for the AXA chair position is €90,000 to €120,000 a year and the successional chair grant is €80,000 to €90,000 a year. Funding is expected to cover salary for the chair holder, but can also be used on PhD and postdoc expenses, equipment and costs incurred while attending academic and public engagement activities.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 12pm (Paris time), 04/12/15.

Bank of England, GB

The Bank of England invites applications for the Houblon-Norman and George fellowships, which  promote research into, and disseminate knowledge and understanding of, the working, interaction and function of financial business institutions in Great Britain and elsewhere, and the economic conditions affecting them. These are full-time Fellowships (between one month and one year) and will be on an economic or financial topic studied with particular advantage to the Bank of England. The trustees will pay particular regard to the relevance of the research to current problems in economics and finance. Senior fellowships will be awarded to distinguished research workers who have established a reputation in their field.  Fellowships are also available to younger postdoctoral or equivalent researchers. The total amount distributed in any one year will not normally exceed £120,000. A further allowance may be made to cover travel expenses or other costs incurred.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 01/11/15.

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, GB

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its stand-alone LINK programme. This supports pre-competitive research projects that address any topic within the council’s remit, and where industry contributes funding. Applications should be made to the following committees according to the research topic: research committee A – animal disease, health and welfare; research committee B – plants, microbes, food and sustainability; research committee C – genes, development, science, technology, engineering and mathematical approaches to biology; research committee D – molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology. Teams must include at least one company, (preference will be given to small and medium-sized enterprises), and one science-based partner. Principal applicants must be resident in the UK and hold an academic staff appointment, at the lecturer level or equivalent, at a higher education institution, research council institute or a BBSRC approved research organisation. Company partners should be registered in the UK or have a UK research and development or manufacturing site. Where a suitable company cannot be found in the UK, an overseas company may be used. Industry partners must contribute in cash at least 50%of the fEC of projects.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 13/01/16.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its new investigator scheme, which helps early-career researchers to secure their first major element of research funding. Applications should be made to the following committees according to the research topic: research committee A- animal disease, health and welfare; research committee B evaluates – plants, microbes, food and sustainability; research committee C – genes, development, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics approaches to biology; research committee D – molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology. Applicants should be newly employed university lecturers, fellows at the lecturer level whose awards were secured in open competition, or researchers in research council institutes at the unified research council band E or its equivalent. Applicants must not have more than three years of full-time employment at lecturer or equivalent level. They must not have received competitive research funding as a principal investigator from any source that included postdoctoral research assistant staff support costs.

Maximum award:  Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 13/01/16.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites proposals for its tools and resources development fund programme call one. The aim of this call is to pump prime the next generation of tools, technologies and resources required by bioscience researchers within BBSRC’s remit. The fund will support small or short-duration pump priming projects, enabling excellent bioscience; encourage development of novel tools, technologies and methods within BBSRC’s remit; underpin research in BBSRC’s strategic priorities and the wider biosciences. Proposals should demonstrate collaborative connections with interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches and must be relevant to the output of new biological knowledge. Types of proposals eligible are: early concept, exploratory investigations of new tools, technologies and resources. The key feature of a successful ‘early concept, exploratory’ research project application is a technology or methods oriented approach that is enabling and adventurous, and encapsulates the concept of ‘high-risk/high reward’. Funded projects are expected to test the ‘high-risk, high reward’ concept and, where successful, demonstrate proof-of-principle’; rapid access to, and novel deployment of, the very latest cutting edge technology. It is anticipated that these proposals would include collaboration with the technology provider; radical, novel modifications to existing tools, technologies and resources to facilitate new biological understanding and an expansion in use.

Maximum award: £150k. Closing date: 4pm, 04/11/15.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) invite applications for their joint research funding. This supports applications that cut across national boundaries and involve international collaborative teams. Proposals may be submitted in any area of science within the remit of both supporting organisations.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 13/01/16.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its industrial partnership awards. These support science-led research projects that address any topic within the council’s remit, and where industrial partners contribute in cash funding. Applications should be made to the following committees according to the research topic: research committee A – animal disease, health and welfare; research committee B – plants, microbes, food and sustainability; research committee C – genes, development, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics approaches to biology; research committee D – molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology. Principal applicants must be resident in the UK and hold an academic staff appointment, at the lecturer level or equivalent, at a higher education institution, research council institute or a BBSRC approved research organisation. Company partners should be registered in the UK or have a UK research and development or manufacturing site. Where a suitable company cannot be found in the UK, an overseas company may be used. Industrial partners must contribute in cash at least 10 per cent of the full economic cost of projects.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 13/01/16.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland invite applications for their joint research funding. This supports applications that cut across national boundaries and involve international collaborative teams led by researchers from the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The scope of pertnerships is restricted to research projects, including technology development projects but excluding embryonic stem cell research. Principal applicants must be resident in the UK and hold an academic staff appointment, at the lecturer level or equivalent, at a higher education institution, research council institute or a BBSRC-approved research organisation. Irish co-investigators must be based at a research body which is eligible for SFI support, they must be members of the academic staff of an eligible research body, and must have the capability and authority to mentor and supervise postgraduate students and team members.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 13/01/16.

British Council, GB

The British Council, invites expressions of interest for its UK-Iran researcher links workshop on water management. This workshop wll bring together early career scholars and experienced researchers from the UK and Iran to discuss water management with subthemes of hydrology, extreme events, agriculture and food security, climate change, and water management/policy. participants will share their knowledge and build links for future collaboration. There will also be sessions on finding and applying for funding opportunities. Applicant must hold an academic position in the UK or Iran; have been awarded their PhD no earlier than January 2005; be able to evidence that their publications and awarded degree are relevant to the workshop themes; be proficient in English to level 6 IELTS (Iranian applicants). Visa, travel, subsistence and accommodation costs will be covered.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 15/10/15.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GB

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council invites outline proposals for its future manufacturing research hubs. The hubs will address major, long-term challenges facing manufacturing industries and capture opportunities from emerging research areas. Each hub can receive up to £10 million over seven years, to support a programme of innovative research in the engineering and physical sciences, related to the challenges in commercialising early stage research. The Hubs will feature high quality, multidisciplinary research, strong engagement with relevant manufacturing industries, and will take a leadership role in their national network. Each programme must: draw on advances in underlying science and technology; focus on the design and development of new and existing manufacturing processes, systems and networks; explicitly consider the pathway to manufacture. Funding can be used as platform research funding, grand challenge research funding, operational funding, or pathways to impact and commercialisation activities. Funding may also cover equipment costs.

Maximum award: £10m. Closing date: Outline proposals by 4pm, 19/11/15. Invited full proposals late March.

Research Councils UK and Innovate UK invite expressions of interest for their call on urban living partnership – pilot phase. This call will promote integrated research and innovation to address challenges in urban areas of the UK and help them realise their visions for future urban living. Partnerships will bring together the capabilities needed to address a wide range of challenges in areas such as infrastructure and environment; crime and social inclusion; health and wellbeing; heritage and culture; economy and employment; smart cities and big urban data. Consortia can include cross-disciplinary research expertise, city leaders, businesses, civic organisations and community groups, public, third sector and other urban innovators. Each of the consortia will be expected to conduct an initial pilot diagnostic phase focused on building integrated understanding of the challenges, opportunities and future visions of a specific UK city / urban area and developing agendas for future research and innovation.

Maximum award: £400k. Closing date: EOI 26/11/15. Full applications by 4pm, 21/01/16.

European Railway Agency, EU

The European Railway Agency  invites tenders to conduct a study on implementation of fees and charges in the framework of the fourth railway package. The tenderer will: collect and analyse data with a view to establishing a framework for fees and charges; propose models for financial apportioning between the ERA and the national authorities; establish a list of criteria for differentiating fee structure, with special attention given to small and medium-sized enterprises. Legal and natural persons based in EU member states are eligible and must apply as a joint venture or consortium with a nominated leader.

Maximum award: €120,000 and €150,000 over six months. Closing date: 31/10/15.

Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, US

The Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy invites applications for its research grants. Grants are awarded for work in major areas of the social sciences, including anthropology, area studies, economics, political science, psychology, sociology and urban studies, as well as newer areas such as evaluation research. Preference will be given to projects that deal with contemporary issues in the social sciences and issues of policy relevance. Phd candidates whose projects have received approval from their appropriate department head or university are eligible to apply.

Maximum awarrd: US$7,500. Closing date: 31/01/16.

Innovate UK, GB

Innovate UK and the Department for Culture, Innovation and Media invite applications for the nuisance calls competition. The competition aims to address and find solutions for the problem of nuisance calls, especially to vulnerable members of society who are at higher risk of financial harm and personal distress. Solutions can use any technology including, but not limited to, any of the following areas: Home- installed equipment that filters and blocks calls, based on Calling Line Identification (CLI) or other techniques; As before but with a “community” or central database to block calls from known “problem sources”; A network level solution that will filter and block calls before they are offered to the end user. Key challenges that bids will need to address are: Blocking/filtering calls as an option where the number is ‘withheld’ or ‘unavailable’, including where these are international in origin; How legitimate callers using networks that present with no CLI are processed, for example gathering a list of legitimate callers (sometimes referred to as ‘whitelists’); How the system can block calls that offer malformed CLI; Whether the system is capable of detecting spoofed but valid CLI; How calls from mobile and non-geographic numbers are handled – i.e. can they be configured as blocked/filtered; How a network level solution can be implemented on existing communication networks.

Maximum award: £50k. Closing date: Registration by 12pm, 04/11/15. Full applications by 12pm, 11/11/15.

Middle East Economic Research Centre, TR

The Middle East Economic Research Centre invites applications and nominations for the Ibn Khaldun prize, whic recognises outstanding individual and co-authored papers by young scientists on Middle East economics. Candidates must be no more than six years post-PhD .Winners of the award receive a certificate, a cash award of $250 and exemption from dues and submission fees for two consecutive calendar years.

Maximum award: $250. Closing date: 10/12/15.

Natural environment Research Council, GB

The Natural Environment Research Council, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council in the UK, and the Earth System Science Organisation, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and the Department of Biotechnology in India, invites initial proposals for the atmospheric pollution and human health in an Indian megacity programme. This aims to provide new knowledge on air pollution issues and impacts on health in a rapidly urbanising society and the evidence to support cost effective measures for health improvements related to atmospheric pollutants in Delhi, India. The programme is split into four themes; emission validation and sources; processes: physical and chemical; exposure validation and health outcomes; mitigations and interventions. Applications must be collaborative between UK and Indian researchers.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: initial proposals 4pm, 10/12/15. Full proposals due early July 16.

Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, SE

The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research invites proposals for its industrial research centres, which aim to improve long-term problem- and application driven research centres comprising collaborative research ecosystems between industry, research institutes and academia. Centres should be strategically defined around formulated industrial needs with formidable research challenges. Research problems should be defined and pursued by both the industrial and academic partners. Research centres must be concentrated on disruptive innovation, including new enabling technologies or emerging technology shifts in a long-term perspective.Each centre will have two to five industrial partners, with one to five academic or research institute partners. At least one of the partners must be a department at a Swedish university, which will administer the grant. The main applicant must be a researcher based at a Swedish university or research institute. Partners can be researchers from industry, public authorities, research institutes and university departments. Companies should normally be registered in Sweden or close to Sweden so that the exchange can work practically and be justified strategically for Sweden. Industrial partners may be hospitals if the centre involves clinical research. International partners may participate on their own budget. Industry partners must fund their participation with a combination of in-kind and cash by at least 20 per cent of the total budget of the centre.

Maximum award: SEK100m. Closing date: 2pm CET, 04/05/16.

Wellcome Trust, GB

The Wellcome Trust and the Academy of Medical Sciences invite applications for their springboard awards, which enable UK biomedical scientists to develop their independent research careers. Applicants must be within three years of being appointed their first independent post, hold a current post with salary, not be receiving significant research funding, be supported by the host organisation.

Maximum award: £100k. Closing date: 07/12/15.

The Wellcome Trust invites applications for its collaborative awards in science, supporting teams of independent researchers pursuing problems across the areas of science, humanities and social science and innovation. Interdisciplinary research collaborations between basic scientists or medical and veterinary clinicians, and non-biologists, such as mathematicians, physicists, chemists, engineers and social scientists, are encouraged. Funding may be used for research expenses, travel and subsistence, overseas allowances, research management and support costs. A provision for public engagement costs may also be awarded.

Maximum award: £4m. Closing date: preliminary applications due 05/01/16. Full applications by 13/04/16.

The Wellcome Trust invites applications for its our planet, our health awards. These support high-quality, transdisciplinary programmes of research that investigate novel aspects of, and build evidence for, how complex changes in our environment affect our health. Supported proposals will consider the interplay between different environments, drive collaborative research and  lead to outputs with a significant impact on our health. Programmes should use a range of relevant disciplines and research methodologies and may consist of predictive modelling, developing innovative products or processes, policy development or evaluating specific interventions. Proposals from a broad range of disciplines  involving cross-sector collaborations are encouraged. Eligible costs include salary costs for research staff, consumables and small equipment costs, travel costs for conferences and research meetings, office support and communication cost.

Maximum award: £10m. Closing date: 29/01/16.

The Wellcome Trust invites applications for its society awards. These support projects that encourage the public to explore biomedical science, its impact on society and culture, its historical roots and the ethical questions that it raises Projects should stimulate interest, excitement and debate about biomedical science and/or the history of medicine; support formal and informal learning; reach audiences of all ages and from all walks of life and inform, inspire and involve them; encourage high-quality interdisciplinary practice and collaborations; investigate and test new methods of engagement, participation and education. Applicants and activities must be based in the UK or the Republic of Ireland and applicants may be mediators, facilitators and practitioners of science communication; science centre or museum staff; artists; educators; film-makers; theatre producers; games developers; public participation practitioners; health professionals; and academics in bioscience, social science, bioethics, and medical history and the humanities.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 5pm, 11/03/16.

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.

From research proposals to job applications: Writing tips from the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants workshop

Funding opportunities, Guidance

Yesterday I attended an ERC Starting Grants session at the London School of Economics. Although I may never reach the heady, research heights of submitting a proposal to the prestigious, ERC Starting Grants Call (let alone progressing past Step 1, with 9% success rate!), the workshop provided a range of advice equally applicable to preparing: i) funding proposals and, ii) job applications. From the background search to the interview presentation, in many ways job applications are similar to research funding applications.

Firstly, the background search: if possible, find out who has recently received funding in your field. If applying for a position, identify previous successful candidates. What skills and experience did they have? Appreciating these will allow you write your application accounting for your own capabilities, whilst also identifying how the project or position can further your professional and personal development. Awareness of how the project/position can create opportunities to turn your weaknesses, to strengths, is an important advantage at the interview stage. Next, what are the priorities of the funder, company or institution? Does your CV fit the job roles and responsibilities? Does your project proposal satisfy the call?

Secondly, the writing: be ambitious, but avoid sounding unrealistic. Adhere to the application criteria and submission guidelines (even font-size, line-spacing, etc). Provide evidence of how your project is innovative, what makes you stand out, or what specific skills you can contribute. These should relate to the criteria of the position advert or the research call. Preparation is key; start writing as soon as possible, and expect multiple drafts. Build your proposal (or Personal Statement) logically, based on your previous research (or experiences and skills). Make the application a pleasure to read, but stick to the specific guidelines. If preparing a research proposal, use data and graphs; if preparing a Personal Statement, tell a story expanding on your CV. Ask friends and/or colleagues for comments on your application – informal peer-review in preparation for formal peer-review (the same applies when practicing your interview presentation). Importantly you want to convince those outside of your field how you (or your study) can provide a long-lasting difference.

If you are invited to interview, do your research, again. What are the values of the funder, institution or company? Who is on the panel? What is their background? Next, structure a convincing presentation aligned to your application; support each claim with an example, but be succinct and to-the-point. Maintain focus and momentum, but communicate your enthusiasm. Once finished, expect a range of technical and non-technical questions. Ultimately, interview questions will relate to the application criteria, and range from your subject-specific knowledge to transferable skills (i.e., project management skills). Finally, use questions as an excuse to show your audience what you know; view your ‘weaknesses’ as opportunities. If successful, celebrate; if unsuccessful, view as an opportunity. As the ERC Officer mentioned ‘many successful applications come from investigators who were unsuccessful with a previous application and subsequently improved their submission’.

So regardless as to whether you are an undergraduate looking to secure a placement/ postgraduate position, or a Senior Lecturer applying for research funding, translate what you have learnt from previous writing experiences to the opportunities presenting you here and now.

ERC Starting Grant Call

ERC Starting Grant – Funded Projects

EU Funded Projects – Host Countries

James Gavin, Lecturer (Exercise Physiology) – Faculty of Management

Workshop on Falls (Older People) 01/10/15 – Purpose to develop multidisciplinary bids!

Funding opportunities

diagram fallsFrom recent discussions with BU colleagues it is clear that many staff across all four BU faculties are involved in research and practice that is connected to the prevention and reduction of falls occurring in the older population.

It is also recognised that communications between BU researchers in this subject area can be greatly improved and cross faculty, multi-disciplinary bids developed to meet future research challenges (RCUK and European Horizon 2020, UK Charities etc) and the improvement of falls services provided by the NHS.

RKEO is organising a 1 day Catalyst Workshop on Falls (older people) to be held on the 01/10/15 in the Executive Business Centre (EBC), Lansdowne. The workshop will be facilitated by an external company Knowinnovation.  This workshop is open to ALL BU academics whose research could be applied to falls, indeed emphasis is now on recruiting non-medical related academics to the workshop, to grow the multi-disciplinary content of future bids.

If you think that your research can add to a multidisciplinary approach and you are able to attend the full day workshop then please contact Mike Board or Dianne Goodman or Emily Cieciura for further information and book your place (dependent on remaining spaces!).

RCUK Telling Tales of Engagement Competition 2015

Funding opportunities

RCUKThe RCUK Digital Economy Theme (DET) is running a competition designed to help capture and promote the impact that your digital economy research is having. Three prizes of £10,000 are available to support researchers to further tell the story of research impact in an interesting and engaging way to a wider audience.

The competition, which has been co-developed with the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), is designed to produce very informative case study exemplars which can be used to help the wider research community develop understanding of the nature of a pathway to impact. It aims to encourage applicants to tell a story to describe the pathway to impact which actually occurred. This should be even more informative because understanding how impact arises is key to planning for future impact pathways.

They want the stories to portray impact as including what capability has changed outside the institutions, and what benefits that exercising this capability change has then delivered. Each ‘Tale of Engagement’ in showing how the actual impact arises and the evidence of the impact itself will thereby show clearly the link between the impact and the research. Choosing how to tell the story should reflect the nature of the story itself. They hope that giving the timeline of the whole story should stimulate thinking on more imaginative and illustrative ways to tell the tale of engagement and the resulting impact.

You will need to complete the form on this page, addressing the questions raised in the ‘Scope of Competition’ section of the full call document, and taking into account the “Guidance on completing proforma” notes. You will need to attach to the form, a single PowerPoint slide which summarises your entry in an interesting and engaging way.

Resources

Closing date: 01 December 2015 at 12:00

Please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance if you are interested in applying to this call.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

British Academy invites applications for the Newton Advanced Fellowships. These enable international researchers to establish and develop collaborations with the UK with the intention of transferring knowledge and research capabilities to advance economic development and social welfare of the partner country. Researchers may be working in any discipline within the social sciences and humanities. Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent research experience and hold a permanent or fixed-term contract in an eligible university or research institute which must span the duration of the project. The overseas partner must be based in Malaysia, Mexico or Thailand. Applicants should have not more than 15 years of postdoctoral research experience. Each fellowship lasts for one to two years and provides £37,000 per year to cover research support, travel and subsistence and training costs.

Maximum award: £74000. Closing date: 5pm, 16/09/15.

British Academy invites applications for the Newton Mobility Grants. These enable UK universities and research institutes to host international researchers in order to establish and develop collaborations around a specific jointly defined project in any discipline within humanities and social sciences, and with the intention of transferring knowledge and research capabilities to advance economic development and social welfare of the partner country. Both a UK-based and overseas-based applicant are required for this scheme. Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent research experience and hold a permanent or fixed-term contract in an eligible university or research institute, which must span the duration of the project. The overseas-based applicant must be at a research institution based in Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand.  Grants are worth up to £10,000 each for one year for Malaysia, Mexico and South Africa applicants, and up to £20,000 for Thailand applicants. The grants aim to cover travel and maintenance costs, although costs related to other eligible activities will be considered.

Maximum award: £20000. Closing date: 5pm, 16/09/15.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, as a part of the Research Councils UK energy programme, invites intents to apply for its call on Research Challenges in Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage. Funding supports collaborative research projects that tackle challenges in industrial CSS and respond to the challenges of CO2 capture technologies for industry or whole systems understanding of CCS. Topics addressed may include: the range of current and future compositions, sources, conditions, scales and applications; scalability at a reasonable cost; the technology landscape; performance measurement and modelling; advanced materials; adsorption–desorption process; integrating industrial and capture processes; integrating modelling across scales for systems analysis; the level of industrial CSS needed in order to meet emissions targets; integrating industrial capture with power sector CO2 transport and storage; stranded CO2 sources. Must register your interest by 18/08/15.

Maximum award: not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 22/09/15.

Innovate UK and the Ministry of Defence, under its Defence Equipment and Support, invites registrations for their non-destructive evaluation competition. This seeks innovative technologies, concepts and solutions that optimise non-destructive evaluation within the deployed and fixed environment. Non-destructive evaluation refers to methods that permit the examination of materials, structures and components without causing damage that renders the subject unfit for use. Innovative solutions should provide a mixture of the following benefits: accurately measure or monitor equipment and components to optimise maintenance plans; reduce inventory costs by applying non-intrusive system monitoring; improve operational agility by reducing the logistical burden. Innovations may address one or more of the following three themes: open theme; airworthiness; individual protection. MOD may prioritise compact, portable and deployable solutions that improve operating capability, and drive supply chain and inventory efficiencies. All organisations that can demonstrate a route to market for their solution may apply. Must register your interest by 12pm, 12/08/15.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 12pm, 19/08/15.

Innovate UK and the UK Space Agency, via the Space for Smarter Government programme, invites registrations for their pace for smarter government competition. This seeks innovative technology solutions for phase one of the competition that contribute towards the aim of helping the public sector create sustainable operational services from satellite data and enable smarter, more efficient operations, reduce risk and enhance policy making. Solutions that lead to satellite-enabled services for the public sector in any of the following areas are particularly sought after: natural hazard risk management; environment; local authorities and devolved administrations; other. The competitions has two phases. The total budget for phase one is £700,000, in which individual contracts may receive up to £80,000 each for a maximum period of five months. Phase two intends to develop and evaluate prototypes and demonstrators from the promising technologies in phase one, and has a total budget of up to £500,000 over one year. Must register your interest by 12pm, 09/09/15.

Maximum award: £80000. Closing date: 12pm, 16/09/15.

Innovate UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Department for International Development invite registrations for their agri-tech catalyst industrial research awards. These support business-led collaborative projects that develop any relevant innovative solutions from across all sectors of agri-tech or other industrial sectors, and that advance the sustainable intensification of global agriculture, including aquaculture, by developing innovative solutions. This may include technology development, lab-based prototyping, product development planning, extending proof-of-concept using plot or field trials, exploring production mechanisms, and market testing. Projects must relate to the following areas: primary crop and livestock production, including aquaculture; non-food uses of crops, including ornamentals; food security and nutrition challenges in international development; challenges in downstream food processing, provided that the solution lies in primary production. Applications from the aquaculture and livestock sectors are particularly encouraged, as are crop sector projects targeting weed control and on-farm storage and management. Any UK business or research base partner undertaking research and development may apply. Projects must be business-led. Developing country partners must be involved for applicants targeting international development. Projects are expected to last for up to three years, and be worth up to £3 million each. Funding covers up to 45 per cent of total eligible costs for SMEs and up to 35 per cent for larger companies. Total research partner costs must not exceed 50 percent of total project costs. Projects that exceed £3m must be discussed prior to applying. Must register your interest by 12pm, 07/10/15.

Maximum award: £3million. Closing date: EOI due 12pm, 14/10/15.

Innovate UK and the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT) invite registrations for their Mexico-UK collaborative industrial research and development competition, under the Newton Fund. This supports collaborative research and development projects that stimulate innovation across the following three sectors which underpin future Mexican socio-economic growth: agroindustry; energy; health. Funding aims to bring together companies, research organisations, academics and other collaborators from Mexico and the UK to work on projects which result in products, processes and services that provide solutions to key challenges existing within these three sectors. Projects must demonstrate high industrial relevance and commercial potential, as well as demonstrate that they have a positive impact upon the economic development and social welfare of Mexico, beyond primary commercial interests. Innovate UK primarily intends to fund industrial research, however applications for experimental development that have an overall focus on industrial research may be considered. Projects must be business-led and collaborative with a Mexican partner. Nonbusiness UK partners such as research organisations may participate. Must register your interest by 12pm, 07/10/15.

Maximum award: not specified. Closing date: 14/10/15.

Innovate UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Department for International Development invite registrations for their agri-tech catalyst early-stage awards. These support pre-industrial research feasibility studies that explore the commercial potential of an early-stage innovative idea, through review of research evidence and application potential in agri-food production, assessment of business opportunity or scoping for further development. Projects should relate to the following areas: primary crop and livestock production, including aquaculture; non-food uses of crops, including ornamentals; food security and nutrition challenges in international development; challenges in downstream food processing, provided the solution lies in primary production.Applications from the aquaculture and livestock sectors are particularly encouraged, as are crop sector projects targeting weed control and on-farm storage and management. Equine-related proposals, or those relating to forestry or wild-capture fisheries are not supported. Any UK business or research base partner undertaking research and development may apply. Projects should be collaborative and may be research base or business-led, but must include at least one business partner. Developing country partners must be involved for proposals targeting international development. Must register your interest by 12pm, 13/01/16.

Maximum award: not specified. Closing date: 12pm, 20/01/16.

Innovate UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Department for International Development invite registrations for their agri-tech catalyst late-stage awards. These support experimental development projects that test and validate innovative concepts in a commercial environment to demonstrate their economic and technical feasibility ahead of large-scale deployment. This may include first tests in a field trial setting, trialling an innovative concept in the real-life operational environment, investigating product safety and effectiveness, through to the validation of the final product design, and producing the final prototype. Projects should relate to the following areas: •primary crop and livestock production, including aquaculture; non-food uses of arable crops, including ornamentals; food security and nutrition challenges in international development; challenges in downstream food processing, provided that the solution lies in primary production. Applications from the aquaculture and livestock sectors are particularly encouraged, as are crop sector projects targeting weed control, and on-farm storage and management. Equine-related proposals, and those relating to forestry or wild-capture fisheries are not supported. Projects must be business-led and may be conducted by individual companies or business partners in collaboration. Research base partners may participate as subcontractors to a business. Must register your interest by 12pm, 13/01/16.

Maximum award: not specified. Closing date: 12pm, 20/01/16.

Medical Research Council invites applications for its integrative toxicology training partnership PhD studentship scheme. This seeks to build expertise in toxicology and related disciplines that is required to ensure the safe and effective development of drugs, chemicals and consumer products, and to provide better assessment of risk deriving from environmental exposure. Research projects should meet the main aim of ITTP in achieving cross-fertilisation with advances in other disciplines, in order to address emerging challenges in toxicology. The emphasis is on aligning modern cell and molecular biology with other fundamental and health-related disciplines to provide an integrative holistic approach in research and training relevant to predicting the toxicity of chemicals and drugs as well as to develop an understanding of the chemical, pharmacological and biological processes involved. Applications should be submitted from potential academic supervisors and each must include collaborative partners in industry, government agencies or other universities. The proposed work should be feasible to be conducted by a PhD student and successfully submitted as a thesis within four years. Applicants are required to attend an interactive day meeting at the MRC unit on 28 September 2015. These four-year studentships will start in October 2016.

Maximum award: not specified. Closing date: 30/11/15.

Natural Environment Research Council invites applications for its innovation internships. This aims to promote collaborations between academics, policy or civil society partners and generate evidence and case studies of how businesses and other organisations have used, or could use NERC funded research. Applicants may apply for internships of up to six months, based in business, policy and civil society organisations. Applications must be in the following areas: infrastructure; risk management; sustainable food production; environmental data; natural resources. PhD students who have completed their first year or research and postdoctoral researchers at any career stage may apply. Interns are expected to spend between 50 and 100 per cent of their allocated time with the partner organisation. NERC will cover direct salary costs, travel and subsistence costs. The partner organisation is expected to cover the overhead costs of hosting the intern. Internships may start from 1 November 2015 and should be completed by 30 April 2016.

Maximum award: not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 03/09/15.

Royal Society invites applications for its University Research Fellowships. These enable early-career scientists in the UK to build an independent research career in any area of the life and physical sciences, including engineering but excluding clinical medicine and direct biomedical research. Applicants must have three to eight years of research experience since their PhD by the application closing date. They must not hold a permanent post in a university or non-profit organisation in the European Economic Area; however, they must be an EEA or Swiss citizen, or have a relevant connection to the EEA or Switzerland. Fellowships are awarded for five years, but extensions may be awarded for three additional years. Awards include a maximum salary of £38,166 per year and research expenses of up to £13,000 for the first year and up to £11,000 for every year thereafter.

Maximum award: as above. Closing date: 09/09/15.

Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Newton Fund invite applications for the Newton Advanced Fellowships. These enable established international researchers to develop the strengths and capabilities through training, collaboration and reciprocal visits with a partner in the UK. Supported work may be on any subject within the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering, agriculture, biology, medicine, the scientific aspects of archaeology, geography, experimental psychology and clinical or patient-oriented research. Applications should focus on a single project involving an international researcher and a UK-based researcher, both of whom should have a PhD or equivalent research experience. The international researcher should be one of the following: a China-based researcher supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through the distinguished young scholar programme or excellent young scientist programme; a Malaysia-based scientist who applies under the natural science remit; a Mexico-based resercher who applies under the natural science remit; Thailand-based researcher who applies under the natural science remit. Each overseas applicant should work as an independent researcher in a university, academic research organisation or publicly funded or non-profit research institution in their home country. They should not have more than 15 years of postdoctoral research experience. Competency in oral and written English are required. The UK-based researcher must be an independent academic researcher who holds a permanent or fixed-term contract in a university or eligible publicly funded research organisation, including government research institutes. The applicant’s organisation must agree to host and administer the fellowship. Each fellowship is worth up to £111,000 over a maximum period of three years, to cover salary, research support, travel and subsistence, and training costs.

Maximum award: £111000. Closing date: 5pm, 16/09/15.

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.

RKEO and Legal Services Coffee Morning – Thursday 25th of June

Coffee Morning

coffee morning pics****LAST REMINDER for the 25th of June****

Join us at our next RKEO coffee morning will be taking place on Thursday the 25th of June and will be held in conjunction with our colleagues from the Legal Services team.

Members of the RKEO and the Legal Services teams will be in the Retreat, Talbot Campus from 9.30 to 10.30am.

Come along and discuss your research plans with our RKEO team and check out how they can support you through the whole research funding process from applying to successful project management and delivery. We can also help you find the right funding opportunity, discuss the processes relating to funding schemes, as well as identifying potential collaborators and partners to strengthen your application. We can help with public engagement, knowledge transfer opportunities and much, much more….

Representatives from Legal Services will also be available to answer queries on matters such as contracting arrangements, freedom of information and data protection.

Come along and have a chat with us and see how we can help you, or just pop by and enjoy a coffee and a cake.

We look forward to seeing you!

 

Attend our Webinar 8th July – Maximising the Impact of Horizon 2020 Projects – IP Rights

Funding opportunities, Training

euflagMaximising the Impact of Horizon 2020 Projects

Join RKEO staff at this free webinar presented by Dr Eugene Sweeney of the EU Intellectual Property Rights Helpdesk. This will take place on Wednesday, 8th July in Room P403, from 9:30 to 10:45

According to the website, in this 60 minute session, you will:

Learn more about exploitation of IP rights in H2020 projects. This webinar gives an overall view of the creation and the development of IP rights both through and after the duration of an H2020 project. The most common planning mistakes will be analysed and some practical tips will be given, so that you can have the best possible results from an H2020 project.

Learning Objectives

After the training, participants should have a better understanding of the following:

  • The IP in the Consortium Agreements: a particular regard to the results of the research.
  • Which are the best means to maximize the value of your IP?
  • Assessing your IP: How can you estimate the value of your IP?
  • Which criteria should be taken into account when it comes to determine how much your IP is worth?
  • Which are the best exploitation strategies and business plans for entering the market?
  • Reap the rewards of your IP: licensing and post deal managing.

As part of the webinar, there will be around 15 minutes after the presentation for Q&A. Depending on attendees, there may be the opportunity for BU-related discussions after the webinar.

To attend, please contact Dianne Goodman in RKEO to secure your place.

 

Reminder – RKEO and Legal Services Coffee Morning – Thursday 25th of June

Coffee Morning

coffee morning pics

Our next RKEO coffee morning will be taking place on Thursday the 25th of June and will be held in conjunction with our colleagues from the Legal Services team.

Members of the RKEO and the Legal Services teams will be in the Retreat, Talbot Campus from 9.30 to 10.30am.

Come along and discuss your research plans with our RKEO team and check out how they can support you through the whole research funding process from applying to successful project management and delivery. We can also help you find the right funding opportunity, discuss the processes relating to funding schemes, as well as identifying potential collaborators and partners to strengthen your application. We can help with public engagement, knowledge transfer opportunities and much, much more….

Representatives from Legal Services will also be available to answer queries on matters such as contracting arrangements, freedom of information and data protection.

Come along and have a chat with us and see how we can help you, or just pop by and enjoy a coffee and a cake.

We look forward to seeing you!

 

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for funding for the delivery of Exploring Innovation seminars. These enable universities and institutes to deliver events to facilitate discussion and improve awareness of knowledge exchange and commercialisation of BBSRC-supported research. The event may include a half day with networking and panel discussion for academic staff and academic-related colleagues involved in developing the programme and encouraging attendance. Audience or speakers could include academic staff, university business development staff, knowledge exchange professionals, technology transfer specialists, patent attorneys, KTP advisors and representatives of life sciences businesses. Potential discussion topics include the following: case studies of practical approaches for working with business and other user organisations; research organisation strategy and policy surrounding intellectual asset management; practical and flexible approaches to achieve greater impact in areas related to intellectual property rights in biological sciences, formation of spin-out companies, research and development, licensing, consultancy, collaborative R&D, open innovation or social enterprise; BBSRC support and funding mechanisms for knowledge exchange; networking and sharing of best practice. Applicants should be research organisations that are in receipt of funding from BBSRC. Applications that are coordinated across departments or between different organisations are encouraged. Funding may be used to contribute towards the costs of external speakers, room fees, time spent in organising the event and any other reasonable costs, excluding lunch and refreshments.

Maximum award: £2k. Closing date: not specified.

Economic and Social Research Council invites expressions of interest for a collaborative Knowledge Exchange Fellowship. The fellowship will enable a mid-career academic to develop skills and experience of knowledge exchange and impact activities by working on behalf of the council’s Urban Transformations portfolio, where they will promote opportunities for policy and wider societal impact, with particular emphasis on the Foresight Future of Cities project and its wider network of cities’ stakeholders. The programme may offer opportunities for reflection and the advancement of academic career priorities as well as directly contributing to the work of the two programmes.

Maximum award: £80k at 80% fEC for 12 months. Closing date: 01/07/15.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council invites proposals for access to ARCHER through its resource allocation panel. This scheme provides access to the council’s national state-of-the-art high performance computing facility for proposals that are within the council’s remit and that would benefit from ARCHER. Proposals may include short computational projects that do not warrant a full grant application, projects that link consecutive standard grant applications or that aid the preparation of a grant or fellowship, extended feasibility studies, and trialling application developments at scale. Computing resources on ARCHER are awarded in kilo-allocation units with one kAU representing a measure of relative performance of ARCHER based on a range of benchmarks compared to previous national services. One core hour equates to 0.015kAU. Users can request significant amounts of computing resource (>1,000kAU) over a maximum one-year period. Although there is no limit to the number of kAUs that can be applied for, there is a limit to the total amount of kAUs available against this call: around 300,000 kAU, or 20 million core hours.

Maximum award: N/A. Closing date: 4pm, 07/09/15.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, as part of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme, invites registrations of intent for its call on reducing energy demand in the transport sector. Funding supports interdisciplinary collaborative research to reduce energy demand in the energy sector. Proposals with innovation in engineering, physical sciences or information and communication technologies, together with an application, business and economic modelling, and considering behavioural aspects of transport systems, are particularly encouraged. Furthermore, proposals should address the following research challenges: decarbonising freight using multidisciplinary research, including behaviour, economics, governance and technology; energy demand implications of technological, institutional and infrastructural change; vehicle design to meet challenging mobility needs in an integrated transport system.

Maximum award: £2 million. Closing date: Registrations of intent 4pm, 31/07/15.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council invite technical assessments and applications for their ARCHER leadership projects. Awards provide direct access to the UK’s national supercomputing facility ARCHER for computationally intensive individual projects. Eligible projects may include the following: leadership calculations that push the boundaries of scientific high performance computing; calculations that require a large number of processing cores; high-risk, high-reward projects that rely heavily on high performance compute resource and have significant potential for large future impact; substantial computational projects by experienced teams that need large compute resources, but do not rely on additional support by EPSRC or NERC; pre-competitive computational production runs by non-academic research groups within sectors related to the remits of the ARCHER partner research councils. A total of maximum 2 million kAU is available, split between EPSRC and NERC remits at the ratio of 77 per cent EPSRC and 23 per cent NERC. Each applicant should apply for at least 100,000 kAU for a maximum period of two years.

Maximum award: N/A. Closing date: 4pm, 01/09/15.

Leverhulme Trust invites applications for its Visiting Professorships. These enable UK institutions to host eminent researchers from overseas, primarily to enhance the skills of academic staff or students at the host institution. Visiting professors may also wish to use the opportunity to further their own academic interests. Any field of research is eligible. Applications must be made by a member of academic staff, based in a UK university or other higher education institution, who will be responsible for coordinating the visit. Priority is given to new or recent collaborative ventures. Funding covers maintenance, travel expenses and research costs and supports visits that last between three and 12 months. Travel within the UK, laboratory consumables and essential technical assistance may also be covered.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 08/10/15.

Medical Research Council invites applications for its Discovery Awards. These support discovery research in areas with potential for development, which are strategically sound within the institution’s strategy and are important nationally. All discoveries relevant to the MRC’s remit are accepted, and applicants are encouraged to explore how awards could be used to develop interdisciplinary interactions, for example by linking with physical sciences, mathematics and social sciences. Awards support recruitment or initial development of new PIs at junior or senior levels, or linked pilot work or technology and methods development. Institutions are expected to initiate and build critical mass and capacity in otherwise underexplored, high-potential areas of research, which may not yet compare to more established fields but have a clear vision for development.

Maximum award: £1 million. Closing date: 10/08/15.

Medical Research Council together with the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology, and with support from the Newton Fund, invites proposals for its UK-Vietnam infectious disease research call. This supports collaborative UK-Vietnamese biomedical research in health areas of importance to the Vietnamese population, leading to health benefits in Vietnam, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable in society. Areas of particular interest include antimicrobial resistance, vaccine development for humans and malaria. Each proposal must involve a UK partner and one based in Vietnam. Interdisciplinary collaborations are particularly welcome.The budget for this call is £2.6 million, with up to £2m available from MRC for UK collaborators and up to £600,000 from MOST for Vietnamese collaborators. Funding is expected to support a maximum of five projects, worth up to £520,000 per project over two to three years.

Maximum award: £520k. Closing date: 15/07/15.

Medical Research Council, the Department for International Development and the Wellcome Trust invite proposals for their joint Global Health Trials scheme. This funds trials to generate new knowledge about interventions that will contribute to the improvement of health in low- and middle-income countries. Priority is given to proposals that are likely to produce implementable results and that address the major causes of mortality or morbidity in low- and middle-income countries. The focus is primarily on late-stage clinical and health intervention trials evaluating efficacy and effectiveness. The scheme is aimed at funding randomised controlled trials, but innovative trial methodologies and adaptive designs are also welcome. Phase IIb trials of major relevance may also be considered. Proposals for research into chronic non-communicable diseases and reproductive, maternal and newborn health are particularly welcomed. The scope encompasses interventions of all kinds, including behavioural and complex interventions, disease management, drugs, vaccines, hygiene and diagnostic strategies. The scheme is open to principal investigators based in low- or middle-income economies at higher education institutions and non-profit research institutions, and principal investigators based in UK HEIs, research council institutes and eligible independent research organisations.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 10/09/15.

Natural Environment Research Council invites applications for its Collaborative Gearing scheme. This offers opportunities for fieldwork-based scientific collaboration with NERC’s British Antarctic Survey, in cases where no funding for salaries, grants or other direct science costs is required, but where access to BAS Antarctic facilities and research stations would enable fieldwork to be conducted for the proposed project. Proposed projects must be allied to the BAS science programme.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 4pm, 31/03/16.

The World Health Organization, together with the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership and the UK Medical Research Council, invites proposals for research and capacity development in support of the Ebola virus disease response. The previous deadline of 18 June 2015 has now been extended to 6 August 2015. This call aims to build and strengthen regional, national, institutional and individual capacities to conduct high quality health research during infectious disease outbreaks resulting in health emergencies. Proposals should address at least one of the following areas: establish training or other capacity building activities for healthcare and laboratory personnel to detect and respond to infectious disease epidemics, conduct clinical trials and analyse samples in an emergency context to ensure clinical trial site preparedness; generate evidence for and implement ethically sound approaches to the introduction and clinical testing of new prevention tools or treatments during outbreaks of Ebola virus disease or other emerging infectious diseases of particular relevance to Africa; identify and implement best practices for building both community and national health authority support and engagement in clinical trials being conducted in emergency situations, including activities related to the development of appropriate mechanisms for surveillance, identification, tracking and referral of cases, as well as reintegration of survivors into the community. Consortia of researchers composed of at least one legal entity may apply. Projects involving transnational collaboration and regional networking are encouraged. Applicants are encouraged to establish links with relevant WHO and EDCTP-funded activities.

Maximum award: €250k. Closing date: 06/08/15.

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.