Tagged / RCUK

Would you like to test the new research council grants system?

BU research, Research news

Je-S logoThe research councils are replacing their electronic grants submission service, Je-S, in 2017. More information about this project can be found here http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/funding/2017update/

They are looking for more people to get involved in user research. Can you help?

Initially they are looking for researchers; they need to test with both people who have never applied for a research grant through the Je-S system before as well as those who are more frequent applicants. At this stage they will predominantly be testing prototypes with users. User testing will be carried out throughout the year in a number of formats, such as site visits, remotely over Skype, or through labs where users go to a central location nearby.

Test sessions will take between half an hour to an hour. If you are interested in being a tester then please can you let me, Jo Garrad, know by 15th July 2016. You will need to provide me with the following information:

  1. Name
  2. Organisation
  3. Academic Discipline (high level)
  4. Email address and telephone number
  5. Have you got experience of applying for grants? yes/no
  6. Are you likely to apply for grants in the future but haven’t done so to date? yes/no
  7. Do you work in a research development, finance or other research office role? yes/no
  8. Have you conducted peer reviews for the Research Councils or any other funder before? yes/no
  9. Have you sat on an assessment or moderating panel for the Research Councils or any funder before? yes/no

Would you like to test the new research council grants system?

BU research, Research news

Je-S logoThe research councils are replacing their electronic grants submission service, Je-S, in 2017.  More information about this project can be found here http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/funding/2017update/

They are looking for more people to get involved in user research. Can you help?

Initially they are looking for researchers; they need to test with both people who have never applied for a research grant through the Je-S system before as well as those who are more frequent applicants.  At this stage they will predominantly be testing prototypes with users.  User testing will be carried out throughout the year in a number of formats, such as site visits, remotely over Skype, or through labs where users go to a central location nearby.

Test sessions will take between half an hour to an hour.  If you are interested in being a tester then please can you let me, Jo Garrad, know by 15th July 2016.  You will need to provide me with the following information:

  1. Name
  2. Organisation
  3. Academic Discipline (high level)
  4. Email address and telephone number
  5. Have you got experience of applying for grants? yes/no
  6. Are you likely to apply for grants in the future but haven’t done so to date? yes/no
  7. Do you work in a research development, finance or other research office role? yes/no
  8. Have you conducted peer reviews for the Research Councils or any other funder before? yes/no
  9. Have you sat on an assessment or moderating panel for the Research Councils or any funder before? yes/no

What’s been happening at the research councils?

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research news

RCUKlogoAs you will know, the Government has published a White Paper which details its planned policy to reform support for higher education and research, including proposals on the future of the Research Councils. ‘Success as a Knowledge Economy’ outlines how Government intends to take forward the implementation of the recommendations of Sir Paul Nurse’s Review.  What does this mean for the research councils, and more importantly, how will this affect the pots of money available for funding?

The quick facts on the over-arching changes are as follows:

  • New organisation to be formed: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI replaces RCUK (can you spot the difference?)) with John Kingman (HM Treasury) being appointed as interim Chair of the board for UKRIJohn Kingman
  • This will include the seven research councils plus Innovate UK and part of HEFCE (Research England)
  • New organisation to be headed by a single Chief Executive/Accounting Officer with existing RC Chief Executives to become ‘Executive Chairs’
  • Councils will retain names and will each have a council of 7-10 individuals (Council members will no longer be ministerial appointments)

The role of the UKRI will be as follows:

  • UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a new research and innovation funding body that will allocate funding for research and innovation and act as a champion for the UK’s world class system.
  • The names and brands of the Research Councils and Innovate UK will be retained.
  • UKRI will have a strong board with responsibility for leading on overall strategic direction, cross-cutting decision making and advising the Secretary of State on the balance of funding between research disciplines.
  • The board will manage funds with cross-disciplinary impact and a ‘common research fund’ as proposed by Sir Paul Nurse.
  • They will retain and strengthen leadership in specific research discipline areas, innovation and England only research funding by establishing nine Councils within UKRI with delegated autonomy and authority.
  • The Councils will be responsible for the strategic leadership of their disciplines and on scientific, research and innovation matters.
  • The Secretary of State will set budgets for each of the nine Councils through an annual grant letter.
  • There would be a new legislative protection for the dual support system in England and they are formally restating the Government’s commitment to the Haldane principle.

The second reading of the Bill is likely to be in July and it will then go to the ‘Commons Committee’ for intensive work for 6-8 weeks.  However, given the current uncertainty of who will be running the country and which MPs will form a new cabinet, this could change (see the latest Research Professional article on the uncertainty of the HE and research Bill).

If the Bill does go through, the RCUK Change Programme will move to centrally led corporate functions, such as HR and Finance, but this will also include the grant funding platform.  They are aiming for a (much welcome) single common approach as the default for all activities.  The overall aim is for better ways of working and responding to new challenges, such as the Global Challenges Research Fund (see by blog post on what this is).

You may also have heard that the research councils are replacing their electronic grants submission service, Je-S, in 2017.  Please see my other blog post on how you can be part of the testing group for the new system.

Appointments to the Research Councils 2016

BU research, Research news

RCUKlogoThe Research Councils fund research, research facilities and postgraduate training. The Appointments Panels for four of the Research Councils are seeking applications from suitably qualified academics or experienced individuals from the industrial/business/financial/government/voluntary sectors, to fill a number of vacancies on their governing Councils, including some with Audit Committee responsibilities. These vacancies are for part-time, fixed term membership which are expected to arise during 2016:

The closing date for the receipt of applications is Tuesday 05 July 2016

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills will appoint members to the Councils on merit after considering advice from the Appointments Panel. The Secretary of State is committed to the principle of public appointment with independent assessments, openness and transparency of process and to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, transgender and working patterns.

An honorarium of £6,850 is paid annually.

A video showing current and former Research Council board members talking about their experiences as a member, the benefits, how they have contributed and what is required can be found on YouTube.

Further information about the vacancies, application forms and interview dates are available to download via the Public Appointments Cabinet Office website at the following links:

Orcid Identifiers now live in Je-S (RCUK)

BU research, Research communication, staff profile pages

orcid-logoThe Je-S System (RCUK account and project management system) announced the following changes in relation to the Orcid identifiers which are being implemented.

The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) provides a free registry to obtain a unique digital identifier for researchers and scholars and allows them to manage a record of their research activities.

For researchers, an ORCID identifier supports automated linkages between them and their professional activities to ensure their work is properly recognised. ORCID records hold information such as name, email, organisation and research activities. Individuals control how their data is shared through managing data privacy settings within their ORCID account.

The ORCID identifiers will now be collected in the Je-S System to allow the Research Councils to link and share information across systems more easily

Within the Je-S ‘Account Creation’ and ‘Personal Details’ screen, there will now be the option to allow Je-S users to add their ORCID identifier (and create an identifier if they do not already have one). This will re-direct the user to the ORCID website where they will be required to give consent for Je-S to access their ORCID identifier, before returning them back to Je-S.

Users creating an Account for the first time will see;

jes orcid 1

 

 

Existing Je-S Users can add an ORCID identifier by updating their Personal Information;

orcid in Je-S_2

 

 

 

 

 

You will then be directed to the ORCID website.

 

Please contact the Je-S Helpdesk if you require any further information about the System release or if you experience any issues with the Je-S System.

Email: JeSHelp@rcuk.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0) 1793 44 4164

 

other relevant Blog articles:

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2016/04/07/your-orcid-id-now-visible-on-the-staff-profile-page/

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2015/12/10/research-councils-grants-system-to-capture-orcid-ids-from-early-next-year/

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2016/02/04/update-your-orcid-id-on-hrcore/

 

NERC_ Oil and gas decommissioning brokerage event

Funding opportunities, Research news

As part of the Oil and Gas Innovation Programme, NERC invites applicants to participate in a one-day interactive brokerage event on decommissioning and its environmental management, with the ultimate aim of funding research translation projects which address industry challenges related to:

  • Development of environmental baselines and innovative monitoring techniques and approaches.
  • Data management, sharing, access and collaboration.
  • Impact of man-made structures on the natural environment and options for decommissioning.

Following the event, £850k will be available for research translation projects. Participants will have the opportunity to develop and submit a research translation project proposal through Je-S. Proposals will only be accepted from those who have participated in the brokerage event.

Further information is included in the announcement of opportunity below:

Announcement of opportunity (PDF, 763KB)

Deadline for applications Monday 6th June at 16:00

Research Councils publish Delivery Plans for 2016-2020

BU research, Funding opportunities, Guidance, Research news

RCUKlogoThe UK Research Councils have published their Delivery Plans for the period 2016-2020.

The plans outline how the Research Councils individually and collectively will use their allocations from the Science and Research Budget announced in March to meet their strategic aims and to support the research base to benefit the economy and wider society.

Each Research Council plan is available on their individual websites:

The RCUK Executive Directorate has published a Delivery Plan for the first time which is available here . The Executive Directorate was established a year ago from the former RCUK Strategy Unit to give leadership for the collective activities across the Research Councils and to support the individual Councils to focus on their disciplines and communities. The Directorate’s Delivery Plan outlines future plans for policy and analysis, international, communications and public engagement, the Global Challenges Research Fund and the RCUK Change Programme.

In addition to outlining individual priorities for this period the Research Council Delivery Plans provide information on collective commitments to reform of the Research Councils, equality and diversity, partnership with Innovate UK and the Global Challenges Research Fund.

A helpful summary of each councils delivery plan is provided by Research Professional.

Future of the Je-S system

BU research, Research news

Je-S logoThe Research Councils have informed us that they will be upgrading their electronic grants submission service in 2017.  The Je-S system has come to a natural end and they plan to design a smarter, simpler more user friendly service in line with the latest digital standards. Work is already underway to design the new awards service. This work is based on extensive user research and BU will nominate a primary coordinator (from RKEO) to engage with RCUK about this project.

What sort of improvements can you expect?

As an applicant, peer reviewer or research office administrator, you will no longer use the Je-S system to apply for grants, submit reviews or manage your research organisations grants activities. There will be an entirely new external portal. In future the whole grant application form will be digitised, which means in the majority of cases no more uploading of attachments; and there are other improvements such as in-built formatting for font size and word count, improved dashboards to help you manage your grant activities as well as guidance relevant to a particular funding opportunity close at hand, all on the one screen, while you are applying. This is just some of the functionality being developed and iterated through user testing and feedback.

When will the new system go live?

The ambition is to start to run a small number of funding opportunities through the new system by March 2017 to test that everything is working as it should be. After March 2017, there will be parallel running of the new awards service and Je-S, which will be gradually phased out throughout 2017. We expect the full transition from Je-S to the new awards service to be completed by May 2018.

How you can keep up to date with what’s happening?

This is an important programme of work and RCUK are keen to keep you informed of progress. You can receive regular updates about this project by subscribing to their mailing list at http://rcuk.us13.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=ad56e1b1044a6f3fab9f61fb8&id=bf29a1fd1a

For updates about news and changes to Research Councils grants service more generally,  you can sign up to their quarterly grants newsletter at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=RCUKSSC-GRANTS&A=1

Case for Support with Dr. Andrew Derrington

Funding opportunities, Research Training

BRADAs part of BRAD week, Dr. Andrew Derrington has been brought in to run a “Case for Support” workshop on Monday 4th of April 2016.

The workshop is designed to start you working on an extremely efficient ’recipe’ for a research project grant, such as research council standard grant, that makes it possible to produce a case for support in 2 weeks. The case for support is the central component of a grant application. All the rest of the information in the application should derive from the case for support.

If you have a fundable project in mind at the start of the workshop, you should have a rough draft of the skeleton of the case for support, in the form of 10 key sentences, by the end of the day. If you don’t have a fundable project in mind at the start of the day you will practise the skills of writing the 10 key sentences with a dummy project.

For those who are interested in booking onto this training, please follow the link here to book through Organisational Development.

RCUK response to the HE Green Paper and the Nurse Review

Research news

RCUKlogoResearch Councils UK (RCUK) has published a full response to the Higher Education Green Paper and the Nurse Review, which sets out key principles that the Research Councils collectively consider should be the basis on which reform of the research funding landscape should take place.

The response relates to Part D of the Green Paper relating to the research landscape and to the broad direction of travel recommended by Sir Paul Nurse. It does not address individual questions specifically.  Their overriding priority is to ensure that the UK’s world-class research is supported through the most effective and efficient means possible.

Research Councils announce unconscious bias training for peer reviewers

Research news, Research Training

RCUKlogoThe Research Councils have launched a new programme for all peer reviewers and decision-makers, to raise awareness and reduce the impact of unconscious bias.

Over a period of three years, beginning in January 2016, more than 1,300 people involved in peer review from all seven Research Councils will be given access to high quality training designed and developed by the Research Councils and the consultants Pearn Kandola (www.pearnkandola.com). Together, they will translate this training into an online application and make it available to their geographically dispersed peer reviewers.

Professor Jackie Hunter, Chair of the Research Councils’ Equality and Diversity Group and Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), said: “Raising awareness of unconscious bias strengthens the Research Councils’ commitment to addressing equality and diversity Together, the Research Councils invest £3 billion in research each year, covering all disciplines and sectors, to meet tomorrow’s challenges today. Ensuring that fair decisions are made in peer review and funding is of the utmost importance.”

Nurse review of the research councils – key messages:

Research news

sir paul nurseSir Paul Nurse published his review of the UK research councils on 19 November. The full report is available here: Ensuring a Successful Research Endeavour: Review of the UK Research Councils by Paul Nurse. This follows close on the heels of the HE Green Paper (see this blog post for an overview), which stated that it would take the finding of the Nurse review into account alongside feedback received to the consultation.

The key messages of the Nurse review are:

Nurse strongly argues against the merger of the seven research councils.

Instead he recommends the establishment of a new body to oversee research – Research UK, “evolving out of” RCUK. Governance should include representation from government, HEFCE, Innovate UK as well as the research councils.

It’s functions world include:

  1. – engaging with government on behalf of the research councils
  2. – formulation of the overall research strategy for the UK
  3. – cross-council strategy, including best practice in research funding
  4. – managing cross-cutting funds for multi- and inter-disciplinary research
  5. – development and maintenance of research data management systems
  6. – taking on some shared admin / business support on behalf of the councils

The individual research councils should concentrate on providing “high quality strategic leadership to their research communities” in the shape of international quality peer review; speeding up grant assessments; improving reporting systems; ensuring diversity and strengthening links with their research communities.

The dual support system of research funding should be maintained and government should set up a ministerial committee to coordinate strategic research priorities across government.

He argues strongly for the retention of ring fencing for the science budget.

Further information on ‘Research Councils Together’

Research news, Uncategorized

RCUKlogoFollowing on from my post last Thursday, Research Professional have published the email from the seven Research Councils Chief Executives, explaining what ‘Research Councils Together’ will mean.  RP have accompanied the email with a candid interpretation of what the content implies.

There is reference to the RC’s Operational Cost Reduction Programme (OCRP) which is aiming to maximise their efficiency and effectiveness and deliver savings in their operational costs of between 20% and 25% by April 2019.  The email is clear that unity does not lead to unifying, and the future of RCUK has a more reserved response.   Click here to read further.Research-Professional-logo

Research Councils pledge to work together more

Research news

RCUKlogoResearch Professional have summarised an email received from Philip Nelson, chairman of Research Councils UK, which says that the councils will act as a “single, collective organisation”.

All seven research councils have signed up to ‘Research Councils Together’ where they will be discussing wider changes for a more collective way of working across the research councils, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness.  This does not equate to the creation of a single research council.  Find out more in the Research Professional article.

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.

Research, Innovate, Grow – RCUK’s vision for future investment in the UK research base

Funding opportunities, Research news

Research Councils UK  (RCUK) has articulated its vision for future investment in the UK research base, adopting the slogan “Research, Innovate, Grow” as an encapsulation of its current and future purpose.

RCUK, the UK’s biggest investors in public sector research, are committed to ensuring the UK remains the best place in the world to do research, innovate and grow business.  “Strong, sustained investment in the UK research base is essential to strengthen and let fly the excellence, creativity and impact of the UK’s world leading researchers, innovators and businesses. Only by doing this will we be able to address the challenges facing our society today and create the opportunities for business growth in the future,” said Professor Rick Rylance, Chair of RCUK.

Going forward RCUK will:

  • shape a world-leading research base with strength across disciplines
  • accelerate innovation and impact from this excellent research base
  • collaborate and co-invest with Innovate UK and other partners in the research and innovation ecosystem
  • drive new multidisciplinary research programmes
  • work together to maximise impact and further drive efficiency

“The world-leading UK research base attracts and retains global businesses in the UK and establishes the positive environment to generate new businesses and enable them to grow. This drives industrial sectors and enables national and regional economic growth,” Prof  Rylance said. “The breadth, quality and richness of the UK research base is unique. It enables us to address society’s challenges and business opportunities across the spectrum. It is a very precious resource and a superb advantage for the UK. We need to invest now to secure its future. We will be investing not just for now but for our children.”

RCUK is determined to build on this position through: 

  • sustained long-term investment in the research base
  • leveraging the UK’s position at the centre of the global research network
  • realising the full potential of the UK innovation ecosystem

“RCUK will continue to invest in the creation of new knowledge and drive innovation,” said Professor  Jackie Hunter, RCUK Impact Champion. “The collective ambition of the Research Councils is to maintain and further enhance the UK’s leading position as THE best place in the world to do research, innovate and grow a business. Only by doing this can the benefits of the research investment already made be secured, maximizing the UK research base’s contribution towards the creation of a strong economy and societal benefit now and in the future.”

The UK has 1% of the global population and only 3% of global funding for research yet produces 16% of the world’s most highly cited papers. Almost half of research articles published by UK researchers have international co-authors. Four of the world’s top 10 universities are in the UK. The Research Councils drive and enable researchers, business and partners to create knowledge and innovation for society, industry, Government and the third sector. RCUK funded researchers are more likely to collaborate with business than those funded through any other route.  The Research Councils co-deliver research and innovation with more than 2,500 businesses.

If you would like to contribute to the Nurse review of research councils, please see the blog post setting out BU procedure and deadlines.

Nurse review of research councils: call for evidence

BU research, Research news

BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) have launched a formal consultation on reviewing the research councils.  The deadline for responses to BIS is 17th April 2015 and BU will be submitting an institutional response that reflects the views of the majority of staff.

To facilitate the production of the institutional response the Deans of Faculty have been invited to each submit a Faculty-based response taking into account the views of academic colleagues.  It is of paramount importance that academic and research staff engage with this consultation for two reasons:

  1. Evidence is required on the balance of the funding portfolio and so potentially affects disciplines differently.
  2. Evidence is required on integrating with agencies and organisations and so would affect Faculties differently.

The call for evidence focusses on four areas: strategic decision-making, collaborations and partnerships, balance of the funding portfolio, and effective ways of working.

The full consultation document  can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nurse-review-of-research-councils-call-for-evidence

The consultation refers to the triennial review of the research councils which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/triennial-review-of-the-research-councils

How to contribute

To contribute to the consultation please send your comments using this form (Faculty response-Nurse-review-of-research-councils-call-for-evidence-form) to your Faculty contact by 27th March as follows:

HSS – Prof Gail Thomas

Management – Prof Keith Wilkes

Media – Stephen Jukes

SciTech – Prof Richard Stillman

Timeline

19th March         Launch consultation internally

27th March         All individual feedback to be sent to the Deans

1st April               Each Dean to send a Faculty response to Jo Garrad

9th April               Jo Garrad to send a draft institutional response to John Fletcher

14th April            All final feedback to be sent to Jo Garrad

16th April            Deadline for submitting final institutional response to BIS