Tagged / Research Councils

An Update on EPSRC Delivery Plan

EPSRC_logoThe Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council put out its 2016-20 delivery plan to consultation at the end of 2015. On 2nd February EPSRC published an update to the draft plan, which sets out four areas that it intends to focus on over the next five years:

• Productivity
• Connectedness
• Resilience
• Health

 

Ambitions have been developed within each area, which will form the framework for its Delivery Plan. These ambitions will help determine the challenge-led aspect of its portfolio. EPSRC funding will still be accessed through the usual entry points of its capability disciplines, which include Mathematics, Physical Sciences, ICT and Engineering and decisions will still be taken on excellence.

A brief definition of each area and associated ambitions can be found here. These ambitions are provisional and will remain so until EPSRC receives its budget allocation for 2016-2020, when it can definitively prioritise its plans.

Research Councils demonstrate the impact of their investments in latest impact reports

RCUKlogoYesterday, the Research Councils published their impact reports for the 2014/2015 financial year, demonstrating the impact their investments have made on the economy, on policy and for society.

Each Research Council has produced its own report, showcasing specific examples of the impact of investment through their various awards, programmes and collaborations. The wide-ranging nature of the impact extends from furthering technological advances to combatting disease.

Collectively, the seven Research Councils invest £3 billion in research each year covering all disciplines and sectors, to meet tomorrow’s challenges today and provide the world-class research and skills that are the foundation of a strong and productive UK economy. This helps to achieve balanced growth as well as contributing to a healthy society and a sustainable world. It ensures the UK builds capacity, safeguards the long-term sustainability of research and remains a global leader in research and innovation. Additionally, by working in partnership, the Research Councils combine investments in a multitude of global societal and economic challenge areas to achieve even greater impact.

Highlights from the reports – particularly in boosting the economy, shaping policy and contributing to society – include:

  • Improving family lives and saving the taxpayer £1.2 billion: Secondary analysis of ESRC-funded survey data has helped local authorities in England to target interventions that support families with long-standing problems, turning around their lives and improving the life chances of children. The Troubled Families programme, praised by the Prime Minister after helping an estimated 116,000 families and saving the taxpayer £1.2 billion, was extended for five years from 2015.
  • Shaping international policy making and supporting vulnerable deaf communities: AHRC-funded research has supported the status of endangered sign languages in communities in India, new legislation in Finland, and increased transnational awareness of sign languages risk of endangerment.
  • Improving the UK’s resilience to environmental hazards by informing effective risk management: NERC’s annual investment of £12.8 million generates up to £127 million pa benefit from protecting properties, farmland and infrastructure through earlier warning of floods. Plus further health and cost-saving benefits from forecasting seasonal extremes, extreme weather, effects of volcanic ash on aircraft, protecting fisheries and preparing for climate change.
  • Informing Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy: Results from the Urban Pollinators Project informed Defra’s recommendations linked to the UK’s National Pollinator Strategy; a ten-year plan to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers. The city of Bristol is now developing a local Pollinator Strategy as an exemplar for UK and European cities. The project received £1.2 million in investment from the Insect Pollinators Initiative (funded by BBSRC, NERC, Defra, the Wellcome Trust and the Scottish Government).

The Impact Reports for each Research Council can be accessed from the following links:impact

 

ESRC Research Seminar: 12 Jan, ‘Media Representations of Antisocial Personality Disorder’: places still available

BRIAN

ESRC Research Seminar: Bournemouth University and the University of East London:

Media Representations of ‘antisocial personality disorder’

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016:  Room EB702, Bournemouth University

esrc logo

11-00: Coffee

11-15: Introductions and introduction to the series.

11.30 : David W Jones (University of East London): Overview of the significance of ‘the media’ and the story of ASPD

12.15 Candida Yates:(Bournemouth University) ‘I know just how he feels’ Taxi Driver, Disordered Masculinities and Popular Culture

1-00: Lunch

2.00: Alison Cronin (Bournemouth University): ASPD and the media reporting of crime.

2-45: Stefania Ciocia (Canterbury Christ): ‘Only Underdogs and psychos in this world’

3-30 – Tea

3-45: Bradley Hillier, ( South West London Forensic Service) “Breaking Bad: How dark is Walter White?”

4-30 Discussion

5-6pm Wine and canapes

 

VENUE: Room EB702,  Bournemouth University Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road

Bournemouth

BH8 8EB

*If you would like to attend this event, please contact Prof. Candida Yates: cyates@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

 

Congratulations to Dr. Caroline Ellis-Hill

NIHRDr. Caroline Ellis-Hill  has just been accepted as a qualitative methodologist on the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) panel for Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR).  Caroline from the Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR) in FHSS is the second BU academic to join a NIHR panel this year.  Earlier this year Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen was invited to be a member of the NIHR’s HTA Clinical Evaluation & Trials Board ( http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/hta/our-people ).

Congratulations!

Professors Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Arts & Humanities Research Council

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

British Academy

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

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

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

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

Innovate UK

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

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

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

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

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

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

CSR – highlights for research and KE

george osborneOn Wednesday the government outlined their plans for spending over the next five years in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and Autumn Statement. The main points in relation to research and KE are:

Research councils:

  • The Nurse Review recommendations will be implemented (see an overview of the recommendations here).
  • Subject to legislation, the government will introduce a new body – Research UK – which will work across the seven Research Councils.
  • Innovate UK with remain and will be integrated into Research UK.

 

Budget:

  • The BIS budget will be cut by 17% (£2.2bn).
  • The science budget will be protected in real terms.
  • This includes a new £1.5 billion Global Challenges fund to ensure UK science takes the lead in addressing the problems faced by developing countries whilst developing our ability to deliver cutting-edge research

 

Research Excellence Framework:

  • The government will take forward a review of the Research Excellence Framework in order to examine how to simplify and strengthen funding on the basis of excellence, and will set out further details shortly.

 

Funding, priorities and investments:

Health and social care:

  • £5bn more to be invested in Health Research, key priorities being the genomes project, anti-microbial resistance and tackling malaria.
  • £600m additional funding will be available for mental health.
  • £150m will be invested in launching a competition for a Dementia Institute with the remit of tackling the progression of the disease.
  • Women’s Health charities/sector will be invested in, as will military charities.

Science and technology:

  • £1bn will be invested in energy research, with a key priority being the reduction in costs of low carbon energy.
  • Defence budget will be increased from £34bn to £40bn – emphasis will be on new equipment, capabilities and fighting cybercrime.
  • Investment in a new Cyber Innovation Centre in Cheltenham to supporting cyber excellence across south west.

Arts, sports and culture:

  • Arts and culture budget will be protected and £1bn will be invested.
  • The Arts Council will be invested in.
  • Funding in UK Sport will be increased in run up to the Olympic Games in Rio.

Knowledge exchange / enterprise:

  • £12bn invested in local growth fund.
  • 26 Enterprise Zones to be created including 15 in towns and rural areas. Two new zones are planned for the south west region.
  • Innovate UK will remain but based on a grant system with £165m in loans will be on offer. It will be integrated into Research UK (overarching body of the Research Councils).
  • Funding to Catapult Centres will increase.

Responses to Nurse Review of the Research Councils

Following on from Julie Northam’s synopsis of the Nurse Review of the Research Councils posted last week, you may be interested to see the responses from the many interested parties, such as science lobby groups and learned societies.

sir paul nurseResearch Professional have provided an analysis of the responses that can be read here.  The individual statements are shown below:

Nurse review of the research councils – key messages:

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.

The HE Green Paper and research – what does it tell us?

green paperNot much. The primary focus is on teaching excellence and social mobility, however, it does reiterate and propose the following about research:

  • Government is committed to the Haldane Principle, and therefore peer review and decisions on funding made by researchers.

 

Dual support system:

  • Government is committed to the retention of the dual support system (allocation of research funding via block grants (currently via the REF) and competitive calls (currently via Research Councils)
  • It is proposed to abolish HEFCE. HEFCE’s current remit in terms of research includes policy development and management of the REF and the allocation of research block grant funding.
  • The Paper provides some options for replacing HEFCE and delivering the dual support system in future:
    • Via separate bodies (as per now, i.e. a replacement for HEFCE’s research function and the Research Councils)
    • Via one overarching body (i.e. one super research body that controls both parts of the dual support system)
  • Neither of these are perfect. With option 1, one could argue that this would cause significant disruption in the sector and achieve no benefits to the current arrangement. With option 2, having one super research body calls into question how the integrity, transparency and fairness of dual support could be maintained?

 

Research Councils:

  • Sir Paul Nurse led a review of the Research Councils in 2015 and this is due to report soon. The Green Paper states that this will be critical in informing the final decisions made about research funding in future.
  • The Triennial Review of the Research Councils 2014 noted a number of efficiencies that could be made to the work process of the councils and the Green Paper proposes that these are addressed.
  • Government wants to ensure that discipline specific leaders remain a key part of the landscape.

 

Research Excellence Framework (REF):

  • The next REF will be held by 2021.
  • The review process itself will be reviewed with the aim of retaining the strengths of the current system (such as peer review), build on the successes (such as impact), and challenge the cost and bureaucracy associated with running such an exercise.
  • There is likely to be a greater emphasis on metrics.
  • There is the suggestion of running two types of REF exercise – a full peer review exercise periodically (e.g. every 6-8 years) with a mini REF held between full exercises (every 3-4 years) for which the focus would very much be on metrics.

 

You can read the full document here: Fulfilling our potential: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice

The Green paper is open for consultation with the sector until 15 January 2016.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

Arts and Humanities Research Council

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

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

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

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

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

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

Medical Research Council

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

Nesta

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

Royal Society

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

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

Wellcome Trust

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

BU’s research council success rates 2014-15

RCUK logoYesterday Jo added a post to the Blog about the national Research Councils’ success rates in 2014-15. This post is a follow-on from that one and provides the data at BU-level. The coverage is decisions made between April 2014 to March 2015.

BU’s success rate in 2014-15 was a respectable 17% with two bids awarded out of the 12 submitted. In 2013-14 BU’s success rate was 33%, also based on 12 applications. Although the success rate this year has decreased slightly it is still one of BU’s highest annual success rates with the research councils. The sector average success rate in 2014-15 also declined slightly, from 30% to 28%. The successful BU awards were:

  • NERC – Integrated software system for the 3-dimensional capture and analysis of footwear evidence (Prof Matthew Bennett)
  • NERC – X-band radar applications for coastal monitoring to support improved management of coastal erosion (Dr Luciana Slomp-Esteves)

The sector average success rate with NERC was 26%, compared to BU’s impressive 67%.

BU has had more grants awarded from the Research Councils over the past year than are reported here, however, the official stats only show results against the lead institution so successful bids where BU is the collaborating institution are not shown against BU in the data.

BU is especially keen to increase the quality of bids submitted to Research Councils and RKEO run a number of initiatives, such as the Grants Academy, to support you to design, write and structure competitive, fundable research proposals and to maximise your chances of being awarded funding. Anyone considering submitting a bid to a research council should speak with their Research Facilitator as early on in the process as possible. The Research Facilitators have extensive experience of reviewing research proposals and can provide you with expert guidance on how to shape your bid. You can also access guidance documents on the Research Blog here: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/researcher-toolbox/je-s-guidance/

Read more about the demand management measures that the Research Councils have put in place here: Demand Management. As the councils are still seeing an increase in applications received alongside declining success rates then there is a possibility that demand management requirements will be stepped up in future. This may also form part of the BIS changes likely to result from the HE Green Paper published last week and the CSR decisions announced at the end of the month. We’ll keep you posted via the Blog of any developments.

Guardian article on proposed changes to the structure of research councils

guardian-logoKieron Flanagan in The Guardian has written an article on proposed changes to the structure of the Research Councils.

The article focuses on why funding cuts are not the only thing that should worry scientists.  Plans to put all research funding in England into a single body should also be of concern, and will raise eyebrows in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Read the full article here.RCUKlogo

 

THE article on research council success rates

the-times-education-supplementDavid Matthews wrote an article in the THE on the fall in success rates at the research councils.

In 2014-15, there were 7,780 applications to research councils, according to calculations by Times Higher Education, a 12 per cent increase on the year before despite efforts to deter weaker bids.

Success rates fell at five out of six councils, halving in the case of the Economic and Social Research Council to just 12 per cent (the Science and Technology Facilities Council was excluded from the analysis).RCUKlogo

The overall success rate dropped by half a percentage point to just under 28 per cent, and would have fallen much further had it not been for an “abnormally” high level of funding in 2014-15 at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, where success rates shot up.

Read the whole article here, including a useful table of success rates for each research council.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

British Council

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

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, IE

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

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

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

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

European Commission

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

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

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

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

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

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

Innovate UK

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

Natural England Environment Council

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

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

Wellcome Trust

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Further information on ‘Research Councils Together’

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

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.

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

Funding opportunities, Info Days

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