Tagged / RKEDF

RDS Research Facilitator focus to change – update one

Exciting changes are coming to you from August 2022 in terms of the support provided by RDS’ Research Facilitators.

As agreed at the December 2021 Research Performance and Management Committee, the focus of the Research Facilitators will change from Faculty-facing to funder specialisms, based on the major funders. The current post titles will change to ‘Research Facilitator for…’:

Contacts for each post will be confirmed next month. The focus of the Research Facilitator support will remain unchanged, which is to identify potential funding opportunities through horizon scanning and cascade these across BU; and within their funder specialisms – provide support to researchers to develop their bids through building research teams (including external collaborators as well as inter/multi-disciplinary teams within BU) and, advising on bid content and structure to ensure a high-quality bid is submitted to external funders. Support for all other types of bids will be provided through Faculty Leadership and Research Mentors.

The change to funder specialisms will mean that we can provide support to a larger number of academics through funder focussed briefings, scramble events, STEAMLabs (to form interdisciplinary ideas linked with external collaborators), and training through the RKEDF. We have already started transitioning to funder-focussed training, and opportunities are already available to you, such as:

  • Leverhulme Trust Research Project – Outline Stage – workshop 11/5/22
  • AHRC Research Development and Engagement Fellowships (ECR and Standard – open calls) – workshop 25/5/22
  • ESRC New investigator – workshop 8/6/22, and also
  • Repurposing Your Unsuccessful Grant Applications – workshops 20/5/22 and 7/7/22

In addition to Research Facilitators, there are several support options in place to support you through the pre-award process and finding funding opportunities tailored to you. BU have invested in Research Professional, which enables you to target opportunities specifically for your research area. If you are new to Research Professional, this link provides you with help guides and bi-monthly webinars to help you get started. In addition, weekly funder briefings will continue this academic year, and the programme for 2022/23 will ensure a greater focus on specific opportunities each week. We will also be trialling a user-friendly ‘funding opportunities’ newsletter shortly.

More information will be communicated in June to help you navigate the pre-award process and we will also confirm contact names for each funder specialism. Further communications will outline the changes leading up to August 2022. Stay tuned!

Reminder – Research Impact Basics training this week

Training

A reminder that we still have space on our training session Getting started with research impact: what is it? this Thursday 12 May at 2pm, to book via OD please click here.

This session will also be repeated on 12 October at 2pm, and we have several other RKEDF impact-related workshops coming up over the next couple of months; please use the links below to book onto them via OD:

Evidencing Impact 14 June, 2pm (repeated on 12 October, 2pm)

Impact and Funding Applications 30 June, 2pm

As part of the newly announced Research Conference: Building Impact on 7 June we will also be holding live sessions on the Anatomy of a Case Study, investigating what an excellent case study looks like. This will be repeated online the following day (8 June, 2pm) for those who can’t make it so do look out for booking links for this too.

If you have any questions, please contact the Impact Advisors – Amanda Lazar or Beth Steiner.

Upcoming Research Impact Workshops

Training

We have several RKEDF impact-related workshops coming up over the next couple of months; please use the links below to book onto them via OD:

Getting started with research impact: what is it? 12 May, 2pm (repeated on 16th September, 10am)

Evidencing Impact 14 June, 2pm (repeated on 12 October, 2pm)

Impact and Funding Applications 30 June, 2pm

As part of the newly announced Research Conference: Building Impact on 7 June we will also be holding live sessions on the Anatomy of a Case Study, investigating what an excellent case study looks like. This will be repeated online the following day (8 June, 2pm) for those who can’t make it so do look out for booking links for this too.

If you have any questions, please contact the Impact Advisors – Amanda Lazar or Beth Steiner.

RKEDF: Research Methods Training Fund – Applications Open

Funding opportunities

An unsuccessful grant application can be demoralising so make your next bid successful! Remember, there can be many reasons for the lack of success! Some beyond your control others not!  Funders feedback will help to evaluate why your bid was unsuccessful and along with training via the Research Methods Training Fund you can look forward to future success!  

 The Research Knowledge Exchange Development Framework has announced this fund specifically targeted at academics who have submitted unsuccessful bids!   The aspiration is that by reinvigorate the research methodology via a training workshop successful recipients will aim to resubmit their bid within a 12-month period! 

 

FAQs 

How do I apply?  

MS Form application 

 

When do I need to have booked and paid for the course by?  

By Wednesday 1st June 2022 

 

When is the closing date?  

Friday 22nd April 2022 

 

Who selects the successful applicants?  

DDRP and RDS Panel will offer support to those in scope 

 

Examples of courses that you might choose: 

NCRM research courses  

NCRM training overview 

Oxford Qualitative Courses: Short Courses in Qualitative Research Methods 

Oxford Qualitative Courses – from specialists in qualitative research methods — Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford 

Qualitative Research Methods Courses 

Qualitative Research Methods Courses | University of Oxford (oxforduniversitystores.co.uk) 

 

Examples of methodological support you might choose: 

Residential research retreat 

Research Design Service South West (nihr.ac.uk) 

 

Upcoming Research Impact Workshops – book now!

Training

We have five RKEDF Impact-related workshops coming up over the next month; please use the links below to book onto them via OD:

Impact and Funding Applications: 16th February at 15:00 

Influencing Policy – with Professor Mark Reed: 1st March at 13:00

Getting started with research Impact: what is it?: 8th March at 14:00

Inspirational Impact – a lunchtime seminar with Professor Zulfiqar Khan: 24th March at 13:00

Evidencing Impact – with Saskia Gent: 29th March at 9:30

We’d be delighted to see you there!

If you have any questions, please contact the Impact Advisors – Amanda Lazar or Beth Steiner

 

RKEDF – Research Leadership Programme 2022 Applications open

Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Research Leadership Training Programme 2022

Following on from the successful pre Covid Research Leadership programme, (consistently rated 4+ out of 5), we are running a similar hybrid programme in 2022. This programme supports the development of all academics including Early Career Researchers, Mid-Career Academics, Senior Research Leaders and Associate Professors.

 

Participants will :

  • Be helped to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to lead teams to successfully deliver funded research projects, in line with stakeholder and funder requirements.
  • Gain an understanding of effective team leadership and team working within a research context in order to be able to devise strategies to get the best out of teams in the challenging environment of research.
  • Be equipped with an understanding of their strengths and limitations in order to be confident in developing their leadership skills in line with their career stage and future aspirations and be more confident to expand their funded research activities.

 

Quotes from last cohort:

“Totally relevant to tasks we have to undertake and very enjoyable learning experience”, (Early Career);

“Excellent workshop, learned a lot of useful information I didn’t know”, (Mid-Career); and

“Fantastic tools were given for future leaders both in research and academic leadership”, (Senior Research Leader).

 

Further details can be found here

Please apply  here. The deadline is the 14th March 2022.

*Please be aware that is NOT a course on bid writing.*

 

If you have any queries, please contact  hhenderson@bournemouth.ac.uk

Sign up Sign up: British Academy ECR Network Southwest Hub

Knowledge Exchange

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

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

BU support available to increase bid quality – research fundamentals

You will have seen my blog post last week, which provided you with a number of pointers for submitting a good quality research bid. In case you didn’t, please read it here. I won’t go over the same information, but do read it if you want to know about the application timeline, BU processes, and what support information is available to you when writing a bid.

This week, RDS and academics will provide you with a series of blog posts about what makes a good quality bid, what success looks like, and how the RDS Research Facilitators can support you. To start your week off, I’ve outlined below some of the options available to support you with research bidding.

Let’s start with what’s available to you under the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework (RKEDF). We will shortly be publicising a range of opportunities to progress your research bids at BU. Do keep an eye on OD’s Calendar of Events for upcoming activity. We will also be posting when new opportunities are finalised.

  • Research Council Development Scheme –  is a coordinated, targeted set of activities designed to inspire and equip BU researchers to achieve greater success with Research Council funding. The third cohort was cancelled due to the pandemic. This will be reintroduced in early 2022 to those on the third cohort. Any vacancies to join the cohort will be advertised.
  • Faculty Grant Hubs – led by RDS and academics, this was trialled in FMC in the summer and will be rolled out to the other faculties in due course. The Grant Hubs tend to be four sessions held over a month for academic staff (mainly ECRs), and include advice by experienced academics on how to write a research application, a writing day, peer review sessions, and EAR (see below) support.
  • Research Leadership Programme (RLP) – ECR and mid-career cohorts – RLP develops and enhances wider research-related skills through workshops, action learning, and progress reports. The focus is on research leadership, project management, networking and dealing with risk and uncertainty.
  • External application reviewers – will be provided to academic staff preparing research proposals to prestigious funders and those identified to work on major and strategic bids. ECRs, NERC standard grants, attendees of the Faculty ‘Grant Hubs’ and other bid writing sessions, and cohort members of the RCDS, will also be given priority to work with an EAR.

In addition to the above, we will run ad hoc bid writing sessions for certain calls. STEAMLabs will be held for each SIA and Global Engagement, to form collaborations and generate bids. We will continue with the weekly funder briefings. There will be a fair bit of training on research methods this year, as well as many more opportunities. Therefore, keep an eye on the blog for what’s new and upcoming.

What’s available on the blog?

The Research Funders Toolkit contains a host of information to support you when bidding for research. The Research Funders’ Guide gives an overview of the main funders, including links to their essential documents. Do explore these two resources for the latest information. Not sure where to start? Our Research Lifecycle guides you through all aspects of research and includes useful links to essential information to help you in your research career. Finally, it also helps you identify your RDS support and faculty contacts. Meet the RDS team here.

I hope that’s given you a ‘starter for ten’ in terms of developing your research at BU and contributing to the research aims within BU2025. On Friday, there will be a post about RDS Research Facilitators and what they can do to support you. Do remember that you also have a Faculty Research Mentor to help guide you through the world of academic research.

Good luck and once you have been awarded your grant, our skilled Project Delivery team are there the rest of the way to help you manage your funding. More from them in the next few weeks.

Academics – we need your help!

BU has a subscription to LinkedIn Learning. This is a brilliant resource for supporting staff in developing all areas of their roles.

As part of the RKE Development Framework, we want to put together a suite of videos that are related to research activities, that can then be made available to all academics. Our first focus will be on all things related to planning research projects and bidding for funding. This will include tips on writing excellent bids, research methods, through to impact, and everything else in between.

As LinkedIn Learning is so huge, we’re asking for suggestions on videos that you have found helpful with the above. Please can you send any suggestions (with their links) to ResearchDev@bournemouth.ac.uk ?

Thank you!