Monday, 29 December 2008

Up to 3.5m Euros funding for "Frontier Research"

ERC Advanced Investigators Grant 2009 (ERC-2009-AdG_20090415 for Social Sciences and Humanities)

The objective of the Advanced Grant is to encourage and support excellent, innovative investigator-initiated research projects by leading advanced investigators across the EU Member States and Associated Countries.

European Research Council (ERC) grants support projects which are carried out by individual research teams headed by a single Principal Investigator (PI) of any nationality and, if necessary, include additional team members. These teams may be of national or trans-national character.

The PI is expected to devote at least 30% of his/her workload to the ERC funded project, while spending at least 50% of his/her total workload in Europe (EU Member
State or Associated Country).

ERC grants aim to support "Frontier Research", in other words the pursuit of questions at or beyond the frontiers of knowledge, without regard for established disciplinary boundaries. Applications can be made in any field of research - including the social sciences and humanities - with particular emphasis on the frontier of science, scholarship and engineering. In particular, proposals of an interdisciplinary nature which cross the boundaries between different fields of research, pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research or proposals introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and scientific inventions are encouraged, as long as the expected impact on science, scholarship or engineering is significant.

Depending on the specific project and field, the level of these grants may be up to EUR 3.500.000 for a period of 5 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). Normally, however, grants will be limited to a maximum of EUR 2.500.000 unless the application involves specific features requiring a higher level of support: a 'Co-Investigator project'; requirement to purchase major research equipment, or a PI who is coming from a third country to establish a research team and activity at a host institution in a EU Member State or Associated Country.

An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution towards indirect costs, which cannot exceed 20% of the total eligible direct costs.

This information has been extracted from the "ERC Grant Schemes Guide for Applicants December 2008".

Deadline: 15 April 2009 at 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)

Full details of the ERC-2009-AdG_20090415 call are available on the Cordis website at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.IdeasDetailsCallPage&call_id=187

The competition for this funding will be fierce and the assessment is strongly weighted to the quality of the PI alone. In order for an application to stand the best chance of success, we recommend a long lead time for the application preparation, and internal peer review to strengthen the presentation of the proposal.

European funding opportunity for staff exchanges and networking

Marie Curie Action - international research staff exchange scheme - FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IRSES

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals for Marie Curie Action - international research staff exchange scheme under its Framework 7 programme (FP7). The aim of this scheme is to strengthen research partnerships through staff exchanges and networking activities between European research organisations and organisations from other countries.

This action will provide support to research organisations to establish or reinforce long-term research cooperation through a coordinated joint programme of exchange of researchers for short periods.

Financial support will be provided for a period of 24 to 48 months to joint programmes aiming at transnational mobility of researchers, technical and management staff. The duration of exchange for each researcher or technical/ management staff will be for a maximum duration of 12 months. The staff to be exchanged should be seconded, so as to guarantee full reintegration and the positive recognition of the mobility experience, thus maximising the benefit of the action for long term cooperation.

Deadline: 5pm Brussels local time, 27 March 2009

Full details of the FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IRSES call are available on the Cordis website at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=174

EU funding applications generally involve a lot of work and are highly competitive. You need to allow plenty of time (we advise 3 months) to prepare your application and to receive advice about how to strengthen it, to give it the best chance of success. Before considering making an application, please read the eligibility criteria in the full call (not just the summary) carefully and make sure that you meet all the criteria. Please make sure that you give as much notice as you possibly can to the administrators who will need to support you with financial information.

European funding for researcher training and development

Marie Curie Action - European reintegration grants - FP7-PEOPLE-ERG-2009

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals for Marie Curie Action European reintegration grants under its Framework 7 programme (FP7). The total budget for this programme is 31 million Euros.

This call is limited in its eligibility, in that it is aimed at supporting training and career development of researchers who have previously had funding from FP7 or a previous framework programme of at least 18 months full-time equivalent.

Eligible researchers must, at the time of the relevant deadline, either be in possession of a doctoral degree, irrespective of the time taken to acquire it, or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience. Researchers must also be nationals, or assimilated nationals, of a member state or associated country.

Deadline: applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with cut-off dates of 5pm Brussels local time 2 April and 8 October 2009; the call remains open until a subsequent call is published but no longer than 5pm, Brussels local time 31 December 2009.

Full details of the call are available on the Cordis website at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=168

If you are considering applying for any EU grant to enable you to join the Open University Faculty of Arts as a researcher, you must have a 'sponsor' academic from the Faculty supporting your application. EU funding applications generally involve a lot of work and are highly competitive. You need to allow plenty of time (we advise 3 months) to prepare your application and to receive advice about how to strengthen it, to give it the best chance of success. So you should have contact with a willing sponsor who is familiar with your work at least 3 months ahead of the deadline. Before considering making an approach, please read the eligibility criteria in the full call (not just the summary) carefully and make sure that you meet all the criteria.

Monday, 22 December 2008

Two year AHRC Early Career Grant success for the Music Department

Dr Laura Leante has been awarded an AHRC Early Career Grant of over £168,000 for a two year project that will start in October 2009. The project, Reception of performance in North Indian classical music, will involve studying various ways in which performance is experienced by those who participate in it (including both musicians and listeners). The study of performance won't be limited to the artists and the music they make, but will be extended to elements which have often been considered as part of performance 'context' rather than performance per se - with particular emphasis on audience response and interpersonal dynamics.

This study will involve comparing music made in two distinct North Indian regions, and this will allow Dr Leante to determine how the reception of music performance relates to cultural background and context.

Dr Laura Leante and Prof Martin Clayton are co-organising the XXV European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM), which will be taking place in September 2009. For more information see: http://www.esem-music.eu/

Saturday, 20 December 2008

Yale Centre for British Art - Visiting Scholarships (up to 4 months)

The Yale Center for British Art offers residential awards ranging from one to four months to scholars undertaking postdoctoral or equivalent research related to British art. These awards allow scholars of literature, history, the history of art, and related fields to study the Center’s holdings of paintings, drawings, prints, rare books, and manuscripts. The Center also offers several pre-doctoral residential awards ranging from one to two months for graduate students writing doctoral dissertations in the field of British art.

Visiting Scholar awards include the cost of travel to and from New Haven and also provide accommodations and a living allowance. Recipients are required to be in residence in New Haven and must be free of all other significant professional responsibilities during their stay.

Applications to become a visiting scholar between July 2009 and June 2010 must reach the YCBA by January 16, 2009. It is too late to apply for this deadline, but if this is something that is applicable and of interest it is worth looking at this again around September/October 2009 for an application in January 2010.

For more information see: http://ycba.yale.edu/education/edu_fellowships.html

Open University lecturer wins prestigious French literature prize

Tim Benton, Professor of Art History at The Open University, has just been announced the joint winner of the Prix du Livre by the Academie d’Architecture in France. The award is the most prestigious prize for books about architecture in the French language and he shares it with architect and architectural historian Philippe Prost.

Professor Benton’s book Le Corbusier conférencier, is a collection of numerous excerpts, preliminary notes, accompanying drawings, and photographs that architect Le Corbusier produced for his lectures. It covers the period 1924 – 1929 and analyses the construction, content and use of verbal and visual aids.

By using manuscript notes and eyewitness accounts, Professor Benton was able to reconstruct the content of unscripted presentations, thereby unlocking a completely new perspective on Le Corbusier’s thinking.

The book was selected from a shortlist of eight, nominated by a jury of architects, historians and critics. Commenting on his award, Professor Benton said: “I am extremely excited by the jury’s selection of my book, since the book is an unusual one and not the typical architectural monograph. I became fascinated with Le Corbusier’s architecture when I first saw it in real life, and the Fondation Le Corbusier’s rich archive has kept me hooked ever since. The richness of the collection is a fascinating and complex challenge for anyone studying it.”

Le Corbusier conférencier was first published in 2007 in French. An English edition, The Rhetoric of Modernism: Le Corbusier as a lecturer will be published in May 2009 by Birkhauser.

Editor's Notes
Tim Benton, Professor of Art History at The Open University, has worked on the architecture of Le Corbusier since 1973. His classic work, The Villas of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, originally published in French in 1984 and in English in 1987, has been reissued in a revised edition in 2006 (French, English and Italian editions). He has worked on numerous exhibitions, including Art Deco 1910-1939 (2003) and Modernism Designing a new world 1914-1939 (2006), both at the V&A.

Tim is a member of the Conseil d’Administration (managing committee) of the Fondation Le Corbusier and is currently chairing a working party producing a comprehensive edition of all Le Corbusier’s lecture notes.

He is the Robert Sterling Clark Visiting Professor of Art History at Williams College, Massachusetts.

Text from OU Press release 18 Dec 2008

Tuesday, 9 December 2008

Open University International Contemporary Writing magazine wins Arts Council funding

Wasafiri: The Magazine of International Contemporary Writing, housed at the OU and edited by Susheila Nasta of the English Department has won an additional grant from the Arts Council of England to support our 25th anniversary year in 2009. Susheila and the Wasafiri team based in Camden (Region 1) will be co-ordinating and organising a series of high profile events in London next year. The grant to support these events is for £36,000. Events will include a live event at the British Library with invited writers talking about the 'Books That Made Me', participation in the London Book Fair (India focus) in partnership with the British Council, the launch of a New Writing Prize (judged by Blake Morrison, Susheila Nasta, Mimi Khalvati, Margaret Busby) and a day of anniversary events at the Festival Hall, South Bank in October 09 including a number of highly distinguished writers.

We will also be publishing a bumper special issue.

This is very good news indeed especially in the current economic climate. The grant supplements our annual award as an Arts Council revenue client.

For more information about Wasafiri see www.wasafiri.org

Edited from email (08/12/08) from Dr Susheila Nasta, Professor of Modern Literature, Editor, Wasafiri.

Thursday, 4 December 2008

Up to £500,000 Big Lottery Funding available for Third Sector Research Programme (UK)

Under this programme, community and voluntary groups are able to apply for grants of between £10,000 and £ 500,000 (and for exceptional projects up to £1 million) for up to five years to undertake research in the areas of social, medical or socio-medical research. Applicant organisations are encouraged to link up with universities and the wider research community, however universities themselves are ineligible to apply for funding. It is expected that the findings from funded research will ultimately lead to the development of better services for people in the UK. The Research programme aims to influence local and national policy and practice by funding VCS organisations to produce and disseminate evidence-based knowledge. In the longer term the programme, through producing sound evidence, aims to help develop better services and support for beneficiaries.

Three pre-application seminars will be held in late January/early February 2009. The dates and venues are:
  • 20 January - Newcastle
  • 27 January - Birmingham
  • 3 February - London
Application Form: Register with the programme on-line. If your registration is accepted you will be sent a password to open the on-line application form.
Deadline: Applications can be submitted at any time up to the 29th May 2009(The previously scheduled Round 2 has been cancelled).
Contact: Research Programme, B329 Harwell, Oxon, OX11 0QJ.
Tel: Research Helpline - 0845 0711068 (textphone 18001 0845 0711068).
Email: researchprogramme@aeat.co.uk
Website: http://www.bigresearchprogramme.org.uk/content.php?key=home

Monday, 1 December 2008

50 awards of up to £15,000 available from ERSC for multi-institutional seminar groups

Seminar Groups are multi-institutional groups of academic researchers, postgraduate students and non-academic users who meet regularly to exchange information and ideas with the aim of advancing research within their fields. Where appropriate, Seminar Group members should be drawn from industry, Government Departments and other relevant organisations as well as from academic institutions. The ESRC would particularly encourage Seminar Groups explicitly designed to bring together leading researchers from across disciplines to identify new research agendas or capacity building priorities.

Funding is available for UK Research Organisations eligible for Research Council Funding to undertake these Research Seminars. For the 2008/09 Competition, the ESRC expects to make approximately 50 awards of up to £15,000 each for a maximum period of two years. Please note that the Seminars Competition is a non-fEC Competition. An additional £3,000 will be made available for applications where a strong case is made for the inclusion of international academics at events, or holding events abroad.

Please check website for further information.

Deadline: 15 January 2009 (watch out in Sept/Oct 2009 for next round)

It is probably too late to apply for this year if you haven't already been working on a bid, but we have included in the blog to be aware of it for next year.

British Academy Visiting Fellowships (up to 6 months)

The Academy's Visiting Fellowships scheme enables early-career scholars from overseas working in any branch of the humanities or social sciences to apply, in conjunction with a UK host academic, to spend two to six months undertaking a clearly specified research project in the United Kingdom.

Candidates must demonstrate great promise and show that they would benefit from time to pursue their research in the United Kingdom. The Academy regards the host's engagement with the visitor as crucial in ensuring a successful visit. Applications will be prioritised where the host demonstrates a strong interest in the visit, where it is clear that the visitor will be well supported and mentored, and where the mutual benefits are explained.

Part of the funding is allocated for candidates from Africa, and part for candidates from Latin America and the Caribbean. Some funding will also be allocated to candidates from China.

The Academy will grant the title of British Academy Visiting Fellow, and award funding to meet the costs of the visit.

Next deadline: Monday 12th January 2009 (there will be future deadlines to look out for)

See http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/intl/visfellsnfa.cfm for more information.

Please check website for up to date guidance before making any application. If you wish to be a Visiting Fellow with the Open University Faculty of Arts, you will need a full-time academic from the faculty to sponsor you, and they will need to have discussed your proposed application with the Research and Enterprise Support Team (REST) at least 4 weeks before you intend to submit your application.

Social/professional networking site for academics

Forget Facebook, Dr Richard Price of Oxford University, with a team of people from Stanford and Cambridge, has launched a new networking site aimed at academics: http://www.academia.edu

Dr Price says that the site has two functions:

"1 It shows academics around the world structured in a 'tree' format, displayed according to their departmental and institutional affiliations.

2 It enables academics to see news on the latest research in their area the latest people, papers and talks."

Even if you are not in a current contract with a university there is a place for Independent researchers - "Independent Researchers" portion of the tree at http://independent.academia.edu

Information edited from an email date: Wed, 26 Nov 2008
From: progers@MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU
Subject: Announcing "Academia.edu" - Tree of Academics Launches

Thursday, 27 November 2008

Up to £2,500 available for historical study of Asia

A new British Academy call has been issued for the Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund Awards. The purpose of these awards is the encouragement of research on the antiquities or historical geography or early history or arts of those parts of Asia which come within the sphere of the ancient civilisations of India, China, and Iran, including Central Asia. The Awards are normally tenable for up to 12 months. In general, awards do not exceed £2,500.

The deadline for applications is 15 March 2009. Awards will be announced at the end of June 2009.

Details and application forms are available from: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/sanfa.cfm

If you are considering applying for this funding, please contact Arts-REST. It will need to go through the normal RED form approval process.

Up to £2,000 to study Western Medieval Manuscripts

The British Academy has issued a new call for applications for the Neil Ker Memorial Fund Awards. The aims of the Neil Ker Memorial Fund are to promote the study of Western medieval manuscripts, in particular those of British interest. Normally, grants will only be given for monographs, secondary works, editions or studies of documents, texts or illustrations, that include analysis of the distinctive features of original manuscripts. Awards are normally tenable for up to 12 months. In general, awards do not exceed £2,000.

The deadline for applications is 15 March 2009 for awards to be taken up on or after 1 July 2009. Awards will be announced at the end of June 2009.

Details and application forms are available from: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/nkmf.cfm

If you are considering applying for this funding, please contact Arts-REST. It will need to go through the normal RED form approval process.

Monday, 17 November 2008

Open University researcher receives prestigious prize for putting Renaissance Rome on art history map.

Dr Carol Richardson, Lecturer in Art History at The Open University, has scooped one of the prestigious Philip Leverhulme prizes for 2008. The prizes, worth £70,000 each, are awarded to outstanding young scholars who have made a substantial and recognised contribution to their particular field of study.

One of Dr Richardson’s most significant research achievements to date has been to help put Renaissance Rome on the art historical map. Her scholarly initiatives and substantial archival research have enabled a series of articles, book chapters, conferences and international seminars, and a forthcoming monograph and edited collection, which have redrawn and enriched cultural and art historical assumptions about Renaissance Rome. Her work addresses the relationship between history, culture and art, as is illustrated in her pioneering studies of artefacts created to mark, celebrate or defend monuments of triumph and crisis in Papal Rome.

In her nomination, Professor Gill Perry, Head of Art History, praised Dr Richardson for being a researcher of exceptional abilities, and said: “Her commitment to disseminate and enhance art historical research has led to the production of several important collaborative publications and projects, and her planned future research shows enormous promise.”

Commenting on the award, Dr Richardson said: “I am delighted to receive recognition for this exciting part of my work. Renaissance Rome is generally viewed as a poor cousin of Florence, and my research involves careful reconstruction of fifteenth century monuments, those in old St. Peter’s being the prime example; close scrutiny of some renaissance stereotypes, such as the unchanging nature of the papacy; and an approach that combines the study of art, architecture, archaeology, religion and history.”

Dr Richardson's book "Reclaiming Rome: Cardinals in the Fifteenth Century" will be available from Brill in Spring 2009. For more information see: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=23897

For full list of Philip Leverhulme Prize 2008 winners see: http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/PLP/2008

Friday, 14 November 2008

The Nuffield Foundation - Social Science Small Grants Scheme

This Scheme makes small grants for social science research expenses. Awards are normally up to £7,500, although in exceptional circumstances awards may be made of up to a maximum of £12,000. The Scheme has no closing date. Applicants must be resident and working at a UK institution, although the research may be undertaken outside the UK.

The Scheme has three priorities for funding:
  • projects that develop social science research capacity particularly by supporting the work of those new to social science research;

  • self-contained or pilot or preliminary projects that address the wider objects of the Foundation, namely a broad concern with the 'advancement of social well-being';

  • outstanding small projects in the social sciences.
These grants are intended for self-contained research projects in the social sciences, including pilot studies. Their main purpose is to meet the cost of research assistance, research materials, data collection and analysis, and travel and subsistence in this country and overseas.

All applicants to the Social Science Schemes need to comply with Nuffield Foundation policy on independent ethical scrutiny.

Please read the statement on the ethical review of research projects before completing your application. You must address this issue in the research statement you submit as part of your application.

Elgibility
The Nuffield Foundation make awards only to people who have a post with a permanent contract, or a research contract of three years or more, in a university or independent research institute in the United Kingdom. The grants are administered by the researcher’s institution and are not paid to applicants personally.

You can apply to the Scheme even if you have applied before, once any current award is completed. Each project will be judged on its merits, but they accept resubmissions only if these have been invited by trustees.

Exclusions
Research students, whether working for a PhD or other higher degrees, are NOT eligible.

Grants are not usually given for:
  • subsistence for work from home

  • attendance at conferences or courses

  • conferring with colleagues in other institutions

  • the organisation or holding of academic conferences or seminars

  • the purchase of computer hardware or software

  • work in progress or projects that are already grant aided (but see point 9 in Notes for completing the application form)

  • literature and systematic reviews

  • publication and printing costs

  • health and medical research
The Scheme does not cover replacement teaching costs, nor does it pay salaries of permanent university staff in receipt of the HEFCE subsidy.

Information from www.nuffieldfoundation.org on 14/11/08.
Please check website for up to date guidance before making any application and if you are a member of staff in the OU faculty of Arts, please make sure you discuss your proposed application with the Research and Enterprise Support Team (REST) at least 4 weeks before you intend to submit your application.

For more information see: http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/go/grants/smallgrants/page_123.html

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

Lessons from the past: Modern religious history explored

Fascinating insights into the history of modern religion in the UK will be revealed by a unique knowledge exchange partnership between The Open University, King’s College London and the Church of England. The project, funded by a £234,000 Knowledge Transfer grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, should bring the Church a better understanding of lessons from its own history and so help to inform Church interactions with wider society.

Over three years, beginning this November, historians Professor John Wolffe (The Open University) and Professor Arthur Burns (King’s College London) will be working closely with the diocese of London and Lambeth Palace Library – the leading national repository for English religious history - on the project, Modern Religious History and the Contemporary Church. They will be unlocking the rich archives in the Library’s care to bring valuable historical insights on current challenges facing clergy, congregations and the broader multi-ethnic community of contemporary London. Seminars to discuss historical insights into modern-day problems will be convened with leading figures in the diocese responsible for formulating both diocesan and national policy, while the project will also establish training programmes for clergy and other local leaders to provide historical perspectives on practical concerns.

The last twenty years have transformed academic understanding of the place of religion in modern English society, and produced a sophisticated appreciation of the dynamics of the Anglican church's relations with both national and local communities, as a pastoral and missionary enterprise, as an influence on public policy, and as a community in an increasingly multifaith environment. This project will enable these insights to be shared with much wider groups of people.

John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History at The Open University, said: “The project will give historians of modern British religion invaluable exposure to the current thinking of an institution central to their work. Much historical scholarship and many of the original documents available in archives and libraries, provide invaluable insight relevant to many current challenges. There are striking contemporary parallels with many of the issues that confronted the Victorian and Edwardian church.”

Arthur Burns, Professor of Modern British History at King’s College London added: ”While knowledge transfer between the Humanities and cultural institutions such as galleries and museums is well established, projects like this will provide invaluable experience in the ways insights from the Humanities can be applied in institutions less directly concerned in the cultural sphere or education.”

(Press Release date 04/11/08)

Monday, 3 November 2008

AHRC Standard Grants move to open deadlines

Next year, the AHRC will move to ‘open deadlines’ for research grant applications. This means that from January 2009 applicants will be able to submit standard, speculative and early career research grant applications at any time without having to worry about submitting for specific deadlines.

If you are thinking about, or working on, a bid and have in mind that you want to submit in January, early consultation with a member of REST is advised, please email Arts-REST in the first instance.

We also have had advance notification of some other changes to the application and approval process. There may be an additional couple of sections asking the applicant to consider who the beneficiaries of the research will be and asking you to outline how the project will ensure these beneficiaries benefit. Also, the AHRC will be seeking three peer reviews and the panels will be operating in a moderating rather than a re-reviewing role.

The March 2009 closing date of the research leave scheme is not affected by this move to open dates for research grants nor are any other deadlines under strategic programmes or other funding schemes.

New Round of Newton Fellowships

A new round of Newton Fellowships - an initiative to fund research collaborations and improve links between UK and overseas researchers - has opened.

The Newton International Fellowships are funded by the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society and aim to attract the most promising post-doctoral researchers working overseas in the fields of humanities, engineering, natural and social sciences. The Fellowships enable researchers to work for two years with a UK research institution, thus establishing long-term international collaborations.

The funding will be distributed in the form of 50 research fellowships, awarded annually, each providing support of up to £100,000 for a two year placement. The scheme is open to post-doctoral (and equivalent) early-career researchers working outside the UK who do not hold UK citizenship.

The closing date for applications is Monday 12 January 2009.

Further details are available from the Newton International Fellowships website: www.newtonfellowships.org or call 00 44 (0)20 7451 2559

Newton International Fellowships 6-9 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AG tel: +44 (0)20 7451 2559 fax: +44 (0)20 7451 2543

British Academy invites applications for its Visiting Fellowships schemes

The British Academy is pleased to announce a call for applications for its Visiting Fellowship scheme, and for the joint British Academy, AHRC and ESRC Visiting Fellowships for South Asia and the Middle East. The schemes are intended to enable early-career overseas postdoctoral academics to come to the UK for two to six months in order to carry out research in a British institution, in conjunction with a UK academic.

The general scheme is open to application by any scholar from outside the UK, and the British Academy, AHRC and ESRC scheme to scholars from the Middle East and South Asia (a list of eligible countries is available on the scheme website).

Applicants should have obtained a PhD after January 2003, or be able to demonstrate equivalent status. Application must be made with a UK-based academic sponsor whose home institution is willing to host the visit.

The closing date for applications is Monday 12 January 2009, for visits to take place after 1 May 2009.

Further information together with application forms and notes of guidance (for both candidates and host institutions) are available from the Academy's website: http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A8610669366696526416866373421&tId=7617289 or email vf@britac.ac.uk or call 020 7969 5220.

Saturday, 18 October 2008

Internal deadline 8th October - call for CO-REACH Social Science Collaborative Research between Europe & China

Below is a link to the call for CO-REACH Social Science Collaborative Research between Europe & China. This is a two stage bidding process and the deadline for the first stage is the 28th October 2008. The REST team presently have a considerable number of bids to be submitted in October so we ask that you let us know, by emailing Arts-REST, by 8th October 2008, if you would like to submitted a bid to this programme.

http://www.britac.ac.uk/intl/co_reach_ssprogramme.cfm

Regards
The REST team

The RED Form process for internal approval

A new bid approval process started in the Arts faculty in August 2008 called the RED form. (RED = "Research and Enterprise Development"). This form replaces the blue and pink forms.

The new procedure has a semi-electronic approval process - emails confirming approval will be accepted rather than signatures, which means signatories do not have to be in the office to approve a bid.

If you are considering making an application to any funder you will need to send an email to the Arts-REST email box to obtain the electronic form, which will be sent to you with a unique reference number. It is advisable to let us know at least 20 working days before the deadline if you are thinking of making an application so that we can plan our workload. You need to aim to have completed your application at least 2 weeks before the deadline to allow time for the internal approval process.

Faculty of Arts, Research and Enterprise Support Team (REST)
See: http://intranet.open.ac.uk/arts/p5_3.shtml for more information about the work of the team.