Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships now open

Early career fellowships are aimed at those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers but with a proven record of research. One would anticipate that a Fellowship would lead to a more permanent academic position. Applicants are welcome from any discipline – approximately 70 fellowships will be available in 2010

Applicants criteria
May not currently hold, or have already held, a full-time established (i.e. permanent) academic position in a UK University or comparable institution in the UK.
Should normally hold a degree from a UK higher education institution by the time of taking up the Fellowship. Those without a UK degree will be considered if, at the time of application, they hold an academic position in the UK. It is likely that applications from candidates having an association with the UK academic community of less than two years' duration will be strengthened by a move of employing institution.
Should normally be under age 35 and hold an awarded doctorate or have equivalent research experience at the time of taking up the award. Applications from those aged 35 and over will be considered if they began their academic studies at a later age than is usual or if they have had a career change or break.
May, when registered for a doctorate, apply only if they have submitted their doctoral thesis by the closing date, and confirmation of this will be required as part of the application procedure.

Value
The Trust will contribute 50% of each Fellow's total salary costs up to a maximum of £23,000 per annum and the balance is to be paid by the host institution. Given the prestige of the awards each Fellow may request annual research expenses of up to £6000 to further his or her research activities.


Duration
Fellowships are available for either two or three years on a full-time basis, but requests to hold the award part-time over a proportionately longer period will be considered if this is appropriate for the nature of the research proposed and the career development of the individual. Fellowships will commence between the beginning of the 2010/2011 academic year and 1 May 2011.


Application Procedure
Applications through online application form. Applications must be submitted online by the closing date and time of 4.00pm on 11 March 2010.

Result will be reported, by letter, by the end of May 2010.

For further information visit http://www.leverhulme.org.uk/

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

Deadline to notify REST of intention to bid: 12 October 2009
Faculty deadline to complete application form: 9 November 2009

The British Academy launched its new online electronic grant administration processing system, e-GAP2, on 20 August 2009. If you are thinking of applying to one of the research grant programmes it is worth learning about e-GAP2 (see: http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=1136) and you can register as a user as soon as the call opens so that you can see what is required for the application.

Postdoctoral Fellowships provide a career development opportunity for outstanding early career researchers who have not yet been appointed to a permanent academic post, to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment, offering employment for three years.

• Research beginning on or after: 1 September 2010
• Annual competition (two-stage process)
• Applications available from: 28 September 2009. It will not be possible to access application forms before these dates. Paper-based applications will not be accepted.
• Funder deadline for submission of outline proposals: 26 November 2009
• Results of outline stage expected: January 2010
• A smaller group of the most outstanding applicants will then be invited to submit second-stage applications for a deadline in March 2010, final decisions in May.

For full guidance on Postdoctoral Fellowships see: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/pdfells.cfm

For details of all the recently announced British Academy deadlines see: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/index.cfm

British Academy Overseas Conference Grants

Deadline to notify REST of intention to bid: 16 October 2009
Faculty deadline to complete application form: 30 October 2009

The British Academy launched its new online electronic grant administration processing system, e-GAP2, on 20 August 2009. If you are thinking of applying to one of the research grant programmes it is worth learning about e-GAP2 (see: http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=1136) and you can register as a user as soon as the call opens so that you can see what is required for the application.

Overseas Conference Grants are simple travel grants towards the travel expenses of scholars delivering a paper at a conference overseas.

• Two rounds annually
• Applications available from: 1 October 2009. It will not be possible to access application forms before these dates. Paper-based applications will not be accepted.
• Funder deadline for submission of applications: 16 November 2009
• Results expected: end December 2009
• Conferences taking place on or after: 1 January 2010

For full guidance on Overseas Conference Grants see: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/ocg.cfm

For details of all the recently announced British Academy deadlines see: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/index.cfm

Briefing Events for Researchers Considering Applying for ERC Starting Grants

Following the launch of the latest Call for Starting Grants, on 30 July 2009, the UK Research Office (UKRO) is organising a series of information events for researchers who are based in the UK or moving to the UK and who are interested in applying for European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants.

Each session is geared to providing participants with an overview of the ERC in FP7, focusing on the Starting Grant Scheme and the most recent call, and also to giving attendees a deeper understanding of the proposals format and the key issues in planning, writing and costing a Starting Grant proposal.

The sessions will be held in the following locations:

• University of Sheffield, 3 Sept 2009;
• Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 7 Sept 2009;
• Royal Veterinary College, University of London, 14 Sept 2009;
• University of Cambridge, 21 Sept 2009;
• Brunel University, London, 22 Sept 2009.

Two identical sessions will be held at each venue, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is only necessary to attend one session. Both sessions will provide an overview of the ERC and will focus on the application process for the ERC Starting Grants. There will be opportunities to ask questions during each session.

There is no charge to attend and places can be booked on-line at http://www.ukro.bbsrc.ac.uk/erc/events_ukro/

Background Information
The Ideas programme is one of the specific programmes of FP7. Implemented by the European Research Council (ERC) independently of the rest of FP7, individual projects of scientific excellence proposed by truly creative scientists, engineers and scholars can be funded. Activities of “frontier research” can be across disciplines, including engineering, social science and the humanities.

Two funding streams support researchers, namely the ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant (referred to as the Starting Grant) and the ERC Advanced Investigator Grant (referred to as the Advanced Grant). Application follows calls for proposals.

The ERC Starting Grants aim to provide critical and adequate support to the independent careers of excellent researchers, whatever their nationality, located in or moving to the EU Member States and Associated Countries, who are at the stage of starting or consolidating their own independent research team or, depending on the field, their independent research programme.

The ERC Advanced Grants aim to encourage and support excellent, innovative investigator-initiated research projects by leading advanced investigators across the EU Member States and Associated Countries. This funding stream complements the Starting Grant scheme by targeting researchers who have already established themselves as being independent research leaders in their own right.

Internal approval process for bids

If you are thinking of applying for ANY external funding - whether for research, enterprise, teaching or any other activity - you need to let the University know and receive the relevant approvals. Depending on the circumstances, this may take a few weeks. There is a new page on the intranet which outlines the processes with an explanation of which form to use for each type of funding. This can be found at: http://intranet.open.ac.uk/developmentoffice/project-funding/

If you are a member of the Arts Faculty, please notify the Research and Enterprise Team at Arts-REST of any planned funding bids or negotiations.

ESRC new strategic plan increases focus on impact

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) released its Strategic Plan for 2009-14 on 21 July. It outlines the research council’s goals and objectives for the next five years, including a greater concentration on the impact of its research.

"The social sciences are essential to developing the international competitiveness of UK business and the wellbeing of citizens in the UK and beyond. Providing a high quality social science knowledge and evidence base, which is at the heart of the ESRC's mission, is fundamental to addressing a range of economic and social issues within the UK and globally. To achieve this, active two-way dialogue and collaboration between social scientists and potential users throughout the research process and beyond is crucial."

For more information and to download a full copy of the Strategic Plan go to: http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/strategicplan/

AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship scheme - next deadline 12 November 2009

The Knowledge Transfer (KT) Fellowship Scheme is designed to support academics to undertake a programme of knowledge transfer activity in a flexible way. The knowledge transfer project should be planned around an existing piece of arts or humanities research which has the potential to make a significant difference beyond the world of academia. KT Fellows may work either on their own or as part of an academic team, to collaborate with, and bring tangible benefits to, non-academic organisations through a process of knowledge exchange. These benefits may be economic, social or cultural in nature.

Researchers can apply to work on the project on either a full time or part time basis for between 4 months and 3 years. The award can be between £5,000 and £1 million on a full economic cost basis.

The Knowledge Transfer Fellowships scheme has two closing dates each year, in November and May. The next closing date will be 12 November 2009, at 4pm. A revised scheme guide will be available in August, and the J-eS system will open for applications to this round at the same time.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/KTFellowshipScheme.aspx

For more general information about Knowledge Transfer see the RCUK Knowledge Transfer Portal: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/innovation/ktportal/default.htm

AHRC Fellowships - early career researchers scheme launched

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will accept applications for their early career researchers fellowship scheme from 1st September (open deadlines). The early career route aims to enable the AHRC to work in partnership with institutions to support the career development of researchers at the start of their careers and to provide them with focused research time.

The Fellowships scheme provides salary and associated costs for periods of three to nine months, to enable an individual researcher to work on a specified research project or programme. The Fellowship can be used to support a wide range of research activities provided that these lead to significant specified research and other outputs by the end of the Fellowship, including the preparation of publications and other outputs from research conducted prior to the start of the Fellowship. Proposals for full economic costs up to a maximum of £120,000 may be submitted.

The early career route aims to enable the AHRC to work in partnership with institutions to support the career development of researchers at the start of their careers and to provide them with focused research time and appropriate support and mentoring so that they can broaden their research experience and enhance their research outputs profile. In order to apply to this route, applicants must meet additional eligibility criteria as outlined in the AHRC Funding Guide.

The Fellowships scheme (Standard and Early Career routes) operates with open deadlines. This means that applicants can submit Fellowship applications at any time without having to worry about submitting for specific deadlines.

Applications to this scheme can be submitted at any time from 1 September 2009.

Please note that the assessment process for applications submitted to the Fellowships scheme (Standard and Early Career routes) takes approximately 30 weeks and the earliest start date for a project should be no earlier than 9 months after submission to the AHRC.

If any researchers associated with the Open University Faculty of Arts are intending to apply to this programme, they must contact the Research & Enterprise Support Team (REST) for confirmation of the full economic cost of their proposal and to receive the necessary internal approvals to allow the application to be submitted. Please notify the team of your intention to make an application at least 4 weeks before the date that you intend to submit your bid.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/Fellowshipserc.aspx

AHRC Science & Heritage Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Science and Heritage Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to support outstanding early career researchers to carry out research and so establish an independent research career in heritage science.

The duration of the Fellowship is equivalent to 3 years full-time and they are open to researchers with no more than 5 years post-doctoral or equivalent experience.

The funding will cover Fellow’s salary and a small amount of travel and subsistence, equipment and consumables.

The deadline is 4pm Thursday 10th September 2009

AHRC is administering this call on behalf of AHRC and EPSRC. Please ensure that you have read the Details of the Call and the Specification document carefully before making your application. For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/Fellowshipspdsciher.aspx

New round of AHRC Fellowships in the Creative and Performing Arts closing September 2009

As well as the 14 May deadline for the pilot Fellowships in the Creative and Performing Arts mentioned in our earlier blog posting, there will be another round of with a closing date of 24 September 2009.

This scheme aims to support artists - by which they are referring to visual artists, performers, musicians, creative writers, poets, and other producers of original creative work - as research fellows within a research environment. Details of the scheme should be available by late June 2009. Please check the AHRC website for details.

Beyond the PhD - A Career Resource for Arts and Humanities PhD Researchers

Beyond the PhD is a website which provides the opportunity to listen in on the experiences of a range of different people from different backgrounds, ages and stages of life who have been through the PhD in an arts and humanities discipline and made the transition into a variety of work beyond it. The site has audio and video clips and articles relevant to development for early career researchers.

Beyond the PhD has been developed by Shauna Concannon, Julia Horn, Jessica March, Finbar Mulholland, Catherine Reynolds and Rachel Stewart at the Centre for Career Management Skills (CCMS) a HEFCE funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Reading. Others closely involved in the development of this site include: Glued, the CCMS postgraduate Group, Cindy Becker, Janet Metcalfe at Vitae, Jo Moyle and Sally Pawlik. The development of the web site was contributed to through surveys, focus groups and user-testing by postgraduate researchers at the University of Reading and the University of Sussex.

Link to the site: http://www.beyondthephd.co.uk/

AHRC Religion and Society Small Grants

The Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Religion and Society Programme is offering approximately eight Small Research Grants. These grants will support projects from less established as well as established senior scholars, and from those wishing to undertake small scale innovative or short projects of up to one year.

The project can be for between £20,000 and £100,000 Full Economic Cost (fEC).

The recently introduced requirements of Impact Summary, Academic Beneficiaries and Impact Plan are compulsory for proposals submitted for this scheme.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 4pm on the 30th April 2009.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/ReligionandSociety-SmallGrants.aspx

Fellowship Program Research in Germany for PhD Student - Travel and living costs

The Gottlieb Daimler und Karl Benz-Foundation offer awards of up to £2,300 to enable PhD students working towards a dissertation to undertake a research stay in a German host institution.

A period of study or traineeship at a foreign research institution is likely to represent an important milestone in the career of a young researcher. With its fellowship program the foundation offers both German and foreign PhD students the chance to get acquainted with a different scholastic system and to pave the way, through successful academic cooperation, for long-lasting relationships.

The program is open to all disciplines, subjects and countries. Germans wishing to pursue a research stay abroad and foreign students intending to work in Germany in connection with their PhD may apply. The support provided by the Foundation is for a maximum period of 2 years.

Applicants should not be older than 30, and must have been awarded their most recent academic degree (Master’s degree or Diploma degree) within the last year at the time of the application deadline.

Fellowships are granted for the sole purpose of covering living costs in the host country. The Foundation does not fund tuition fees, materials, supporting staff, stays in the candidate’s home country or outside of the host institution, or travel costs within the research project. Max award £2,300.

Closing date: 1st October 2009 (Two deadlines each year 1 March and 1 October)

For more information see: http://www.daimler-benz-stiftung.de/home/fellowship/en/start.html

Research Funding Bidding Training

Bidding for Funding Workshop: The Ongoing Bidding Process
Facilitators: Mike Stewart, Department of Life Sciences and ANO
Venue: Research Meeting Room, 2nd floor, Library
Date: Thursday 2 April 2009
Time: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm (tbc)

The workshop for OU staff will cover topics as diverse as:

• What makes a good bid;
• Building up and managing your bid portfolio;
• What stops you bidding;
• Building a support structure;

The target audience is Early Career Researchers, and all other researchers looking to build up their bid portfolio.

To register:
If you would like to attend, you can enrol directly by using the Staff Learning Management System (LMS): http://staff-lms.open.ac.uk/staff-lms/

Click on View my own Learning and Development.
Click on Search and register for scheduled learning events and waiting lists
Click on Strategy Unit classes.
Click on search
Look for code: SU/R/BID Date: 2/04/09
Title: Bidding for Funding : The Ongoing Bidding Process

Or alternatively please contact research-training-development@open.ac.uk.

The Bidding for Funding Workshop Series
The 2008-09 series of eight Bidding for Funding workshops will provide information and advice on grant writing to researchers at the OU. Each event is stand-alone, and the series will include sessions on the bidding process, identifying sources of funding, the writing process, Fellowships, and collaborative bids.

New "Impact Requirements" for AHRC & ESRC grant applications

From 23rd March 2009, applicants for Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) research and fellowship grant proposals are required to include a description in the application of the impact that their research will have on society and the economy.

If you have already been working on an application form on the Je-S system you will find that since 17th February a new section has automatically been added for an impact summary, which has a 4,000 character limit, including spaces and returns. If you are submitting a bid before 23rd March, you need to put in this box the words "Not applicable" and also add an Impact Plan in the attachments section that is a page also just saying "Impact Plan not applicable."

To find the specific guidance for AHRC and ESRC bids, if you click on "edit attachments" in your Je-S form, and then the help link in the top right corner, you will be taken to the attachment page of that councils help text. For ease here are links to the pages for AHRC and ESRC:

AHRC: Click here
ESRC: Click here

Click here for the Je-S Help guidance page which gives the summary information on the requirements.

The impact summary on the Proposal Form should address the following questions:

• Who will benefit from this research?
• How will they benefit from this research?
• What will be done to ensure that they have the opportunity to benefit from this research?

Peer reviewers for research grant proposals will be asked to consider:

• Whether the plans to increase impact are appropriate and justified, given the nature of the proposed research

Note: The impact summary may be published to demonstrate potential impact of Research Council funded research. Please ensure confidential information is not included in this section.

The Case for Support (and/or attached Impact Plan where required) should expand on the information contained in the impact summary and describe what will be done to increase the scale or likelihood of impact. In making your case, you should consider and describe any potential impacts of the research on society and the economy.

Article updated on 24/02/09 after additional email guidance from AHRC.

Christian Trust Fund - possible small grants for research

The Sir Halley Stewart Trust funds two areas that may be of relevance to researchers in the Arts faculty (and/or possibly for inter-faculty collaboration), but this is a very long shot and is only included in this blog as reference information rather than encouragement to apply. The two areas are:

• Research focussing on developments in medical ethics (under their 'Medical' priority)
• Innovative projects which aim to facilitate a better understanding between faiths (under their 'Religion' priority)

Types of grant given: Grants are normally given in the form of a salary. The Trustees prefer to support innovative and imaginative people - often early in their research career - with whom they can develop a direct relationship. Applications should be submitted by those directly involved in the work - not development offices or paid fundraisers. (However, if any OU academic were to apply to this Trust they would need to follow OU procedures and receive RED Form approval). Sometimes a contribution towards the expenses of a project are given.

Grants are normally limited to 2 or 3 years, but are sometimes extended. They are paid to or through registered UK charities.

More information about this Trust and examples of projects and research that they have funded in the past can be found on their website at: http://www.sirhalleystewart.org.uk/index.html

Postdoctoral fellowships for Henry Moore related research

The Henry Moore Foundation will offer a small number of one-year post-doctoral fellowships in the field of sculpture studies at a British university from the autumn of 2008, tenable for one year in the first instance, with the possibility to apply for a second year. The awards are primarily to help scholars recently awarded PhDs to prepare a substantial publication. Applicants must show that they have an affiliation with a university department.

One fellowship will be tenable at the University of Leeds, in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, in association with the Henry Moore Institute. Applicants for this fellowship should indicate how their topic would contribute to the research work of the School and that of the Henry Moore Institute, as the fellow will act in a liaising role between these institutions. Candidates may apply specifically for the University of Leeds award, or indicate on their application if they wish additionally to be considered for this post.

Further details are available from:
www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk

The closing date is 17 April 2009

AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship scheme next closing date 14th May 2009

The Knowledge Transfer Fellowship Scheme is designed to support academics to undertake a programme of knowledge transfer activity in a flexible way. The knowledge transfer project should be planned around an existing piece of arts or humanities research which has the potential to make a significant difference beyond the world of academia. KT Fellows may work either on their own or as part of an academic team, to collaborate with, and bring tangible benefits to, non-academic organisations through a process of knowledge exchange. These benefits may be economic, social or cultural in nature.

Researchers can apply to work on the project on either a full time or part time basis for between 4 months and 3 years.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/KTFellowshipScheme.aspx

Up to £100,000 Small Research Grants for AHRC Religion and Society Programme

The Religion and Society Programme is offering approximately eight Small Research Grants. These grants will support projects from less established as well as established senior scholars, and from those wishing to undertake small scale innovative or short projects of up to one year.

The project can be for between £20,000 and £100,000 fEC.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 4pm on the 30th April 2009.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/ReligionandSociety-SmallGrants.aspx

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

ESRC Small Grants Scheme - no deadlines

The Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) Small Grants scheme is for applications between £15,000 and £99,999 (at 100% Full Economic Costing). This scheme is particularly useful for new researchers making their first application to the ESRC.

The remit of the Small Grants scheme is very similar to that of the ESRC Standard Grant scheme. Aspects such as topic choice, funding criteria and acceptance of proposals are the same for both schemes. The content and quality of the application you submit to the ESRC will determine whether or not you are successful.

A member of the Research Grants Board and one member of the Council’s Virtual Research College will assess the application. The Board Chair or Vice Chair makes the funding recommendation with the help of these assessments. Funding decisions are usually made within 14 weeks.

When should you aim to submit?
There are no specific deadlines for this scheme. You should work back from when you need to start the Research, to decide when you should submit. You should allow about 5 to 6 months between submission and decision. Although for Small Grants the decision can be quicker, it is better to plan for a longer processing time so that you do not receive a decision after your intended start date.

Application is by electronic form through the Je-S system. Always check the guidelines carefully before making an application. There are general guidance notes on constructing a good proposal to the ESRC Research Grants scheme on the ERSC website.

More information about the ERSC Small and Standard Grants scheme is available on the ESRC website.

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