Funding your Research SCIRA Fellows Away-Day 25 Nov

Funding your Research SCIRA Fellows Away-Day 25 Nov 09 Dr Steve Taylor (RCS) & Dr Chris Veal (RSS)

Major Funders o Research Councils (EPSRC, MRC etc) o National Academies (Royal Society, RAEng) o Charities (Leverhulme, Wellcome Trust etc) o Government agencies (RDAs, TSB etc) o EU (FP 7, ERC) o Industry

Types of Funding o o o o Responsive mode research grants Fellowships (ERC Starting Grant, Marie Curie, EPSRC Career Acceleration) Directed research grants Travel / Conference Networks Equipment Symposia / Workshops Capacity Buidling

Early-Career Research Grants EPSRC First Grant Scheme – £ 125 k over 2 yrs. Good success rate. For new academic lecturers (or equivalent) within 36 months of starting their post o Challenging Engineering – Within 10 yrs of Ph. D. Allows individuals to develop their own research groups. o MRC New Investigator Research Grant – £ 600 k over 3 yrs. Between 3 – 10 yrs postdoc experience; o

Fellowships MRC o o o Discipline specific fellowships Career Development Award Clinical Research Training Fellowship Clinical Scientist Fellowships Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellowships NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship Post-Doctoral Fellowship o Career Development Fellowships Wellcome Trust o Training Fellowships o Research Career Development Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Science o Research Training Fellowships Cancer Research UK o Career development Fellowships o Clinical Scientist Fellowship o Postdoctoral fellowships o Population Research Fellowships BBSRC o David Phillips Fellowships o Research Development Fellowships o Daphne Jackson memorial Fellowships o Institute Career Path Fellowships o Institute Development Fellowships o o EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowships o RAEng/EPSRC Fellowships Royal Academy of Engineering o Senior Research Fellowships o Research Fellowships Royal Society o Industry Fellowships o Dorothy Hodgkin o University Research Fellowships o Wolfson Research Merit Awards STFC o Postdoctoral Fellowships o Advanced Fellowships o Anglo-Australian Observatory Postdoctoral Research Fellowship o European Space Agency Fellowships o Science and Society Fellowships The Leverhulme Trust o Research Fellowships o Study Abroad Fellowships o Early Career Fellowships o Senior Research Fellowships

Examples EPSRC CAF – 3 - 10 years postdoc research and/or relevant industrial experience. – Up to 5 years funding – ~ 25 funded each year, 5% success rate – Salary, consumables, Ph. D, PDRA @80 FEC o MRC Career Development Awards – 3 – 6 yrs postdoc experience – Up to 5 yrs – 11 funded, 15% success rate o

Examples Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin – For those needing flexible support – Early stage career (1 or 2 postdoc positions) – Up to 4 years funding – 10 funded each year – 2. 5% success rate – Salary, consumables (£ 11 k/yr) @80 FEC o University Research Fellowships – All areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering, but excluding clinical medicine. – Early to mid-stage career (1 to 3 postdoc positions) – 5 + 3 yrs – 30 offered - 5% success rate o

So, what are they looking for? o o o The Candidate – Individual’s calibre; leadership potential; management capability The Research – Quality; originality; coherent methodology Impact – Beneficiaries; engagement Research Environment – Added value of partners; support from host Planning and Management – Ability to deliver; risk management; project management

ERC Starting Grant To support researchers at the start of their independent research career and establishing or consolidating their own independent research team (or research programme) – - ‘starters’, which are applicants who obtained their Ph. D from two up to six years before the call date; and – - ‘consolidators’, which are applicants who obtained their Ph. D over six years, but no more than ten years, before the call date. o The topic of the proposal is freely chosen. ERC schemes are investigator-driven. Research is bottom-up, in any field of research. o Up to 5 years in duration, € 1. 5 million ERC contribution o Excellence is the key criterion. – Track record must be exemplary – International experience – Delivery of ground-breaking research with high scholarly (and other) impact o

Interdisciplinary Research Barriers & Enablers o Time and opportunity o Language o Methodologies o Mutual respect and understanding o Funding… – RCs getting better at working together to fund IDR. 2 page outlines; discussions with portfolio managers; dedicated funding mechanisms o Shared goals/drivers o Problem-based research

Interdisciplinary Research Network Grants (most research councils) MRC Discipline hopping awards (EPS – MDLS); 3 – 6 months EPSRC Bridging the Gaps (institutional award) – Multi-disciplinary Optimisation and Data Mining at Birmingham o Cross-Council Programmes – Energy – Digital Economy – Nanoscience through Engineering to Application – Global uncertainties; security for all in a changing world – Ageing: Lifelong health and wellbeing – Living with environmental change o IRCs o o o

Engagement with industry o CASE Awards o Eng. D/DTCs o MICA (MRC Industrial Collaboration Awards) o KTP o KTS o TSB Collaborative R&D o Innovation Vouchers

Public Engagement o Media Fellowships o Media Training o Partnerships for Public Engagement o EU Researcher’s Night o Science in Society o Public Lectures, School Visits, Blogs, Podcasts, Twitter etc…

Funder Priorities o EPSRC Signposting o MRC Highlight Notices o Cross-Council Themes o Strategic Initiatives (e. g. Wellcome) o BBSRC Topical Issues o TSB Innovation Platforms

Current Issues o Managing Demand o Budget threats o International competition [collaboration] o Research with Impact – Socioeconomic value added o Solutions to major societal issues

Impact

UB contacts o o o General Funding information: Sally Wiley (s. a. wiley@bham. ac. uk x 43884) European Funding: Xavier Rodde (x. rodde@bham. ac. uk x 43880) Research Councils, Strategic Projects: Steve Taylor (s. b. taylor@bham. ac. uk x 48247) Business Collaboration Funding (KTP; TSB; KTS): Matthew Wasley (m. r. wasley@bham. ac. uk x 48246) Commercialisation: Alan Tibbatts (a. tibbatts@alta. bham. ac. uk x 48620) Website: www. rcs. bham. ac. uk