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Research Funding Opportunities
in KLS
Phil WardResearch Funding Officer
October 2008
Page 2
To recap…
• Basically two types of funding available…: ‘Responsive Mode’ Grants & Fellowships
For research on a subject suggested by you ‘Managed Programme’ Grants & Contracts
For research on a subject suggested by the funder Programme Grants are similar to other grants; Contracts tend to
have more onerous terms and conditions and generally result in ‘deliverable’ product/report
• …and five sources of funding: Research Councils Charities Professional and Learned Bodies Government Industry
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So you have to consider…
• Remit Do they fund your area? Does the scheme fit? (eg Grants/Fellowships) What are the politics behind the call?
• Costs Will it cover all your costs?
• If not, are there other reasons to apply? • Overheads – ‘Full Economic Costs’ (fEC)
• Timetable Deadline – is there enough time to write a proposal? Duration – will it cover the period of your research?
• Success Rate Is it worth it? Back up plan
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Research Councils 2008-09
• Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (26% - £795m) (£721m)
• Science & Technology Facilities Council (20% - £624m) (£546m)
• Medical Research Council (19% - £606m) (£527m)
• Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (14% - £427m) (£381m)
• Natural Environment Research Council (13% - £392m) (£362m)
• Economic & Social Research Council (5% - £165m) (£150m)
• Arts & Humanities Research Council (3% - £103m) (£97m)
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Research Council Delivery Plans 2008-11
• RCs laying out their priorities for the next 3 yrs
• 4 cross-council priorities: Energy Living with Environmental Change Global Uncertainties Ageing: Lifelong Health and Wellbeing
• ‘Economic and Social Benefit’
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AHRC
• Delivery Plan Priorities: Stimulating innovation in the knowledge economy Global threats to security Capitalising our cultural assets
• NB: Responsive Mode/Strategic 3:1
• Success Rates 2007-08 (av. 24%): Research Grants
o Standard 23% (27%)o Speculative 24% (31%)o Practice-led 32% (19%)
Fellowships in the C&P Arts 17% (18%) Research Leave 27%
(49%) Networks & Workshops 21% (33%)
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AHRC
• Research Grants Emphasis on supporting ‘teams’ of researchers 4 ‘routes’ to applying:
Standard (£20k - £1m)Early Career (£20k - £200k): <8yrs of PhD, or <6yrs 1st
apptSpeculative (£20k - £200k): ‘outcomes uncertain’Practice-led (up to £20k): ‘practice as integral component’
Deadline: will be open from 01/01/09
• Research Leave Most popular AHRC scheme; high success rate (but
halved for the last round) Matching term of leave Deadline: March and Sept Currently under review
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AHRC – Research Leave Review
• Led by Prof Shearer West (Birmingham) and Prof John Caughie (Glasgow)
• Problem of Funding work which should come under block grant Non-completion
• Possible alternatives Early Career Fellowships Travelling Fellowships Research Development Grants Research Completion Grants
• Why not open Research Grants to individuals?
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AHRC
• Benefits of applying to AHRC: Prestige fEC – generous funding
• What to watch out for: Research Leave:
o Terms contiguous o Completion
Research Grants: ‘Team’ research Try and avoid cross-panel research Social & economic impact
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ESRC• Delivery Plan Priorities:
Succeeding in the global economy Understanding individual behaviour Population change
• NB: Responsive Mode/Strategic 5:3.5
• Success Rates 2007-08: Standard Grants 15% (19%) Fellowships 26% (15%) Small Grants 36% (39%)
• Benefits of applying to ESRC are similar to AHRC
• What to watch out for: The ‘lure’ of programmes ‘Communication plan and user engagement’ Ethics Small grants/standard grants assessment: better to be
seen by individual or whole Board?
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Charities
• GeneralLeverhulme TrustWellcome TrustNuffield Foundation Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• SpecialistOften medical
o eg Cancer Research UK
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Leverhulme Trust
• Funds all fields, except social policy and welfare, medicine and education
• Supports original, risk-taking research that often transcends traditional discipline boundaries
• 2007 expenditure £43.1m (£44.3m), split between: Sciences 45% (45%) Humanities 43% (36%) Social Sciences 12% (19%)
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Leverhulme Trust
• Success Rates Visiting Professorships 43% (50%) Emeritus Professorships 40% (48%) Study Abroad Fellowships 31% (24%) Research Fellowships 18% (22%) Philip Leverhulme Prizes 18% (19%) Research Grants 17% (20%) Major Research Fellowships 13% (13%) Early Career Fellowships 12% (11%)
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Leverhulme Trust
• Benefits of applying to Leverhulme Not ‘restricted’ by demands of distributing public
money o no ‘political agenda’o reporting not as onerous
• What to watch out for: Research has to appeal to broad general audience
o Trustees all ex-Unilever employeeso Depend for advice on:
o ‘Advisory Committee’ (for smaller grants): 9 professorso ‘Advisory Panel’ (for larger grants): 32 academics
Interdisciplinary – but not ‘last resort’ Risk taking Individual ‘vision’
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Wellcome Trust
• ‘To foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health’
• Funding expenditure in 2006-2007 £519m (£484m)
• As well as Biomedical Research, also supports ‘Biomedical Humanities’ (£12.5m in 06/07) (£8m) Broad remits:
o History: ‘the historical study of all factors affecting the medical and health experience of people and animals in all countries, at all periods.’
o Ethics: ‘ethical issues that arise in the development and delivery of healthcare, or that arise from the use of medical techniques. This includes ethics of research (involving either humans or animals) .’
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Wellcome Trust
• Benefits of applying to Wellcome Wide range of funding More useful feedback following rejection Supportive once you have received funding
• What to watch out for Bringing in electronic submission in Medical
Humanities Biomedical ethics centred on funding for institutions
and developing countries Bewildering choice of funding schemes
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Nuffield Foundation
• Aims ‘To advance social well being…by supporting work
which will bring about improvements in society.’ To support the development of research and
professional capacity
• Research expenditure (2007): £10.9m (£9.5m)
• Benefits of applying to Nuffield 2 part process: initial application very simple, and
can apply any time
• What to watch out for: Strong social policy element Small scale funding Importance of ‘methodology’ Look at previously successful grants
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Nuffield Foundation
• Project Grants Funding for research, practical developments and
innovation Programme areas
o Child protection and family justiceo Access to justiceo Open dooro NB: ‘Older People & their Families’ area dropped
• Social Science Small Grants Up to £12k Not restricted to policy/practical projects, although do
look for ‘social relevance’
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Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• 3 aims: Poverty: to examine the root causes of poverty and
disadvantage and identify solutions. Empowerment: to find ways in which people and
communities can have control of their own lives. Place: to contribute to the building and development
of strong, cohesive and sustainable communities.
• Research expenditure: £5.4m
• Benefits of applying to JRF: Prestigious
• What to watch out for: Very prescriptive calls for proposals Relatively small amounts of funding
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Professional & Learned Societies
• Generally provide some small scale support for visits, conferences, fellowships or smaller research projects
• Professional Bodies Represent people working in a specific area
o e.g. Socio-legal Studies Association
• Learned Societies Represent, and act as a forum for, a
particular subject or disciplineo e.g. Royal Society, British Academy
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British Academy
• Funds research in Humanities & Social Sciences
• Research Expenditure 07/08: £22.4m (£21.3m)
• funding strategy is focused on providing small-scale support, including Development Awards (up to £150k fEC), fellowships, conference grants and agreements with other countries for international projects
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British Academy
• Success Rates 2005/06:
Small Grants 50% (69%) Overseas Conference Grants 50% (50%) Bardas 9% (59%*) Conference Support 9% (50%**) Senior Research Fellowships 9% (9%) Postdoc Fellowship 8% (5%)
*Bardas replaced ‘Larger Grants’, which offered £20k non-fEC
**Replaced British Conference Grants and increased upper limit to £20k
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British Academy
• Benefits of applying to BA Small Grants have highest success rate out of all
relevant funders Relatively simple forms ‘useful’ pots of money – eg conference funding,
collaboration etc
• What to watch out for: Quite a ‘traditional’ funder Liable to SOOH (but Bardas fEC)
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Government
• National Government Departments
o Usually managed programmes, e.g. DH, DEFRA, DFIDo Some responsive mode – e.g. DEFRA’s Darwin
Initiative County Councils Other Government-funded organisations
o British Council – collaborative grantso NESTA
• International Europe
o Framework Programme USA
o Federal Grants & National Institutes of Health
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Other National Government Funding
• County Councils Commission surveys etc.
• British Council Have collaborative agreements with a number of
countries
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Dept of Health
• Research & Development budget 2008-09: £800m
• National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Umbrella organisation covering a range of funding
programmes, including:o Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB): ‘it funds research into
everyday practice in the health service’ o Service Delivery & Organisation (SDO): ‘commissions
research on the way health services are organised and delivered by the NHS.’
• Benefits of DoH: A lot of funding available, fEC NIHR success rate good
• What to watch out for: Complex applications Research Governance Framework (RGF)
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SE Research Design Service
• £5m service for SE Strategic Health Authority
• Surrey, Sussex, Kent
• Advise and support health and social care researchers
• Free
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European Funding
• European Commission ‘driving force’ behind EU Drafts laws, manages day-to-day business of EU Organised into 37 Directorates General & Services,
includingo Justice, Freedom & Security
eg ‘Daphne II Programme’ to combat violence against children, young people and women
o Research Framework Programme
o Regional Policy Interreg Programme
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DG Research
• Framework Programme: EU’s main method for funding research and innovation
• FP7 started in January this year
• Budget €50bn over 7 years
• Organised into 4 pillars:
Cooperation Ideas
People Capacities
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Cooperation
People
Ideas
Capacities
JRC
FP7: Budget Split 2007-2013
€7 460
€4 728
€4 217
€1 751
€32 365
Values in € Millions
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FP7: Cooperation Themes
• Health
• Food, agriculture and biotechnology
• Information and communication technologies.
• Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies
• Energy
• Environment (including climate change)
• Transport (including aeronautics)
• Socio-economic sciences and the humanities
• Security
• Space
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FP7 - SSH
• 1. Growth, employment and competitiveness in a knowledge society: the European case
• 2. Combining economic, social and environmental objectives in a European perspective: Paths towards sustainable development
• 3. Major trends in society and their implications
• 4. Europe in the World
• 5. The Citizen in the European Union
• 6. Socio-Economic and Scientific Indicators
• 7. Foresight activities
• 8. Strategic Activities
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FP7 – SSH – Current Call
• Deadline 13 Jan 2009
• Collaborative projects (CP) – up to €2.7m
• Topics include: Impacts of corporate social responsibility Social inequalities, their implications and policy
options Quality of work and impact on quality of life and
economy Tolerance and cultural diversity Religion and secularism in Europe Perspectives form outside the EU on human rights,
democracy and peace Independent media and democracy in Europe
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FP7: European Research Council
• Responsive Mode
• No requirement for collaborative groups
• ‘Starting Independent Researcher Grant’ 200 to be made annually, each lasting up to 5 yrs Up to €400k per year Applicants <10 yrs from PhD Very over subscribed – success rate approx 5% Next deadline (SSH) 19 Nov 2008
• ‘Advanced Research Grant’ Up to €700k per year Applicants must have >10yr track record Next call: end of the year; deadline in Spring
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European Science Foundation
• Not part of EU (member countries include Switzerland and Turkey)
• Aims to act as a catalyst for brining together European scientists and researchers
• Includes Social Sciences & Humanities
• Schemes include exploratory workshops, Programmes and COST Networks
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Industry
• Does provide funding for research, but tend to be more restrictive in the parameters of the research and use of intellectual property
• In-house expenditure on R&D e.g. Pfizer spent £550m on research in UK alone Some of this used in collaborative projects
• Contracts for research services
• Grants or award programmes
• If specifically seeking industry support, talk to Kent Innovation & Enterprise (KIE)
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Key points to remember when applying
• Keep it simple Write for a general audience
• Think defensively Assessors are looking to pick holes
• Concentrate on explaining what you will do Keep theoretical background to a minimum
• Make sure costs match outcome Value for money is a consideration
• Show it to your peers Better to have feedback now
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Applying for Funding - Costing
• Full Economic Costing Government requirement Have been submitting RC applications using fEC
since 1 Sept 2005
• Don’t worry – the Research Services will help! Will make calculations based on information you give But give us time (at least a week before deadline)
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Applying for Funding - Approval
• All applications must have Internal Approval Form Series of yes/no questions as to risks, use of resources etc Must be signed by:
o PI and Co-I(s)o Head of Depto Research Services
If excessive demand on library/computing serviceso Head of Computing Serviceo Subject Librarian
• May also need: Ethical Approval
o Research proposals of a clinical, psychological, social or physiological nature involving human participants
o Research Ethics Advisory Groups – Ethics Committeeo Contact Nicole Palmer ([email protected])
Research Governance Approvalo need to get advice and/or approval if your research is in
Health or Social Welfare
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Upcoming Events
• 30 Oct: Writing Successful Applications Prof Andrew Derrington Second date added: 19 Nov
• 10 Dec: European Funding Part of 2008-09 PVC’s Lunchtime Research
Seminars Followed by UKRO Surgery Session
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Sources of Information
• Funders www.ahrc.ac.uk www.esrc.ac.uk www.mrc.ac.uk www.leverhulme.ac.uk www.nuffieldfoundation.org www.wellcome.ac.uk www.jrf.org.uk www.britac.ac.uk http://www.britishcouncil.org/
science-research-partnerships.htm
www.cordis.lu/fp7/home.cfm http://erc.europa.eu/index_en
.cfm
www.esf.org
• Sources of information www.researchresearch.com www.ukro.ac.uk www.serdsu.org
• Applying for funding Research Serviceswww.kent.ac.uk/res Je-Shttps://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/eforms/
secure/Login.asp Full Economic Costingwww.kent.ac.uk/res/fec.htm
• Help and Support Phil Ward
[email protected] Jacqueline Aldridge
