Research Grants & Contracts Office
Research Seminar
Dept of History of Art and Screen Media
Craig Bryce
Summary
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Research Grants & Contracts Office (RGCO)
Funding Schemes
FEC and Costing (briefly!)
Internal procedures for approving
applications
Finding further information
Research Grants & Contracts Office
(RGCO)
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The RGCO, part of Finance Dept, provides
administrative, financial and support services related
to externally funded research projects
Pre award: funding information, help with
applications, approval, contract negotiation
Post award: project accounting, approval of posts,
allocation of overheads, financial reporting,
contracts with partners
Policy development
Management information
Training and events
Research Grants & Contracts Office
structure
Peter Westley
Director of Finance
Liz Francis
Head of RGCO
Craig Bryce
Deputy Head
Sharon Bell
Research Accounts Officer
Rassi Pelpola
Research Accounts Assistant
George Eyre
Research Support Officer
Marion Barthram
Research Grants Assistant
Vacant
Research and
Enterprise Support
Officer
Research Grants & Contracts Office
structure
Liz Francis
Head of RGCO
Applications
Craig Bryce
Deputy Head
Sharon Bell
Research Accounts Officer
Rassi Pelpola
Research Accounts Assistant
George Eyre
Research Support Officer
Marion Barthram
Research Grants Assistant
Vacant
Research and
Enterprise Support
Officer
Research Grants & Contracts Office
structure
Liz Francis
Head of RGCO
Project Accounting
Sharon Bell
Research Accounts Officer
Rassi Pelpola
Research Accounts Assistant
Craig Bryce
Deputy Head
George Eyre
Research Support Officer
Marion Barthram
Research Grants Assistant
Vacant
Research and
Enterprise Support
Officer
Research Grants & Contracts Office
Dept of History of Arts & Screen Media
Liz Francis
Head of RGCO
Craig Bryce
Deputy Head
Sharon Bell
Research Accounts Officer
Rassi Pelpola
Research Accounts Assistant
George Eyre
Research Support Officer
Marion Barthram
Research Grants Assistant
Vacant
Research and
Enterprise Support
Officer
Birkbeck: research funding
2010/11:
 239 applications (83 successful to date)
 Research Income £9,101,067
 63 different funding bodies
 206 active research projects throughout all Schools
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May 2012 contract value £57,911,029
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Dept of History of Art and Screen Media:
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2011/12: 4 applications, 1 successful to date
Income 2010/11 – £46k
Currently 2 active projects, contract value £110k
566
196
170
4,143
Research Councils
1,641
UK charities
Govt depts
EU govt & other
Industry
Overseas & other
2,386
Birkbeck: research applications 2010/11
Funder Type
No. of
apps
Successful
Unsuccessful
Unknown
Success
% to
date
Research
Councils, Royal
Soc, British
Academy
123
39
81
3
32%
UK Based
Charities
63
25
38
40%
UK Govt
9
3
6
33%
UK Industry ,
Commerce
1
1
EU
29
10
13
Overseas &
Other
14
5
9
Total
239
83
147
100%
6
34%
36%
9
35%
Help with Applications
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Costing - salaries and overhead-type costs – done
on web-based costing system pFACT
Approval – done using workflow system on pFACT
Electronic submission – may need to set up an
account, e.g Research Council’s Joint Electronic
Submission (Je-S) system
Contractual arrangements
Copies of previously successful applications for
most schemes
Funding Information
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Arts and Humanities Research Council
British Academy
Leverhulme Trust
Others…
Arts and Humanities Research Council
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The Arts and Humanities Research Council
[AHRC] supports world-class research that
furthers our understanding of human culture and
creativity.
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From ancient history and heritage science to
modern dance and digital content.
Arts and Humanities Research Council
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Research Grants
 Standard route £20,000 - £1,000,000 FEC, up
to 5 years. OPEN call
 Early Career route £20,000 - £250,000 FEC,
up to 5 years. OPEN call
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Research Networking Scheme For networks,
workshops or seminars. Up to £30,000 FEC
(additional £15,000 to cover international
participants/activities), up to 2 years . OPEN call
Arts and Humanities Research Council
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Research Grants - Decision take approximately 30 weeks. Earliest
start date for a project should be no earlier than 9 months after
submission to the AHRC
Eligibilty - PI’s contract should go beyond project or assurance
required from HEI that, if the proposal is successful, contract, or
formal commitment to provide support if not employed at the
organisation, will extend to beyond the end date of the grant
From 1 April 2012- applications must include a PI and at least one
co-I jointly involved in the proposal.
AHRC funding guide www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/Research%20Fu
nding%20Guide.pdf
Arts and Humanities Research Council
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Fellowship Scheme - Standard & Early Career,
50-250k FEC for salary and associated costs, 6-24 months. OPEN call
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Follow on Funding (Pilot scheme) Supports
engagement with non-HEI partners, based on
research previously funded by the AHRC. Max
£120,000 FEC, up to 12 months. OPEN call
British Academy
The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the
humanities and social sciences (inc. psychology).
2011/12 programmes budget: £25m
Strategic priorities 2008-2013
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Ideas, individuals and intellectual resources
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International engagement
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Communication and advocacy
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Fellowship
British Academy
BA
/ Leverhulme Small Research Grant scheme Up to
£10,000 research expenses.
Postdoctoral Fellowship 3 year Fellowships, FEC.
Deadline for outline applications is usually in October, 5%
success rate
Mid-Career Fellowship £160,000 FEC. 6-12 months
funding available. Deadline for outline usually March and
November.
BA / Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship
Replacement teaching costs, 1 year. (not FEC) Deadline is
usually in November
Leverhulme Trust
Scholarship for the purposes of research and education
Annual budget £60m
Suitability of research applications to Leverhulme:
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the originality of the proposed work
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courageous research (avoidance of the incremental; and the
applicant’s ability to take informed risk/blue skies research)
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a mixture of disciplines (blurring boundaries/lateral impact)
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individual exploration (hesitation with data banks/cataloguing)
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the impact of the research outcome on other fields of study and
within the immediate field of research
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research design transcends traditional boundaries
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a departure from the established working patterns either of the
individual or of the discipline
Leverhulme Trust
Research
Project Grants Up to 3 years, £10,000 £250,000; Up to 5 years, £250,000 - £500,000, three
deadlines per year.
Programme Awards Up to 5 years, £1,750,000 max. Call
date & topic set by funder.
International Networks UP to 3 years, max £125,000,
three deadlines per year.
Artists in Residence UP to £15,000 for 10 months, two
deadlines per year.
Leverhulme Trust
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Early Career Fellowship 3yrs, 50% salary cost (to be
matched by HEI) plus research expenses.
Study Abroad Fellowship 3-12 months, up to £22,000,
replacement teaching & research expenses
Research Fellowship 3-24 months, up to £45,000,
replacement teaching & research expenses
Major Research Fellowship in the Humanities & Social
Science 2-3yrs, replacement teaching & research
expenses
Visiting Professorship 3-10 month visit to UK, travel
costs & subsistence allowance
Europe
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Research mainly funded via 7th Framework Programme
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Co- operation - Collaborative Research Programme
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Collaborative/multi-national requirement
Call driven
Ideas - Frontier Research (European Research Council)
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Starting Grants (call opens July ’11)
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Advanced grants
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1.5m€ over 5 years
PI must have PhD awarded in last 2 - 12 years
PI expected to spend min 50% of time on project (funded)
2.5m€ over 5 years
SSH deadline 6 April
No PhD time eligibility but “only exceptional research leaders”
PI with track record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years
PI expected to spend min 30% of time on project (funded)
People - Marie Curie Schemes
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'mobility' requirement
Others….
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Over the last 3 years the School has submitted
applications to:
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AHRC, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Modern
Humanities Research Association, Wellcome Trust,
European Science Foundation, JISC, ESRC/AHRC
joint scheme, Technology Strategy Board, Royal
Society
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Research Professional -
http://www.researchprofessional.com
A successful application:
What the funder looks for
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High-quality research: an original contribution
to knowledge in the field
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Outputs: what will be the impact of the
research?
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Academic record: evidence of research
potential
A strong proposal (1)
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Addresses the funder’s research priorities
and the aims of the scheme
Clear language without jargon
Establishes the context for the research
Well-defined aims and objectives
Detailed methodology – why these methods?
Has the right people on board, i.e. mentor /
co-applicant(s), host institution
A strong proposal (2)
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Anticipates potential problems – how will you
deal with them?
Has realistic ambitions
Identifies and addresses training needs
Specified outputs and dissemination plans
Practical points (1)
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Allow plenty of time, months not weeks!
Read all guidelines, terms and conditions
Check your eligibility
Consider ethical aspects / approval
Check application form requirements, e.g.
referee reports, signatures, length of proposal
Electronic submission – may need to set up
an account prior to deadline
Practical points (2)
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Research previously funded applications to
same funder / scheme
Choose referees carefully – check they have
time.
Get the finances right – check with Research
Grants Office and justify costs requested
Get as much feedback on your draft proposal
as possible – INTERNAL PEER REVIEW
Consult with the funder if you have any
questions
Preparing a good proposal
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Guidance notes on constructing a good proposal to the ESRC Research Grants Scheme:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/guidance/applicants/how-to.aspx
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Part 1
Allow yourself time
Study your funding source
Read the rules
Discuss your application
Justify your costings
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Part 2
Content and presentation
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Part 3
Dissemination and impact
Check the details
If you are successful
If you are unsuccessful
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EPSRC: Preparing a Proposal:
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/apprev/preparing/Pages/default.aspx
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NERC: How to win money for research:
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/application/howtowin.asp
Full Economic Costing (fEC)
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Introduced by the Government in 2005
Used as basis to cost research projects, but
very few funders will pay 100% of FEC
Research Councils pay 80% of FEC
Other funders pay according to their own
terms and conditions
We use pFACT to calculate the FEC
What makes up fEC?
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Directly Incurred (DI) costs
Directly Allocated (DA) costs
Indirect costs
Exceptional items: e.g. project studentships
Research Councils will pay 80% of DI, DA and
Indirect Costs; 100% of Exceptional Items
College Approval procedures pFACT
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Set out in the College's Financial Regulations, as
approved by Governors
All external research grants must be authorised for
submission through the pFACT system.
All approval stages to be completed prior to
submitting to the funding body
RGCO – webpage
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/rgco/researchgrants/applicatio
n/authorization.shtml
College Approval procedures pFACT
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The application should only be submitted once all
the stages have been completed.
Each approver should be given at least three clear
working days (that’s NINE days prior to deadline).
Paper applications that require institutional
signatures should be passed to the RGCO at the
same time that the applicant completes their stage
of the pFACT sign-off
http://pfact.bbk.ac.uk/login.aspx
Contact information
Research Grants Office: www.bbk.ac.uk/rgco
Liz Francis: extn 3146
Craig Bryce: extn 3141
George Eyre: extn 3144
Sharon Bell: extn 3139
Rassi Pelpola: extn 3149
Marion Barthram: extn 3138
l.francis@bbk.ac.uk
c.bryce@bbk.ac.uk
g.eyre@bbk.ac.uk
s.bell@bbk.ac.uk
r.pelpola@bbk.ac.uk
m.barthram@bbk.ac.uk
www.bbk.ac.uk/rgco