Research Funding Opportunities
in KLS
Brian Lingley
Faculty Funding Officer
Basics…
• 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
Page 2
Research Councils
• Benefits of applying to RCs:
– Prestige
– fEC – generous funding
• What to watch out for:
– Cuts – and ‘politics’
• Themes, demand management, ‘longer, larger, fewer’
– Impact
Page 3
Research Councils
• Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council
(26% - £795m)
• Science & Technology Facilities Council (20% £624m)
• Medical Research Council (19% - £606m)
• Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research
Council (14% - £427m)
• Natural Environment Research Council (13% £392m)
• Economic & Social Research Council (5% - £165m)
• Arts & Humanities Research Council (3% - £103m)
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800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
EPSRC
STFC
MRC
BBSRC
NERC
ESRC
AHRC
AHRC v ESRC
• “AHRC supports research into the content, procedures, theory,
philosophy and history of the law. This includes studies of
legal systems and legislation in all periods of history and in all
parts of the world. ESRC supports socio-legal studies, which
are concerned with the social, political and economic
influences on and impact of the law and the legal system.”
Page 6
AHRC
• 70% of Funding Open
• 30% Themed
– ‘Connected Communities’
– ‘strategic need’: modern languages, design and heritage
– AHRC’s own multidisciplinary themes: Care for the Future;
Translating Cultures; Digital Transformations; Science and
Culture
Page 7
Main AHRC Schemes
• Research Grant
– £50k to £1M (EC flavour
- £50k to £250k)
– Up to 60 months
– PI plus 1-2 Co-Is
– Open Call
• Fellowships
– £50k to £250k
– 6 to 18 months
– At least 50%
commitment
– (EC flavour – at least 2
years post doc
experience)
• Research Networks – up to £30k for costs
• EC? – within 8 years of PhD, or 6 years of first
academic appointment
Page 8
Main ESRC Schemes
• Research Grant
– £200k to £2M
– Open Call
• Future Research
Leaders
–
–
–
–
–
Up to £312,500
Up to 3 years
Up to 60% of time
October Deadline
Within 4 years of PhD
• Research Seminars - up to £15k costs
• Opens mid-December
Page 9
Delivery Plans: Themes
• AHRC
– ‘Connected Communities’
– ‘strategic need’: modern languages, design and heritage
– AHRC’s own multidisciplinary themes: Care for the Future;
Translating Cultures; Digital Transformations; Science and
Culture
• ESRC
– Economic performance and sustainable growth
– Influencing behaviour and informing interventions
– Vibrant and fair society
Page 10
Cross-Council Themes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Global Uncertainties
Living with Environmental Change
Ageing: Lifelong Health and Wellbeing
Digital Economy
Energy
Global Food Security
Page 11
Charities
• General
–Leverhulme Trust
–Wellcome Trust
–Nuffield Foundation
• Specialist
–Joseph Rowntree Foundation
–Often medical – e.g. Cancer Research UK
–AMRC (www.amrc.org.uk)
• Represents 111 health-related charities, with a combined
expenditure on medical research of £630m per annum.
Page 12
Leverhulme (£53m)
• Funds all fields, except social policy and
welfare, medicine and education
• Supports original, risk-taking research that
often transcends traditional discipline
boundaries
• Rough split:
– Sciences:
40%
– Soc. Sciences:40%
– Humanities: 20%
Page 13
Leverhulme
• Fellowships
–
–
–
–
Up to £45k
3-24 mths
Call Sept, deadline Nov
EC version – 03/13 deadline
• International Academic
Fellowship
–
–
–
–
Up to £22k
Up to 12 mths
Same deadline as above
Employed FT >5 yrs
• Grants
–
–
–
–
–
Up to £500k
Up to 5 yrs
Most > £250k, 2-3 years
2 part process
Open call, assessed
quarterly
• Success Rates
– Fellowship:
10-15%
– SA Fellowship: 30%
– Grants:
15-20%
Page 14
Leverhulme
• Benefits of applying to Leverhulme
– Not ‘restricted’ by demands of distributing public money
• no ‘political agenda’
• reporting not as onerous
• What to watch out for:
– Research has to appeal to broad general audience
• Trustees all ex-Unilever employees
• Depend for advice on:
– ‘Advisory Committee’ (for smaller grants): 9 professors
– ‘Advisory Panel’ (for larger grants): 32 academics
– Interdisciplinary – but not ‘last resort’
– Risk taking
– Individual ‘vision’
Page 15
Wellcome (£642m)
• ‘To foster and promote research with the aim of
improving human and animal health’
• Supports
– Biomedical research
– Technology transfer
– Medical Humanities:
• History of Medicine & Biomedical Ethics
– Public engagement with science
• Does not support
– Clinical trials
– Generally, cancer research
Page 16
Wellcome
• Benefits of applying to Wellcome
– Wide range of funding
– More useful feedback following rejection
– Supportive once you have received funding
Nuffield (£10m)
• Aims
– ‘To improve social well-being through education,
research and innovation.’
– Themes:
– Children & Families, Education, Law & Society
– Also ‘open door’
– Project Grants £10-250k
– Most between £50-150k
Page 18
Nuffield
• Benefits of applying to Nuffield
– 2 part process: initial application very simple, and
can apply any time (Mar, Jul & Nov deadlines)
• What to watch out for:
– Look at previously successful grants
– Strong social policy element
– Importance of ‘methodology’
– Engagement with beneficiaries
Page 19
Rowntree (£5m)
• 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.
• Benefits of applying to JRF:
– Prestigious
• What to watch out for:
– Very prescriptive calls for proposals
– Relatively small amounts of funding
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
 e.g. The Law Society, Socio-Legal Studies Association
• Learned Societies
 Represent, and act as a forum for, a particular subject
or discipline
 British Academy funds research in Humanities &
Social Sciences
Page 21
British Academy
• Small Research Grants
– Up to £10k over 2 years
– Flexible (workshops,
travel, some RA etc)
– Not PI salary or overheads
– Feb and Sept deadlines
• Postdoctoral Fellowship
– 3 year salary
– Within 3 years of PhD
– Attractive, but very
competitive (< 5% success)
– October deadline
• Mid-Career Fellowship
– 6 to 12 months
– Within 15 years of PhD
– September deadline
Page 22
Government
• National
– Government Departments
– County Councils
– Other Government-funded organisations
• British Council – collaborative grants
• NESTA
• Lottery
• International
– Europe
• Framework Programme
– USA
• Federal Grants
Page 23
European Funding
• Framework Programme:
– EU’s main method for funding research and
innovation
– Budget €50bn over 7 years (Horizon 2020 £80bn!)
– Organised into 4 pillars:
Cooperation
Ideas
People
Capacities
Page 24
FP7
€4 217
€1 751
Values in
€ Millions
Cooperation
€4 728
Ideas
People
€7 460
Capacities
JRC
€32 365
Page 25
FP7: European Research Council
• Responsive Mode
• No requirement for collaborative groups
• Starting Researcher
– Up to €1.5M over 5 years
– 2 to 7 years post PhD
– Call closes October
• Advanced Researcher
• Consolidating Researcher
– Up to €2.0M over 5 years
– 7 to 12 years post PhD
– Call opens in November,
closes February.
– Up to €2.5M over 5 years
– 10 year track record
– Call closes October
Page 26
Industry
• Does fund research
– In-house R&D
– Contracts for research services
– Grants or award programmes
• …but tends to be more restrictive
• If specifically seeking industry support, talk to
Kent Innovation & Enterprise (KIE)
• Beth Flowers(e.m.flowers@kent.ac.uk)
Page 27
Early Career
Opportunities
Main ECR Opportunities
Scheme
Duration
Funding
ECR?
AHRC Early Career
Research Grant
Up to 60 months
£50-250k
< 8 years PhD
AHRC Early Career
Fellowship
6 to 18 months
£50-250k
2 years post doc, <
8 years PhD
ESRC Future
Research Leaders
Up to 3 Years
£250k
< 4 years post PhD
Leverhulme Early
Career Fellowship
3 years
50% of salary, max
23k pa
<5 years post PhD
BA Post Doc
Fellowship
3 years
3 years salary
< 3 years post PhD
ERC Staring Grant
5 years
€1.5M
2-7 years post PhD
Page 29
...about the Specifics
•
•
•
•
•
What will you do? (objectives, plan, timescale)
Why now?
Why you? (expertise, track record, contacts)
What impact? (beneficiaries, dissemination)
What kind of resources do you need?
(reasonable, accurate, eligible)
Recap…
• 2 types of funding:
– Managed
– Responsive Mode
• 5 types of funder:
– Research Councils
– Charities
– Learned Societies and Representative Bodies
– Government
– Industry
Considerations
• Eligibility
– Employment status and
residency
– Career stage
• Costs
– Will it cover all your costs?
– Overheads
• Internal Pressures
– School budget
– Teaching needs
• Remit
– Subject
– Aims of scheme
– ‘Politics’
• Timetable
– Deadline
– Duration
• Success Rate
– Is it worth it?
– Back up plan
Perspective
• Put yourself in the funder’s position
– Can you understand what is proposed?
– Is it worth spending money on?
•
•
•
•
Are the objectives important?
Are they achievable?
Is the timeframe realistic?
Does it offer value for money?
– Can the applicant deliver?
• Do you have the necessary track record?
• Can you manage a project?
Page 33
Panellists
•
•
•
•
Not specialist in your area
Time poor
Eminent
Having to filter 100+
applications at a time
Make It Easy for Them
• Make it simple
– Avoid jargon
– ‘intelligent 14 yr old’
– Simple structure/
format/language
• Make it urgent
– Why should we care?
– Back it up with evidence
• Make it realistic
– Programme and costs
– Concentrate on
methodology
– Write defensively
• Repeat key messages
– ‘we need to know...’
– ‘this will tell us...’
Craft it
• Give yourself time
– At least a month to write
• Show it to others
– Academics working in same discipline
– Academics working in other disciplines
– Research Services
Good vs Bad
Good Application
• An important question
• Realistic promise of an
answer
– Ability and track record of
research team
– Well designed and fully
described project
– Properly resourced and value
for money
• Well written and presented
application
• Fits funder priorities
Bad Application
• Unclear, esoteric question
• Pages of densely packed
jargon
• Emphasis on background
and literature
• Incomplete description of
research process
• Ignores funder guidance
Managing Your Research Proposals
• One won’t be enough
– Typical success rates 10 -20%
– Reviewing and assessing a
‘lottery’
– Applications are timeconsuming
– Rejection is crushing
• Multiple applications give
you hope
– Don’t wait for the rejections
– Create economies of scale
– Allow 1-2 years from idea to
grant
• Don’t exhaust your ideas
– Complementary applications
– Look out for spin off ideas
and ‘spare’ research
questions
– Recycle ideas to different
funders
• Don’t flog a dead horse
Page 38
Help from Research Services
Cradle to Grave
Funding Contracts Finance
Page 40
Identify funders
Help with the proposal and application process
Costing
Institutional ‘sign off’
‘Accept’ award and negotiate contract
Manage Award
Financial claims
End of Award reports
Help in Developing Applications
• Information
– Funding opportunities
• Regular, ad hoc, strategic
– Background news &
insights
• newsletter, website, blog
• Funder visits
• Grants Factory
• Aiding collaboration
– bringing those in similar
disciplines together (eg
Lunchtime Seminars)
• Preparing your
application
– Copy editing, proof reading
and advice on the text
– Successful application bank
– Staff costings and
calculating overheads
– Advice on eligible costs
– Research governance
– Internal Peer Review
Page 41
Grants Factory
• Help and advice from other academics
• Workshops
– Tools for writing killer applications
• Masterclasses
– What the guidance doesn’t tell you
• Mock panels
– Test drive your proposal
Week
Date
Title
Stream
2
Thurs 4 Oct 2:30-4:30pm
Planning a Personal Research Strategy
Jenny Billings & Prof Darren Griffin
ECRN
4
Wed 17 Oct 9:20-11:30am
Getting Published in Journals
Prof Sally Sheldon & Prof Jon Williamson
ECRN
6
Wed 31 Oct 2-4pm
Identifying an Idea: What the Funders Want
Prof Gordon Lynch and Prof Sally Sheldon
ADW
8
TBC
ESRC
Prof Dominic Abrams & Prof Peter Taylor-Gooby
FF
10
Wed 28 Nov 2-4pm
Constructing a Realistic Project
Prof Peter Taylor-Gooby & Prof Elizabeth Mansfield
ECRN
12
Wed 12 Dec 2-4pm
The Essential Elements of a Good Application
Prof Paul Allain & Prof Mick Tuite
ADW
13
Wed 16 Jan 12-2pm
Developing Collaborations
Prof Jon Williamson & Dr Peter Bennett
ECRN
15
Wed 30 Jan 12-2pm
How the Peer Review Panel Works
Prof Mick Tuite & Dr Simon Kirchin
ADW
17
Wed 13 Feb 12-2pm
Seeking and Using Feedback
Prof Darren Griffin & Prof Paul Allain
ECRN
19
Thurs 28 Feb 12-4pm
EPSRC
Prof Sarah Spurgeon & Prof Simon Thompson
FF
21
Wed 13 Mar 12-2pm
Relationships with Senior Staff
Prof Ray Laurence & Prof Dominic Abrams
ECRN
23
Wed 27 Mar 2-4pm
Responding to Reviewers’ Comments
Dr Peter Bennett & Dr Simon Kirchin
ADW
25
Thurs 9 May 12-4pm
European Commission
Prof Simon Thompson & Jenny Billings
FF
27
Wed 22 May 2-4pm
Recycling your Proposal
Prof Elizabeth Mansfield & Prof Ray Laurence
ADW
29
Wed 5 Jun 12-2pm
Balancing the Conflicting Demands of Academia
Prof Gordon Lynch & Prof Sarah Spurgeon
ECRN
Page 43
Internal Approval Form
• Ensures the University endorses and takes
responsibility for your project.
• Internal Approval Form
– Check list – risks/issues
• Need to attach a ‘Full Economic Costing’
• Sign off by:
– PI and any Co-Is
– HoS (or representative)
– Research Services
Page 44
Sources of Information
• Research Funding Officers
–
–
–
–
–
Social Sciences: Brian Lingley (b.lingley@kent.ac.uk, xtn4427)
Humanities: Lynne Bennett (l.bennett-282@kent.ac.uk, xtn4799)
Sciences: Carolyn Barker (c.m.barker-47@kent.ac.uk, xtn7957)
Medway: Karen Allart (k.a.allart@kent.ac.uk, xtn8967)
The Guru: Phil Ward (p.ward@kent.ac.uk, xtn7748)
• Websites
– Funding opportunities: www.researchprofessional.com
– European Funding: www.ukro.ac.uk
– Jacqueline Aldridge & Andrew Derrington: The Research Funding
Toolkit (Sage, 2012) (http://www.researchfundingtoolkit.org/)
– Research Services: www.kent.ac.uk/researchservices
– Research Fundermentals Blog: http://fundermental.blogspot.com/
Page 45