LDC FUNDING FOR RESEARCH ACTIVE STAFF NETWORKS
APPLICATION FORM
PART A
Details:
Name: Dr Eleni Karasouli & Dr Sian Taylor-Phillips
Job Title: Research Fellow & NIHR Research Fellow
Staff No: 0973860 & 0873944
Department/Centre/Unit/Faculty: Warwick Medical School
Departmental Administrator (name):
Purpose / Objective of the Research Staff Network:
To continue activities of a recently developed network for Early Career Researchers within WMS. This
will be supported with regular meetings that will serve as a hub for sharing ideas, practice and
knowledge exchange on issues related to ECRs. Activities include the further development and
promotion of a mentoring scheme, communicating messages and outcomes between ECRs and the
School, and generally providing continued support to ECRs.
Details of the Skills/ Development Activity(ies) (Max 500 words):
The plan is to hold voluntary quarterly lunchtime meetings open to all Early Career Researchers
within the School between October 2013 and July 2014. The meetings will have a variety of aims
including:
* ECRs presenting their research work to colleagues at similar level but working in different fields to
raise interdisciplinary discussions.
* Inviting guests from the Research Support Services for training sessions such as external funding,
grant proposal writing, fellowships etc. to enhance ECRs’ skills and facilitate with their career
progression.
* Other theme meetings that will be identified according to ECRs’ needs discussed during the
meetings.
Date of your activity/event(s), if known:
Quarterly events (dates TBC)
If you have a website, please give the URL:
Sandy Sparks, LDC
Research Active Staff Network Funding
August 2013
No website available at the moment.
Please state which events will be open to other University of Warwick research staff:
This is a divisional network. However, as some meetings will have the nature of themed events, they
will be advertised accordingly across the university.
Is this a new network or existing network?
New / Existing
Scope/ Evaluation / Impact of activity(ies) proposed
(Please give us an estimate of the numbers of staff who will be involved and an indication of how you will measure the impact of the
activity/activities. If you intend to follow up the activity by disseminating information, or using the outcomes to support other staff
development activities, please also let us know this)
There is a cohort of 100+ ECRs in WMS.
How do you plan to let research staff know about your events/meetings?
By email, on the staff intranet and on noticeboards in the School.
How do you plan to share the learning / best practice with other University of Warwick Research
Staff Networks?
One of the funding applicants (STP) is the ECR representative on the Division of Health Sciences
Strategy Group, and the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, and she will be sharing best practice and
other messages with them.
What is the benefit of your activity/activities to:

The University
ECRs will be supported via the Network utilising the experiences and input from fellow ECRs,
senior colleagues within the School and across other departments in the university.

Your department/organisation
The department will benefit from having a well-represented group of ECRs. The network’s
activities will provide in-house CPD opportunities and overall support.

Research agenda
ECRs will be able to further develop their research work and ideas by having interdisciplinary
discussions.
Sandy Sparks, LDC
Research Active Staff Network Funding
August 2013
Total amount of funding requested:
£ 1,000
Breakdown of funding requested (approximate):
The funding requested is to cover:
i) catering at the meetings, based on the assumption that 30 people will be attending at any given
lunch meeting.
£250 per meeting x 4 meetings = £1,000.
ii) administrative support of half a day per month is not requested this time via LDC funding. Other
funding options will be explored.
*Signature of Applicant:
Date: 26/ 09/ 2013
Head of Department’s signature:
Head of Department:
**Signed:
……………………………………………………
(please print)
……………………………………………….…………….…
Date: ……………………………...
Please send your completed form either in hard copy or electronically to Sandy Sparks
(Sandy.Sparks@warwick.ac.uk) in the Learning and Development Centre, University House.
If you have any queries, please contact Sandy to discuss (either via email at the above address or on
extn 74121).
*You can either sign a hardcopy, scan in your signature or email the application which will be taken as your signature.
**Your HOD can either sign a hardcopy, scan in their signature or send an email to Sandy Sparks stating they support your
application.
Approved by: ……………………………………………………..……..….
(for LDC use)
Date: …………………………….
Amount approved: £………………………………………….……………
Sandy Sparks, LDC
Research Active Staff Network Funding
August 2013
PART B
Report:
Funding awards are conditional upon a report being produced after the event or activity which
reflects on the value and impact of the activity in order to share best practice. We ask you to do this
by completing Part B of this form within 2 weeks of the event or by 31 July 2014 for a series of
events. (Please note that funding may be retracted where reports are not produced).
Please tell us:
How you felt the event/activity went:
The Early Career Researchers Network continues to provide a supportive and valuable forum. The
network attracts interest from both ECRs and Warwick Medical School (including the Welfare
Strategy Group). All parties feel that the ECR network is useful with a clear place among other groups
within WMS. The ECR meetings were well attended demonstrating ECRs’ interest, with an average
attendance of 20-25 members of staff. In addition, higher level academics have been expressing
interest to present to our group demonstrating the School’s interest and involvement.
How many research staff were involved in
a) the organisational process:
Three research staff were responsible for the organisational process: the funding applicants (Dr Eleni
Karasouli & Dr Sian Taylor-Phillips) and Dr Rebecca Johnson who took over from Sian when she
stepped down in February 2014.
and
b) presenting at the event itself:
As part of our regular meetings we had external presenters, selected based on our group’s interests.
Four of the presenters so far were research-active staff (Jane Barlow, Peter Winstanley, Sudhesh
Kumar, Neil Johnson).
How it has contributed to the Department/ University/ Research Agenda:
There is an evident presence of the ECR Network within the School. ECRs are represented in groups
such as the Divisional Strategy Group, the Welfare Strategy Group and the Board of Faculty of
Medicine. Actively supporting ECRs was also part of the plan that secured the WMS’s Athena SWAN
award, and is part of the School’s agenda.
What has been learnt:
The funding applicants worked hard to continue the success of the ECR Network that they developed
in the previous academic year. The ECR network grew in number and our efforts focused on making
sure that our activities represent all ECRs based in WMS. Both ECRs and senior academics believe
that the network has been supporting ECRs effectively. Some of our action points are still in progress,
such as developing a mentoring scheme. This needs the input from a number of individuals, including
the WMS strategy boards. We believe that this will be in place by the end of the next academic year.
Sandy Sparks, LDC
Research Active Staff Network Funding
August 2013
What would be done differently next time:
We hope that our ECR Network will continue to grow in strength and we aim to continue developing
it. We will continue working with both ECRs and the School to identify needs and areas for
improvement. As mentioned above however, the network has been very well received, and so we
will continue with its current format.
Impact/results/benefits:
The Early Career Researchers Network was formed to support researchers at the early stage of their
careers based within any of the Divisions in Warwick Medical School. There is a cohort of around 140
ECRs in all divisions. Between September 2013 and July 2014 we held 5 meetings/ workshops, which
included networking, communicating key messages from and to the strategy and working groups
among divisions and the school, and finally holding training sessions and talks. The presentations
included topics such as applying for fellowships, getting support from the research support service,
what the newly developed ECR strategy means for ECRs, mentoring scheme, open access, writing
retreat, and communications and media tips. ECRs within all divisions found the network to be
supportive and essential in helping them within their role and their career progression.
Budget (provide breakdown of amounts spent): £678.05
i) catering for meetings: £478.05
ii) writing retreat presenter fees: £200.00
*Signature of Applicant:
Date: 24.07.2014
Please send your completed report either in hard copy or electronically to Sandy Sparks
(Sandy.Sparks@warwick.ac.uk) in the Learning and Development Centre, University House.
*You can either sign a hardcopy, scan in your signature or email the report which will be taken as your signature.
Report received (date): ………………………………..
(for LDC use)
Sandy Sparks, LDC
Amount spent: £ ……………………………………
Research Active Staff Network Funding
August 2013