Details:
Name:
Job Title:
Staff No:
Department/Centre/Unit/Faculty:
Departmental Administrator (name):
Purpose / Objective of the Research Staff Network:
Details of the Skills/ Development Activity(ies) (Max 500 words):
Date of your activity/event(s), if known:
If you have a website, please give the URL:
Please state which events will be open to other University of Warwick research staff:
Is this a new network or existing network? New / Existing
Sandy Sparks, LDCResearch Active Staff Network Funding August 2013

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)
How do you plan to let research staff know about your events/meetings?
How do you plan to share the learning / best practice with other University of Warwick Research Staff
Networks?
What is the benefit of your activity/activities to:
•
The University
•
Your department/organisation
•
Research agenda
£
£
Total amount of funding requested:
£
Breakdown of funding requested (approximate):
£
*Signature of Applicant: …………………………………………………………. Date: ………………………………...
Sandy Sparks, LDCResearch Active Staff Network Funding August 2013

Head of Department’s signature:
Head of Department: ……………………………………………………
(please print)
**Signed: ……………………………………………….…………….… 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)
Amount approved: £………………………………………….……………
Date: …………………………….
Sandy Sparks, LDCResearch Active Staff Network Funding August 2013

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 event went quite well - it was not as well attended as we had hoped, but those who did attend
(13 in total) were an audience who were committed to the ideas of interdisciplinary research and receptive to the approach. The event was opened by Prof. Stuart Croft, which was a great help to its credibility.
➢
How many research staff were involved in a) the organisational process:
The event was organised by 3 research project managers
and b) presenting at the event itself:
The 3 project managers and Prof. Stuart Croft presented at the event.
➢
How it has contributed to the Department/ University/ Research Agenda:
The University has a stated objective to increase European research funding. This funding, especially through the new framework programme "Horizon 2020" has an increased emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration.
While the workshop did not immediately lead to any research proposals, some groups did agree to take their ideas forward outside the workshop, with a view to future collaboration.
The ideas and approach were carried forward into one Horizon 2020 project (ASPYRE) proposal, where one of the organisers took the workshop approach forward to develop a bid with external partners. The outcome of this is pending, with the Warwick value in the bid approximately
£350,000.
Sandy Sparks, LDCResearch Active Staff Network Funding August 2013

➢
What has been learnt:
There was a clearly identified need for more general information on the new EC framework programmes: a lot of interest in this workshop was received from people who actually just wanted
"to find out a bit more about EC funding", most of whom were not at a stage where this workshop would help.
We also learned, on reflection, that this process in an abstract sense, where people start from either no clear project idea or a very poorly developed one, is not likely to immediately lead to a grant proposal.
However, feedback collected at the event and afterwards from the attendees suggests that the approach could be highly beneficial to researchers with an idea that needs interdisciplinary angles.
This could be done for other funding bodies, as well as the EC.
➢
What would be done differently next time:
As above, it would be great to make this service available and repeat the exercise for academics, or groups of academics, who have an idea for a project that requires interdisciplinary collaboration.
The approach devised for, and refined by, this workshop can be a good tool to do that.
➢
Impact/results/benefits:
Immediate tangible benefits are very hard to gauge. The learning from the organisers' point of view has already been operationalised in one large collaborative grant proposal, with another due to start development in the autumn.
We would be very happy to try rolling this out to other academics - marketing this presents a challenge.
➢
Budget (provide breakdown of amounts spent):
£262.50 catering for the workshop
£
£
Sandy Sparks, LDCResearch Active Staff Network Funding August 2013

*Signature of Applicant: …………Martin Price…………………………………………… Date: ……………24th July
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)
Amount spent: £ ……………………………………
Sandy Sparks, LDCResearch Active Staff Network Funding August 2013