UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Q-STEP CENTRE
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH TRAINING FUND – GUIDANCE NOTES
The Kent Q-Step Centre has introduced a Quantitative Research Training Fund (QRTF) to
enhance the quantitative skills of members of staff; its value is £15,000 per year.
Kent teaching staff from SSPSSR, Pol/IR, KLS and KBS may bid for funding for recognised
training courses to enhance their quantitative skills. The funding can be used, for example,
for learning data analysis skills, learning particular software packages (e.g. SPSS, Stata), or
for training in different types of data or particular surveys (e.g. an introduction to
Understanding Society).
Examples of allowable costs include:
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Cost of course
Travel
Food
Accommodation
This list is not exhaustive and the Q-Step Centre will consider supporting any activities that
enhance the quantitative skills of the members of staff from the participating schools. Except
in exceptional circumstances, awards will be made only to tenured staff and cannot be
transferred to other institutions.
If the training relates to a particular piece of statistical software that you do not have access
to via your School, and you will therefore require a software licence after the course, then
please make this clear on the application form. It is expected that the participating Schools
will cover any follow-on quantitative research software costs, but this should be clear to your
Head of School from the original application.
The intended training can be linked to teaching, a research project or can just be a general
broadening of skills. Staff can apply several times to this fund within the same year to
continue to build of the new skills acquired. Preference will be given to staff who need to
develop/refresh basic-level quantitative skills, to first time applicants in any given year, and
where training is likely to lead to direct impacts on teaching, research, or skills sharing at the
University.
The application should include information on the overall objectives and added value (to both
the institution and member of staff) of the training course, and the expected outcomes and
impact (see application form).
Awards are granted per course (likely to last no longer than a fortnight) and a special case
will have to be made for international courses. All costs should be in line with the current
Travel and Subsistence rates as outlined by the Finance Department. The award should be
spent as specified in the initial application and any unspent moneys must be returned to the
Q-Step Centre in due course.
Successful bidders are expected to produce a brief report on completion of training,
including how the QRTF has been used, and to what extent this in line with the expectations
of the original bid. The report should be 1-2 sides of A4 and must be submitted no later than
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3 months after the project has completed. Non-receipt of a report or the submission of an
unsatisfactory report will make the applicant(s) ineligible to receive further QRTF funding in
the future.
Application Procedure
Applications should be made using the QRTF application form. This form can be found at:
www.kent.ac.uk/qstep/funds.html
While we will welcome applications from all members of the participating schools, the normal
expectation is that the applicant will be a tenured member of staff. We cannot accept an
application from an individual whose contract with the University ends before the anticipated
training course for which funding is sought.
The Head of School’s signature is required, signifying that they support the application.
Applications will be considered three times a year (once per term) by a panel comprising of
one of the Q-Step Coordinators, two Q-Step Team members and one member of Research
Services. Applicants will be informed as to the outcome of their application within four weeks
from the deadline date.
Deadlines for Applications:
Dates for 2015/16: 11th May 2015, 2nd November 2015, 7th March 2016
The total available funding is £15k and amount awarded will be dependent on the course.
Please note the following conditions:
1. The funding is only available for the specific training course stipulated in the application
form.
2. Any money which has not been utilised as per the original application form will be
returned to the Q-Step Centre, unless a case is made for an extension.
3. A report will be submitted no later than 3 months after the training has been completed
using the template available at www.kent.ac.uk/qstep/funds.html
4. The funding should not be used for any purposes other than those indicated in the
application.
5. That if items of general use or application are purchased from the funds awarded, they
should be given to the Library when the research is completed.
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