Irish Research Council
Government of Ireland Postdoctoral
Fellowship Scheme
Information Session for DCU Applicants
Dr. Helen Burke
Research & Innovation Support
Thurs 29th Nov 2015
Overview
• 12 or 24 month fellowship for excellent
early stage researchers to carry out a
research project
• Any discipline
• Start date 1st Oct 2016
• Award:
– Salary of €31,275 p/a (plus PRSI and pension)
– €5k direct research support expenses
• Consumables, travel, training, books, publishing
costs etc.
Eligibility
Must:
• Have been awarded PhD between 28th Feb 2011 and 29th Feb 2016.
– Or have submitted thesis and have examiners appointed by 24th Nov
2015 and viva/thesis defence will be held before 29th Feb 2016
• Be authored or co-authored of a published peer-reviewed research
publication
– Or provide thesis table of contents plus one thesis chapter plus one
further sample of written work
Must not:
• Hold a permanent contract with a HEI
• Have been employed as a PD for more than 5 years at 29th Feb 2016
• Have held an IRC GOI PD Fellowship or Enterprise Partnership
Scheme PD Fellowship
• Have applied more than once before (i.e. can only apply twice)
Proposal Submission
• Submit proposal via IRC online application
system
– Applicant, mentor and referee details
– Applicant track record
• Qualifications, work experience, publications,
outputs, awards etc.
– Proposed research
– Career training and development plan
– Ethical and sex/gender dimension
– Financial justification
Submission Process
•
Register as applicant on IRC online system (OLS)
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https://irishresearch.smartsimple.ie/s_Login.jsp
Enter information and save drafts
No changes possible after submission
HEI where will be based
Referees
– Applicant enters referee email address and OLS sends referee login details and prompt to
complete referee form
•
Academic Mentors
– Applicant selects from drop-down menu
– If DCU Academic Mentor not listed, send request to Helen Burke, RIS to add
– Academic Mentor receives email from IRC after application submitted prompting to access
OLS and complete Academic Mentor form
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Recommend work offline on the Indicative Application Form and copy and paste into OLS
Submit proposal (indicative application form) to IPAS by 4pm Wed 18th Nov to get Research
Office Endorsement
– http://www.dcu.ie/internal/research/tracking.php3
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Complete application on OLS by 4pm Tues 24th Nov and hit submit to send to Research Office
Research Office will submit to IRC
Assessment Process
Evaluation
1. Track Record
Research experience
(based on academic
CV), trans-national
mobility, intersectoral mobility,
scientific/practical/
management
experience
Research results
(publications, invited
contributions,
patents, teaching,
monographs, data
sets etc.)
Evidence of
Match between the
independent thinking researcher’s profile
and leadership
and the project
qualities
5.5 Research
Achievements
Research Awards
8. Relevant Work
Experience
9. Publications &
Other Research
Outputs – 5 peer
reviewed publications
plus 15 other outputs
5.5 Research
Achievements
8. Relevant Work
Experience
9. Publications
8. Relevant Work
Experience
6. Proposed Research
(Methodology,
specialist knowledge)
• Maximise use of Referee and Academic Mentor forms
2. Training and Career Development
Clarity and quality of
objectives in the
career development
plan, specific training
activities have been
scheduled.
Potential acquisition
of new research
related and
transferable skills.
Skills relevant to
employment outside
the traditional
academic sector.
Potential to acquire Impact of the
new knowledge.
proposed fellowship
on the applicant’s
career path: potential
to reach a position of
professional maturity,
diversity and
independence
7. Short and long
term career goals
Specialist knowledge
7. Research training
Complementary skills
training
Non-academic sector
involvement?
5.5 Research
Achievements
8. Relevant Work
Experience
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•
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Make clear the impact
this fellowship will have
on your career –
keeping in mind IRC
goals
Input from Mentor critical – must be joint effort
Maximise use of Referee and Academic Mentor forms
DCU Researchers Development Programme & Career Framework
Additional localised/specialist/tailored training
Not just training – must be a career plan
3. Quality of the Research Project
Research quality,
ethical and sex
/gender issues,
Interdisciplinary
/
multidisciplinary
aspects of the
proposal
Potential to
advance
fundamental
understanding
and/or potential
impact and
addressing socioeconomic needs
Originality
(relationship
to the ‘stateof –the-art’)
and
innovative
nature of the
project
Suitability of the Feasibility of
proposed
the project
methodology and
approach for the
project, short and
long term
research
objectives
6. Proposed
research
10. Ethics
11. Sex/gender
6. Demonstration
of significant
development
Dissemination and
potential impact
Conferences,
publications, open
access DORAS,
potential IP –
discuss with
Invent
6.
Relationship
to state of the
art
6. Methodology
(be specific)
Description of
topic
6. Research
schedule,
GANTT chart
Reasons for
choosing the
host
Resources for
project
Supports for
settling in
Track record
4. Quality of the Host Organisation/ Implementation of the
Fellowship
Suitability and
Quality of the Host
Organisation(s):
reputation of the
Mentor; support
provided (e.g.
equipment and
facilities); (inter)
national linkages
with appropriate
partners.
Host expertise in
developing
experienced
researchers in the
field; capacity to
provide mentoring,
facilitation of the
career development
and training plan.
Ability of Host
Organisation(s) to allow
full implementation of
all aspects of the
fellowship, such as the
provision of all
necessary facilities for
the fellow to carry out
the project.
Ability of Host
Organisation(s) to
assist the fellow in
integrating in their
new research
environment
6. Proposed Research
7. Training &
Development plan
7. Training &
Development plan
6. Reasons for choosing
DCU and your mentor
Description of specialist
knowledge
6. Proposed
Research
7. Training &
Development plan
• Academic Mentor forms particularly important
Feedback Reports – Track Record
“not in well-recognised journals”, “no notable scholarships, Fellowships
or awards”
- Track record very important. Ensure you stand out. Eligibility of one
publication unlikely to be sufficient to compete.
“lots of valuable non-academic research experience”
- Experience doesn’t have to be traditional
“difficult to judge whether s/he would be able to meet the demands of
completing a book”
- Be clear and convincing. Provide sufficient information. Risk
mitigation. Be a safe bet.
Feedback Reports – Training & Development Plan
“too general”, “vague”, “more evidence of ‘added value’
or innovative elements of supports”, “light in terms of
specifics”, “more significant or tailored career
development pathway could have been put in place”,
“uninspired”, “good but not outstanding”
- Be specific. Include DCU supports but also tailored and
specialised. Joint effort of mentor and applicant in
writing this essential. Be innovative. Non-standard but
relevant e.g. conference organisation, co-creation of
courses, media training etc. Ensure consistency within
an overall career plan. How do you actually want to
develop? What are your real career and developmental
goals?
Feedback Reports – Quality of Research Project
“too technical”, “uses specialist language”
- Write for a non-technical audience. Assessors will not be experts in your field.
Use jargon-free language. Keep prose simple and precise. Do not write in essay
mode. Use the language from the IRC call documentation.
“unclear why X chosen as publisher”
- Make sure all elements of the proposal match up. Aim high with publisher if
you’re stating research is world-class and track record shows you can achieve this.
“so what?”, “interdisciplinary”, “topical”, “critical issue”
- Must convince assessors that IRC should spend their limited funding on this
research rather than something else. Topic must be of relevance. Make it clear
right at the start what you’re going to do and convince the evaluator of the
importance and potential impact of the work on your career and on society. Who
cares if this research is carried out or not? What will the impacts be, and on
whom? How does your research address current and future challenges
(societal/cultural/economic)? How will you disseminate the findings? What will the
outputs be?
Feedback Reports – Host
Organisation/Implementation
“relevant experience”, “distinctive strengths” v’s
“does not make strong case”, “information vague”
- Must make a strong case for match between both
applicant and project with both Mentor and Host
Organisation. Don’t be vague. Use specifics.
Specialised. Refer to experience in field of
research, in supports etc. Show effort put in to
career plan. Demonstrate added value for both
the Fellow and the Host.
Feedback Reports – Assessors are Human
“The candidate clearly states that this re-writing for publication is ‘not a
significant development of the existing work’, but could one expect a little bit more
than just publishing work from the thesis”
- Applicant adhered to the guidelines. However, Assessors review a huge
volume of proposals with a strict deadline and all in their free time
(commuting to work, at home on the kitchen table, waiting in an airport
lounge etc.). In these circumstances, with only a few minutes to assess each
proposal you have to stand out compared to the other submissions. The
other candidates promised more. Need to do some level of extra research,
not just rewrite your PhD into book format.
Assessor 1: “Objectives sensible and achievable...are they really ambitious
enough?”
Assessor 2: “I have concerns about the feasibility of the project”
- Same proposal viewed differently by different Assessors. Whatever you
decide to do, be convincing. Use track record (e.g. applicant and/or mentor
have achieved this level of output previously), project plan (e.g. sketch out
timeline for research and writing per book chapters) etc. to convince.
Final Take Home Message
• IRC is looking for innovative, future ERC
candidates and world leaders
• They want you to solve current and future
challenges
• They want you to be brilliant and they want to
be able to claim you
• From your research and career they’ll need
sound bites, press releases etc.
• Give this to them. Convince them you’re a sure
bet and will deliver what they need. Help them
achieve their objectives.
Actions
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Confirm eligibility
Contact Academic Mentor & Referees
Visit DCU resources webpage
Read call documentation
Work out project and training plan
Submit application to IPAS by Wed 18th Nov
Submit application via OLS by Tues 24th Nov
Further Info
• IRC Webpage
– http://www.research.ie/scheme/2016-government-irelandpostdoctoral-fellowship
• RIS website
– http://www4.dcu.ie/researchsupport/ircpd-proposal-prep.shtml
• Dr. Helen Burke, Research & Innovation Support
– Answer queries, submit to IRC FAQ, proposal review
– Helen.burke@dcu.ie, x8003
• Dr. Katya McDonagh, Research and Engagement Support Officer
– HSS proposal review
– Ecaterina.mcdonagh@dcu.ie, x6778