Research Grants & Contracts Office
Applying for
research funding
Louise Botley
Research Support Officer
Room 353, Malet Street extension
020 7631 6099
l.botley@bbk.ac.uk
Summary

Making a successful application
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Major funders and their schemes
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Sources of information
What the funder looks for:

High-quality research: an original
contribution to knowledge in the field

Outputs: what will be the impact of the
research?

Academic record: evidence of research
potential
A strong proposal
Addresses the funder’s research priorities
and the aims of the scheme
 Clear language without jargon
 Establishes the context for the research
 Well-defined aims and objectives
 Detailed methodology – why these
methods?

A strong proposal (2)
Anticipates potential problems – how will
you deal with them?
 Has realistic ambitions
 Identifies and addresses training needs
 Specified outputs and dissemination plans

Practical points
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Read all guidelines, terms and conditions
Check your eligibility
Check application form requirements, e.g.
referee reports, signatures, length of proposal
Allow plenty of time: check deadlines/method of
submission.
Electronic submission – may need to set up an
account
Practical points (2)
Choose referees carefully – check they
have time.
 Get the finances right – check with
Research Grants
 Justify costs where appropriate.
 Get as much feedback on your draft
proposal as possible

Essential contacts
Head of Department
 Research Grants Office
 Funding agency staff
 Referees
 Supervisor
 Potential mentor
 Ethics committees

Proposal writing guides

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ESRC – follow ‘How do I’ link on left hand
side.
AMRC – Click on ‘Our Members’ at the top
of screen; ‘A guide to success’ is on the
right of the screen.
EPSRC: Click on ‘How to Apply’ on right
hand side.
Types of Funder

Research Councils

Charities

Government bodies

Commercial sponsors
Arts and Humanities

British Academy

Leverhulme Trust.
Wellcome Trust – History of Medicine
 Arts and Humanities Research Council –
Creative and Performing Arts

British Academy
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Awards grants in humanities and social
sciences (inc. psychology)
Postdoctoral fellowships
 3 years support for outstanding recent
postdoctoral scholars (up to 2 yrs post PhD)
 Production of single publishable piece of
research
 Closing date 28 February
 2004: 518 applications submitted, 38 awards
made
http://www.britac.ac.uk
Leverhulme Trust

Early Career Fellowship
2 year award – all fields are eligible
 Trust pays up to 50% of the employment
cost, plus research expenses up to £5,000
pa
 Career development for researchers under
the age of 35 with track record.
 Closing date March
 www.leverhulme.ac.uk

Social Sciences
Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC)
 British Academy
 Leverhulme Trust
 Wellcome Trust – Biomedical Ethics
 Nuffield Foundation

Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC)

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Budget of £77m for research in 2004/05
Postdoctoral Fellowship
 1 year, immediately on completion of PhD
 No closing dates
 Open to all disciplines but preference given
to priority areas – economics, quantitative
methods.
 Success rate in 2005: 24%.
www.esrc.ac.uk
Science and Engineering
Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council
 Natural Environment Research Council
 Particle Physics and Astronomy Research
Council
 Leverhulme Trust
 Wellcome Trust – Biomedical Sciences
 Royal Society

Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council

Royal Academy of Engineering/EPSRC
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
 Awards tenable for 5 years

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematical
Sciences
 Tenable for 3 years

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Theoretical
Physics
Medical Sciences
Medical Research Council
 Wellcome Trust
 Department of Health/NHS
 Various medical charities – e.g. British
Heart Foundation
 Interdisciplinary awards with ESRC

Medical Research Council

Special Training Fellowships in:
Bioinformatics, Neuroinformatics, and
Computational Biology

Health Services & Health of the Public
Research
 Provide support for up to 4 years
 Placement in another research centre
 ‘Competitive’ salary, research training
support costs, travel, fEC basis.
Wellcome Trust

University Awards
 Biomedical Sciences
 Gradual change from fellow to
permanent staff member

Research Fellowships for up to 3 years
 Biomedical Ethics programme and
History of Medicine programme
 Salary, research expenses, travel grant
 Closing dates: 1 Mar., 1 Aug., 1 Dec
Other sources of funding
Fellowships for study overseas
 Visiting fellowships offered by
libraries/universities/museums and
galleries
 Travel grants to visit archives/attend
conferences
 Employment on a research grant
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Funding Information
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Funders’ websites
Supervisor
Research grants website
www.bbk.ac.uk/rgco/index.shtml - for faculty
specific funding information and list of
forthcoming deadlines
www.ResearchResearch.com
Useful websites
AHRC: www.ahrb.ac.uk/cpa/
ESRC: www.esrc.ac.uk
MRC: www.mrc.ac.uk/index/funding/fundingpersonal_awards/funding-fellowships.htm
Royal Academy of Engineering:
www.raeng.org.uk/research/researcher/postdoc
EPSRC: www.epsrc.ac.uk
NERC: www.nerc.ac.uk
PPARC: www.pparc.ac.uk
Useful websites (2)
British Academy: www.britac.ac.uk
Leverhulme Trust: www.leverhulme.ac.uk
Wellcome Trust: www.wellcome.ac.uk
Nuffield Foundation: www.nuffield.org.uk
The Royal Society: www.royalsoc.ac.uk
Medical Research Charities: www.amrc.org.uk