Research Funding Opportunities in KLS Phil Ward Research Funding Officer September 2007

Page 2 Funding Opportunities in KLS Identifying the right funder & scheme Sources of funding Preparing an application Getting approval

Page 3 Identifying the right funder & scheme Types of funding  ‘Responsive Mode’ Grants & Fellowships  For research on a subject suggested by you  ‘ Managed Programme’ Grants & Contracts  For research on a subject suggested by the funder  Programme Grants are similar to other grants; Contracts tend to have more onerous terms and conditions and generally result in ‘deliverable’ product/report  Other types  Conference Funding  Overseas Collaboration: Travel & Visiting Fellowships  Links with Industry/exploitation

Page 4 Identifying the right funder & scheme Other points to consider:  Remit oAims (un/stated)  What costs are covered? oFull Economic Costs (fEC)  Deadline – does it fit in with your timetable?  Success Rate

Page 5 Identifying the right funder & scheme Sources of funding  Research Councils oAHRC oESRC  Charities oLeverhulme Trust oWellcome Trust oNuffield Foundation  Professional and Learned Bodies oBritish Academy  Government  Industry

Page 6 Research Councils Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (26% - £721.1m) Medical Research Council (20% - £546.5m) Science & Technology Facilities Council (19% - £527.8m) Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (14% - £381.8m) Natural Environment Research Council (13% - £367.2m) Economic & Social Research Council (5% - £150.3m) Arts & Humanities Research Council (3% - £97m)

Page 7 AHRC Funds research ‘from traditional humanities subjects, such as history, modern languages and English literature, to the creative and performing arts’ Success Rates :  Research Grants oStandard 27% oSpeculative 31% oPractice-led19%  Fellowships in the Creative & Performing Arts 18%  Small Grants in the Creative & Performing Arts 44%  Research Leave49%  Networks & Workshops33%

Page 8 AHRC Research Grants  Recently reconfigured oEmphasis on supporting ‘teams’ of researchers o4 ‘routes’ to applying: –Standard (£20k - £1m) –Early Career (£20k - £200k): <8yrs of PhD, or <6yrs 1 st appt –Speculative (£20k - £200k): ‘outcomes uncertain’ –Practice-led (up to £20k): ‘practice as integral component’  Deadline: June and Nov Research Leave  Most popular AHRC scheme; high success rate  Matching term of leave  Deadline: March and Sept

Page 9 AHRC Benefits of applying to AHRC:  Prestige  fEC – generous funding What to watch out for:  Research Leave: oDeadline eligibility oTerms contiguous oCompletion  Research Grants: ‘Team’ research  Try and avoid cross-panel research

Page 10 ESRC ‘the UK's leading research funding and training agency addressing economic and social concerns’ Success Rates :  Fellowships15%  Standard Grants 19%  First Grants21%  Small Grants39% Benefits of applying to ESRC are similar to AHRC What to watch out for:  The ‘lure’ of programmes  ‘Communication plan and user engagement’  Ethics  Small grants/standard grants assessment: better to be seen by individual or whole Board?

Page 11 Charities General  Leverhulme Trust  Wellcome Trust  Nuffield Foundation Specialist  Often medical oeg Cancer Research UK

Page 12 Leverhulme Trust Funds all fields, except social policy and welfare, medicine and education Supports original, risk-taking research that often transcends traditional discipline boundaries 2006 expenditure £44.3m, split between:  Sciences45%  Humanities36%  Social Sciences19%

Page 13 Leverhulme Trust Success Rates  Visiting Professorships50%  Emeritus Professorships48%  Study Abroad Fellowships24%  Research Fellowships22%  Research Grants20%  Philip Leverhulme Prizes19%  Major Research Fellowships13%  Early Career Fellowships 11%

Page 14 Leverhulme Trust Benefits of applying to Leverhulme  Not ‘restricted’ by demands of distributing public money ono ‘political agenda’ oreporting not as onerous What to watch out for:  Research has to appeal to broad general audience oTrustees all ex-Unilever employees o‘Advisory Committee’: 9 professors from a range of disciplines  Interdisciplinary – but not ‘last resort’  Risk taking  Individual ‘vision’

Page 15 Wellcome Trust ‘To foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health’ Funding expenditure in £484.1m As well as Biomedical Research, also supports ‘Biomedical Humanities’ (£8m in 05/06)  Broad remits: oHistory: ‘the historical study of all factors affecting the medical and health experience of people and animals in all countries, at all periods.’ oEthics: ‘ethical issues that arise in the development and delivery of healthcare, or that arise from the use of medical techniques. This includes ethics of research (involving either humans or animals).’

Page 16 Wellcome Trust Benefits of applying to Wellcome  Wide range of funding  More useful feedback following rejection  Supportive once you have received funding What to watch out for  Bringing in electronic submission in Medical Humanities  Bewildering choice of funding schemes

Page 17 Nuffield Foundation Aims  ‘To advance social well being…by supporting work which will bring about improvements in society.’  To support the development of research and professional capacity Research expenditure (2006): £9.5m Benefits of applying to Nuffield  2 part process: initial application very simple, and can apply any time  2 of the 3 project grant areas are close to KLS interests oCivil justice/family law What to watch out for:  Strong social policy element  Small scale funding  Importance of ‘methodology’  Look at previously successful grants

Page 18 Nuffield Foundation Project Grants  Types oResearch Projects: should have implications for practice or policy rather than simply advancing knowledge oDevelopment Projects: either involve trying something new, or involve some facility that will be of practical value  Programme areas oChild protection, family law and justice oAccess to justice oOlder people and their families oOpen door Social Science Small Grants  Up to £12k  Not restricted to policy/practical projects, although do look for ‘social relevance’

Page 19 Professional & Learned Societies Generally provide some small scale support for visits, conferences, fellowships or smaller research projects Professional Bodies  Represent people working in a specific area  e.g. Socio-Legal Studies Association Learned Societies  Represent, and act as a forum for, a particular subject or discipline  e.g. Royal Society, British Academy

Page 20 British Academy Funds research in Humanities & Social Sciences Govt funding 06/07: £21.3m funding strategy is focused on providing small- scale support, including project grants (up to £100k fEC), fellowships, conference grants and agreements with other countries for international projects

Page 21 British Academy Success Rates 2005/06:  Small Grants69%  Larger Grants*59%  Overseas Conference Grants50%  British Conference Grants50%  Fellowships 9%  Postdoc Fellowship 5% *NB Has now been replaced by ‘Research Development Awards’, with emphasis on ‘mid-career’ funding for developing an ‘innovative line of research.’

Page 22 British Academy Benefits of applying to BA  Higher success rates than other funders  Relatively simple forms  ‘useful’ pots of money – eg conference funding, collaboration etc What to watch out for:  Quite a ‘traditional’ funder  Liable to SOOH (but Larger Grants fEC)

Page 23 Government National  Government Departments oUsually managed programmes, e.g. DH, DEFRA, DFID oSome responsive mode – e.g. DEFRA’s Darwin Initiative  County Councils  Other Government-funded organisations oBritish Council – collaborative grants oNESTA International  Europe oFramework Programme  USA oFederal Grants & National Institutes of Health

Page 24 Other National Government Funding County Councils  Commission surveys etc. British Council  Have collaborative agreements with a number of countries

Page 25 European Funding European Commission  ‘driving force’ behind EU  Drafts laws, manages day-to-day business of EU  Organised into 37 Directorates General & Services, including oJustice, Freedom & Security  eg ‘Daphne II Programme’ to combat violence against children, young people and women oResearch  Framework Programme oRegional Policy  Interreg Programme

Page 26 DG Research Framework Programme  European Union’s main method for funding research and innovation  Has been running since 1984; currently ‘FP7’  Budget €50bn over 7 years (FP6 €17.5bn over 4 years)

Page 27 Framework Programme: FP7 Framework Programme: EU’s main method for funding research and innovation FP7 started in January this year Budget €50bn over 7 years Organised into 4 pillars:  Cooperation oFunds collaboration in 10 key areas  Ideas oFunds basic research via European Research Council  People oFunds Marie Curie Fellowships  Capacities oFunds infrastructure, facilities etc

Page 28 FP7: Cooperation Themes Health Food, agriculture and biotechnology Information and communication technologies. Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies Energy Environment (including climate change) Transport (including aeronautics) Socio-economic sciences and the humanities Security Space

Page 29 FP7 - SSH 1. Growth, employment and competitiveness in a knowledge society: the European case 2. Combining economic, social and environmental objectives in a European perspective: Paths towards sustainable development 3. Major trends in society and their implications 4. Europe in the World 5. The Citizen in the European Union 6. Socio-Economic and Scientific Indicators 7. Foresight activities 8. Strategic Activities

Page 30 FP7 – SSH – Current Call Deadline 29 Nov Large collaborative projects (CP) - €1.5m - €4m Topics:  Interactions between knowledge, economic growth and social well-being  Globalisation and its interaction with the European economy

Page 31 FP7: European Research Council Responsive Mode No requirement for collaborative groups First round focused on early career researchers:  ‘Starting Independent Researcher Grant’ o200 to be made annually, each lasting up to 5 yrs oUp to €400k per year oApplicants <10 yrs from PhD oVery over subscribed – success rate approx 5% Later rounds will also include ‘Advanced Research Grant’  Details to be announced

Page 32 DG Regional Policy Interreg IIIa  To stimulate interregional cooperation  East Sussex and Kent & the Departments of Pas-de- Calais, Nord, Somme and Seine-Maritime  Kent currently have high success rate, but money is running out Interreg IV is due to start in 2007/08 and will cover a much larger area  Still being negotiated Kent contact: Sheila Boultbee

Page 33 European Science Foundation Not part of EU (member countries include Switzerland and Turkey) Aims to act as a catalyst for brining together European scientists and researchers Includes Social Sciences & Humanities Schemes include exploratory workshops, Programmes and COST Networks

Page 34 Industry Does provide funding for research, but tend to be more restrictive in the parameters of the research and use of intellectual property In-house expenditure on R&D  e.g. Pfizer spent $7.4bn on R & D in 2005  Some of this used in collaborative projects Contracts for research services Grants or award programmes If specifically seeking industry support, talk to Kent Enterprise

Page 35 Applying for Funding - Preparation A good idea – think of the specifics  What will you do? (objectives, plan, timescale)  Why now?  Why you? (expertise, track record, contacts)  What impact? (beneficiaries, dissemination)  What resources do you need? Reasonable, accurate, eligible Think which funder is most suited to your project Look out for calls for proposals Read previously successful proposals  Successful Proposal Bank

Page 36 Writing a Proposal Give yourself time  Be aware of the deadline – don’t leave to last minute  at least a month to write, at least a week for approval, on average 6 months for outcome, plus time to recruit staff etc Satisfy  the funder’s requirements & aims  the scheme objectives Read additional guidance – eg ESRC, Leverhulme  Also guidance from Kent’s peer reviewers The abstract/scheme of research is critical  Communicate enthusiasm  Reviewers see hundreds – make yours stand out Internal peer review

Page 37 Applying for Funding – Je-S Joint Electronic Submission System Used by all Research Councils except MRC Kent already registered Registering:  Go to click ‘Create Account’, and give your detailshttps://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/eforms/secure/Login.asp Applications approved and submitted by Research Services Clear & straightforward tutorials:  als.asp als.asp

Page 38 Applying for Funding - Costing Full Economic Costing  Government requirement  Have been submitting RC applications using fEC since 1 Sept 2005 Don’t worry – the Research Services will help!  Will make calculations based on information you give  But give us time (at least a week before deadline)

Page 39 Applying for Funding - Approval All applications must have Internal Approval Form  Series of yes/no questions as to risks, use of resources etc  Must be signed by: oPI and Co-I(s) oHead of Dept oResearch Services  If excessive demand on library/computing services oHead of Computing Service oSubject Librarian May also need:  Ethical Approval oResearch proposals of a clinical, psychological, social or physiological nature involving human participants oResearch Ethics Advisory Groups – Ethics Committee  Research Governance Approval oneed to get advice and/or approval if your research is in Health or Social Welfare

Page 40 Sources of Information Funders     g g    g/science-research- partnerships.htm g/science-research- partnerships.htm  m m  en.cfm en.cfm  Sources of information   Applying for funding  Research Services  Je-S s.rcuk.ac.uk/eforms/secure/Logi n.asp  Full Economic Costing Help and Support  Phil Ward  Jacqueline Aldridge