1. SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme
Webinar: 20 January, 2016
SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme
Dr. Aisling McEvoy

2. Webinar Information
This webinar consists of a short PowerPoint presentation with voiceover (1-way!)
We will walk you through the presentation and answer questions at the end
You may submit questions by typing them in the Questions text box on the GoToMeeting control panel – please try to be concise
The webinar will be linked on the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Programme webpage
Call document and FAQs can be found at the above location

3. Webinar content
Programme overview: objectives, remit, funding, eligibility….
Programme format and submission
Evaluation process
Deadlines

4. Early-Mid Career Opportunities
SFI SIRG
Royal Society-SFI URF
Transitioning to independence
SFI ERC Support - Starting
SFI-HRB-WT (Sir Henry Wellcome, RCDF & Career Re-entry)
SFI fully-funded programme
Joint-funded programme
SFI Career Development Award
SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Award
SFI ERC Support - Consolidator
Transitioning to Leadership
New
SFI-HRB-WT (Senior Research Fellowship) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 +
Years post-PhD (approx.)

5. About President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme
is a recruitment‐only programme designed to attract to Ireland outstanding new and emerging research leaders who are top-tier cutting edge researchers in science or engineering. The call is open to applicants based outside of Ireland as well as those recently recruited from overseas (i.e. within 2 years of the Expression of Interest deadline).
will address gaps in leadership in specific discipline areas (including, but not limited to advanced manufacturing, bioprocessing, agri‐food, cyber‐security, smart cities, energy and marine research), will enable succession planning in areas which will require leadership in coming years due to retirements, or will complement/strengthen ongoing activities e.g. Research Centres.
will support excellent scientific research that has potential economic and societal impact.

6. Objectives of the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme
To identify and recruit to Ireland the most promising of a new generation of future research leaders who are top-tier cutting edge researchers in science or engineering, and will address gaps in leadership in specific discipline areas, enable succession planning in areas which will require leadership in coming years due to retirements, or complement/strengthen ongoing activities e.g. Research Centres.
With the support of the host Research Body, to enable an appropriate environment (support and infrastructure) to assist the awardee in realising their potential and further develop as research leaders.
To support excellent scientific/engineering research that has potential impact.
To further encourage and promote Ireland’s participation in the international research community and to increase the number of ERC and H2020 awards secured by Ireland-based PIs.
To maintain Ireland’s top 20 position in international bibliometric rankings through an increase in the number and quality of journal publications.
To enable collaborations with academic and industry partners particularly in areas of strategic priority.
To increase the proportion of invention disclosures, patents, licenses and spin outs recorded by Ireland that are linked to SFI research.
To increase the coverage of SFI and science by the media.
Objectives

7. Programme remit Programme Remit
Research carried out under the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme must be aligned with SFI’s legal remit, but is not required to align with one of the 14 designated National Research Priority (NRP) areas.
Applicants must indicate in Sesame whether their research aligns with one of the 14 NRP areas or another area of strategic opportunity.
The legal remit of SFI is to promote, develop and assist the carrying out of oriented basic and applied research in in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which promotes and assists the development and competitiveness of industry, enterprise and employment in the State.
Programme
Remit

8. Applicant Eligibility
Be an outstanding early/mid‐career researcher between 3 and 15 years post PhD or
equivalent, undertaking research in the broad areas of science or engineering in an
overseas academic institution or industry, or have been recently recruited to Ireland
(within 2 years of the Expression of Interest deadline), and who has demonstrated
research excellence, independence and leadership, and shown exceptional potential
to become a research leader of the future.
Between 3 and 15 years of experience beyond the award of PhD*
Have significant publications (as senior author) in major international peer
reviewed journals and invited presentations at well‐established international
conferences.
Have secured independent research funding from competitive publicly‐funded
sources and potentially through private investment, as well as accumulated
supervisory experience.
Have demonstrated international standing (e.g. peer review, keynote talks,
collaboration, conference and workshop organisation etc.) as indicators of scientific maturity, in addition to demonstrated capability of working collaboratively with private enterprise.
Outstanding track record – publications, research funding, invited presentations
In a permanent, full-time academic position (either within the institution at which they wish to base their CDA-funded research or another elsewhere in Ireland or overseas), or employed on a temporary (fixed-term) contract where it is evident that the role being carried out is an independent research position
The applicant may not hold or have held a PI-like award from SFI, this includes but is not limited to IvP (except for IvP Projects 2012), PI, PIYRA, Research Centres and Spokes co-PI. Current holders of SFI ERC Development grants are not eligible to apply. Current or former holders of SFI awards such as IvP projects (2012), RFP, TIDA are eligible to apply at any point providing all other eligibility criteria are met.
Current holders of a Research Career Development Fellowship (RCDF – SFI HRB Wellcome Trust Biomedical Research Partnership), a Royal Society-SFI University Research Fellowship or an ERC Starting Grant are eligible to apply in the last 24 months of their award (providing all other eligibility criteria are met).
ERC Consolidator and ERC Advanced Grant current or past award holders are not eligible to apply.
The applicant must be senior author on at least five international peer reviewed articles (note the 2013 requirement to be a named author on an average of at least one international peer-reviewed primary research publication per year since the award of the PhD has been removed)
The applicant may not hold or have held a PI-like award from SFI.
Current holders of RCDF-SFI-HRB Wellcome Trust Biomedical Research Partnership or a Royal Society‐SFI University Research Fellowship are eligible to apply to the SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme in the last 24 months of their award.
No previous SFI award
*Allowances will be made for eligible leave

9. Applicant Eligibility
Individuals may not, while their SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders proposal is under active review, submit an application as an applicant or co‐applicant to any of the following programmes: SFI Investigators Programme, SFI Research Professorship, SFI SIRG, SFI CDA, SFI ERC Development Programme or to SFI Research Centres or Spokes.

10. Eligible Leave and extension of eligibility
President of Ireland Future Research Leader applicants may extend their period of eligibility by 18 months for each separate period in which they have taken a minimum of 12 weeks of consecutive documented eligible leave since the conferring of their PhD/MD. This can include, but is not limited to the examples below:  
• Statutory adoptive leave
• Statutory parental leave
• Statutory maternity leave
• Statutory paternity leave
• Carer’s leave
• Long-term medical illness leave
• Conscription  
Applicants may extend their period of eligibility by 12 months for each year spent working in a science or engineering related industry post award of PhD. The maximum extension to the period of eligibility under this scheme is two years (24 months).
Eligible Leave

11. Applicant, Research Body, Advisor
Responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the research programme, the supervision of their research team and the submission of reports to SFI.
Primary responsibility for carrying out the research within the funding limits awarded and in accordance with the SFI Terms and Conditions of Research Grants
Serves as the primary point of contact for SFI on the award
Will be recognised as an SFI Principal Investigator, if successful
Applicant
Applications will only be accepted from Eligible Research Bodies
A list of Eligible Research Bodies is available on the SFI website
Research Body
an established and experienced local member of faculty to guide, assist and facilitate the awardee in settling into the new institution
to assist the applicant at application stage, and if successful, to support in the relocation process of the awardee and team members, if applicable, and in the establishment of an independent group at the host institution.
It is expected that the role of the Advisor will be phased out as the programme progresses and the awardee becomes established at the host institution
Advisor

12. Up to €1M direct costs for 60 months
Funding
Up to €1M direct costs for 60 months
Applications may be submitted for an award of up to €1M direct costs for a period of 60 months.
Due to the recruitment nature of this award, applicants may apply for an additional €250,000 to cover start‐up costs
In addition to the direct costs, SFI also makes an indirect or overhead contribution to the host research body, which is reflected as a percentage of the direct costs (excluding equipment)

13. Eligible Costs
Applicant’s salary – contribution of up to 50% of the salary of the applicant may be requested if the applicant is not in receipt of a full salary. The Research Body must guarantee to pay the balance of the salary for the duration of the award. In this situation, the total value of the research award will be up to a maximum of €1,000,000, exclusive of the Research Body’s salary contribution and start‐up costs. It is expected that salary requests for the applicant will be aligned with the SFI Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow scale
Staff – Contribution towards staffing costs for team members. Costs must align to the SFI Grants Team Member Budgeting Scale. SFI will fund a contribution to the salary of a postdoctoral researcher according to the SFI Team Member Budgeting Scale, Level 2. The point on the scale should be determined by qualifications and experience
SFI salary contributions for team members will include PRSI at 10.75%.
The stipend and fees (if applicable) for the PhD student must be in line with SFI policy.
See SFI budget policy

14. Eligible Costs
Materials & consumables – Outline all materials and consumables to be used in your programme.
Travel – Travel costs must be clearly related to the proposed project. Where possible, give names of events and conferences to be attended.
Equipment – Outline the equipment to be used in your programme.
Start-up costs – are designed to facilitate the establishment of a lab in a new location and can cover the purchase of equipment and/or access to large facilities, but should not include a salary contribution, are not subject to an overhead contribution, and must be entered into the budget template under the equipment section as a single line item. These costs then need to be clearly detailed (including costs for each item requested) and fully justified in the budget justification.

15. Programme format and submission

16. Expression of Interest submission Full proposal submission
Programme Format
The Future Research Leaders programme consists of a two‐stage submission process encompassing a three‐stage review.
Expression of Interest submission
Main body of the EoI includes 5 page CV and a 2 page research description + 1 page strategic fit with the host institution (Programme document upload 3 page max)
Applicants who are successful at Expression of Interest stage will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Main body of the full proposal includes a 2 page impact statement, a 2 page development/leadership plan and 15 page research description with 5 pages for references (Programme document upload 24 page max). In addition, CVs of the applicant (5 page) and the collaborators (2 page) as well as letters of support from the Research Body, collaborators (both academic and industry), and the advisor must be included.
Applicants whose full proposal receives excellent reviews will be invited for interview.
Full proposal submission
Interview
Interviews will comprise a presentation followed by a question and answer session, and will be undertaken by an international review panel.

17. IMPACT
Scientific excellence is both necessary and paramount, but is not sufficient; applications must also demonstrate potential economic and societal impact. Two page impact statement required in full proposal.
The impact statement should articulate the planned and potential impact of the proposed research.
The call document details the kinds of impacts that can be made through research projects – the impact statement should consider some or all of them.
SFI Impact webinar:
Important! “Quality, credibility and relevance of the impact statement, including the likelihood, scale and value of societal and economic effects on Ireland as a result of the proposed research” is one of the evaluation criteria for this programme.

18. Proposal Submission
Proposals will only be accepted through SESAME, SFI's online grants and awards management system
Access to SESAME is managed by staff at the Research Office of your host Research Body – contact your Research Office to request and obtain access
Once registered, you will receive an with your Username, Password, SFI PIN number and the SESAME website address
SESAME is accessible via the internet at and can be accessed from any location.
The SESAME Researcher User Guide
Proposals must be submitted by the Research Body to SFI via SESAME on behalf of the applicant

19. SESAME Submission Tips
Contact your Research Body and get set up in SESAME as soon as possible so that you can start your application well in advance of the Future Research Leaders Programme EoI submission deadline (08 April 2016, 13:00 Dublin local time), or any internal submission deadline set by your Research Office
Review the User Guides, FAQs and Short Guides on this website: These documents contain all the information you need to enable you to submit an application through SFI’s SESAME system
Complete all mandatory fields under "Additional Contact Information" (e.g., nationality, year of PhD, etc.) in your personal profile prior to submission
Start your application as soon as possible
Log any technical queries with the SESAME support team at well in advance of the submission deadline. There are a large number of applications expected for this call and last-minute technical issues may affect your ability to submit before the deadline – avoid problems by starting your application early!

20. Advisor and Collaborator(s)
Submission checklist
Please note that submission checklists are included at the end of the call document:
Appendix B – Expression of Interest checklist
Appendix C – Full proposal checklist
PLEASE REVIEW PROPOSAL IN SESAME PRIOR TO SUBMISSION
SECTION
DESCRIPTION
REQUIREMENTS
Eligibility Questionnaire
Confirm eligibility
Complete questions
Proposal Summary
Title
Up to 30 words.
NRP Area
Choose at least 1 if
applicable, otherwise please select ‘other’
Research categorisation areas
Choose 2
Justification for SFI legal remit
Max. 250 words
Percentage time commitment
Lead Applicant details CV
Max. 5 pages
Summary info – publication/ supervisory
Expired, Current & Pending Funding
Advisor and Collaborator(s)
details
Name/Contact details etc.
Main Body of Pre‐Proposal
Keywords
Max. 15 words
Description of the Proposed Research (Combined
programme documents upload)
Max. 2 pages
Strategic fit with the host institution (Combined
Max. 1 page

21. Evaluation process

22. Proposal Evaluation (1) – Expression of Interest
All applications will be evaluated by the SFI Programmes Directorate and the SFI Executive Committee and the most outstanding ranked candidates will be invited to submit a full proposal to the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders programme.
EoIs will be assessed based on the track record of the applicant, the quality and significance of the proposed research, the strategic fit with the institution and the quality of other requests received by SFI.
Deadline for EoI submission: 08 April 2016, 13:00 Dublin local time
Expression of Interest

23. Proposal evaluation (2) – Full proposal
All eligible applications will receive at least 3 reviews from international experts.
The applicant may specify up to three referees who should not act as reviewers for his or her application due to the competitive and confidential nature of the research programme.
Reviews received from peers will be collated and forwarded to applicants to submit a response (equivalent to 2 pages including references) to reviewers’ comments.
The following review criteria will be applied:
Quality, significance, and relevance of the research track record of the proposed investigator together with evidence of their potential for research leadership
Quality, significance, and relevance of the proposed research, including the potential to advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields.
Quality of the development/leadership plan, including the importance and timeliness of the strategic fit with the host institution and national research agendas, where appropriate
Quality, credibility and relevance of the impact statement, including the likelihood, scale and value of societal and economic effects on Ireland as a result of the proposed research
The applicant response document will be considered by SFI, alongside the proposal and postal reviews in making a decision as to whether the applicant will progress to interview stage.
Deadline for full proposal submission: 19 August 2016, 13:00 Dublin local time
Full proposal

24. Proposal evaluation (3) - Interview
Interviews will comprise a presentation followed by question and
answer session, and will be undertaken by a high level panel of experts.
The panel will take into account the results of the interviews alongside the individual postal reviews. The output of the panel meeting will be a
ranked list of proposals.
The SFI Executive Committee will consider the outputs of the review
process and all related documents and will refer the final funding decision to the SFI Grant Approval Committee in compliance with SFI policy for funding requests above a threshold.
Expected timeline for decisions: End Q1 2017
Interview

25. Deadlines

26. Deadlines
Expression of Interest deadline: 08 April 2016 at 13:00 Dublin local time
Full proposal deadline (if invited): 19 August 2016 at 13:00 Dublin local time
Indicative timeline for decisions: End Q1 2017

27. Webinar Information
We will now put voice on mute for a few minutes while we gather questions – please be patient
We will deal with as many questions as we can verbally
Submit questions by typing them in the Questions text box on the GoToMeeting control panel – please try to be concise
The webinar will be linked on the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Programme webpage
Call document and FAQs can be found at the above location
After the webinar, with any queries.