Research Grants & Contracts Office

1. 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

2. Summary • Making a successful application • Major funders and their schemes • Sources of information

3. 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

4. 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?

5. 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

6. Practical points • 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

7. 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

8. Essential contacts • Head of Department • Research Grants Office • Funding agency staff • Referees • Supervisor • Potential mentor • Ethics committees

9. Proposal writing guides • 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.

10. Types of Funder • Research Councils • Charities • Government bodies • Commercial sponsors

11. Arts and Humanities • British Academy • Leverhulme Trust. • Wellcome Trust – History of Medicine • Arts and Humanities Research Council – Creative and Performing Arts

12. British Academy • 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

13. 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

14. Social Sciences • Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) • British Academy • Leverhulme Trust • Wellcome Trust – Biomedical Ethics • Nuffield Foundation

15. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) • 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Medical Sciences • Medical Research Council • Wellcome Trust • Department of Health/NHS • Various medical charities – e.g. British Heart Foundation • Interdisciplinary awards with ESRC

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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

23. Funding Information • 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

25. Useful websites AHRC: www.ahrb.ac.uk/cpa/ ESRC: www.esrc.ac.uk MRC: www.mrc.ac.uk/index/funding/funding-personal_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

26. 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