Research Professional’s New Service – ‘Funding Insight’

Posted on April 8, 2013 by pw30

The University has a subscription to Research Professional, which is the leading database of all research funding opportunities that are currently available. We have recently extended our subscription to include a new service they are planning to launch, ‘Funding Insight’. This will provide some ‘value added’ information for applicants, such as:

  • Details from the Research Councils, Wellcome and Leverhulme on previous award winners for specific schemes. This will help you to see whether a particular scheme is right for you;
  • News about scheme changes, analysis of funding trends and interviews with programme managers, so that you can be ahead of the curve for what’s on the horizon.
  • ‘Know how’ from a range of experienced investigators, officers and managers about putting together a successful bid.
  • Four separate disciplinary ‘channels’, which will gather relevant information, statistics and analysis into one place for your area.

The new service will start on 10 April. Shortly after, they are offering ‘webinars’ to talk you through the new site. I would encourage you to take part in order to make the most of this potentially very valuable service. The dates are below; click on any to sign up.

If you aren’t able to make any of these dates, do get in touch with your Faculty Funding Officer who can come over and show you how it works. The Officers are:

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HR Excellence in Research

Posted on April 3, 2013 by bl55

The University is seeking accreditation with the European Commission’s ‘HR excellence in research’ scheme, which acknowledges our alignment with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment.

Simon Black, Learning and Development Adviser in HR, has just submitted the University’s proposal and action plan to Vitae, who administer the scheme in the UK. We should find out whether we have been successful in May.

A copy of the University’s submission can be found on the HR webpage.

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NIHR Information Day 11 April 2013

Posted on March 25, 2013 by pw30

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds NHS-related research, including social care and public health. Last year it gave out over £200m of research grants through a range of programmes.

This event will provide an overview of the NIHR and will offer help and advice on key elements of an NIHR proposal. A range of experienced academics, managers and administrators will be on hand to discuss your proposal, including members of the NIHR, the Research Design Service SE and Kent’s Research Services.

The event is free but places are limited, so please book early via the Eventbrite page: bit.ly/nihrday

10.00-10.15 Registration and coffee

10.15-10.30 Welcome Bridget Carpenter (Co-director NIHR Research Design Service South East)

10.30-10.45 Overview of NIHR Funding Dr Ferhana Hashem (RDS SE)

10.45-11.20 Designing an Effective Project Dr Gail Gilchrist (University of Greenwich)

11.20-11:50 Incorporating Statistics Dr Eryl Bassett (Statistician RDS SE)

11:50-12.30 Practical Exercise: Costing a Proposal Charlotte Brigden (RDS SE)

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13.30-14.00 Involving Patients and the Public Amanda Bates (RDS SE)

14.00-14.30 A Researcher’s Experience Dr Kate Hamilton-West (University of Kent)

14.30-15.10 The Other Side of the Fence: the view from  the Advisory Board Prof Ray Fitzpatrick (HS&DR Programme Director)

from 15.30 RDS Clinic – RDS Advisors, Statisticians and Patient and Public Involvement Officers will be available to discuss your proposal. For more information about the clinic, please contact Ferhana Hashem (F.Hashem@kent.ac.uk)

 

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Grants Factory: Responding to Reviewers’ Comments – 27 March

Posted on March 19, 2013 by pw30

Most of the Research Councils (and some other funders) allow you to respond to the comments that their reviewers give your application. Often the comments seem uninformed, and it’s easy – and tempting ! – to respond quickly and angrily to these. However, there is a knack to dealing with them effectively, and if you can master this you can turn round the negative feedback and actually get your applications funded. The workshop will led by Dr Peter Bennett  (DICE) and Dr Simon Kirchin (SECL). Both have had considerable experience as applicants, reviewers and panel members, Peter for NERC and Simon for AHRC. Their insight and advice will be relevant to academics in all three faculties, as there are common themes that apply to funders in all disciplines.

 The event will take place on Wed 27 March, 12-2pm, in Woolf Seminar Room 6. It is free and open to all staff, and lunch will be provided. Do let me know if you would like to come along.

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ESRC Media Training Days

Posted on March 19, 2013 by pw30

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has announced a new round of media training days. You can see all the dates and venues on the ESRC media training page at www.esrc.ac.uk/mediatraining. The dates and venues are as follows…

EARLY CAREER

  

MID CAREER
24 April 2013 Cavendish Campus, Univ. of Westminster, London   25 April 2013 Sherlock Holmes Park Plaza Hotel, London
19 June 2013 The Rougemont by Thistle Hotel, Exeter   20 June 2013 The Rougemont by Thistle Hotel, Exeter
25 September 2013 The Portland by Thistle Hotel, Manchester   26 September 2013 The Portland by Thistle Hotel, Manchester
20 November 2013 ABode Glasgow Hotel   21 November 2013 ABode Glasgow Hotel

The ESRC offers two levels of training…

  • Early career – Covers PhD and Postdoctoral students
  • Mid career – Covers researchers who are beyond their first five years as a researcher

Who can attend these courses?

ESRC training courses are available for social science researchers with preference given to ESRC-funded PhD students and researchers. Non-ESRC funded students and researchers can attend if spaces are available or will be placed on a reserve list – we may only give two weeks’ notice of available spaces.

How many people can attend each course?

  • Early career – maximum of 40 participants
  • Mid career – maximum of 10 participants

How much does each course cost?

The courses are offered free of charge, however the cost of getting to and from the venue is at your own expense.

How long does the course last?

Each course lasts one day – roughly 0900-17.00. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

What does the course involve?

We will send an agenda and directions to the venue with your course confirmation letter. For the senior and professorial fellows’ media training courses, the format of the day will vary depending on the group’s previous experience as stated in the registration forms.

How do I book?

You can find further details and the link to an online booking form at www.esrc.ac.uk/mediatraining.

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Leverhulme Programme Grants

Posted on March 6, 2013 by pw30

Each year Leverhulme announces two areas of interest for which it will provide grants of up to £1.75m. It only funds two grants. This year the topics are:

  • The Nature of Knots
  • Innovation for Sustainable Living.

These are intended to be interpreted broadly, but more detail is provided on Leverhulme’s website, here. Whilst Leverhulme do not set a limit on the number of applications per university, the small number of grants awarded would suggest that we do not put huge effort into a large number of applications.

With this in mind it would make sense for anyone interested to get together to meet others, talk about their work, and see what mileage there is collaboration inside or outside the University.

To this end we will be will be holding a meeting at 12:30pm on 18 March in Woolf Seminar Room 5. Come along if you want to find out more about the Leverhulme Programme Grants, and to hear from a previous applicant about what was involved.

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ECR Network: ‘Relationships with Senior Staff’

Posted on March 6, 2013 by pw30

The next Early Career Researcher Network event will take place next week (Wednesday 13 March, 12-2pm, Cornwallis SR6), and will look at ‘Relationships with Senior Staff’.

ECRs have very different experiences of working with senior staff. Some have had very supportive mentors and managers, who guide them and help them, lightening their teaching load, discussing and developing their research plans, and providing funding so that they can attend conferences etc. For others, the experience is less positive, and some feel that unreasonable demands are being made of them, resulting in a sense of isolation and burnout.

Led by Prof Dominic Abrams (Psychology) and Prof Ray Laurence (SECL), this workshop will explore how you can best develop positive relationships with senior staff, and what to do if you feel that the expectations of others are unrealistic.

The workshop is free and open to all, and lunch will be provided. However, places are limited so do get in touch with Phil Ward as soon as possible if you wish to come along.

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EPSRC Mock Panel – Thursday 7 March 2013

Posted on March 5, 2013 by pw30

As part of the Grants Factory programme Research Services will be running an EPSRC ‘mock panel’ event on Thursday at 12noon. This is a useful exercise for anyone wanting to understand how a funder’s peer review panel works, the pressures they are under, and the choices they have to make.

The event is free and open to all. If you want to take part contact Phil Ward.

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AHRC – Advice from a Peer Review Panellist

Posted on March 5, 2013 by pw30

Phil Ward took part in an AHRC event on ‘building better applications’ recently. The first speaker, Prof Roberta Mock from Portsmouth, provided a really useful insight into some of the issues that applicants should address when applying to the Council. For more information, go to the Research Fundermentals blog.

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Grants Factory: Essentials of a Good Application – 12 Dec 2012, 2-4pm

Posted on December 5, 2012 by pw30

Everyone’s research is different, but successful funding proposals share a number of common elements. Mastering these is essential if your application is going to get the consideration it deserves, no matter how good your underlying research idea is. The next Grants Factory session will look at these, and will provide insights into how to get them right. The speakers come from very different disciplines, but it is their diverse backgrounds which is their strength: it shows that, whether you’re applying to the AHRC or the BBSRC, you need to understand these key elements. Paul Allain is Professor of Theatre and Performance in the School of Arts, and Mick Tuite is Professor of Molecular Biology in the School of Biosciences. Using real life examples, they will share their experience and knowledge, and you should come away from the session with the basic tools for constructing a successful proposal.

 The event is free, and refreshments will be provided, but do let me know if you intend to come along.

The full Grants Factory programme is available on the SharePoint website, together with slides and notes from all recent events. Notes from the ECR Network meeting last week have now been posted on the blog.

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