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Call for NCCPE-ESRC Research Synthesis 2009 Proposals – Deadline 31st July

Two Topics are available:

1) Widening Participation from Undergraduate to Post-graduate Research Degrees

2) Academic Promotion Criteria for Third Stream Activity

The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) is working with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to commission research syntheses relevant to higher education and public engagement. The NCCPE is managing this call and welcomes applicants to address the stated topic.

Further calls will be launched on additional topics.

This synthesis will uncover and synthesise current academic literature and report on this topic. It is intended that the synthesis will outline the existing data and highlight any trends and/or gaps in existing knowledge. If justified, appropriate ‘grey’ literature may also be referenced.

Applications can be made for up to £15,000 for this synthesis, with additional funding available for outputs and dissemination, as agreed with the NCCPE and ESRC. It is anticipated that this synthesis will be conducted during the autumn of 2009. 

The final product of the synthesis will include a written synthesis report along with a PowerPoint presentation.

The deadline for applications to be submitted is 12:00 on 31 July 2009, via the University of Bristol’s e-tendering system.

All relevant documents, as well as further information, is available by registering at https://tender.bris.ac.uk/procontract/bristol/supplier.nsf/frm_home?openForm

Please contact Sandra Spencer for any enquiries at nccpe.enquiries@uwe.ac.uk

Missenden Centre Workshop: Making a Successful Research Grant Proposal 5/6 November

Our unique hands-on research bidding clinic as featured in THE.

Bring a draft, or previously successful application, for advice on how to turn it into an award-winning form.

Sarah Andrew, Dean of Applied and Health Sciences, University of Chester

Robert Crawshaw, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Lancaster University

‘When attending your last year’s seminar on how to write successful bids for research funding I had brought along a draft for an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship application. Discussing my application with Sarah Andrew and Robert Crawshaw as well as the advice and input from the other participants made an essential contribution to re-shaping my application. I have now learned from ESRC that my fellowship application was successful, and I will start with the fellowship sometimes later this year!’ Participant 2008

‘I thought I’d just drop you a quick email to let you know that my ESRC proposal that I brought to the workshop you did last November (2008) – Cycling Cultures in a mass motorised society –  has been awarded 2 years’ funding.  I definitely think that the Missenden workshops I’ve attended have improved my grant writing skills. Thanks again!’  Dr. Rachel Aldred, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of East London

Details and online bookings:  www.missendencentre.co.uk

or email eva.nj@missendenabbey.ltd.uk  or call Eva on 01494 866811

AHRC Fellowship Scheme

On 29^th January 2009 the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) launches a new Fellowship scheme with an initial annual budget allocation of £8 million.

Based upon a very extensive consultation with the UK’s arts and humanities research community, the new AHRC Fellowship scheme represents a reaffirmation of the AHRC’s commitment to fund the time needed by researchers to undertake world-leading research with impact and to support the career development of outstanding researchers in the arts and humanities.

 The new scheme allows for:

• highly flexible funding for researchers seeking to devote between 50% and 100% of their time over periods of up to nine months to undertake research in any areas within the AHRC’s remit.
• a route for early career researchers, which will provide for mentoring and career development support.
• funding of up to £120,000 (100% FEC) to include research costs and communication, dissemination and knowledge transfer activities to maximise the impact of the research outcomes.

The new scheme replaces the current Research Leave scheme, the last round of which closes on 5th March 2009. The Fellowships scheme will offer more flexible provision designed to add value to QR-funded time and institutional support for research career development, and to complement other fellowship schemes available to UK arts and humanities researchers. The scheme will be decoupled from institutional leave, and so will enable award holders to take up their Fellowship when the research needs to be done, rather than when leave happens to be due.

The new scheme will have a rolling open deadline. The first applications will be accepted from the 1st September 2009 with the first Fellowships expected to start in autumn 2010.

Full details of the new Fellowship scheme will be posted on the AHRC website: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/News/Latest/Pages/NewFellowshipScheme.aspx

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentship Competition 2009

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentship Competition for 2009 has been announced and the University of Worcester is entitled to submit up to 5 applications for this competition.

The AHRC funds research in a wide range of subjects, from traditional humanities such as history and English, to archaeology through to creative and performing arts such as drama, dance, music, art and design.

The studentship competition includes:

• Doctoral studentships – provides support for students undertaking a PhD.
• Research Preparation Master’s studentships – provides support for students intending to proceed to doctoral study, who are undertaking a Master’s course which will prepare them for doctoral study. The scheme provides support for students in the creative and performing arts who are intending to proceed to doctoral study or to a career in research in the higher education sector, who are undertaking a Master’s course that will prepare them for doctoral study or a research career.
• Professional Preparation Master’s studentships – provides support for students intending to proceed to a career in professional practice, who are undertaking a Master’s course that will prepare them specifically for that professional practice.

Details of all aspects of the scheme, including their value (maintenance + fees), may be found at: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/StudentshipCompetition.aspx.

Please note that these studentships must normally be taken up in autumn of this year, i.e. September/October 2009.

Students who wish to apply for an AHRC studentship for a PhD or Masters at Worcester are advised in the first instance to contact John-Paul Wilson (j.wilson@worc.ac.uk ).

All applications must be made jointly with the University of Worcester.  This means that the student must have been accepted on to a relevant programme.  In the case of a PhD, you may already have begun your study.

Potential applicants will be asked to make a Case for Support, details of which are here, which must be submitted to me by Monday March 9^th 2009.

As noted, the University can only submit a maximum of 5 applications to the AHRC through this competition.  Only high quality applications where the student meets the eligibility criteria will be allowed to go forward to the AHRC.

The applicants who are successful at this initial stage must then go on to complete a full application to the AHRC using the Joint Electronic Submission system.

Please note that full applications for the Studentship Competition must be submitted electronically to the AHRC by Thursday May 7^th 2009.

 Members of staff are asked to circulate this information to students who they think may be interested in this competition.

NESTA: 3 Invitations to Tender

1. NESTA Policy and Research Unit: Invitation to Tender: Creative Clusters and InnovationRecent evidence suggests that there are significant links between a creative cluster in a geographical region and its innovative performance. Several mechanisms for this relationship have been presented. They include spatial externalities, economies of diversity, knowledge spill-overs and ‘creative buzz’.

We are interested in the following two questions:

What is the importance of the different mechanisms, through which creative clusters impact a region’s innovativeness?

What is the relationship between specific characteristics of a creative cluster and the dynamics of innovation in the regional economy?

NESTA aims to inform policymaking and development in the UK, so we’d like your proposals to focus on UK clusters and regions, and the implications for policy.

We are especially interested in research proposals that use economics, quantitative methods, spatial modelling and network analysis techniques. We welcome case study-based and ethnographic approaches as long as they can generate wider, transferable implications and policy recommendations.

2. NESTA Policy and Research Unit: Invitation to Tender: Innovative Places

We are inviting proposals for two projects under our Place and Innovation research strand.

Creating places for innovation by absorption

This project will focus on ‘place’ at the smallest unit of analysis. Literally, we are interested in exploring places, like buildings, public spaces, schools (building schools for the future), hospitals and/or any other specially designed place that was created with the aim of facilitating knowledge transfer and learning to boost local innovation capacity.

The project will showcase successful instances of ‘place (or space) making’

that have enhanced local and regional capacities to access, anchor or diffuse external knowledge. We are looking for five contributions in the format of essays, where three of them will focus on each of the three capacities (access, anchor, and diffuse) and two on distinctive cases of ‘place-making’

such as virtual, self-organised or naturally-evolved places.

Best practice in international knowledge sourcing

A firm’s external environment plays an important role in its innovation capacity. But the external environment is no longer confined to a firm’s adjacent territories but extended to include a much larger geography, expanding with its supply-chain, customers and other organisations and persons in its network. Nearly three quarters of firms in the UK are engaged

globally: selling to customers, running operations, outsourcing, or securing goods or services abroad.

Firms often form formal and informal alliances and partnerships with local or foreign firms. These provide them with access to otherwise inaccessible knowledge and expertise. Such inter-firm alliances and partnerships help transfer knowledge through a network of firms and organisations.

Most importantly, they help transfer knowledge from overseas partners to local partners. While a lot of research has already been done to investigate these relationships between large multinational companies and high-tech clusters, less attention has been paid to the practices of small firms (less than 250 employees) outside fashionable high-tech clusters in London, or around Oxford and Cambridge.

We think there is a need to look at the relationships of small firms outside Cambridge, Oxford, and London – and beyond IT and biotech sectors, as those represent a majority of firms in the UK. This project aims to investigate practical problems associated with absorbing knowledge developed in foreign locations.

How to Apply for tenders 1 and 2 – the closing date for all applications is noon Tuesday, 28th October 2008. For further information and guidance, please go to

www.nesta.org.uk/npru or email research@nesta.org.uk.

NESTA: Invitation to Tender 2

Invitation to Tender: Government Interventions – are they changing investor behaviour?

 

We are inviting proposals from organisations with in-depth knowledge of the early-stage venture capital market and a track record of producing high-profile reports to look at whether recent government initiatives in the early-stage capital arena have led to a change in investor behaviour.

 

The final output will be a report on the effectiveness of government initiatives in early-stage funding and will provide a benchmark of performance. 

 

The closing date for applications is 5pm (BST) on 17 September 2008.

 

Further information visit: http://www.nesta.org.uk/working-with-npru/  

 

 

NESTA: Invitation to Tender 1

Invitation to Tender – Innovation that Matters

 

NESTA is launching a new research strand, Innovation that Matters, which focuses on innovation in response to major social challenges.

 

The aim of this research is to better understand the ‘innovation systems’ that exist in areas of major social challenge, such as climate change.

 

We are now inviting tenders from researchers for three distinct research project areas:

 

ageing, climate change, and health & wellbeing.

 

Researchers may apply for one or more projects. Under each area, the research should deliver the following:

 

a) A map of the ‘innovation system’ in relation to the particular challenge, focusing on support for innovation in this area. This should include current and recent UK government, public funding and other major initiatives. It should also include specific, up-to-date data relating to levels of spending/funding, and where appropriate, for comparison, recent historical levels of spending/funding.

 

b) An overview of major policies and regulations relating to the particular challenge area and how they stimulate or inhibit innovation.

 

c) Based on a) and b), a critical analysis regarding which forms of innovation receive the greatest attention and support, which types of innovation are under-represented or neglected, and the overall fitness of the current innovation system to address the particular challenge area.

 

d) From this, recommendations for key stakeholders, including NESTA, on how to improve and enhance their support for the innovation system in the particular challenge area being studied.

 

The closing date for applications is 12 noon (BST) on 11 September 2008.

 

Further information visit: http://www.nesta.org.uk/working-with-npru/

 

 

 

NERC – Research Grants Handbook updated

The NERC Research Grants Handbook has been updated. There are a number of changes including the new requirement for Knowledge Exchange plans to accompany all Standard, Consortium and Partnership research grant applications.  It can be found here:  http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/application/researchgrants/grantshandbook.doc.

ESRC-ICSSR India-UK Scholar Exchanges 2008

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Indian Council for Social Science Research are are inviting applications under a new scheme for India-UK scholar exchanges (see http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/international/esrc-icssr08.aspx?ComponentId=26699&SourcePageId=5964#0) .

The purpose of the scheme is to strengthen the quality and potential of research in both countries by building greater research interaction. The scheme is aimed at established scholars in either country to undertake clearly specified research collaborations between India and UK. Funding will be available for academic visits of 1-3 months to recognised research organisations, including universities and research institutes.

Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the appropriate country and employed, with an appointment of at least three years, in a research or academic position in a recognised research or academic institution in that country. They must also hold a PhD or equivalent qualification, and have held this for at least three years by July 2008 (i.e. since at least July 2005).

The Councils are particularly interested in applicants about to be able to make major contributions in their research area. In this first round of exchange awards, the Councils are concerned to encourage applicants who have established, begun to establish, or are on the verge of establishing, international recognition in their research field.

The Councils expect to be able to make up to 10 awards during 2008, with arrangements for the visit to be completed by not later than March 2009, and the visit to be taken up during academic year 2008-09. The Councils expect but do not require that five of the exchange visits will be to the UK and the other five to India.

How to make an application

Proposals should be submitted on the ESRC-ICSSR Scholar Exchanges Application Form (MS Word). The deadline for proposals is at 4pm local time on Thursday 17 July 2008.

Applications for UK scholars wishing to visit India have to be submitted to ESRC. Application and all supporting materials (1-2-page CVs of Exchange Scholar and Lead Collaborator) should be sent to The Registry, ESRC in hard copy.