The Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for International Development invite proposals for the National Centre for Research Methods call for methodological research projects that will undertake cutting-edge methodological research development, within the context of substantive research problems.

This supports projects that undertake methodological research in one or more of the following areas:

• digital devices and mobile technologies for data collection;
• participatory approaches;
• analysis of online digital and big data;
• bio-social data analysis;
• policy-relevant research synthesis;
• small area estimation.

The aim of the call is to increase the quality and range of methodological skills and techniques used by the UK social science community, to enable new or existing social science research questions to be addressed more effectively.

Applicants are encouraged to focus their research in ways that are likely to add value to existing data resource investments. Projects must demonstrate a connection between methodological developments and the social scientific questions, data and theory they relate to.

The total budget available from ESRC is £5 million at 80% full economic cost. Projects may receive up to £825,000 each at 80% FEC for up to 36 months. Funding may cover part of the salary costs for a principal investigator and other directly allocated staff costs, costs for supporting administrative, technical and research staff, and costs of equipment, travel, subsistence and project-specific consumables.

Projects should commence on 1 January 2016.

Closing date 16 Jun 15

For further information go to: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/34169/ncrm-methodological-research-projects-2015-call.aspx