Call for methodological research projects

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

 

 

Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions: MSCA Individual Fellowships Call

 

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Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions: MSCA Individual Fellowships Call

The 2015 Individual Fellowships (IFs) call, which includes the European Fellowship and the Global Fellowship strands, has been published on the Participant Portal.

The IF Guide for Applicants can be found on the Portal through the Call Documents tab for the IF call, as can a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document for the IF call.

The deadline for the 2015 Individual Fellowships call is 10 September 2015.

To find out more follow this link to the web page MSC Fellowship call 2015

Or see the fact sheet here – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Horizon 2020 Briefing Sheet

 

European Parliament rejects Horizon 2020 cuts

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The European Parliament’s committees on budgets and economic and monetary affairs have voted against taking money out of Horizon 2020 to pay for an EU investment fund.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20150420IPR42732/html/Strategic-Investment-Fund-committees-back-Juncker-Plan-but-not-programme-cuts

In a vote on 20 April, the two committees voted for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s proposal to establish a European Fund for Strategic Investments (Efsi), but rejected his proposal to use €2.7 billion of Horizon 2020 funds to pay for it. Funding should instead be taken from the annual budgetary margins, until it reaches the required amount of €8 billion by 2022, according to the Parliament vote.

“We want to preserve Horizon 2020 as much as possible, which is why we want to use the budget margins, formed on an annual basis,” said José-Manuel Fernandes, the budget committee’s rapporteur for Efsi, at a press conference following the vote on 20 April.

Europe’s researchers have lobbied against Horizon 2020 cuts for months, arguing that a decrease in funding would undermine the continent’s strong research base. Research groups such as the European University Association have said that universities will struggle to access the Efsi funds because they are based on loans rather than grants, and only few universities are legally allowed to take loans.

 

Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professors

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The Royal Academy of Engineering invites applications for its visiting professors scheme. This industry-into-academia initiative is intended to utilise the experience of senior industry practitioners from engineering disciplines to enhance student learning as well as the employability and skills of UK engineering graduates.

The visiting professor would deliver teaching and mentoring at the host university and contribute to postgraduate teaching, curriculum development and strategy development.

Applications must be made by UK host universities.

Funding is worth up to £10,000 per year over three years to support the visiting professor through honoraria and travel expenses.

Closing date 16 Jun 15

For further information go to:

http://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-and-prizes/schemes-for-people-in-industry/visiting-professors-in-innovation

 

Using Crowdfunder for your crowdfunding campaign

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Crowdfunding is a huge growth area, Nesta said that in 2014 crowdfunding grew by a massive 388%. Crowdfunder is the UK’s largest based crowdfunding platform. Crowdfunder helps community groups, charities and social enterprises raise funds from the community around them, helping people turn their ideas into reality. So far they have helped thousands of projects raise over £4 million.

Crowdfunding is a way of funding a specific project by raising donations from people through an online campaign.

You can crowdfund if you are starting your fundraising from scratch, want to set up a new project or have already received funding from other sources. In fact many organisations chose to use Crowdfunder as match funding to unlock much larger pots of money.

How does it work?

  • To start your project you’ll need to decide on the amount you need to raise and explain how you are going to use the money through an online video.
  • Once your project page is live you invite your community to back the project with pledges of cash. You can also ask people to donate time and skills towards projects.
  • In return for backing your project that person receives a ‘reward’ from you. Rewards are normally a product, service or experience that is produced by the project. When a person backs a project they get a ‘reward’ from the project. Rewards are normally a product, service or experience that is produced by the project. For example Leeds bread co-operative gave a loaf of bread every week for a year in return for a £100 pledge, this allowed them to setup their bakery and raise £8000 from 114 local people.
  • Supported by Crowdfunder, you promote your project using a mixture of social media, email, word of mouth and events.
  • You need to hit your fundraising target for the money to be released to their project.
  • Once you have raised the money, you then distribute their rewards to your backers – and make their great idea happen.

Many projects say they learn entrepreneurial and marketing skills in the process of crowdfunding and promote their project to new people who will help in many ways over the coming years. Start your project here:

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/workingwith/funding-central/?af=fundingcircle

 

Healthcare technologies challenge awards

Logo of the EPSRC, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council invites outline proposals for its healthcare technologies challenge awards. These will enable early-career researchers to develop new research groups and capabilities that address long-term health challenges and will have the potential to become new centres of critical mass in multidisciplinary health technologies research.

Proposals must align with one of the following grand challenges:

  • developing future therapies
  • frontiers of physical intervention
  • optimising treatment
  • transforming community health and care.

In addition, proposals should further the following crosscutting research capabilities:

  • advanced materials
  • disruptive technologies for sensing and analysis
  • future manufacturing technologies
  • medical device design and innovation
  • novel computational and mathematical sciences
  • novel imaging technologies

Principal investigators should be academics working in and holding a permanent academic post for up to eight years at an HEI, a research council institute or an independent research organisation. Applications may include a limited number of co-investigators from a complimentary discipline, provided that their participation is crucial to the interdisciplinary nature of the work.

The total budget of £10 million will fund approximately 10 awards. Funding should enable the PI to devote 35 per cent of his/her time to the project. Other eligible costs include staff time, consumables and equipment, user engagement, impact and dissemination activities, and partner collaborations and exchanges.

For further information go to: https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/healthcaretechchallengeawards/

Closing date: 14 May 15

Sofja Kovalevskaja award for early career researchers to set up a research group

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The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation invites applications for the Sofja Kovalevskaja award. This enables young researchers from abroad to establish their own junior research groups at research institutions in Germany.

Scientists and scholars from all countries and disciplines who have completed their doctorates with distinction no more than six years ago may apply. Applications from young female researchers are particularly welcomed. Applicants must not have been in Germany for more than six months at the closing date for applications.

Scholars in the humanities or social sciences and physicians must have a good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the project successfully; scientists and engineers must have a good knowledge of German or English.

The award is worth a total of €1.65 million for a period of five years and may be used to cover all expenses relevant to their projects including living costs of the applicant.

Closing date: 31/07/2015

Further information: http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/7360.html

8th Edition of the BBVA Foundation frontiers of Knowledge awards

2015Nominacion_tcm270-493304World-class research and artistic creation of excellence will be awarded through the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, which will be prizing originality, theoretical significance and ability to push back the frontiers of the known world. Significant achievements are also sought in key challenges of the 21st century: climate change and development cooperation.

Prize categories: Basic Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), Biomedicine, Ecology and Conservation Biology, Information and Communication Technologies, Economics, Finance and Management, Contemporary Music, Climate Change and Development Cooperation.

Entry conditions: Candidates shall be one or more natural persons of any nationality, without limitation of number in the case of convergent contributions to a given advance. In categories 7 and 8 (climate change or development cooperation), entries are also open to public and not-for-profit organizations. Awards may not be granted posthumously.

A two stages selection process will involve technical evaluation committees and prize juries made up of internationally reputed experts.

Awards: €400,000, a diploma and a commemorative artwork in each prize category.

Deadline for applications: 30/06/2015.

For more information, please go to: http://www.fbbva.es/TLFU/tlfu/ing/microsites/premios/fronteras/presentacion/index.jsp

BBSRC Responsive mode research grants

BBSRC - Bioscience for the future

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its responsive mode scheme, on any topic within it’s portfolio.

Applications should be made to the appropriate committees according to the research topic:

  • research committee A evaluates proposals related to animal disease, health and welfare
  • research committee B evaluates proposals related to plants, microbes, food and sustainability
  • research committee C evaluates proposals related to genes, development, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics approaches to biology
  • research committee D evaluates proposals related to molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology

Grants may be used for research projects, technology development, equipment or use of existing facilities, new facilities or infrastructure provision, research networks and coordination and summer schools. Small pilot projects, proof-of-concept studies etc may also be supported.

Principal applicants must be resident in the UK and hold an academic staff appointment, lecturer level or equivalent, at a higher education institution, research council institute or a BBSRC approved research organisation.

Grants are tenable for up to five years.

Closing dates:  28 April 2015, 23 September 2015

For further information go to: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/apply/deadlines/

Travel Scholarships for the study of Nursing Practice

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The RCN Foundation and the Florence Nightingale Foundation invite applications for their travel scholarships. These enable scholars to undertake a study on an aspect of practice or education in the UK or overseas in order to enhance patient care in the UK. Applications are accepted in all areas of care, however priority is given to projects that address the following fields:

•long term conditions, including dementia, across the whole care pathway;

•end of life care;

•projects that improve the patient experience, enhance dignity, health or wellbeing across the whole life course;

•enhance clinical leadership.

Projects should be connected to the applicant’s field of work, and should benefit their patients and the profession more widely.

Nurses and midwives who are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and who work and are resident in the UK, may apply. Applicants should have at least two years’ professional experience prior to application. Preference is given to applications from candidates at the developmental stage of their career.

Scholarships are worth up to £5,000 each, and studies should be at least three to four weeks long.

Further information:

http://www.florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk/content/page/35/