RCUK consults on open access

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Research Councils UK has launched a call for evidence to inform a review of how its open-access policy has been implemented.

The review panel, chaired by former University of Leicester vice-chancellor Bob Burgess, wants to hear from anyone who is interested in the open-access policy. The deadline for evidence is 12 September and the panel hopes to report interim findings by the end of 2014.

The review is aimed at helping RCUK to understand how effective the policy has been and what impact it has had on universities, research organisations, publishers and researchers.

See http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/media/news/140717/

The review panel, chaired by former University of Leicester vice-chancellor Bob Burgess, wants to hear from anyone who is interested in the open-access policy. The deadline for evidence is 12 September and the panel hopes to report interim findings by the end of 2014.

 

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Individual fellowships

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FRIAS

http://www.frias.uni-freiburg.de/en/news/call-for-applications/call-for-applications-frias-cofund-fellowship-programme-fcfp-2015-16

The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies invites applications for its individual fellowships. These support innovative research across existing boundaries, between disciplines, different cultures and countries, established and younger researchers and engages in activities that opens the research community to society and politics. There are two types of fellowships, junior and senior.

Applicants for junior fellowships must have a PhD and one to six years of postdoctoral experience. For a senior fellowship a minimum of six years of postdoctoral experience is required. There are no restrictions on research disciplines or researcher nationality. Applicants may not have had their main residence in Germany for more than one year out of the last three prior to the application deadline, which is 15th October 2014.

Each fellow receives a monthly allowance of up to €450 in theoretical disciplines and €1,050 in experimental disciplines. Fellows without a work contract with their home institute will receive an attractive salary. A mentoring programme for junior fellows, office space and assistance with accommodation is also available. A senior fellowship last for three to 12 months and a junior fellowships lasts 12 months for humanities and social sciences and up to 24 months for natural sciences, engineering and medicine. There is a total of 20 fellowships available.

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Enterprise Clinics – Protect and Realise your Innovative Ideas

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Innovation Clinic Sessions are returning!

brain

Do you think that your research or research within your faculty has the potential to have a commercial impact?

If so please book an appointment!

Please distribute the attached poster widely to your colleagues, and also to students undertaking research degrees (Masters and Doctorates).

It is important that individuals are rewarded for the development of any intellectual property that arises from work carried out within the University, patents and spin-out companies are ways to accomplish this. Creative industries are also important to producing a balanced commercial output, and can be protected using copyright.

Sessions will be held on Thursdays in August and September, with appointments from 1pm.

Please encourage your colleagues to come along, so that by patenting inventions and delivering spin-out companies the University can continue to provide accountability for public investment in research and further improve the reputation of individuals and the institution.

Innovation Clinic Plasma -PDF with dates and locations

If you have any questions please contact Adam Hope adam.hope@staffs.ac.uk +44  (0)1785 353667

 

 

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Next Stage Digital Economy

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EPRSC

Next Stage Digital Economy Call

  • Opening date:10 July 2014
  • Closing date:09 October 2014at 16:00
  • Status:Open
  • Type:Invitation for proposals
  • Related themes:Digital economy

Working in close partnership with the Technology Strategy Board, the Connected Digital Economy Catapult and with support from Microsoft Research, the Research Councils UK Digital Economy (DE) Theme is seeking to promote the realisation of impact and enhanced exploitation of the outcomes arising from its investments in the research base. This call is designed to consolidate, harness and build upon existing DE knowledge and skills arising from DE Theme-funded and related funded awards to help accelerate the research outcomes and outputs to the next stage and create more real impact (be it economic, societal or cultural).

Prior to being invited to submit a full proposal, potential applicants will be required to demonstrate that they possess a valid ‘entry ticket’ to be eligible to apply against this call. The ‘entry ticket’ will be validated by the DE Theme on presentation of this information which will include details of the relevant DE Theme and related funding that assembled forms a substantial critical mass of coherent research and skills to build upon. The DE grant portfolio list (detailing funding body, grant reference/title, and value of DE relevant funding) should be accompanied by a coherence statement which sets out and justifies how this consolidated portfolio will enable the applicant(s) to deliver the overarching objective of this call as well as a summary statement of aims and future plans.

Please email your ‘entry ticket’ submission to DigitalEconomy@epsrc.ac.uk as soon as possible for consideration.

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Engineering Grand Challenges: expression of interest to attend a workshop

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EPSRC - Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 

Following the successful 2013 Global Grand Challenges London Summit, organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering, EPSRC set out to identify Engineering Grand Challenges.

Seven areas have been identified as potential Engineering Grand Challenges:

  • Risk and Resilience in a Connected World
  • Controlling Cell Behaviour
  • Engineering from Atoms to Applications
  • Bespoke Engineering
  • Big Data for Engineering Futures
  • Suprastructures – integrating resource infrastructures under constraint
  • Engineers at the Heart of Public Decision Making.

Three workshops will be run in the Autumn to:

  1. Engage the research and user community to identify clear targets or milestones for each of the selected Grand Challenges areas
  2. Start the process of building collaborations and/or consortia as appropriate
  3. Build advocacy for the Engineering Grand Challenges, particularly as EPSRC, working with its partners in academia, industry and government, is looking to build the case for Engineering and Physical Sciences ahead of the next spending review

EPSRC would like to invite a diverse cross-section of the research community to attend workshops planned for November 2014. If you’d like to be considered to attend one of the workshops please fill in the survey and return it to EPSRC by 15th September 2014.

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/engineeringgrandchallenge/

For further information go to:

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/newsevents/pubs/engineering-grand-challenges/

If you have any queries email:

engineeringgrandchallenges@epsrc.ac.uk

 

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Copyright: Rights in Performances (Research Education Libraries and Archives) Regulations 2014 – creation of useful exceptions to copyright infringement for researchers, teachers and those engaging in (non-commercial) scientific research

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Please note in the attached statutory instrument, which came into force on 1 June 2014, the introduction of the new s29A (copies for text and data analysis for non-commercial research) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, which makes provision for the copying of material in order to carry out a ‘computational analysis’ of all the materials contained within the copyright work for the purposes of ‘non-commercial research’.

This provision covers all types of copyright work for the purposes of section 1 of the 1988 Act, including literary dramatic, musical or artistic, and for the purposes of section 29(4). This is part of the Government’s policy to permit copying of copyright material for educational and research purposes, and to be used in line with modern and innovative teaching methods.

New sections 32, 35 and 36 of the 1988 Act are substituted; the new section 32 is a fair dealing permission with a copyright work for the sole purpose of illustration for instruction (including acts done in the ‘setting and answering of examination questions’ – section 32(2). Again, the dealing must be for a ‘non-commercial purpose’ and be by a person giving and receiving the instruction.

The new section 35 permits educational establishments to make copies of recordings of broadcasts which have been made for non-commercial educational purposes of the establishment and communicate them to staff and pupils. There is an added proviso for communication off premises, that the communication is by means of a secure electronic network accessible only to staff and pupils.

There are other changes including copying and the amount of a work that may be copied in any 12 month period; and the reader is referred to the attached Statutory instrument for the main amendments to the 1988 Act. The references to required licences from copyright owners, including commercial licences, where they could be validly put in place, would be reviewed and negotiated by Universities and the Contracts Officer in the usual way. Any advice required in relation to the same should be sought in each case.

The Statutory Instrument: Copyright Rights in Performances (Research, Education, Libraries and Archives) Regulations 2014 No. 1372:

Click to access uksi_20141372_en.pdf

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UK expertise to access £200bn large scale urban projects market

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catapult

 

The UK’s experience in managing large-scale urban projects and its design, data and low-carbon standards make it well positioned to take advantage of the £200-billion global cities market, a report from the Future Cities Catapult has said.

Future Cities Catapult

However, How can the UK Innovate for the World’s Cities? adds that there is more work to be done to link businesses, research and public services in order for the country to take full advantage.

The report says it is intended to provoke conversation and connect people. An announcement from the catapult says that the UK’s activities related to future cities are “already worth more than £16bn”. The report aims to identify areas of strength that the country should build on.

These include the ability to deliver large-scale projects such as the Olympics, urban regeneration and the use of brownfield sites, digital creativity and standards that are respected around the world. It also says the country has expertise in spatial data analysis and multidisciplinary projects.

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British Academy Visit to Staffordshire University

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The British Academy provides funding for research in the humanities and social sciences. They have agreed to come to Staffordshire University to provide information on the variety of research funding opportunities they offer.

Delegates will learn more about the scheme requirements, success rates, what assessors look for and how best to present applications. Plus there will be some new funds opening in the next few months so this is a chance to find out about the new schemes.

This event is being held on Thursday 2 October 13:00-16:00 in LT114/116 Ashley Building, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent

Academics from a number of regional Universities will also be invited and a networking session will be held. Collaborative research projects are of great interest to funders, so this is a good opportunity to talk to other academics and find out how you can work together.  A member of staff from the British Academy will be on hand during the networking session to provide information on the viability of your project ideas.

There are limited numbers of spaces, and we expect them to go quickly, so book your place now!

To book a place email externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

Please include the following
Name:
Institution:
Faculty:
Job title:
Email address
Add details of projects you are looking to develop and need partners to collaborate on. We will share this with all delegates before the event.

Event Schedule
The event will start at 1pm.
13:00 -14:30 –British Academy Presentation
14:00-14:30 –Q and A session
14:30 – 14:45 –break
14:45-15:45 –Networking to develop collaborative British Academy projects
15:45-16:00 –Close

More details on the British Academy: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/index.cfm

See our other events: http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/research/category/events/up-coming-events/

index

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How could you strengthen the quality of your European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) bids?

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Post by Marie Pandolfo –EDC’s new Project Development Manager

The development of a robust full application is an important element of any project, essential for the approval of funding and as an evolving tool to measure, control and evaluate delivery.
Before you start reading the full article, one key element you must know is that a bid is the very last step of a project development process. A successful bid never comes from a project which is still being thought through and discussed. This is especially true for European funds, as the key appraisal points do not permit any approximate answers.
Here are some key recommendations for developing and submitting a successful ERDF application form:

To understand the context of the current European policies for going in the right direction towards a successful bid.
The recent economic crisis had no precedent in our generation: the EU GDP felt by 4% in 2009, 23 million people were unemployed. The European Union is implementing a strategy to come out stronger from the crisis: Europe 2020, in order to face the challenge of recovery.
The Cohesion Policy is the key investment framework to deliver Europe 2020 objectives. It is currently being reformed for 2014-2020. It makes available €351.8 billion in Europe’s regions, cities and the real economy (€10 billion for the UK).
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the five main funds of the Cohesion policy. It is intended to help to redress the main regional imbalances in the Union, by supporting two major goals:
– the Jobs & Growth goal [ESIF]: investments on research and innovation, information and communication technologies, small and medium-sized enterprises and promoting a low-carbon economy.
– The European Territorial Cooperation goal [INTERREG A, B or C]: cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation.
Both goals have their own regulation, which are currently being developed and their Operational Programmes should be released in coming months.

To know the 10 key appraisal points of an ERDF application form.
1. VISION: a clear statement of the project aspirations backed by clear targets and outputs.
2. EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION: the current situation, the trends and the possible futures. The drivers and the causes of the project. An existing market failure.
3. EFFICIENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT: a sound management for the delivery of the results and any activities.
4. EFFECTIVENESS: a significant impact on the target group(s). Innovative products or services that will directly benefit the citizens. Value for money.
5. RELEVANCE: a specific problem is tackled and measurable outputs are demonstrated. Analyse the needs and the demand for the project and show evidence that beneficiaries will use the service/product.
6. STAKEHOLDERS: appreciation of their views and concerns, their involvement and effective collaboration.
7. SUSTAINABILITY: a clear exit strategy, with a lasting effect.
8. CONTRIBUTION TO CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES: gender balance, equity, environmental and social concerns in the project design and delivery.
9. PUBLICITY REQUIREMENTS: compliance with the European publicity requirements. Presenting a communication strategy to disseminate the results of the project is an asset.
10. CLEAR ADDITIONALITY: The need of the ERDF support and the leverage of external funds from other national or local public funders and private match funders.

To submit a bid which emphasizes the following characteristics:
The managing authorities of the ESIF and INTERREG Operational Programmes are expecting successful projects to:
– Meet the essential criteria of the relevant Operational Programme and its priority objectives.
– Include an interdisciplinary team that involves external, public and private groups. Putting a bid together with external partner organisations is proved to be an asset.
– Show an effective governance structure including any contractual requirements between the lead partner and any delivery partners.
– Have a clear, unmet and proven need and target a specific group(s).
– Have a realistic timescale and objectives and is achievable within the given timeframe.
– Be costed correctly with all expenditure planned within the project timescale.
– Show a clear ERDF additionality: Why should the project be funded by the ERDF? What is preventing the private sector from solving this problem / exploiting this opportunity?
– Demonstrate value for money in terms of outputs and results returned on the investment.
– Include a clear strategy for monitoring any outcomes/impacts/outputs, as well as an exit strategy.

If you want to know more about the ERDF or if you have a project idea, please contact the Enterprise and Commercial Department (ECD) for support on your project development as well as your bid submission.

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