The Social Impact of Academic Research

Posted on April 15, 2013 by ejd2

The Westminster Higher Education Forum are hosting a seminar to discuss the challenges, opportunities and implications resulting from the inclusion of social and cultural impacts in the Research Excellence Framework (REF). In addition to discussing the implications on REF, the challenges of quantifying social research output and potential impact for Open Access policy will also be raised.

Dr David Halpern, Director, Behavioural Insight Team, Cabinet Office; Andrew Miller MP, Chair, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee and Dr Graeme Rosenberg, REF Manager, HEFCE will be delivering keynote addresses at this seminar. The seminar is on the 10^th October and is £190 plus VAT to attend. Further details can be found at http://www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/forums/event.php?eid=616.

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Youth in Action Programme (EU) Funding Opportunity

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Josephine Beech

Youth in Action Programme

Opportunities for UK HEIs

The call is specifically addressed to people working in the youth sector, youth workers and youth leaders, young people themselves (aged between fifteen and twenty-eight years old) and other actors involved in youth organisations and structures. Applicants to the Programme must be non-profit organisations, including NGOs, public bodies at regional or local level and youth councils. HEIs are therefore eligible applicants in so far as they are public bodies. The Youth in Action Programme will not support stand alone education programmes, indeed activities performed as part of formal educational programmes at any level are not eligible for support. It may, however, support extra-curricular activities, such as volunteering and work experience. The following indicative list of activities is included in the call documentation:

 Large-scale youth events, seminars, conferences

 Activities encouraging the development of partnerships and networks

 Activities encouraging the policy dialogue in the field of youth

 Information and awareness campaigns in favour of and by young people

 Training and capacity-building of youth workers, youth organisations and multipliers

 Job-shadowing and long-term mobility for youth workers

Technical Features

Partners: Must involve partners from 4 different countries (including, at least 1 from the EU 27 Member States and 1 more from the EU 27 or the EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) or pre-accession countries (Croatia; Turkey); plus 2 other partner countries1.

Project Duration: 6 to 12 months

Projects Commence: between 1 October and 31 December 2013

Grant Rate: Up to 80%

Maximum Grant Size: €100,000

Timetable

Deadline for submission of applications: 14 May 2013

Announcement of selection results: August 2013

Projects commence: Earliest 1 October 2013

Link to guidelines: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/youth/funding/2013/call_action_3_2_en.php

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Confidentiality Clubs between parties in Intellectual property matters

Posted on April 12, 2013 by ck7

CK1104IPComvHTCBlog

Please see attached a Note in relation to ‘Confidentiality Clubs’ in Intellectual property disputes.

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Dual Funding Structure for Research in the UK: Research Council and Funding Council Allocation Methods, and Impact Pathways (BIS report)

Posted on April 11, 2013 by BENNETT Margaret

A report analysing the dual support system for research funding in the UK and how it has changed since the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has told the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that it is associated with a high level of concentration at the richest universities.

This report ‘Dual Funding Structure for Research in the UK’, analyses the links between research performance, research funding models and the knowledge exchange activities and research motivation of academics in the UK. It looks at the UK system of dual funding support in which university research funding is provided by both institutional block grants from the Funding Councils based on quality assessment exercises and by funding through peer reviewed competition from the Research Councils.

Prepared by the Centre for Business Research and the UK Innovation Research Centre, the report found that, when ranked by income, the top 10% of universities received 53% of mainstream Quality Related research funding and 64% of research council funding in 2010.

Over the same period, the second-richest 10% received only 20% of mainstream QR funding and 20% of research council funding.

The report, commissioned by BIS, found that overall, the dual support system of funding for university research brought about a real-terms rise in both mainstream QR and research council funding between 2002 and 2010.

Between 2002 and 2010, research council funding grew faster than QR funding, the report notes. However, it adds that this is in part due to the introduction of full economic costing in 2004.

Since 2002, funding has grown faster from charities, central government and overseas than it has from industry.

The report also analyses responses to a survey of 22,000 academics, conducted in 2010.

The survey found that 34% of academics at departments rated highly in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise describe themselves as conducting basic research. This compares with 27% of academics at medium-rated departments and 21% at low-rated departments.

In contrast, a higher proportion, 52% of academics at low-rated departments said they were motivated by research applications alone, compared with 35% at higher-rated departments.

Scientists at higher-rated departments were more likely to be involved in patenting, licensing and spin-outs than their counterparts at lower-ranked departments. 16% of scientists at higher-ranked departments said they were involved in patenting, compared with 10% at low-ranked departments.

The report found that activities like these, though, form only a small component of impact activities, with a much higher proportion of academics getting involved in people-based, problem-solving and community-based interactions.

According to the survey, the highest constraints to academics interacting with external organisations are lack of time, cited by 66% of respondents, and university bureaucracy, cited by 31%.

Full report: Dual Funding Structure for Research in the UK: Research Council and Funding Council Allocation Methods and the Pathways to Impact of UK Academics

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Leverhulme Visiting Professorships

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Holly Hoar

Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Title: Visiting Professorships
Deadline: 16 May 2013
Value: Not specified
Overview:

The Leverhulme Trust invites applications for its visiting professorships. These enable distinguished academics based overseas to spend between three and 12 months at a UK university, primarily to enhance the skills of academic staff or students at the host institution. Visiting professors may also wish to use the opportunity to further their own academic interests.

Applications must be made by a member of academic staff, based in a UK university or other higher education institution, who will be responsible for coordinating the visit.

A maintenance grant up to a level commensurate with the salary of a professor in the relevant field at the receiving institution may be requested. Economy travel costs to and from the UK will also be met. Requests for associated costs, if justified by the programme, may include, for example, travel within the UK, consumables and essential technical assistance.

Further information: http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/VP/VP.cfm
ARC interest: CABR, IACT, CMAT, CAMH, CSER, IEPR, CEES, Moblie Fusion, IESR

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People Powered Health could save the NHS £4.4bn a year

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Josephine Beech

Involving patients, their families and communities in the management of long term conditions could lead to better health outcomes and savings to the NHS, show Nesta findings.

The NHS in England could save at least £4.4bn¹ a year if it adopts innovations that involve patients, their families and communities in the proven management of long term health conditions. The findings from the two year People Powered Health programme led by Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation, involved teams from hospitals, GPs practices, community organisations and patients groups across England.

The People Powered Health programme looked at innovations that have been developed over many years – from peer support networks to expert patient groups, doctors prescribing exercise to group consultations and timebanking. The programme asked what would happen if these became a standard part of long term condition management.

Working with front line health practitioners, community organisations, patients and their families, Nesta has generated recommendations grounded in practical experience and backed up by a robust analysis of research in the UK and internationally.

A third of the UK population currently lives with a long term condition, like diabetes, heart disease or mental health problems, accounting for half of GP appointments and two thirds of outpatient appointments². Long term conditions are one of the biggest challenges facing global health systems, which were originally designed to deliver care for acute and infectious disease, not manage chronic conditions that can’t be cured by drugs or surgery.

The People Powered Health approach:

Mobilises people and recognises personal strengths as well as family, friends, communities and peer networks that can work alongside health professionals.
Redefines the relationship between patients and health care professionals focusing on the needs and aspirations of patients, but expects more from the relationships.
Blurs the artificial boundaries between health, public health and social care, and between formal and informal support for patients.

In the People Powered Health: health for people, by people, with people report published today, Nesta and the Innovation Unit argue for widespread changes to the way that patients are involved in shaping their own care and the services that are commissioned to support them. At a time of change for health services in England, the report argues that there is an unparalleled opportunity to implement this approach to managing long term health conditions at scale.

In a second report also published today, The business case for People Powered Health, Nesta describes the specific investments required to create services with a People Powered Health approach based on a literature review of studies.

Halima Khan, director of Nesta’s Public Services Lab, explains, “The People Powered Health approach holds the key to the long term financial sustainability of the health system – the potential cost savings are very significant and could have a major impact on the quality of life for people with long term conditions. This approach challenges the traditional roles of patients and professionals so that people are supported to take more control of their own health. Ultimately, people do more with and for each other and with health services to stop being about institutions and focus on individuals and communities.”

Paul Corrigan, senior associate at the Innovation Unit, comments, “People Powered Health is about creating new sources of value for the NHS. Patients are valuable assets and, with the right support, they can become develop more control over their health – this is good for them and good for the NHS”.

Over the next few weeks, Nesta will be publishing a series of guides for practitioners on how to implement the People Powered Health approach, including how GPs can use social prescribing to get patients engaged in exercise and reduce isolation, the role of peer support to help people living with long term health conditions and how commissioning of health services needs to change to ensure a wider range of services than drugs and medical procedures. These will be available at www.nesta.org.uk/people_powered_health

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Energy Generation and Supply – Lunchtime Webinar – KTP

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Josephine Beech

Lunchtime webinar: Power Electronics – Developing a Resilient Energy System: Targeted Call for KTPs

Friday, 19 April 2013, 12.30 – 13.30 (GMT)

PLEASE REGISTER HERE

The Technology Strategy Board, Welsh Government and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are to invest jointly up to £1m to establish new Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) in the area of power electronics.

They are looking to support a cohort of up to 12 KTPs UK-wide for this thematic KTP competition, with up to three of these coming from companies based in Wales. Power electronics is considered key to enabling a resilient energy system for a future UK energy mix which will include a larger percentage of renewables, connectivity to a European supergrid, community energy systems, and electric vehicle charging.

This targeted call for KTPs aims to stimulate and support supply chain innovation in power electronics and the energy sector. It is part of a £5.4m programme and is running in parallel with a £4.4m Technology Strategy Board investment in power electronics. Typical annual project costs could be in the region of £60k with a third of this being contributed by the company, in the case of an SME.

This targeted call will encourage knowledge-sharing across projects, and will facilitate effective links to the UK research base, including the developing EPSRC National Centre for Power Electronics. This will give the businesses involved access to knowledge and expertise held by a range of academic groups with different perspectives on the high-level challenges facing the industry.

To help potential KTP applicants find out more about KTPs and the current £1m targeted call we have set up this webinar session where Christian Inglis, Lead Technologist – Energy Generation and Supply, and Wendy Mannix, the Technology Strategy Board’s KTP Portfolio Manager, supported by Regional KTP Advisers will give the background to the call and will be available to answer questions from potential applicants.

Dial in details and joining instructions will be sent to registrants 24 hours before the event.

Contact Viola Augstein, viola.augstein@energyktn.innovateuk.org if you have any further questions.

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Reports on the State of the Innovation Union and UK Innovation Performance

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The European Commission has published a report entitled “State of the Innovation Union 2012”. This provides a summary of progress made at national and EU level towards achieving the goals of the Innovation Union flagship initiative, which is the EU policy framework governing research and innovation until 2020.

The Commission has also published series of separate shorter reports on individual EU countries’ research and innovation and performance, including the UK.

State of the Innovation Union report

The report was published alongside the 2013 Innovation Union scoreboard, on which UKRO reported last week (see the article indicated below). The report’s findings are grouped into the five key parts of the Innovation Union initiative, which are:

strengthening the knowledge base and reducing fragmentation;
getting good ideas to market;
European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs);
maximising social and territorial cohesion; and
leveraging policies externally.

The first section includes analysis of the progress made during 2012 on delivering the European Research Area (ERA), and on focusing EU research funding on Innovation Union priorities. On the former issue, the report states that the conditions are not yet in place for achieving the ERA by 2014 (one of the key goals of the Innovation Union). However the Commission’s Communication on the ERA Framework issued in July 2012, and the work required of EU Member States and the Commission to put in place its recommendations, should enable significant progress to be made during 2013.

On focusing EU funding programmes on Innovation Union, the report states that: “In line with the ambition set out in the Innovation Union, Horizon 2020 marks an important break from the past, with funding having a more challenged-based approach, simpler rules for participants, and more effective delivery of results”. This section of the report also analyses the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) with respect to the Innovation Union priorities.

Report on UK research and innovation performance
The report on UK performance in research and innovation, which analyses the progress made towards achieving the Innovation Union goals, includes sections on:

the UK’s scientific and technological strengths;
investments in knowledge;
policies and reforms on research and innovation;
economic impact of innovation;
upgrading the manufacturing sector through research and technologies; and
global competitiveness.

The summary includes the following analysis:

“The UK shows overall innovation performance above the EU average. There are particular strengths in human resources, venture capital, international and public-private co-publications, and entrepreneurship…. The presence of several world-class universities, a significant proportion of young doctoral graduates, and competitive strengths in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and digital technologies have helped achieve this strong performance. However, there are relative weaknesses in research and innovation investments by firms, the creation of intellectual assets, and SMEs introducing innovations. The UK economy has several distinctive characteristics that represent actual or potential sources of competitive advantage in the innovation sphere, including a world-leading science base and information infrastructure”.

The full report on the UK is here.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/pdf/state-of-the-union/2012/countries/united_kingdom_2013.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=none

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Vitae Conference Call for Workshop Proposals and Special Interest Sessions

Posted on April 8, 2013 by ejd2

The annual Vitae Researcher Development International Conference aims to address the strategic and practical implications for researcher development and doctoral education. The conference has a number of themes including policy developments, building institutional capacity for research excellence, supporting professional and career development and demonstrating the impact of research development on research, careers and society.

The 2013 conference will include the launch of the UK aggregate analyses of Careers in Research Online Survey and Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey. There will also be updates from RCUK update on funding for researcher development and from the European Commission’s work on HR management of researchers.

The conference is being held on 4^th-5^th September in Manchester. To submit a proposal or to book your place, go to www.vitae.ac.uk/conference2013 where you can find out more detail on workshop themes. The deadline for proposing a workshop is Thursday 6 June 2013. Special Interest Sessions are shorter 30 minute sessions and ideas for these should be submitted by 5^th July for inclusion in the conference programme.

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