Grantproposalsandgrant& opportunies…& · • How many have written other Icelandic grant...

Grant  proposals  and  grant  opportuni/es…  

 Dr.  Gréta  Björk  Kristjánsdó4r,    

Research  Director  -­‐  School  of  Engineering  and  Natural  Sciences  

 Arkímedes  talk  –  10th  Dec  2015  

My background

•  BSc and MSc in geology from the University of Iceland

•  PhD in geology from the University of Colorado at Boulder

•  Postdoc in Cambridge, UK –  Paleoclimate, paleoceanography, Holocene, North Atlantic

The process of getting a research grant

The process of getting a research grant

•  Funders publish a call for proposals –  May be very specific or totally bottom up

•  You write a proposal to answer the call –  Minimum time for large cooperative proposal writing is 3 months

of full time work! •  Proposal is evaluated •  If successful then it goes into a negotiation phase •  Project starts and ends •  Final report sent in – final payment sent

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Overview

•  Part 1 – Planning and writing a proposal

•  Part 2 – Grants you can apply for

Before we start…

•  How many have written RANNÍS grant proposals

•  How many have written other Icelandic grant proposals?

•  How about FP7/H2020 grant proposals? •  USA grant proposals? •  Any other grant proposals?

When writing a proposal •  Rule number 1: read the instructions

When writing a proposal •  Rule number 1: read the instructions

•  Rule number 2: write for the evaluators –  help them understand your proposal –  give them visual aids –  give them catchy acronyms –  evaluators are not always experts in your field –  evaluators are always short on time

•  Rule number 3: give yourself enough time –  Plan the proposal (do a one page proposal, discuss it with peers) –  Write the proposal –  Edit the proposal (let your family read it)

The one-page-proposal* How  to  prepare  

Number   Official  number  (if  available)  

Funding  scheme/topic   e.g.H2020  SFS-­‐14b-­‐2015   1  

Title   Title  (slogan)                ACRONYM  (brand  name)  

Objec/ve   What  you  are  planning  to  do  

Background   Why  do  this      (see  5  key  ques7ons)  

Impact    (expected  results)   Who  wants  the  results    (see  impact  ques7ons)   2  

Phases  of  work   How  will  it  be  done  (science)  

Consor/um   Who  will  do  the  work  

Cost/dura/on  

*from Sean McCarthy

Questions to assess impact*

*from Sean McCarthy

i.  What  will  come  out  of  your  project?     ´Expected  results´  

ii.  Who  wants  these  results?   Lead  users/  lead  stakeholders  

iii.  Why  do  they  want  the  results?  

iv.  How  do  you  plan  to  tell  them  about  the  results?   DisseminaPon  plan  

v.  What  further  development  (steps)  will  be  needed?  

The one-page-proposal* How  to  prepare  

Number   Official  number  (if  available)  

Funding  scheme/topic   e.g.H2020  SFS-­‐14b-­‐2015   1  

Title   Title  (slogan)                ACRONYM  (brand  name)  

Objec/ve   What  you  are  planning  to  do  

Background   Why  do  this      (see  5  key  ques7ons)   3  

Impact    (expected  results)   Who  wants  the  results    (see  impact  ques7ons)   2  

Phases  of  work   How  will  it  be  done  (science)  

Consor/um   Who  will  do  the  work  

Cost/dura/on  

*from Sean McCarthy

Sean´s 5 key questions

*from Seán McCarthy

Applied  research  

Why  bother?   What  problem  are  you  trying  to  solve?  

Is  it  a  EU  priority?   Or  can  it  be  solved  naPonally?  

Is  the  soluPon  already  available?   Product,  service,  transfer…  

Why  now?   What  would  happen  if  we  do  not  do  this  now?  

Why  you?   Are  you  the  best  consorPum  to  do  this?  

Basic  research  

Why  bother?   What  problem  are  you  trying  to  solve?  

Will  this  establish  EU  as  an  InternaPonal  leader?   Will  the  US  use  this?  

Is  the  knowledge  already  available?   State-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art  

Why  now?   Why  has  this  not  been  done  before?  

Why  you?   Are  you  the  best  consorPum/person  to  do  this?  

The one-page-proposal* How  to  prepare  

Number   Official  number  (if  available)  

Funding  scheme/topic   e.g.H2020  SFS-­‐14b-­‐2015   1  

Title   Title  (slogan)                ACRONYM  (brand  name)   4  

Objec/ve   What  you  are  planning  to  do   5  

Background   Why  do  this      (see  5  key  ques7ons)   3  

Impact    (expected  results)   Who  wants  the  results    (see  impact  ques7ons)   2  

Phases  of  work   How  will  it  be  done  (science)   6  

Consor/um   Who  will  do  the  work   7  

Cost/dura/on   8  

*from Sean McCarthy

The one-page-proposal* How  to  prepare  

Number   Official  number  (if  available)  

Funding  scheme/topic   e.g.H2020  SFS-­‐14b-­‐2015   1  

Title   Title  (slogan)                ACRONYM  (brand  name)   4  

Objec/ve   What  you  are  planning  to  do   5  

Background   Why  do  this      (see  5  key  ques7ons)   3  

Impact    (expected  results)   Who  wants  the  results    (see  impact  ques7ons)   2  

Phases  of  work   How  will  it  be  done  (science)   6  

Consor/um   Who  will  do  the  work   7  

Cost/dura/on   8  

*from Sean McCarthy

General structure of a small project •  Supervisors/supervisory board •  Student/post-doc •  Lab-assistants? •  Work packages (use Gantt charts)

–  Work package tasks •  Deliverables (use Gantt charts)

–  A deliverable is a distinct output of the project, meaningful in terms of the project’s overall objectives and constituted by a report, a document, a technical diagram, a software, training, conference, etc. These should be divided into scientific deliverables and management, training, recruitment and dissemination deliverables.

•  Milestones (use Gantt charts) –  Milestones are control points in the project that help to chart progress. Milestones may correspond to the

completion of a key deliverable, allowing the next phase of the work to begin. They may also be needed at intermediary points so that, if problems have arisen, corrective measures can be taken. A milestone may be a critical decision point in the project where, for example, the consortium must decide which of several technologies to adopt for further development.

•  Budget

Two examples of a Gantt chart:

General structure of large collaborative research projects

•  Coordinator •  International advisory board •  Work packages (ca 10) •  Work package leaders •  Work package tasks

–  Milestones and deliverables •  Participants – staff and students (3-30 institutes, 50-100 people) •  Budget per institute

Ready to start writing

•  Review the rules again, use the correct template

•  Common chapters in a grant proposal: –  Abstract (write it last) –  Excellence

•  State of the art, innovation –  Impact

•  Scientific impact, technological impact •  Societal impact •  Long term/short term impact

–  Implementation •  Work plan •  Break down into task, deliverables, milestones •  Budget

–  CV

•  Write to fulfill the evaluation criteria – write for the evaluators!

Two examples of evaluation criteria:

Keep it by your side when writing and constantly check it for guidance…

Day to day advise for you

•  Keep a running file for your CV •  Write in it your achievements, when you achieve them •  Keep in the file dates of all achievements and duration of

classes, workshops you partake in or teach •  Dates of travels, particularly dates when moving between

countries •  Grant ID numbers, DOI numbers, Ethical licenses, etc

–  this will save you time when doing your proposals

Where can you find assistance? First and foremost from your advisor Gréta Björk Kristjánsdóttir, Research Director of SENS, greta@hi.is

located in Tæknigarður Sigurður Bogason, MarkMar, sigurdur.bogason@markmar.is

located in Tæknigarður (H2020 applications only)

Division of Science and Innovation at UoI Ásta Sif Erlingsdóttir, Úlfar Kristinn Gíslason, Ólöf Vigdís Ragnarsdóttir located in Aðalbygging

RANNÍS International Division, hosts all National Contact Points (NCP) for H2020

located at Borgartún 30 Your peers who have already been involved in projects/written proposals

Where can we help?

•  In pre-proposal stage –  Reviewing calltext, advice on rules and regulations

•  In proposal stage –  Group building, structuring proposal, supply standard texts, budgeting, editing,

form-A input etc. Assist you in applying for the RANNÍS EU grant writing fund (Sóknarstyrkir)

•  In negotiation stage (mandatory help) –  Important to get assistance here. GPFs, Grant Agreements and Consortium

Agreements have to be reviewed before signature of LEAR.

•  In post-award stage –  Start-up-meetings, Periodic reports and financial reports.

• 

GRANTS YOU CAN APPLY FOR Part 2

Grants you can apply for: •  UoI doctoral student grants

–  January

•  UoI Productivity Evaluation Fund (Vinnumat) (only postdocs)

–  February

•  UoI postdoctoral grants –  Has been in April, but has not yet been advertised

•  UoI doctoral student travel grants –  May

•  Erasmus + –  January and March

•  COST actions (apply with supervisor) –  Network grants

•  Rannís doctoral student grants –  September

•  Rannís postdoctoral grants –  September

•  Axa (postdoc grant) –  November

•  Marie Curie Individual fellowships (postdoc)

–  September

Information on UoI grants •  http://sjodir.hi.is/english

•  NOTE! The funds are for students already registered at The University of Iceland and personnel already employed by the University. The necessary information , including links to forms and regulations, is accessed by clicking on the name of each fund. Further information is provided by Sverrir Guðmundsson, Division of Science and Research, phone: +354 525 4352, email: sverrirg@hi.is or sjodir@hi.is.

Erasmus+ the new EU programme for 2014-2020

•  1.a An opportunity to take one or two

semester at a partner university in Europe (Exchange studies)

•  1.b An opportunity to train in Europe (Traineeship/placement)

•  Erasmus+ will provide opportunities

for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, gain work experience and volunteer abroad

Information on Erasmus+ grants at HÍ

•  International Office –  Háskólatorg, 3rd floor –  Tel: 525 4311 –  ask@hi.is

•  www.hi.is > nám > þjónusta

•  Erasmus+ program http://www.hi.is/adalvefur/erasmus_samstarfsskolar

HAVE YOU HEARD OF ERASMUS+? HAVE YOU PARTICIPATED IN ONE OR KNOW SOMEONE THAT HAS?

Question to you:

Information on COST

•  COST is great because it boosts your network •  COST action groups often end up submitting a research proposal into H2020 and being successful

at it •  COST actions have small grants called STSM for early career researcher to visit institutes or go to

conferences •  http://www.cost.eu/

HAVE YOU HEARD OF COST PROJECTS? HAVE YOU PARTICIPATED IN ONE? OR KNOW SOMEONE THAT HAS?

Question to you:

Information on Rannís grants

•  http://en.rannis.is/funding/research/icelandic-research-fund/

•  https://www.axa-research.org/how-to-obtain-funding

Information on Axa grants

Information on Marie Curie Individual fellowships (postdocs)

•  http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/

•  Also through the EU Participant Portal •  http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/

desktop/en/home.html

Grants you could take part in but not be sole applicants

•  HÍ research fund http://sjodir.hi.is/node/16131

•  Rannís research fund http://en.rannis.is/funding/research/icelandic-research-fund/ –  Project grants –  Grants of excellence

•  Arctic studies http://en.rannis.is/funding/research/arctic-studies/

–  Icelandic and Norwegian institutions can apply and be partners. Individuals can not apply.

•  Large collaborative Nordic funds http://www.nordforsk.org/en –  Miscellanous deadlines

•  Large collaborative H2020 grants (consortium) http://ec.europa.eu/research/

participants/portal/desktop/en/home.html –  Miscellaneous deadlines

Research Professional

Research Professional is an online database of research funding opportunities. UoI is a subscribing institute Create customized searches, get weekly alerts https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/home

Optional homework J

•  Make a one page proposal of your PhD work / intended postdoc work

•  Look for Erasmus+ opportunities of interest to you

•  Go and talk to the staff at the International Office

•  Look for COST actions in your field –  Ask your advisor to join with you if you find something interesting

•  Read up on the Marie Curie grant scheme –  To be ready to apply when the Post-doc time comes

Final words

You are the future – learn your way around quickly and start running

before the others catch up! Be brave and enjoy the journey

Thank you for your attention