Research Fortnight - 25/11/2015

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25 November 2015

Updated daily at www.ResearchProfessional.comFounded by William Cullerne Bown

ROYAL SOCIETY PRESIDENT Paul Nurse’s recommendationto merge the research councils in all but name has

been met with varying degrees of caution by experts. Ensuring a Successful UK Research Endeavour , pub-

lished on 19 November, went further than many hadexpected by recommending the creation of a new non-departmental public body to be called Research UK.

Although Nurse argues that the seven researchcouncils should remain, they look set to lose their non-departmental public body statuses. He does not spellthis out, but recommends that the councils’ chief exec-utives no longer be required to report to government.This statutory role, officially called an accounting offic-er, will transfer to the chief executive of Research UK.

Research Fortnight has been told that several chiefexecutives fought to retain this status. But theyeventually agreed that there needed to be just oneaccounting officer if there was to be an effective coreof administrative functions.

The move from seven bodies to one would suit busi-ness secretary Sajid Javid’s agenda of cutting theDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills’ quan-gos. “BIS will be able to claim that it is taking a fewscalps,” says Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the Million+group of post-1992 universities. However, she says thiscould be the start of something “more radical”, such asreducing the number of research councils to reflect thefour Research Excellence Framework panels.

Nurse has likened the relationship between thecouncils and Research UK to a “university with sevenfaculties”, but it is not yet clear how this would workon a day-to-day basis. “There is still a lot to be workedout in how the councils would operate and what levelof independence they would retain,” says MichaelJubb, director of the research company ResearchInformation Network. “I’m not totally convinced byNurse’s university analogy.”

One member of the committee that advised Nursesays that the details have been left deliberately vague

due to requests from officials within BIS. “The BIS peo-ple advised Paul on the degree to which we should tryto be specific, and on the degree to which we should

leave the details to be worked out subsequently.”It is also unclear how the executive committee of

Research UK will work with the ministerial commit-tee that Nurse recommends creating to oversee UKresearch. The ministerial committee, he says, shouldbe chaired by a senior minister and be a place to dis-cuss broader UK research policy. It would also offerresearch a stronger presence within government andcould be used as a platform to make the case againstcuts to departmental R&D, he suggested. Its members

would include the minister for universities and sci-ence, senior civil servants and officials such as the

government chief scientific adviser Mark Walport.The prospect of Walport being more closely involvedin discussions on research funding and allocations isa concern for Jack Stilgoe, lecturer in social studiesof science at University College London (UCL). “Theblurring of the roles of the government chief scien-tific adviser and of the director-general responsible forthe research councils could be problematic,” he says.“Having a government chief scientific adviser who isalso a cheerleader for investment in science could beseen as compromising his independence.”

Nurse suggests this committee could either replacethe prime minister’s Council for Science and Technologyor be advised by a revamped version of the council. “Anumber of people who participated in our meetings,including Paul, have been long-time members of thecouncil and felt that it is just a talking-shop, without anyinfluence,” the source in the advisory committee says.

Meanwhile, Graeme Reid, chair of science andresearch policy at UCL, says thecouncils must take the oppor-tunities offered by the review’srecommendations. “Successfuldelivery now depends on ResearchUK gaining independence, attract-

ing top quality leadership andsecuring a ring-fenced budget ofsufficient size to do its job,” he says.

by Cristina Gallardo [email protected]

Universities UK calls forrestrictions on FOI requests – p5

Gearing up Director shares his plansfor the Alan Turing Institute – p6

Metrics Time to sink or swim – p22

Councils’ independencestill under threat Nurse review fails to win over critics concerned about merger

Issue No. 468


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2 editorial Edited by Ehsan [email protected]: 020 7216 6500Fax: 020 7216 6501Unit 111, 134-146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR

Research Fortnight, 25 November 2015

Edited by Ehsan [email protected]: 020 7216 6500Fax: 020 7216 6501Unit 111, 134-146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR

A Pyrrhic victoryPaul Nurse stumbles in his high-wire act

In his much-anticipated review of the UK’s research councils RoyalSociety president Paul Nurse has tried to balance sometimes opposingforces. When that happens the end result risks not satisfying anyone.

By far the largest force was the Department for Business, Innovationand Skills and its quango-blasting secretary of state Sajid Javid who wantsto cut the number of BIS’s partner bodies in half. That helps explain whythe seven research councils are to live in a new non-departmental public

body to be called Research UK. An opposing force is the collective weight of disciplinary communities.

Despite the many highs and lows that have characterised their relation-ships to the research councils, researchers are fiercely protective of whatthey see as their councils.

Nurse tried to reflect these concerns by avoiding a formal merger andsaying to chief executives that they should immerse themselves in strat-egy and content. But it is clear that, in the long run, they are likely tolose. The imperative to cut quangos means councils will need to lose theirnon-departmental public body status, and the protection that it affords.This could see the power of the heads worn away over time.

Nurse has also had to placate a formidable third force; Mark Walport,

the government chief scientific adviser, a title that belies his influence.In a concession to Walport, Nurse has recommended the creation of asecond-world-war-style Whitehall committee to oversee the researchenterprise. This will give Walport a formal voice in policy for research,something that has not happened for the best part of twenty-five years.

This parallel with history is not an accident. In a speech to the RoyalSociety at the start of his tenure in 2013, Walport talked about reading upon the history of his position. And it is clear from the Nurse review that hesees himself apart from his immediate predecessors; the ecologists JohnBeddington and Robert May, and the chemist David King.

Walport puts himself more in the mould of the biologist Solly Zuckermanor the physicist Frederick Lindemann, who stalked the Whitehall corridorsduring the second world war and who succeeded in getting things donethrough the force of their high-level networks.

Although Nurse namechecks Haldane on page seven of his report, thecreation of the Whitehall committee, along with the proposed folding ofquality-related funds into Research UK, would take the government onestep closer to dismantling his principle. (Nurse describes it as a ‘truism’.)

Some commentators have remarked that this could be good for science,as it will provide a voice at the top table in a government that has not yetfinished cutting the public sector. There is much truth in this. But thereare downsides. On the whole, researchers need to be trusted to get on

with things, and, as readers know all too well, closed policy-making bysmall groups of unaccountable people often leads to bad decisions.

These were among the reasons why the UK research system evolved as

it did, with disciplinary autonomy coupled to transparency and account-ability. It seems that in its zeal to reform how UK research is organisedand funded the government will lose the good along with the bad.

e l s e w h e r e

“There is a lot more than just money

at stake. Reputations and trust are on the line.” An investigation has shown that hackersare hijacking journals’ web addresses to conpeople into parting with fees or passwords. Phil Davis, a former university librarian andnow a consultant in the scholarly publishingindustry, says publishers need to start takingcybersecurity seriously. Science, 20/11/15.

“My PhD research asked the question: isRobin Thicke the new swine flu? Looking through the data, his Blurred Lines jour-ney through the media had not one butfour epidemics, and so my conclusion wasno—he’s much worse.”Online viral phenomena are as much a part

of modern life as biological epidemics, says Marily Nika, data programme manager atGoogle. Tech City News, Autumn 2015.

“For a government that has introduced somany public service reforms, it is odd thatspending reviews have not changed morefundamentally.”On the inner workings of a spending review, Nick Timothy , home secretary Theresa May’sformer chief of staff, asks whether it could bedone better. Conservative Home, 17/11/15.

“I never thought I’d write this, but Ibelieve that it is time for experts whoadvise on biosafety and biosecurity to

learn from specialists in nuclear security.”Tim Trevan, a biosafety consultant based inMaryland, United States, says that biologistsmight think the large-scale safety measuresemployed by the nuclear industry won’ttransfer to hospitals and labs, but theyshould heed nuclear’s ‘culture of safety’.Nature Comment, 11/11/15.

“In an age of growing interdependency,it is foolish to intentionally cut ourselvesout of the networks that the EuropeanUnion provides.” Vice-chancellor of the University of Exeter Steve Smith says that UK universities wouldbe disadvantaged if the country were to leavethe EU. The Guardian, 9/11/15.

d e c a d e

“The university system ischanging but HEFCE does notseem to have a strategy tocope with this.”

Peter Saunders, honorary secretaryfor the Campaign for Science andEngineering, doesn’t rate the HigherEducation Funding Council for England’s

2006-11 strategic plan.



3/24

BIS to reinstate its ‘super civil servant’ for science

The role of director-general for knowledge and innovation at the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills—currently held by Gareth Davies—is to be strengthened and renamed.

The position of director-general for business and science, for which an open competition will beannounced shortly, will be extended to cover: advanced manufacturing and services; energy,materials and agri-tech; enterprise and small business policy; and the Office for Life Sciences.

McDonnell commits Labour to 3% research spending target

A Labour government would create an innovation policy and increase R&D investment to 3 percent of GDP, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said. In a speech at Imperial CollegeLondon on 20 November, McDonnell said Labour would also ring-fence innovation support andcreate a long-term investment plan for research.

Government publishes details of green bank privatisationThe UK government has announced its strategy for privatising the Green Investment Bank, withplans to sell off a majority stake in 2016. A policy statement published on 18 November saysthat businesses will be required to commit to the bank’s green objectives if they want to buy ashare, which should allay fears about companies choosing to invest in less-than-green energyprojects.

Royal Society tackles unconscious bias

The Royal Society has said it will brief the members of its selection panels about unconsciousbias and how they can prevent it. The briefing includes recommendations for selection panels to

slow down the speed of decision-making, reconsider the reasons for decisions, and be preparedto identify unconscious bias in others.

Wilsdon review group reconvenes…

The metrics review group chaired by James Wilsdon is preparing its response to the questionsthat the higher education green paper poses on the Research Excellence Framework and theuse of metrics in assessment. The group will reconvene on 27 November in light of the plansset out in the green paper, which include abolishing the Higher Education Funding Council forEngland, the body that administers the REF.

…while HEFCE seeks citation indicator datasets

A government invitation to tender for a contract to provide the Higher Education FundingCouncil for England with a dataset of citation indicators closed on 10 November. The work,

valued at £16,667, was due to start on 20 November and finish on 4 December. The contractsummary said the data would be used to “inform internal policy discussions and development”.

A contract is thought to have gone to either Elsevier or Thomson Reuters, but neither publisherconfirmed this as Research Fortnight went to press.

Osborne plans to double cybersecurity spending

Chancellor George Osborne has said that the UK will increase its cybersecurity spending by£1.9 billion by 2020, taking the total investment to £3.2bn in the next five years. In addition,

he announced the creation of a national cyber centre at GCHQ and £20 million for an Institutefor Coding that will train the next generation of coders.

w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n

Research Fortnight, 25 November 2015 what’s going on 3


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EPSRC to consult on forthcomingdelivery planThe Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council will

open a consultation on its 2016-20 delivery plan inDecember. The EPSRC is expected to publish its plan,

which will outline the council’s research strategies andaspirations, in March 2016. The council said in June thatit would focus on people and careers, competition andmetrics, infrastructure and intellectual property.

University harassment taskforce starts workThe Harassment on Campus Taskforce—a group led bythe vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK and set upto address violence, harassment and hate crime in itsinstitutions—has met for the first time. The taskforce,

which is due to publish a set of recommendations inSeptember 2016, says it will begin by assessing the scaleof the problems faced by universities.

Open research culture breeds excellence, says HEFCEInternational experience, staff training and high levelsof autonomy for researchers are all qualities shared byhigh-performing research institutions, a report look-ing at the traits of such institutions has said. The study,published by the Higher Education Funding Council forEngland, also identifies two pre-requisites for researchexcellence: choosing the right people and cultivatinggood culture, values and leadership.

Whitehall makes admin savingsThe cost of Whitehall administration has fallen by£18.6 billion since 2010, according to the Institute forGovernment’s Whitehall Monitor 2015 report. It saysthat nearly all departmental budgets have decreased,

with the exception of those protected by a ring-fence.

The admin savings occurred despite an overall increasein government spending, from £688bn in 2009-10 to£738bn in 2014-15.

The fund for emergency responses proposed by RoyalSociety president Paul Nurse as part of his review of theUK research councils will only be effective if it can actquickly and in a coordinated way.

In his review, Nurse called for provisions for fundingin emergencies. He suggested that this be decided on anas-and-when basis, funded from the research councils’individual budgets, which would themselves be set everythree to five years. Nurse has proposed that the Research

UK umbrella body would lead on emergency responses.This would put Research UK’s chief executive in theposition of leading negotiations between the councilson what constitutes an emergency and how much fund-ing would be made available.

At the launch of the review in London on 19 November,Nurse said he had been “deliberately opaque” on thefund’s size. It is also not clear whether each council

would be expected to ring-fence some of its budget forcrisis responses, or indeed whether each council wouldbe expected to contribute to emergency funds outsidetheir research fields.

Anne Harmer, programme manager at EnhancingLearning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance, who leads the Research for Health in HumanitarianCrises programme—which ran its first rapid response callduring the Ebola pandemic last year with funding fromthe Department for International Development and the

Wellcome Trust—says that flexibility can be helpful.“We didn’t set a hard budgetary ceiling, our determin-

ing factor was the quality and potential impact on theimmediate response,” Harmer says. “In the event, wespent £2.2 million on nine proposals, but had there beenanother half a dozen that were really strong, the funders

were open to us having more.”It will be crucial that those decisions are taken

as quickly as possible, says Nancy Lee, senior policy

adviser at the Wellcome Trust, which last year launchedand awarded a call for Ebola vaccine research within amonth. “It’s definitely about speed and coordination,”she says. “It also needed significant resources and lotsof discussion at senior levels to get things signed off.”

She adds that carrying out the calls through ResearchUK would hopefully “give greater oversight and coor-dination of the elements that one might need in anemergency situation”.

Nurse notes the importance of supporting interventions in emergencies in the revie w’s sec tion onengaging with government-funded R&D. But some of

these research needs could be met within governmentor by researchers in public sector research establish-ments, he says, recommending opening out researchcouncil funding to them. At the launch he acknowl-edged that this was an unpopular suggestion withinuniversities, but he said that “not to fund it out of prin-ciple to defend a certain sector of research is not the

way to think about it”.

Emergencies fund will need

speedy decision-making

4 news Research Fortnight, 25 November 2015

n e w s

n e w s i n b r i e f

by Rebecca Hill [email protected]


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Vice-chancellors call for freedom of

information restrictions

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairsand its associated agencies have lost nearly 7,000 full-time members of staff since 2010, according to analysisfrom the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Although the data are not broken down by profession,some of the largest reductions in staff have been at Defraagencies that employ researchers. The Environment

Agency, the biggest employer, has lost one-fifth of its13,181 staff, a total of 2,946 people.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency and NaturalEngland have also both lost around one-fifth of their

workforces (672 and 682 respectively) between 2010 and2015. The Food and Environment Research Agency haslost 303, representing a drop of 35 per cent to 566.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Centre forEnvironment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science have suf-fered fewer losses at just 8 per cent and 6 per cent of theirstaff respectively. In contrast, the Veterinary MedicinesDirectorate has seen its staff numbers remain stable at 161.

Staff numbers at the Joint Nature Conservation Committeeincreased from 118 in 2010 to 170 in 2015.

Defra and its agencies have had to shoulder a 34 per

cent cut in resource budgets since 2009-10, accord-ing to Martin Harper, the RSBP’s conservation directorand author of the analysis, which was published on 11November. Further cuts announced in the spendingreview will mean Defra’s expenditure in 2019 will be halfof what it was in 2010. For Harper, the loss also repre-sents a loss of a certain ideal, that of civic-mindedness.“None of us got into it for the money,” he says. “When Isee job losses of that scale I see a massive loss of highlytrained people who committed their lives to protectingsomething bigger than themselves.”

Conservation groups say they fear that the extent ofthe cuts place the UK’s statutory conservation require-ments at risk. These include obligations to ensure waterquality, as well as the network of Natura 2000 sites.

Stephen Trotter, director for England at the conserva-tion charity The Wildlife Trusts, told Research Fortnight .

“Defra has been cut so severely, already, that cuts of thisscale may impact significantly on its ability to performeven basic functions.”

Cuts at Defra have led to 7,000 lost jobs


The Freedom of Information Act should be amendedto reduce the administrative and financial burdens oninstitutions, the vice-chancellors’ group Universities UKhas said.

The calls were made in response to a consultation onthe Freedom of Information Act from the InformationCommissioner, which closed on 20 November. In itsresponse, sent to Research Fortnight , Universities UKsaid that the burden imposed on universities under theact is “increasingly disproportionate to the public inter-est in the public’s need to know”.

The average number of FOI requests received by UKuniversities each month has increased by 19 per centsince 2013, reaching an average 18.2 requests per monthper institution in 2014, Universities UK said. Accordingto the group’s estimates, it costs a university about £145to deal with each FOI request.

To reduce that burden, Universities UK suggestsreforming Section 36—the effective conduct of publicaffairs exemption—of the act, which covers informationthat a public body needs to withhold but that doesn’t fit

with other exemptions in the act. In order to make use ofthis exemption, the law states that a “qualified person”

must give a “reasonable opinion” on the matter. This isthe head of the institution for universities. Universities

UK suggests that “the need to consider the public inter-est test is removed from the internal review process”.Instead, the Information Commissioner should be ableto express a view on the use of the exemption, it says.

In addition, the group wants to see a reduction in theso-called appropriate limit, which allows universities torefuse to deal with a request on the grounds of its cost.This is set at £450 for public institutions.

The government’s green paper on higher education,

published on 6 November, proposes exempting publicuniversities from FOI requests, so that they can com-pete with private institutions. Universities UK echoesthis idea, saying that “competition can only be fair andeffective if all institutions are operating on a level play-ing field, subject to the same requests”.

But Paul Gibbons, an FOI consultant and formerinformation compliance manager for SOAS, Universityof London, disagrees. He says that universities can’tdivorce themselves from the wider public sector. “Ifthey want to create a level playing field, the governmentshould extend the FOI to the private universities because

increasingly all universities are getting students withloans paid by the state,” he says.

by Lindsay McKenzie [email protected]


news 5


6/24

The Alan Turing Institute, announced in the March 2014budget, was trailed as the centre that would allow the UKto capitalise on the promise of big data. The institute’srecently appointed director, computer scientist AndrewBlake, says that, although there are many centres spring-ing up that call themselves data science institutes, his is“a bit special”.

This, he says, is because the Turing institute has afar broader remit than many of the others, such as theMedical Research Council’s Farr Institute of HealthInformatics Research. For Blake, the Turing institute isunique because it will focus on developing, inventingand understanding the algorithms that allow you to get

value out of data across all fields. The crucial part, headds, is to focus on more than just the data itself. “Datais not information. You have to really process data usingalgorithms to get information out of it.”

The institute has four main missions, Blake says. Thefirst is to become “really good at fundamental research”.

Blake and his governing board will decide the researchprogrammes in the next few months, but he wants themto have influence academically, societally and economi-cally. At the same time, Blake wants the institute tomake the most of this basic research and the technicaldiscoveries it makes by transferring it into practice: “We

want people to use the stuff we do.”The third part of the institute’s work is training the

next generation of computer scientists through doctoraland fellowship programmes. Blake acknowledges thatthere is a considerable skills gap in data science, but saysthat his aim is not to train people to work as data scien-tists in industry. He wants to train the researchers who

will help develop the field. “We’re really trying to partici-pate in the invention of the subject of datascience,” he says.

Finally, Blake wants the institute tocollaborate as widely as possible—fromuniversities to charities—and seems keento position the institute as an adviser toboth government and industry. “I thinkgovernment will call on us for our views,”says Blake, suggesting this might involve

writing reports on technologies and theirimplications. “We’re enthusiastic about

being involved in that kind of activity, andI’m sure there will be quite a lot of it.”

When asked if the institute is trying

to do too many things at once, Blake seems unfazed bythe question. “We’re going to put it together a piece at atime. We’ll start with hiring the right people first.” This isthe part that the former laboratory director of MicrosoftResearch UK is most excited about: the chance to estab-lish his own lab, and this is clearly why he took the jobas director. “I did run a lab before,” he explains, “but

then it began to get under my skin: this idea of buildinga lab from scratch, one that has a national agenda and

will do something for the UK’s strength in this incrediblyimportant area.”

It will take four or five years for the institute toreach its full size—there are plans for 200 people to bebased in its main hub at the British Library and furtherresearchers based in its five spokes, the institute’s uni-

versity partners. These are University College Londonand the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxfordand Warwick.

Blake is looking for people who love what they do,

and want to experiment and try things out. “The bestresearch comes when people are doing what they love.Some of the most interesting results are serendipitous,”he says. “I really want to nurture a creative atmosphere.”

Although the idea for the institute is only 18 monthsold, it has attracted an enviable amount of funding. Overthe next five years, it will receive £42 million from thegovernment—£20m for capital investment and £22mfor running costs—along with £5m from each of thefive universities. Strategic partner the Lloyd’s RegisterFoundation will contribute £10m and Intel has yet to dis-close the amount of its in-kind and cash contribution.

More partners are to come, says Blake, and find-ing them will be one of his main tasks in the next fewmonths. But he is coy about who he’d like to have on hisdream team. “Ah, you’d love to know, but you’ll have to

wait and see,” he says. “The great appeal of becoming astrategic partner at the beginning is that they can helpshape our scientific strategy.”

This scientific strategy is still under development, butBlake says it will be based on a roadmap published earlierthis month that takes into account the institute’s fourmain missions.

Will the institute achieve Blake’s goal of globalrenown? “The omens are good,” says Blake. “It’s looking

very promising that we can build something that really issignificant on the international stage.”

More to say? Email [email protected]

Research Fortnight, 25 November 20156 news

Oiling the machineThe Alan Turing Institute for data science opened this month with no shortage ofambition. Lindsay McKenzie asks its director Andrew Blake how he plans to deliver.

‘We’re going

to put it

together a

piece at a

time. We’ll

start with

hiring theright people.’

i n t e r v i e w a n d r e w b l a k e


7/24

funding opportunitiesevery new opportunity every discipline

Global innovation fundThe Global InnovationFund, together with otherfunders, invites proposalsfor innovation projects.Grants are worth betweenUS$230,000 (£151,300)and US$15 million each [3].

EPSRC laser productionThe Engineering andPhysical Sciences Research

Council, via the Centre forInnovative Manufacturingin Laser-based ProductionProcesses, invitesproposals for laser-basedproduction innovationprojects. Each project mayreceive up to £50,000 [7].

Newton UK-China researchInnovate UK, ResearchCouncils UK and the

Ministry of Scienceand Technology for thePeople’s Republic ofChina, via the NewtonFund, invite registrationsfor their UK-Chinaresearch and innovationbridges competition.The total budget is£16 million [26].

NIHR public health

The Department ofHealth’s National Institutefor Health Researchinvites applications,under the public healthresearch programme, forits researcher-led callfor proposals. There areno fixed limits on theduration of projects orfunding [28].

Research Fortnight25 November 2015

Opportunities from previous issues ofResearch Fortnight , listed by closingdate. European Commission andassociated funders marked EU.

Each entry is followed by a Web id

December

N O T T O B EP H O T O C O P I E D

For subscriptions call +44 20 7216 6500

d e a d l i n e sf o c u s p o i n t s

19 EPSRC future manufacturing

research hubs 1182044 MRC improved measurement meth-

ods for population science research– highlight notice 253450

MRC improving cross-sector com-parisons – beyond QALY 1185864

MRC methodology for elicitingexpert opinion 1186169

MRC methodology for strati-fied medicine – highlight notice 1182862

National Centre for the Replace-ment, Refinement and Reductionof Animals in Research (NC3Rs) 3Rsprize 186582

Society for Latin American Studiespostgraduate and postdoctoralbursaries 200458

University of Greenwich NaturalResources Institute/WYG Interna-tional/DFID sustainable agriculturalintensification research and learn-ing in Africa (SAIRLA) 1187235

US Department of Defense USSpecial Operations Commandbroad agency announcement forextramural biomedical research anddevelopment 1184867

20 Chartered Institute of Building

master's dissertation award 1177862

Geologists' Association Curry fund 257258

RCUK analytical support for scienceand innovation audits 1187259

Royal Society of Medicine otologyNorman Gamble research prize 1160130

Wellcome biomedical resource andtechnology development grants 1163336

Wellcome multi-user equipmentgrants 1163337

23 CRUK drug development project

award 1182009 CRUK new agents committee trial

grants 201936 EU Directorate-General for Health

and Food Safety study on pig castra-tion 1187255

EU EUREKA Eurogia2020 call forprojects 1161448

JRF international policy and prac-tice review: how do cities lead aninclusive growth agenda? 1187168

Royal Geographical Society withthe Institute of British Geographers

Ralph Brown expedition award 211459 Royal Geographical Society with

the Institute of British Geogra-phers geographical club award 1177582

Wellcome pathfinder awards 1166338

24 BBSRC tools and resources

development fund call 2 – supportfor novel bioinformatics andcomputational approaches 1186920

Innovate UK innovation in urbanspaces 1187078

25 EPSRC/Korea Institute of Energy

Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP) call for collaborativeresearch between the UK and Koreain smart grids 1187089

EU European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts globalclimate projections: data access,product generation and impact offront line developments 1187188

EU European Food Safety Authoritycrowdsourcing – engaging commu-nities effectively in food and feedrisk assessment 1187314

Frontex study on the set-up andmanagement of border security-related research in and outsideEurope 1187296

Innovate UK/BBSRC/EPSRCindustrial biotechnology catalyst– late-stage technical feasibilitystudies – round 4 1185106

Institution of Engineering andTechnology travel awards 1158280

26 Alzheimer's Drug Discovery

Foundation biotechnology grants 252766

EU Education, Audiovisual andCulture Executive Agency Erasmus+civil society cooperation grants 1177471

EPSRC/RCUK/Innovate UK urbanliving partnership – pilot phase 1186954

Innovate UK smart grants 1162409

27 AHRC/National Football Museum

research consortium/collaborativedoctoral partnerships 1187299

British Library/AHRC collaborativedoctoral partnerships 1187305

British Society for Rheumatology/British Health Professionals inRheumatology educational bursary 1184172

EPSRC platform grants 149904

Royal College of Physicians and Sur-geons of Glasgow medical electivescholarship 1184402

Royal College of Surgeons ofEdinburgh Ethicon Foundation Fund

travel grants 257378 Royal College of Surgeons of Edin-

burgh small research pump priminggrants 255235

Society for Endocrinology early-career grant 1164990

University of East Anglia SainsburyResearch Unit for the Arts of Africa,Oceania & the Americas visitingresearch fellowships 206641

University of London Warburg Insti-tute short-term fellowships 208513

28 Royal Society of Edinburgh/James

Weir Foundation prizes for publicengagement 1161562

30 Agricultural Economics Society

prize essay award 203340

Agriculture and Horticulture De-velopment Board aerial oomycetes– advancing knowledge of Bremialactucae and Peronospora farinosaspinaciae for the UK salad industry 1187015

Archives and Records Associa-tion UK and Ireland internationalengagement bursaries 257616

Association for Computing Machin-ery Eugene L Lawler award 1168915

Association for Computing Machin-ery Grace Murray Hopper award 202779

Association for Computing Machin-ery Karl V Karlstrom outstandingeducator award 1170389

Association for Computing Machin-

ery Panis Kanellakis theory andpractice award 202803 Association for Computing Machin-

ery software system award 202790 Association for Computing Machin-

ery/Infosys Foundation award inthe computing sciences 251822

Association for Radiation Researchtravel bursaries 1174267

Australian Rangeland Societyscholarships 1170386

Bayer early-career investigatoraward 197657

Bayer fellowship project award 212799

Bayer special project award 197667 British Council/Newton Fund work-

shop on resilient structures andinfrastructures 1187141 British Ornithologists' Union

research grants 195512 British Society for Plant Pathology

travel fund 1171888 Dan David Foundation prizes

204688

EU Directorate-General for Employ-ment, Social Affairs and Inclusionstudy on integrated delivery ofsocial services aiming at the activa-tion of minimum income recipientsin the labour market – success fac-tors and reform pathways 1187237

ESRC IJSRM seminar competition 1187157

EU Euorpean Defence Agency coursecorrection fuse integration withartillery systems in the EU 1187281

European Academy of Neurology clini-cal fellowship programme 190976

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Issue no. 468


8/24

8 funding opportunities Research Fortnight, 25 November 2015

Network support grantsAlcohol Research UK invites applicationsfor its network support grants. These fundconferences and other research network

development activities. Grants are worthup to £3,000 each.Web id: 1187569Email: [email protected] deadline [1]

Biology of ageing prizeThe Anatomical Society invites applica-tions for its aging cell best paper prize.This recognises a paper published in AgingCell Journal, addressing fundamentalissues in the biology of ageing. The prizecomprises a sum of £1,000, and up to£1,000 for travel.Web id: 1187681Email: [email protected] deadline [2]

Global innovation fundThe Global Innovation Fund, supported bythe Department for International Devel-opment, the United States Agency forInternational Development, the Omid-

yar Network, the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Cooperation Agency andthe Department for Foreign Affairs andTrade in Australia, invites proposals forits innovation projects. Funding supportsinnovative, cost-effective solutions thataddress any major development challengein any country or countries in the devel-oping world. Grants are worth betweenUS$230,000 (£151,300) and US$15 mil-lion depending on the type of innovationstage funding is requested for.Web id: 1187671No deadline [3]

STFC astrobiology The Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncil invites applications for its call onsubterranean astrobiology. Funding ena-bles access to the Boulby InternationalSubsurface Astrobiology Laboratory toconduct experiments covering any areaof deep surface biology and astrobiologyor planetary exploration.Web id: 1187501Email: [email protected] deadline [4]

Wheat grain quality The Agriculture and Horticulture Develop-ment Board, via its cereals and oilseedsdivision, invites expressions of inter-est for its wheat grain quality researchproject. This aims to improve the under-standing of the relationship betweenpentosans, starch damage and waterabsorption of flours, and improve theunderstanding of how this relationshipimpacts on wheat baking quality. Thebudget is worth up to £180,000 overthree years.Web id: 1187635Email: [email protected]: 9 December 2015 [5]

Newton fellowshipsThe British Academy invites applicationsfor the Newton advanced fellowships forChina. These enable early- and mid-careerinternational researchers to develop their

research strengths with a partner in theUK through training, collaboration andvisits. Fellowships are available for two

years, and cover research support, traveland subsistence, and training.Web id: 1187560Email: [email protected]: 9 December 2015 [6]

EPSRC laser manufacturing

The Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council, via the Centre forInnovative Manufacturing in Laser-basedProduction Processes, invites proposalsfor laser-based production innovationprojects. Funding supports projects attechnology readiness levels 1 to 3, thataddress one of the following four researchthemes: micro-machining; laser develop-ment and engineering; fusion-based pro-cesses; and sensing and process control.Each project may receive up to £50,000at 80 per cent full economic cost for upto six months.Web id: 1187517Contact: Andy RutherfordEmail: [email protected]

Deadline: 10 December 2015 [7]

Food innovationThe British Council and the ThailandResearch Fund, via the Newton Fund,invite submissions for their call for aresearch delegation on innovative andsustainable competitiveness in food anddrinks technology. This call enables UKresearchers to participate in a five-dayscientific and technological researchdelegation, to be held from 7 to 13 Febru-ary 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand, in orderto create research links between the UKand Thailand through a partnership whichcontributes to understanding and imple-menting improved green productivity and

food safety standards. Funding coverstravel, accommodation and subsistencecosts for the duration of the visit.Web id: 1187503Email: [email protected]: 30 December 2015 [8]

Energy awardThe Royal Society of Chemistry invitesapplications for its energy sector PhDthesis award. This aims to spotlight UKPhD research in the energy sector. Theaward is worth £500.Web id: 1184112Deadline: 31 December 2015 [9]

NIHR innovation awardsThe Department of Health's NationalInstitute for Health Research invitesapplications for the following awardsunder its invention for innovation (i4i)programme:

•challenge awards. Web id: 1187594•product development awards.

Web id: 1187585Email: [email protected]: 13 January 2016 [10]

Innovate UK satellite appsInnovate UK, via the Satellite Applica-tions Catapult, invites applications for theRegional Centres of Excellence in satelliteapplications. Funding enables organisa-tions that are involved with satelliteapplications research and developmentto collaborate with business partners andstimulate further ideas and innovation,and create regional centres of excellence.

Each centre may receive up to £100,000per year for three years, representingno more than 50 per cent of the totalproject costs.Web id: 1187566Contact: Nafeesa DajdaEmail: [email protected]: 13 January 2016 [12]

MRC UK-Korea awardsThe Medical Research Council and theKorean Health Industry DevelopmentInstitute invite proposals for their UK-Korea partnering awards. These pro-vide resources to biomedical and healthresearchers in the UK and Korea that willallow them to forge long-term collabora-tions and establish and strengthen part-nerships. 10 awards, worth £20,000 each,are available for a period of one year.Web id: 1187675Email: [email protected]: 15 January 2016 [13]

Oxford humanities visits

The University of Oxford's HumanitiesDivision, under the Oxford Research Cen-tre in the Humanities and the Womenin the Humanities programme, invitesapplications for its women in the humani-ties visiting fellowship. This aims to sup-port scholars working on women's lives,identities and representations in thehumanities, broadly defined, by coveringsome of the costs associated with under-taking research in Oxford. The fellowshipis worth £1,500.Web id: 1187577Email: [email protected]: 15 January 2016 [14]

Colorectal surgery bursary

The Royal College of Surgeons of Englandinvites applications for the Alban BarrosD'Sa bursary. This enables surgical train-ees at all levels to attend an appropriatecourse in gastrointestinal or colorectalsurgery held at the Royal College of Sur-geons of England in London. The bursaryis worth up to £1,000 and will go towardsthe course fee.Web id: 1187388Email: [email protected]: 17 January 2016 [15]

Oxford economic growthThe University of Oxford's InternationalGrowth Centre invites proposals for itsresearch grants for economic growth

policies in developing countries. Thesefocus on cutting-edge, policy-relevantacademic research shaping effective eco-nomic growth policies in the global south.The total budget is worth £3.3 million.Web id: 1187672Email: [email protected]: 17 January 2016 [16]

NIHR commissioned callsThe Department of Health's NationalInstitute for Health Research invitesoutline proposals for the following calls,under its health technology assessmentcommissioned funding stream:

•primary research on improving adher-ence to tuberculosis treatment.

Web id: 1187599•treatment of extravasation injuries inbabies and young children.Web id: 1187591

•cognitive behavioural therapy.

Web id: 1187592•two-stage proposals on several differ-

ent topics. Web id: 1187583•antenatal versus intrapartum defibu-

lation surgery for women who have under-gone female genital mutilation.Web id: 1187600Email: [email protected]: 21 January 2016 [17]

Astronomy PhD prizesThe Royal Astronomical Society invitesapplications for its PhD thesis prizes.These recognise the best PhD theses inastronomy and geophysics completedin the UK. Two prizes are available: onefor astronomy and one for geophysics. Aprize of £1,000 is available for the winnersalong with an invitation to present theirresults at a meeting of the RAS, whereasrunner-ups will receive £50 book tokens.Web id: 1187664Email: [email protected]: 31 January 2016 [22]

Anatomical research grantsThe Anatomical Society invites applica-

tions for the Symington Bequest grants.These contribute to costs associated withanatomical research, or for presentingand participating in scientific meetings.Grants are worth up to £500 each.Web id: 1187680Email: [email protected]: 11 February 2016 [23]

NIHR NHS efficacy The Department of Health's NationalInstitute for Health Research invites pre-proposals for the following calls underits efficacy and mechanism evaluationprogramme :

•researcher-led work stream.Web id: 1187620

•commissioned research calls on delir-ium, graft versus host disease, use of celltherapies and mechanisms of action ofhealth interventions. Web id: 1187618Email: [email protected]: 15 March 2016 [24]

Innovate UK/RCUK UK-ChinaInnovate UK, the Research Councils UKand the Ministry of Science and Technol-ogy for the People's Republic of China, viathe Newton Fund, invite registrations fortheir UK-China research and innovationbridges competition. Funding supportscollaborative R&D projects that proposenew commercial solutions to critical chal-lenges impacting the socio-economic

growth and development of China in rela-tion to energy, healthcare, urbanisationand agri-food. The total budget is worthup to £16 million. The total UK projectcost is expected to range in size from£800,000 to £1m over two years.Web id: 1187617Email: [email protected]: 23 March 2016 [26]

Anaesthesia awardsThe National Institute of AcademicAnaesthesia, in collaboration with theAssociation of Anaesthetists of GreatBritain and Ireland, the British Journalof Anaesthesia/Royal College of Anaes-thetists, the Obstetric Anaesthetists'

Association, and the Neuroanaesthesiaand Critical Care Society of Great Brit-ain and Ireland, invites applications forthe John Snow anaesthesia intercalatedBSc awards. These support intercalated

u k h i g h l i g h t s

New opportunities from UK-based funders.


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Research Fortnight, 25 November 2015 funding opportunities 9

research projects and aim to encouragemedical students' interest in anaesthesiaand its related disciplines. Awards areworth between £1,000 and £2,000.Web id: 1187700Email: [email protected]: 31 March 2016 [27]

NIHR public healthThe Department of Health's National

Institute for Health Research invitesapplications, under the public healthresearch programme, for its research-er-led call for proposals. This supportsresearch that evaluates public healthinterventions, specifically to provide newknowledge on the benefits, costs, accept-ability and wider impacts of non-NHSinterventions intended to improve thehealth of the public and reduce inequali-ties in health. There are no fixed limitson the duration of projects or funding,and proposals should be tailored to fullyaddress the problem.Web id: 1187641Email: [email protected]: 4 April 2016 [28]

Innovate UK India collabInnovate UK and the Government of India,via the Newton Fund, invite registrationsfor their collaborative R&D competitionon clean-tech, affordable healthcareand ICT. Funding supports industrial, col-laborative R&D projects that demonstratenew solutions to challenges impacting thesocio-economic growth and developmentof India, in relation to its clean-tech,healthcare and ICT sectors. The totalbudget is worth up to £2.5 million. Eachproject may receive up to £450,000 overtwo years.Web id: 1187518Email: [email protected]

Deadline: 13 April 2016 [29]

u k o t h e r

Renewed opportunities from funders basedin the UK.

AHRC research grantsThe Arts and Humanities Research Councilinvites applications for the followingopportunities:

•collaborative research grants, inpartnership with the São Paulo ResearchFoundation, worth up to £2 million each.Web id: 1161041

•follow-on funding for impact andengagement grants, worth up to £100,000over one year. Web id: 1161124

•early-career grants, worth up to£250,000 over five years.Web id: 1187657

•standard route grants, worth up to£1m over five years.Web id: 210569

•research networking scheme, withgrants worth up to £30,000 each over two

years. Web id: 252596Email:[email protected] deadline [30]

CRUK cancer conferencesCancer Research UK invites applicationsfor its conference and meetings supportgrants. These support specialist confer-ences and meetings that are run by CRUKgrant holders and researchers. The total

budget is worth up to £15,000.Web id: 1173271Email: [email protected] deadline [35]

Biotechnology vouchersThe Crossing Biological Membranes Net-work invites applications for its busi-ness interaction vouchers. These enableacademics to carry out work with an

industrial partner within the network'sremit. Vouchers are worth £5,000 over amaximum period of six months.Web id: 1180831Email: [email protected] deadline [36]

EPSRC workshops/networksThe Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council invites applications forits bilateral research workshops. Fundingsupports workshops that exchange ideasand expertise internationally, with theobjective of exploring the possibility ofmore substantial future collaboration.Grants cover travel and accommodationexpenses of UK participants and core

costs for meetings in the UK.Web id: 206466Email: [email protected] deadline [37]

Innovation grantsEnhancing Learning and Research forHumanitarian Assistance, under theHumanitarian Innovation Fund, invitesapplications for its early stage innovationgrants. These support organisations andindividuals who are looking to identify,nurture and share innovative solutionsto the challenges that operational agen-cies are facing in the delivery of effectivehumanitarian aid. Grants are worth upto £20,000.

Web id: 1186622Email: [email protected] deadline [38]

Experimental psychology The Experimental Psychology Societyinvites applications for its grants for post-graduate and postdoctoral workshops.This scheme supports workshops thatbring together postgraduate students or

junior postdoctoral researchers withintwo years of their PhD who are working ona particular topic or wish to learn about aparticular technique. The maximum grantfor a one-day meeting is £1,200 and for atwo-day workshop £2,500.Web id: 251633

Contact: John TowseNo deadline [39]

Healthcare travel grantThe Healthcare Infection Society invitesapplications for its travel grants. Theseenable trainees and junior members ofstaff to attend meetings of educationalbenefit, particularly if work is to be pre-sented. Grants are worth up to £750, andcover travel, accommodation, subsistenceexpenses and registration fees.Web id: 204051Email: [email protected] deadline [40]

Humane animal slaughterThe Humane Slaughter Association invitesapplications for its research grants. Thesesupport projects aiming to improve ani-mal welfare during transport, at market

and at slaughter. Previous grants haveranged from £750 to £5,600.Web id: 182367Email: [email protected] deadline [41]

Transport engineeringThe Lloyd's Register Foundation invitesapplications for its research grants. Thesesupport engineering-related research

into improving the safety of the criticalinfrastructure on which modern societyrelies. Funding does not support capitalworks or infrastructure, and equipmentis funded only as a small proportion ofresearch programmes.Web id: 1181362Email: [email protected] deadline [42]

Chemistry travel The Royal Society of Chemistry invitesapplications for its journals grants forinternational authors. These enable RSCauthors to travel to other countries tocollaborate actively in research, or to giveor receive special expertise and training.

Grants are worth up to £2,500 each.Web id: 256366Email: [email protected] deadline [43]

Vascular care bursariesThe Society of Vascular Nurses invitesapplications for its bursaries. These assistmembers in undertaking any educational,research or developmental pursuit relat-ing to improving vascular nursing care.Four awards, worth up to £500 each, areavailable.Web id: 203327Contact: Jayne BurnsEmail: [email protected] deadline [44]

Research fellowshipsThe University of Edinburgh, throughthe Institute for Advanced Studies inthe Humanities, invites applications forits nominated fellowships. This schemeencourages schools within the collegeof humanities and social sciences tonominate scholars from other universitieswhose research will contribute directlyto the research plans of the sponsoringunit and the current research themes ofthe institute.Web id: 1181177Email: [email protected] deadline [45]

Wellcome biomedical awardsThe Wellcome Trust invites proposals fortranslational medicine and therapeuticsprogrammes. These offer an opportu-nity for translational medicine trainingin the UK. The duration and nature ofsupport provided varies between theschemes, but may include a clinical salary,PhD registration fees at UK or EU rate,research expenses, and costs for traveland training.Web id: 207944Contact: John WilliamsEmail: [email protected] deadline [46]

Alcohol grantsAlcohol Research UK invites applicationsfor its research innovation grants. Thesesupport projects that address emergingissues in alcohol research, employ novel

I S S N 1 3 5 8 - 1 1 9 8

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N O T T O B E P H O T O C O P I E D


10/24

10 funding opportunities Research Fortnight, 25 November 2015

theoretical or methodological approach-es, or pilot new work in treatment orservice delivery. Grants are worth up to£60,000 over 24 months.Web id: 251985Email: [email protected]: 9 December 2015 [47]

Medical education researchThe Association for the Study of Medical

Education and the GMC invite applicationsfor their excellent medical educationawards. These support high quality medi-cal educational research, developmentand innovation. Awards are worth up to£5,000 each.Web id: 1181311Email: [email protected]: 10 December 2015 [48]

American studies essay The British Association for AmericanStudies invites applications for its post-graduate essay prize. This is awarded forthe best essay on an American studiestopic. The prize is normally worth £500.Web id: 202204

Email: [email protected]: 11 December 2015 [49]

Security and justiceThe Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trustinvites applications for the followinggrants:

•peace and security programme grants,worth up to £100,000. Web id: 1180728•power and accountability programme

grants, worth up to £100,000.Web id: 1180729•rights and justice programme grants,

worth up to £100,000. Web id: 1166756Email: [email protected]: 14 December 2015 [50]

AHRC festival contributionsThe Arts and Humanities Research Councilinvites expressions of interest for its callto contribute to the Connected Com-munities Festival, to be held across theUK during the summer of 2016. Fundingenables researchers, communities andother partners to develop a wide range ofcommunity engagement activities on thetheme of community futures and utopias.Standard awards are worth up to £5,000each and augmented awards are worth upto £15,000 eachs.Web id: 1183624Email: [email protected]: 16 December 2015 [53]

DH policy researchThe Department of Health includingNIHR, via the policy research programme,invites outlines for its radiation protec-tion research initiative. This aims toprovide further evidence to inform thesystem of radiation protection appliedat national and international level forionising radiation, which is based onexisting scientific knowledge and modelsderived from it. The total budget is worth£2.5 million.Web id: 1186855Email: [email protected]: 18 December 2015 [54]

Dystonia researchThe Dystonia Society invites applicationsfor its seed grant scheme. This funds seedprojects for research within the aetiology,

diagnosis, treatment, care and manage-ment of dystonia. The budget is worth upto £50,000.Web id: 1175817Contact: Joanne DayEmail: [email protected]: 18 December 2015 [55]

Science/engineering postersSET for Britain invites applications for

its call on Parliamentary and ScientificCommittee exhibition of posters. Theseawards recognise the best posters ineach of the following five areas: biologi-cal and biomedical science, chemistry,physics, engineering and mathematics.Three awards, worth between £1,000 and£3,000, are available in each of the fivesubject areas.Web id: 260686Deadline: 21 December 2015 [56]

Innovate UK digital mediaInnovate UK invites registrations forits cross-platform production in digitalmedia. Funding supports collaborativeR&D projects that address convergence

in digital media technologies, includ-ing film, television, online video, ani-mation and video games, as well aspre-production, production and post-production processes particularly forvisual effects. Each project may receivebetween £300,000 and £750,000. Thetotal budget is worth up to £4 million.Web id: 1175754Email: [email protected]: 23 December 2015 [57]

Ornithology researchThe British Trust for Ornithology invitesapplications for its research grants. Thesesupport research on all aspects of fieldornithology, with preference for those

most relevant to the trust's core researchactivities. Grants are worth up to £500each.Web id: 258591Email: [email protected]: 31 December 2015 [58]

Scottish psychiatry prizeThe Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scot-land invites submissions for its researchprize. This recognises the best paperpublished in a peer reviewed journal in2015 related to psychiatry. The prize isworth £500.Web id: 152807Email: [email protected]: 31 December 2015 [59]

Surgery prizeThe Association of Surgeons of GreatBritain and Ireland invites submissionsfor the Moynihan prize. This is awarded tothe author of the best research work readat the International Surgical Congress.The prize is worth £1,000.Web id: 154376Email: [email protected]: 4 January 2016 [60]

Leverhulme life sciencesThe Royal Society and the LeverhulmeTrust invite applications for their seniorresearch fellowships. These enable aca-demic researchers to be relieved of alltheir teaching and administrative dutiesand to concentrate on full-time research.Research expenses of up to £2,500 areavailable to cover the cost of consuma-

bles, equipment and travel.Web id: 259385Email: [email protected]: 11 January 2016 [61]

Medical training fellowshipsThe Dunhill Medical Trust invites appli-cations for its research training fellow-ships. These provide opportunities for

individuals who would like a future careerin research aimed at improving care forolder people. Fellowships include eithera PhD stipend or an individual's salary atthe appropriate grade, plus a grant of upto £10,000 annually.Web id: 260195Email: [email protected]: 15 January 2016 [62]

Chemistry awardsThe Royal Society of Chemistry invitesnominations for the Beilby medal andprize. This recognises work of practicalsignificance in chemical engineering,applied materials science, energy effi-ciency or a related field. The prize is

worth £1,000.Web id: 206311Deadline: 15 January 2016 [63]

Spinal cord injury InnoCentive invites applications for theconquer paralysis now challenge. Thisaims to accelerate the development oftreatments for spinal cord injury in orderto provide significant improvements inpatients' quality of life. There will be12 grants available, with one grant of atleast US$50,000 (£32,900) available ineach category, and a further six grants,according to those categories that havethe strongest applications.Web id: 1183519

Email: [email protected]: 21 January 2016 [64]

Wellcome PhD programmesThe Wellcome Trust invites applicationsfor funding under its clinical PhD pro-grammes. These enable institutions todeliver PhD training to clinicians. Eachaward provides a clinical salary, universityfees at UK or EU student rate, researchexpenses, overseas allowances whereappropriate, and a contribution towardstravel to conferences and meetings.Web id: 1170084Contact: Anne-Marie Coriat Email: [email protected]

Deadline: 25 January 2016 [65]

Alcohol researchAlcohol Research UK invites applicationsfor its studentships for postgraduateresearch. These aim to encourage researchin the alcohol field and to improve thequality of service provided for those withdrinking problems. Up to three student-ships are available, each worth up to£10,000 per year for three years.Web id: 1173032Email: [email protected]: 26 January 2016 [66]

Pancreatic cancer innovationPancreatic Cancer UK invites applicationsfor its research innovation fund. This aimsto spur creative and cutting-edge ideasand approaches in pancreatic cancer,

including repurposing those successful inother areas of cancer that have justifiablepromise for pancreatic cancer. The totalbudget is £500,000. Each award is worthup to £75,000.Web id: 1169802Email: [email protected]: 27 January 2016 [67]

Industrial fellowshipsThe Royal Commission for the Exhibitionof 1851 invites applications for its indus-trial fellowships. These aim to encourageprofitable innovation and creativity inBritish industry by supporting researchleading to a patented product or processin conjunction with a PhD, EngD or indus-trial doctorate. Fellowships are worth upto £21,000 per year for up to three years,with an enhancement of £2,000 per yearand £15,000 towards research projectcosts for doctoral fellows. All fellows willreceive up to £3,500 per year to covertravel costs and the university researchdepartment will be paid an honorariumof £10,000 on completion.

Web id: 209190Contact: Nigel WilliamsEmail: [email protected]: 28 January 2016 [69]

Oxford visiting scholarshipsSt John's College at the University ofOxford invites applications for its visit-ing scholarships. These aim to supportacademics in a current programme ofresearch. Six scholarships, tenable for upto six weeks during the period mid-Julyto mid-September 2016, are available.Web id: 194738Email: [email protected]: 29 January 2016 [70]

Medical education travel The Association for the Study of MedicalEducation, in collaboration with Wiley-Blackwell, invites applications for itsmedical education travelling fellowship.This enables an individual or researchgroup to gain further experience, trainingor knowledge and strengthen the healthprofessional education research efforts,through a visit to another team or host-ing a visiting researcher. The fellowshipis worth up to £2,000.Web id: 257827Email: [email protected]: 31 January 2016 [71]

Biochemistry awards

The Biochemical Society invites nomina-tions for the following awards:•Biochemical Society award, worth

£2,000. Web id: 172573•Novartis medal and prize, worth

£3,000. Web id: 182840Email: [email protected]: 31 January 2016 [72]

Primary care awardsThe Society for Academic Primary Care,in collaboration with the Royal Collegeof General Practitioners, invites applica-tions for the Yvonne Carter award for out-standing new researcher. This supportsthe international development of young

researchers in primary care and enablesthem to collaborate with researchers inother countries, as well as enables themto attend and present work at an inter-national research meeting. The award is


11/24

jobs 11

Research Development TeamLead/Research Support Partner£38,896-£46,414 College of Engineering andPhysical Sciences,University of BirminghamClosing date: 29/11/2015Details: www.hr.bham.ac.uk

Project Development Manager £38,511-£45,954 White Rose UniversityConsortiumClosing date: 30/11/2015Contact: Dr Craig WalkerEmail: [email protected]

External Partnerships ProjectManager £31,342-£37,394Research & Enterprise Services,University of SussexClosing date: 30/11/2015Details: www.sussex.ac.uk/jobs

Tender Support Executive £28,200 Centre for Ecology and HydrologyClosing date: 01/12/2015Details: http://rsrch.co/1PopyT1Tel: 01793 867000

Tender Support Assistant £22,224

Centre for Ecology and HydrologyClosing date: 01/12/2015Details: http://rsrch.co/1HxK1SDTel: 01793 867000

Senior Policy Adviser £25,000(£36,500 pro rata)Campaign for Social Science,Academy of Social SciencesClosing date: 03/12/2015Contact: Helen SpriggsEmail: [email protected]

Knowledge ExchangeCommercialisation (KEC)Officer £23,500-£26,000

The Genome Analysis Centre(TGAC)Closing date: 04/12/2015Details: http://jobs.tgac.ac.uk

Licensing Executive,Engineering and PhysicalSciences £37,394-£45,954 Financial & Business Services(BEIS) – Commercialisation,University of NottinghamClosing date: 07/12/2015Details: www.nottingham.ac.uk/ jobsTel:0115 951 5206

P o l i c y , M a n a g e m e n t & S u p p o r t – p l u s E x p e r t C o m m i t t e e s 2 5 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5

Jobs

HIGHLIGHTS

For more details and the completelist of jobs, please visit:www.researchresearch.com/jobs

The importance of mentoring in research cannot

be underestimated, but it can be challenging tobuild a good mentor-mentee relationship.

Amy Iversen is a consultant psychiatrist andvisiting senior lecturer at King’s College London’sInstitute of Psychiatry, and is involved in theAcademy of Medical Sciences’ mentoring schemefor clinical researchers. She says it all comes downto the first meeting. This needs to last at least 90minutes, she says, and for the first half of themeeting you can pretty much forget about the nutsand bolts of research.

Instead, you should work on building rapport.“Rapport is about letting the mentee know that youcan take a genuinely empathic, impartial and non-

judgemental stance towards what they bring to themeeting,” Iversen says. “It will help mentees andmentors to get under the surface in subsequentsessions and to talk about issues that might be toopersonal or difficult to discuss.”

She suggests talking about common values orshared hobbies, as well as discussing the mentee’scareer objectives. The mentor should take this onboard, and relate it to their own experiences.

In the second half of the meeting, both partiesneed to agree on what they expect from each otherduring the mentoring process. This should start bycovering the basics, such as where and how often

they will meet and whether they will keep notes ofthe meetings, she says.

But the pair should also think about themore sensitive aspects of the relationship. Theyshould ask themselves what will happen if thereis a risk of a conflict of interest, she says, or incircumstances that might force the mentor tobreach confidentiality, for instance if there hasbeen a case of research misconduct.

“A clear working agreement is the foundation ofa productive learning relationship,” Iversen says.“It frees both parties from getting distracted byextraneous concerns.”

She recommends a minimum of four sessions a year, and that these be organised well in advanceso they don’t slip off the radar. At the end of eachsession, Iversen recommends that mentees send anemail to their mentors saying what they found usefulin the meeting, as well as what wasn’t so helpful.

But, Iversen says, it’s sometimes better tocut your losses early if there isn’t any chemistry.“Sometimes a mentee will hang on to a mentorbecause they feel guilty about letting them go,”she says. “But if something is limiting the value

you’re going to get from this conversation it isbetter to say so.”


Building rapport in researcher mentoring

The University of York has appointed sevenchampions for interdisciplinary research.

The idea for the champions came in theuniversity’s five-year research strategy, publishedin January. They have been awarded in themesincluding the creative arts, health, environment,technology and evidence-based policymaking.

Damian Murphy, a reader in audio and musictechnology, began as champion of the creativitytheme on 1 September, having just returnedfrom a 10-month sabbatical at research groups inStockholm, Montreal and Helsinki. He has 20 years’experience in research, but is having to develop awhole new set of skills for this role.

He says that the job requires interpersonalabilities and a passion for interdisciplinarylearning. He has started off by meeting with theother six champions as well as academics, headsof departments, the university management andrepresentatives from the funding bodies.

He acts as a bridge between departments,helping researchers form new interdisciplinarygroups. He also makes sure that researchersworking on related areas are brought into bidsthat they might not have known about otherwise.

Although Murphy acknowledges that doing

something like this looks good on his CV, that’snot why he applied for the job. “I did it because I’mpassionate about working across disciplines in the

field of creativity,” he says. “For me personally thisis a great opportunity to connect with individuals,groups and departments across the university thatsomeone would not normally be able to do.”

The initial response to the champions has beenpositive, Murphy says. “There is some curiosityabout our roles. Departments see that the researchthemes within the strategy are very important, andwant to engage with this initiative and see whatthey might do to play a bigger part,” Murphy says.“We aren’t telling people what to do, this is aboutmaking sure that everyone is informed about whatinitiatives there are across the university.”

However, there are still plenty of challenges.The position requires more leadership skillsthan Murphy had needed in his previous roleas a researcher, and good time management iscrucial. His contract stipulates that he will spendhalf of his working hours fulfilling the champion’sduties, and the rest on research and teaching.But this has to be juggled from week to week,he says. This includes managing the demands ofother departments and universities, as well asexternal partners and funders. “We’re still learning

about how to manage this, while still being goodresearchers and teachers in our own respectivefields,” he says.


Interdisciplinarity champions for York


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12 jobs

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Clinical Trials UnitAdministrator£24,057-£28,695 Nuffield Department of Primary

Care Health Sciences,

University of OxfordClosing date: 27/11/2015Contact: RecruitmentEmail: [email protected]

Research and EnterpriseCo-ordinator £25,023-£29,847 Lord Ashcroft InternationalBusiness School,

Anglia Ruskin UniversityClosing date: 27/11/2015Details: For further information

about the role, and to applyonline, please visit

www.anglia.ac.uk/jobsEmail: [email protected]

Tel: 0845 196 4778

Research Operations Manager £36,485-£39,646 (inc. LW) Faculty of Business & Law,Kingston University

Closing date: 27/11/2015Details: For a full description of

the role, and to apply online,please visit

www.kingston.ac.uk/jobs

Email: [email protected]: 020 8417 3118

Contracts Manager £33,822-£39,934 (inc LW) Research Support andDevelopment Office,

Brunel UniversityClosing date: 27/11/2015Contact: Human Resources

Email: [email protected]

Technical Director, CENSIS NS Research Strategy andInnovation,

University of GlasgowClosing date: 29/11/2015

Contact: RecruitmentEmail: [email protected]

Business Development Manager(DS-Cubed) £36,672-£46,414

Directorate of Research, Business& Innovation,De Montfort University

Closing date: 29/11/2015Contact: Human ResourcesEmail: [email protected]

Tel: 0116 250 6018

Chair in Sociology NS Department of SociologicalStudies, Faculty of Social

Sciences,

University of SheffieldClosing date: 30/11/2015Details: Further information isavailable athttps://jobs.shef.ac.ukEmail: [email protected]

Associate Head of School –Enterprise & Commercial, Schoolof Humanities £47,334-£59,058 Faculty of Arts and Humanities,Coventry UniversityClosing date: 30/11/2015Contact: Human ResourcesEmail: [email protected]

Associate Head of School –Enterprise & Commercial, Schoolof Economics, Finance andAccounting £47,334-£59,058 Faculty of Business and Law,

Coventry UniversityClosing date: 30/11/2015Contact: Human ResourcesEmail: [email protected]

Associate Head of School –Enterprise & Commercial, Schoolof Computing, Electronics andMaths £47,334-£59,058 Faculty of Engineering,Environment and Computing,Coventry University

Closing date: 30/11/2015Contact: Human Resources


Knowledge Exchange andImpact Officer£31,777-£34,451 Research and Enterprise Office,Goldsmiths University of London

Closing date: 11.59pm,30/11/2015Contact: Human Resources


Commercialisation Executive(BioPharma) c. £30,000 Queen Mary Innovation Ltd,

Queen Mary UniversityClosing date: 30/11/2015

Contact: RecruitmentEmail: [email protected]

Innovation Consultant/Proposal

Writer NSInnovative Technology and

Science Ltd (InnoTecUK)Closing date: 01/12/2015

Details: Applicants should emailtheir CV, highlighting 'InnovationConsultant' in the subject line.


Research Policy Administrator £27,328-£30,738 Research Strategy and

POLICY MANAGEMENT &SUPPORT VACANCIES


13/24

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Looking for anew job?

Daphne Jackson Fellowship Opportunitiesat the University of Oxford

Daphne Jackson Fellowships offer STEMprofessionals wishing to return to a research careerafter a break of 2 or more years, the opportunity tobalance an individually tailored retraining programmewith a challenging research project. Fellowships areheld part-time over 2 years and include at least 100hours retraining per year.

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Innovation,University of GlasgowClosing date: 02/12/2015Details: Further information isavailable atwww.gla.ac.uk/about/jobsEmail: [email protected]

Research Development Manager(maternity cover)£38,896-£47,801 Research Services,University of ReadingClosing date: 02/12/2015Contact: Human ResourcesEmail: [email protected]: 0118 378 6771

Research Impact Officer £28,982-£37,768 Research and Enterprise,University of Reading

Closing date: 03/12/2015Contact: Human ResourcesEmail: [email protected]: 0118 378 6771

Research Administrator £24,298-£27,328 Department of Sociology,School of Arts and SocialSciences,City University London

Closing date: 04/12/2015

Details: Further information is

available at www.city.ac.uk/jobs


Tel: 020 7040 3085

Senior Contracts Manager (threeposts) £38,511-£48,743

Research Operations Office,University of Cambridge


Contact: Margaret Perry

Email: margaret.perry@admin.

cam.ac.uk

Research Contracts & GrantsSpecialist £28,695-£37,394 Research Office,

University of Cambridge


Contact: Margaret Perry

Email: margaret.perry@admin.

cam.ac.ukResearch Administrator £30,434-£37,394 School of Engineering and

Physical Sciences,

Heriot-Watt University

Closing date: 11.59pm,

06/12/2015

Contact: Human Resources


Tel: 0131 451 3022

Research Administrator £19,273-£22,912Faculty of Social & HumanSciences,University of SouthamptonClosing date: 08/12/2015Contact: RecruitmentEmail: recruitment@

southampton.ac.ukTel: 023 8059 2421

Research Manager (Technology)£33,574-£37,768 University of ExeterClosing date: 10/12/2015Details: For a full job description,please visithttps://jobs.exeter.ac.ukEmail: [email protected]

Head of Research (Cornwall) £41,255-£47,801 University of Exeter

Closing date: 10/12/2015Details: For a full job description,please visithttps://jobs.exeter.ac.ukEmail: [email protected]

Knowledge Transfer Manager(maternity cover) £47,808-£59,649 Enterprise and Innovation,Coventry UniversityClosing date: 13/12/2015

Details: For more information, orto apply online, please visitwww.coventry.ac.uk/eandiEmail: [email protected]

Knowledge Exchange andCommercialisation Officer £25,000- £28,000 Research Management Office,Animal Health TrustClosing date: 15/12/2015Details: RecruitmentEmail: [email protected]

Research Administrator (part-time) £8,721-£10,101 School of Computing andEngineering,University of HuddersfieldClosing date: 16/12/2015Contact: Human ResourcesEmail: [email protected]

Head of Department

£56,482-£67,413 Food and Markets Department,University of GreenwichClosing date: 16/12/2015Contact: Interested candidatesare encouraged to discuss thepost with Professor AndrewWestby, Director of NRI, andProfessor Ben Bennett, DeputyDirector of NRIEmail: [email protected]


14/24

14 jobs

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Kidney diseaseKidney Research UK invites applicationsfor its innovation grants. These fundstand-alone research that will advanceknowledge of kidney disease, particu-larly new hypotheses where initial pilotor supporting data is required prior to afull research project. Funding is worth upto £40,000 per project.Web id: 210676Email: [email protected]: 4 March 2016 [81]

Collections researchThe Museums Association invites applica-tions for the Esmée Fairbairn collectionsfund. This supports time-limited collec-tions work that falls outside the scope ofan organisation's core resources. A totalof £1 million is available, with grantsworth between £20,000 and £100,000each.Web id: 1163760Contact: Sally ColvinEmail: [email protected]: 23 March 2016 [82]

CRUK cancer prizesCancer Research UK invites nominationsfor the following prizes:

•future leaders in cancer researchprize, worth £10,000. Web id: 1158600•lifetime achievement in cancer

research prize, worth £25,000.Web id: 1158597•translational cancer research prize,

worth £25,000.Web id: 1158599Contact: Lucy ShawEmail: [email protected]: 31 March 2016 [83]

Industrial design awardsThe Royal Commission for the Exhibi-

tion of 1851 invites applications for itsindustrial design studentships. These aimto stimulate industrial design capabilityamong UK engineering or science gradu-ates. Funding covers all tuition fees upto the normal level for UK students, astipend of £10,000 plus £2,500 Londonweighting where applicable, and an allow-ance worth £850 for materials.Web id: 1166015Contact: Nigel WilliamsEmail: [email protected]: 28 April 2016 [86]

Primary healthcare awardThe Royal Society of Medicine, in collabo-ration with the General Practice with Pri-mary Healthcare Section and the Centrefor the Advancement of InterprofessionalEducation, invites submissions for itsgeneral practice with primary healthcareand CAIPE John Horder award. This recog-nises an interprofessional team workingwithin the primary healthcare community,with the aim to promote more effec-tive interprofessional collaboration andhighlight examples of best interprofes-sional, collaborative practice. The awardis worth £1,500.Web id: 1175875Contact: Gemma LambEmail: [email protected]: 23 May 2016 [87]

Perioperative careThe Association for Perioperative Prac-tice invites applications for the SiobhanRankin award. This supports an educa-tional event, resource, course or pro-

gramme which will enable a team workingin anaesthetics, scrub, surgery or recoveryto meet personal development goals. Thegrant is worth £2,000.Web id: 174586Deadline: 30 May 2016 [88]

Hand surgery prizeThe British Society for Surgery of theHand invites applications for the Pulver-taft prize. This recognises an essay thatcontributes to the knowledge of surgeryof the hand, and the topic for the 2016prize is education in hand surgery. Theprize is worth £1,500.Web id: 203864Email: [email protected]: 30 June 2016 [89]

Environmental science awardThe Institution of Environmental Sciencesinvites applications for the John Roseaward. This provides funding to publicisea piece of outstanding postgraduateenvironmental science research that willinform and motivate the general public.The award is worth £1,000.Web id: 261141Email: [email protected]: 11 August 2016 [90]

Kidney research grantsKidney Research UK, in partnership withThe Stoneygate Trust, invites applica-tions for the John Feehally researchawards. These support projects that willadvance knowledge of kidney disease andrefine current treatment

Documents

Research Fortnight - 25/11/2015