Applying to the ESRC: Mid Career Opportunities

What this presentation covers

Overview of the career lifecycle

Mid career funding options

Standard grants

Small grants

Mid-career fellowships

International funding opportunities

Research careers – funding pathway Centres Research Masters +3 Studentship Postdoctoral Fellowship Small Grant Large Grant Mid-career Fellowship First Grant Scheme Professorial Fellowship Priority Networks/ Groups Research Opportunities On-going Training and Development Standard Grant

Research careers – funding pathway Centres Research Masters +3 Studentship Postdoctoral Fellowship Small Grant Large Grant Mid-career Fellowship First Grant Scheme Professorial Fellowship Priority Networks/ Groups Research Opportunities On-going Training and Development Standard Grant Early career Mid career Advanced career International Bilateral Grant

Standard Grants overview

Standard Grants

Applications from £100k to £1.5 million FEC

Researchers attached to HEI or a recognised IRO can apply

Assessed by:

ESRC staff (eligibility)

At least one nominated referee, and depending on the size, a number of independent academic referees and 2 Research Grants Board assessors

Right to reply process for proposals over £500k

Process takes around 22 weeks

Small Grants overview

Small Grants

Applications from £15k to £100k FEC

Researchers attached to HEI can apply or from a recognised IRO

Assessed by:

ESRC staff (eligibility)

Member of Research Grants Board

Member of the ESRC Virtual College

Process takes approx 14 weeks

Did you know……

Support for resources projects

Proposals for resources projects are welcome in responsive mode

Support for project students

Projects must out-last the duration of the studentship (3 years minimum)

The Principal Investigator must come from a recognised outlet

A separate programme of work for the student must be specified; project students are not just a cheap substitute for a research assistant!

Support for international Co-Investigators

Proposals may now include co-investigators from anywhere in the world

Some direct costs may be associated, if specifically justified and not exceeding 30% of the total value of the grant

ESRC is piloting on behalf of all Research Councils

Mid-Career Development Fellowships

Will be launched in August 2008

Replaces ESRC Research Fellowship scheme

Support for two pathways:

Career development to enable work at the interface with another discipline

Conversion route into academic research from allied fields of professional practice

Proposals for purely theoretical research (which may previously have been submitted to the Research Fellowship schemes) are best submitted through the small and standard grants route: Principal Investigators can apply for 100% of their time under these schemes

International Research Funding Opportunities

Bilateral Agreements

Enable projects to be jointly funded by the ESRC and research funding agencies in other countries

Each national agency funds the research carried out by its national researchers, according to its normal rules

Not a separate stream of funding: enable international collaborations to be submitted to the open standard and small grants competition

Both research funding agencies must agree to support a proposal for it to be funded.

Functional agreements with 10 agencies, allowing joint submissions to both

Bilateral Agreements

Bilateral funding agreements:

AUSTRALIA: The Australian Research Council (ARC)

AUSTRIA: Fonds zur Forderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)

FINLAND: The Academy of Finland

GERMANY: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

HONG KONG: The Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong

ICELAND: Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS)

IRELAND: Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

NETHERLANDS: Nederlands Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)

SOUTH AFRICA: National Research Foundation (NRF)

SWEDEN: Vetenskapsrådet (VR) - the Swedish Research Council

International Research Funding Opportunities: Europe

European Science Foundation

ECRP - Responsive mode scheme to allow joint proposals among researchers in 19 different countries. Common peer review and (beginning in 2008) common decision making.