funding for researcher led initiatives
TRANSCRIPT
New Initiatives funding
A guide to researcher-led projects in the University of Glasgow
Elizabeth Adams ([email protected])
Why bother organising your own event?
• Gain vital ‘employability’ skills such as project management, team working and problem solving and get tangible evidence of these for your CV
• Boost your academic profile -event organisers get their names known!
• You get to invite people that you are interested in hearing speak
• It can give you and your colleagues a platform to present your work, perhaps leading to publication
• It’s a good way to make friends in your department and build the academic community
• It can plug specific gaps in your CV (e.g. managing a budget)
• Find out how things work ‘behind the scenes’, such as finance, room bookings and catering
Projects which have received funding in the
past
(read the full bids on the web)
Caribbean Network
• A Postgraduate Researcher in the Faculty of Arts received £300 in 2009 to launch the Glasgow Caribbean Discussion Group, bringing together students, staff and independent researchers who share an interest in issues relating to the Caribbean and the Atlantic.
• This led to a funding bid in 2009/10 to further develop the network, including: – An interdisciplinary seminar series covering history, politics,
slavery, memory, medicine, religion, languages and literatures, diasporas and migrations, social movements and cinema.
– a major conference on 'Caribbean Enlightenment' to be held at the University in April 2010
– A series of public lectures to mark Black History Month
£2000
Plant Sciences Interactive Group
• This informal group was established in 2009 for early career researchers in Plant Science.
• They aim to develop a collaborative framework for related research groups within the University, through regular meetings and an online forum.
• This includes:– exchange of technical and scientific knowledge
between research groups. – Improving the research environment and integration
of new or international researchers – Regular meetings and a platform for researchers to
present their work in a supportive environment
£640
Marine Biology Association Researcher Conference
• Funding for a 4 day conference for early-career researchers in Marine Biology
• This event includes career development workshops for participants (e.g. CVs and Viva preparation)
• The organising committee will develop key event management skills as well as well as boosting their academic profile
£1300
Active Inquiry Workshop uncertainty, vulnerability and risk in
research
• A one day workshop for up to 25 research students and staff on the emerging field of social theatre as a participatory research process.
• The workshop was conducted by ACTive Inquiry, a social theatre company specialising in training and educating participants in using social theatre as means of inquiry, reflection and problem solving.
£640
Radical Geographies Reading Group
Funding was required to pay the costs of a guest
speaker at one of the group meetings.
The aim was to help researchers to relate
issues in the international news or local community to insights from their
research.
£400
Vitae Research Staff Conference
This conference examined
some of the keys issues faced by research staff in the current climate
and explored how researchers can make their voice heard more
effectively.
Travel for 2 researchers to attend: £300
A public engageme
nt and training
event for research
students in music
£434
Sound Thought
The BIG Little Event for newbie science communicators
Thinktank, Birmingham, Sept 2009£120
Projects funded
2008/9
Educational Shakespeare Company: Mickey B
Film screening and Arts for Social Change workshop, led by ESC Director £1394
Student Enterprise Summit
attendance
£6
£1100
PETS Public Engagement
£13,000
For early-career research in Education (£7000)
Research Development Network
Writing your own funding bid
What we look for in a bid
• New and creative ideas for non-standard training and development
• Multi-disciplinary initiatives• Activity that benefits a group of researchers and
helps build a research community (rather than just funding for one individual)
• Something that makes you think about your research in a new way (e.g. through engaging the public)
• Evidence that you’ve thought about how a project will be evaluated
• Clear costing of events
Ideas include
• Setting up researcher networks, reading groups or societies.
• Running a seminar series with themes relating to career and professional development
• Workshops to help you develop skills outside of your research area
• Inter-disciplinary networks and groups
Funding requirements
• Funding cannot be used for conference travel or anything research specific (i.e. training that is required for your to continue your research project).
• The easiest way to think about this is to check your project fits with at least one or more of parts C to G of the Joint Skills Statement
Tips for bids
• Demonstrate how your proposal relates to parts C to G of the joint skills statement and make sure it is clear who will benefit and how (i.e. the training and development aspects of it should be clear)
• Get someone from outside your subject area to read it and comment on both language and content - the committee who decides on it will not necessarily be from your subject area or understand why you need funding for a particular part of the project
• Let us know if you have secured funding from other sources (or have attempted to do so)
Finally…
• Get your bid in early. That way staff from the Vice Principal’s office in R&E can read your bid and come back to you if they have any questions. If it goes straight to the Skills Training Forum and they don’t understand something you might not get a second chance!
• Applications will be considered 3 times a year (September, January and May) and up to £10k a year is available
• Contact Elizabeth Adams: [email protected]