Dear Colleagues,

Please see below for the latest research funding related information and event updates. In summary, these include:

Item 1: Opportunity to inform the future direction of research area strategies – EPSRC Call for Evidence

Item 2: Fellowship February Training Day  – Helping you to prepare for Fellowship success!

Item 3: Fellowship Seminar – Real Life Experiences (fellowships and fellowship panels)

Item 4: Creating a Research Data Management Plan (EPSRC, NERC and STFC) Training Sessions

Item 5: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Workshop

Item 6: REMINDER EPSRC Transformative Healthcare Technologies for 2050 (call pre-announcement and information day)

If you have any questions about the items below please contact a member of the Research Funding Development Team.

Item 1: Opportunity to inform the future direction of research area strategies – EPSRC Call for Evidence

What is the EPSRC Balancing Capability exercise?

Balancing Capability is a core strategy for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as an approach to setting strategic priorities aligned to UK strength and national importance, and to maintain and develop the UK’s world leading position in engineering and physical science research within a finite budget. In July 2018 it was announced that EPSRC would be delivering its Balancing Capability strategy through an ongoing process of portfolio monitoring and evidence collection, in order to enable a more dynamic and responsive approach to managing its portfolio and setting strategies.

Whilst this means there will not be a large scale refresh exercise in 2020/21, continuous engagement enables EPSRC to regularly review and evolve strategies in response to a rapidly changing landscape. This approach maximises opportunities to advance new and emerging research areas that arise from challenge-driven and discovery-led fields, and provides clear routes for EPSRC stakeholders to engage with the EPSRC on a regular basis.

What is the call for evidence?

Building on the strength of the previous call for evidence gathering exercise the EPSRC has released a continuously open Call for Evidence to which stakeholders can input evidence about the current research environment at any time. Evidence will be gathered from stakeholders including industry, academic communities, learned societies, other research organisations and funders to help EPSRC manage its portfolio. The evidence is used to develop and monitor evidence informed research area strategies. It will provide a complementary and transparent route to input to EPSRC evidence base and strategy development, while enabling EPSRC to continuously evolve its knowledge and understanding of the landscape.

What counts as evidence?

Evidence that can be supported by facts is very important. This may be:

• Evidence that has been published in the form of a report or publication;
• Evidence where points made cite references that have not been misrepresented;
• Evidence focused on potential future opportunities e.g. horizon scanning;
• When submitting evidence, it is important to explain what the evidence demonstrates, relative to the quality, national importance and capacity of a research area or areas;
• EPSRC is particularly interested in evidence with an international perspective;
• Evidence should be timely and relate to the research area within the context of the last 5 years.

What if there is a lack of evidence to support my submission?

• Please bear in mind that EPSRC do not consider personal opinion as evidence.
• However, if you are aware of a research area that is highly important and requires additional investment, but there is currently lack of evidence to support it, the relevant EPSRC Portfolio Managers will be happy to discuss this with you.

How can you submit to the call?

EPSRC needs the community to help by evidencing changes and needs within the landscape through reports, discussions and other resources. To submit evidence please complete the survey. The next cut-off for the collection of evidence will be 19th March 2019. Evidence submitted after this date will not be considered until November 2019. More information can be found on EPSRC’s website here. Guidance on submitting evidence can be found here.

If you would like some support with developing your submission into a convincing case, please contact a member of the Research Funding Development Team.

Item 2: Fellowship February Training Day  – Helping you to prepare for Fellowship success!

Fellowship February Training Day

Thursday 28th February 2019

10:30am – 4:30pm

Room 2.022, Urban Sciences Building (USB)

This hands-on training session will be delivered by the Research Funding Development Team. It will help you to consider the following questions:

• What is an early career fellowship?
• Who are early career fellowships for? Is it right for me?
• How do I write a good fellowship application?
• How do I prepare for fellowship success?

This session is open to early career academic staff and research associates in all Faculties at Newcastle University. Please complete the application form (click here for link to registration) by midday on Monday 25^th February 2019 if you would like to attend.

Item 3: Fellowship Seminar  –Real Life Experiences (fellowships and fellowship panels)

Fellowship Seminar

Friday 8^th March 2019

2pm – 3:30pm

G21/G22 (ground floor) Devonshire Building

Come along on Friday 8th of March to hear real life stories from our resident experts Prof. Steve Bull, Prof. Frank Sargent and Dr Katarina Novakovic on getting a fellowship, holding one, and for inside information on what really goes on in a panel! After the presentations there will be a chance to ask those questions you have always wondered the answer to.

Please note this event is open to all researchers across all Faculties on a first come first served basis. The talks will be relevant to all researchers’ regardless of the funding body you may wish to apply to.

If you would like to attend please sign up here.

Item 4: Creating a Research Data Management Plan (EPSRC, NERC and STFC) Training Sessions  

Workshop overview: Research funders are increasingly requiring evidence of adequate and appropriate provisions for data management and curation in new grant applications. This workshop will introduce how to create a data management plan (DMP) to communicate a project’s approach to managing research data to the funder and collaborators.  This is also beneficial for the project as it establishes the framework and resources to support researchers and the data, which translates to better time management and lower costs during project work.

At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

• Understand the wider research data management landscape
• Appreciate research council’s DMP requirements
• Define what to include in a DMP
• Be able to develop a project specific DMP
• Understand what tools the university provide to support research data management (particularly the new research data repository https://research.ncl.ac.uk/rdm/afteraproject/rdr/)
• Know where to find research data management support

To attend, please sign up here: https://elements.ncl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=876

Key details:

Time:  2- 3:00 PM

Date: Wednesday 13th March 2019

Location: G25, Devonshire

Two other sessions with a slightly different funder focus will also take place on Wed 20th March 10-11am (https://elements.ncl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=873)  and Wed 6th March 1-2pm (https://elements.ncl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=875).

If you have any questions please contact Chris Emmerson (rdm@ncl.ac.uk)

Item 5: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Workshop

Newcastle University will be hosting a workshop on ‘Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ organised by Dr Yana Wade, a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, and supported by the MSCA Alumini association. The event is open to all researchers.

Date and time: 26 March 2019, 13:00-17:00

Venue: Armstrong Building, Newcastle University

Registration (free of charge but registration is essential): here

Agenda: attached

Contact: Dr Yana Wade, wade.yana@gmail.com

Item 6: REMINDER EPSRC Transformative Healthcare Technologies for 2050 (call pre-announcement and information day)

EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) will shortly be inviting outline proposals for Transformative Healthcare Technologies for 2050.

The Healthcare Technologies Theme aims to invest in research to support the next generation of underpinning science and emerging technologies. The focus of the call is Transformative Healthcare Technologies for 2050; technologies expected to have an impact within the next 30 years for the NHS, community or home care and an ageing workforce. EPSRC is looking to support visionary projects which could create a step change in how healthcare is delivered.

EPSRC particularly welcomes projects and collaborations which address underrepresented parts of EPSRC portfolio and the two Healthcare Technologies Grand Challenges: Transforming Community Health and Care and Frontiers of Physical Intervention. It is expected there may be research cross over with other Grand Challenges. EPSRC is looking for applications that do not just consider health treatment but also homecare, prevention and wellbeing with the overall goal of keeping people physically and mentally healthy. EPSRC encourages new ideas, thinking and collaborations, in areas currently underrepresented in EPSRC portfolio, to address what could be routine in the NHS in 30 years’ time.

EPSRC is keen to develop and help realise the potential of:

• Next-generation digital healthcare systems.
• Engineering healthier environments where people live and work.
• Future affordable and inclusive healthcare solutions.
• Technologies to improve healthcare treatment

More information about the opportunity can be found here.

IMPORTANT: The EPSRC will be holding an information day for this call on 27 March 2019 in Birmingham. The purpose of the information day will be to:

• Provide information on the scope of the call and the types of projects that EPSRC are looking for;
• Provide a chance to ask questions about the call;
• Provide a chance to network and form new collaborations.

To register your interest in attending the Information Day, please complete the form by 21 February 2019. There are limited spaces available to attend the event so EPSRC will be sifting applications to ensure a range of organisations and research areas are represented.

I would be grateful if you could circulate this call aimed at mid-career researchers seeking their first grant (excluding fellowships) in lupus or lupus-related conditions

The Medical Research Foundation (MRF) is inviting applications from mid-career researchers who have the potential to be the research leaders of the future, to support research that will increase understanding of the disease mechanisms underlying Lupus.

https://www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/grants/lupus

Researchers whose work may lead to better understanding of prevention, treatment or management of Lupus and Lupus-related conditions (such as vasculitis, myositis, Sjögren’s syndrome, autoimmune thyroid disease and serositis) are welcome to apply.

The Medical Research Foundation will make up to £900,000 available in this competition. Applicants may apply for up to £300,000 to support their research, over a maximum of a three-year period.

This competition is open to all UK researchers at eligible institutions (UK HEIs, Research Council research institutes, hospitals, and other independent research organisations). Applicants must hold a PhD, DPhil or MD and be in the process of, or be ready for, transition to research independence. It is expected that applicants will be seeking, as principal investigator, their first peer-reviewed grant of three years or longer from a funding body (excluding personal fellowships).

Timeline

–Deadline for submission: 12:00 Wednesday 10th April 2019

–Shortlisting notification: August 2019

–Interview: August/September 2019

–Funding decision: October 2019

UKRI GCRF Health and Context call 2019 – outline

https://mrc.ukri.org/funding/browse/ukri-gcrf/ukri-gcrf-health-and-context-call-2019-outline/

Deadline: Outline stage – 02^nd April 2019, Full stage (invited only) – 12^th September 2019

Amount: Minimum of £1m and maximum of £2m

Duration: 3 years

UKRI has made up to £20 million available for the UKRI GCRF Health and Context call.

The UKRI GCRF Health and Context call is seeking proposals for interdisciplinary research addressing wider contextual factors contributing to the burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

These factors may include social, cultural, historical, and religious beliefs and practices, or wider biological, ecological and environmental factors.

This call is being led jointly by the MRC, ESRC, AHRC, NERC, and BBSRC, and applications may fall within the remit of any of, or across, these councils.

UKRI want to fund consortia conducting ambitious research that:

• goes beyond description to determine causal relationships between contextual influences and health
• develops or tests feasible interventions that are sensitive to or mitigate contextual influences on health.

Applications from across the spectrum of basic to applied research are eligible for this call.

Subject areas may comprise, but are not limited to:

• contextual drivers of non-communicable or infectious disease risk (such as contaminated drinking water, agriculture and food production, hygiene, sexual behaviours, air pollution, work practices, wider land-use and environmental changes)
• contextually driven barriers to management and treatment of infection/NCD, which may include altered diagnostic, vaccine or drug efficacy
• feasible interventions that take account of or mitigate contextual drivers of increased rates of infection/NCD
• identification and management of clusters of coexisting health conditions (multimorbidities) that are particularly prevalent in a particular community.

Projects may seek to determine the extent to which contextual factors influence rates of NCD/infection, and/or how this influence can be accounted for or mitigated through culturally-sensitive intervention.

UKRI encourage applications where the contextual factors identified are common to multiple locations within or across LMIC settings.

Where appropriate, applicants should engage with communities in the research planning process, and for applied research, engage with local, regional, and national stakeholders to maximise impact.

UKRI encourage the engagement of community stakeholders in the development and implementation of proposals to allow a deep understanding of context.

To help maximise impact, applicants should ensure that research questions, methods and outcomes are relevant to the communities in which they are working.

Successfully addressing the above challenges will require an understanding of:

• the influence that society, history, culture, religion, and the environment might have on risk behaviours and care seeking behaviour, and culturally sensitive approaches to addressing these
• community centred approaches to data collection and sharing to enable better management and prediction of infectious diseases and NCDs.
• The research team can be drawn from any relevant academic discipline. This call is open to UK-based PIs and applications directly from PIs at LMIC research organisations.

Given the scale of the awards and the need to demonstrate tangible impact, applicants are required to provide evidence of substantial, relevant preliminary work, existing relationships with stakeholders in the location where the project will take place, and existing partnerships with other named researchers. These existing partnerships may be added to by the proposed work to create a consortium of varied expertise.

Awards funded through this call will build and strengthen UK-LMIC partnerships and should incorporate research training and capacity building activities.

Please ensure to read the full call text, guidance, and FAQ available through the link above.

Anyone who would like to know more about GCRF, ODA or the work that Newcastle University is doing in this area is advised to contact Dr Elisa Lawson: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/work-with-us/support/people/profile/elisalawsonnclacuk.html#background

Further information on GCRF can be found here: https://newcastle.sharepoint.com/hub/fundingtoolkit/Pages/globalchallenges_funding_globalchallenges-researchfund.aspx

This currently is a one-off initiative but they tell me that it may become an annual call.

31^st March 2019

Rosetrees Trust 2019 Young Enterprise Fellowships (YEFs)

http://www.rosetreestrust.co.uk/young-enterprise-fellowships/

The vision: Young Enterprise Fellowships (YEFs) are aimed specifically at recently qualified postdoctoral researchers primarily in the fields of engineering, computer science, maths and physics who wish to develop a long-term programme of biomedical research.
Successful projects will be truly innovative and not merely an extension of your current research.
We expect you to apply your skills to address an important unmet clinical problem, to develop your scientific independence and establish new collaborations across disciplines in the field.
We’re looking for dynamic and motivated scientists who have the vision to address an important clinical problem with a novel and potentially transformative approach.
A key consideration will be the candidate’s likelihood of developing as an independent scientist.

We believe that Rosetrees anticipate funding 2 or 3 fellowships.

Eligibility: Applicants must either be in the final year of their PhD studies or be an early-career researcher with a maximum of 3 years post-doctoral experience (excluding career breaks).
Applicants must not yet have held a full-time permanent academic post in a UK university or be in receipt of another stipendiary fellowship.
All candidates must hold a doctorate by the time they take up the fellowship.

Funding: Awards are for 3 years and are for up to £60k per annum to include the salary of the fellow only and research expenses.

Please note that Letters of Support from the host supervisor and head of department are required.

Applicants should seek support from the Institute/School research support officer for costing and for the internal authorisation of submission process.

They should also seek support from their academic colleagues and the funding development team.

https://newcastle.sharepoint.com/hub/medical/Pages/fellowships.aspx