The BMA Foundation for Medical Research provides approximately £600,000 of research funding annually, this year across 11 different grants. Details of the 2018 grants have now been confirmed and all grant categories can be viewed in the poster below or on the BMA Foundation website here. Applications are invited from medical practitioners and/or research scientists for research in progress or prospective research.

All BMA Foundation grants will be available to apply for online on the BMA Foundation website from 01 January 2018. The application deadline is 2 March 2018.

For any further information on the BMA Foundation for Medical Research please see our webpages www.bmafoundationmr.org.uk or feel free to contact us directly at researchgrants@bma.org.uk or 020 7383 6341.

Deadline 31 January 2018

The British Academy has launched a new funding scheme for Visiting Fellowships. These Fellowships provide academics based in any country overseas (and active at any career stage and in any discipline within the humanities and social sciences) with the opportunity to be based at a UK higher education or other research institution of their choice for up to six months. Visiting Fellows will work with colleagues at UK host institutions in order to develop new research collaborations and/or deepen existing partnerships.

Candidates need not necessarily apply to develop collaboration with UK scholars active within the same discipline. The Fellowships are open also to applicants who wish to work with UK colleagues in other areas or disciplines (including scholars within the natural, medical, or engineering sciences), in a cross- or inter-disciplinary way.

Awards of up to £33,000 are available. Funding can be used to support subsistence and accommodation costs, research expenses, travel expenses and a contribution of 50% of the total award to enable the UK institution to host the fellow.

British Academy website

Email: internationalgrants@britac.ac.uk

https://wellcome.ac.uk/funding/multi-user-equipment-grants

Deadline: Outline 12^th January 2018, Full 6^th April 2018

Duration: Up to 5 years

Amount: £100k – £1M

What Wellcome are looking for:

• how the proposed equipment will directly benefit your research and that of others
• your track record
• your host organisation’s financial contribution
• evidence of demand for the equipment
• whether you’ve considered that similar equipment may be available locally/nationally
• pilot data showing the suitability of the equipment
• management and sustainability plans
• expertise in operating the equipment
• the cost of the equipment (including manufacturer discounts)
• added value for Wellcome Trust-funded research.

Expenses may include:

• staff
• equipment
• access charges
• research management and support costs
• inflation allowance
• clinical research costs

The host organisation must provide a supporting statement that outlines:

• how the equipment will contribute to their overall research strategy
• their contribution towards the equipment (financial or otherwise).

The host organisation should contribute at least 25 per cent towards the cost of the equipment.

Contributions can include support in-kind as well as money, such as the provision of a key support post.

Please ensure to read the full application details available through the link above.

(Government ten-year framework for mental health research in the UK)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-framework-for-mental-health-research

This framework (launched 07/12/17) provides a collective view of how mental health research should develop in the UK over the next decade.
It sets out a structure to improve co-ordination and strengthen the focus on areas where mental health research is likely to translate into significant health benefit.

This document is a response to a recommendation in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health report that the Department of Health lead on the development of a 10-year strategy for mental health research.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health report was published in February 2016 by the independent Mental Health Taskforce.

The NIHR has launched 5 new mental health research funding opportunities into the promotion of good mental health and the prevention or treatment of mental ill health.

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/current-funding-opportunities/?&start=1&custom_in_Workstreams=7391

This is coincides with the launch of the framework for mental health research:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-framework-for-mental-health-research

17/110 EME Mental Health Themed Call
Closing date: 27 March 2018
The EME Programme are participating in the Themed Call: promotion of good mental health and the prevention or treatment of mental ill health across the whole life course

17/113 HTA Mental Health Themed Call (Primary Research)
Closing date: 28 March 2018
The HTA Programme are participating in the Themed Call: promotion of good mental health and the prevention or treatment of mental ill health across the whole life course

17/152 HTA Mental Health Themed Call (Evidence Synthesis)
Closing date: 28 March 2018
The HTA Programme are participating in the Themed Call: promotion of good mental health and the prevention or treatment of mental ill health across the whole life course

17/111 PHR Mental Health Themed Call
Closing date: 10 April 2018
The PHR Programme are participating in the Themed Call: promotion of good mental health and the prevention or treatment of mental ill health across the whole life course

17/112 HS&DR Mental Health Themed Call
Closing date: 26 April 2018
The HS&DR Programme are participating in the Themed Call: promotion of good mental health and the prevention or treatment of mental ill health across the whole life course

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding/funding-opportunities/cross-disciplinary-mental-health-network-plus-call/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Deadline: 4pm, 22 March 2018

Duration: 48 months, to start in 2018

Amount: £1.25m @ 100%fEC, (£9-10m budget for six and ten awards that will, collectively, address the breadth of research areas). No limit of applications per RO.

The aim of the call is to encourage the creation of multi-disciplinary networks that cross the remit boundaries of the research councils. These networks will address important mental health research questions that require an innovative, cross-disciplinary approach to accelerate progress; to build cross-disciplinary research capacity in the field; and to strengthen the UK mental health research base.

The call has been informed by the research councils recently published Cross-disciplinary Mental Health Research Agenda (RCUK website) which represents their collective interest in supporting and furthering mental health research. It encourages areas where high quality cross-disciplinary research could add the most value and impact to the broader mental health research landscape through novel and transformative research.

Research areas:

• Understanding mental health and mental health problems
• Connection between physical and mental health
• Public health, prevention and wellbeing
• Living with mental health problems

Cross-cutting themes:

• Effective intervention(s)
• Technology and data
• Lifestyle and behaviour
• Inequalities
• Empowerment, ethics, confidentiality and trust

As well as helping to build cross-disciplinary capacity within the mental health research field and facilitating knowledge exchange, the successful networks will be able to fund small research projects that will answer specific research questions relevant to one or more of the research area(s) listed above.

The additional planned activities and objectives could include running workshops and other networking events, funding short discipline hops, and feeding into policy and practice.

In addition each network will set aside an appropriate amount of ‘plus’ funds that can be used for organising activities open to the whole research community throughout the period of the award.

It is expected that the application process for network plus funded activities will allow for applicants from outside of the network to participate, thereby drawing more people into the community of researchers.

Applications for network plus awards should outline appropriate plans, including timelines, governance and assessment criteria, for the distribution of ‘plus’ funding.

Please ensure to read the full call guidance documents and FAQs available through the link above.

If you are thinking of applying, please could you email Dr Gwen Averley and Darren Airey so that we are aware of potentially overlapping bids.

5 January 2018, 5pm – Mandatory attendance – Registration deadline for community meeting to be held in London on 17 January 2018

24 January 2018, 4pm (EoI) through Je-S

BBSRC Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (NIBB) Phase II

http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/filter/networks-in-industrial-biotechnology-bioenergy-phase2/

up to £10m is available to fund a number of UK-wide multidisciplinary Networks, of varying scales, focusing on a broad range of fundamental and strategic challenges and questions facing the IBBE area.

Networks will operate for up to 5 years and are expected to become self-sustaining beyond this.

Applicants intending to submit an Expression of Interest must attend and present their proposed Network at the Community meeting being held in London on 17 January 2018.

Registration for the community meeting is via Key Survey here and closes 5 January 2018, 16:00. Register at the BBSRC NIBB Phase 2 Community Meeting registration page.

The networks will be interdisciplinary, working across the engineering, physical, chemical and biological sciences research communities.

The objectives of this call are:

• To support a number of Networks in industrial biotechnology and bioenergy and through them, continue to facilitate the development and growth of internationally competitive cross-disciplinary communities capable of undertaking innovative research and attracting further investment from UK and international sources.
• To provide the resources to support proof of concept funding for a range of research projects identified by the Networks, ultimately leading to more competitive, collaborative, cross-disciplinary and integrative research proposals to BBSRC and elsewhere particularly in the areas of manufacturing, bioremediation and bioenergy.
• To encourage the interaction between the academic research base and technology-deploying, associated value-chain and end-user businesses, promoting the translation of research particularly involving genomic, systems and synthetic biology.
• To enable the supported Networks to provide the leadership to develop, in collaboration with business, challenges to be addressed though national and international competitive funding mechanisms taking their research further towards commercialisation.

Note also:

• Networks will be encouraged to work across the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1-4 with the aim of transitioning excellent fundamental research towards higher TRLs.
• Each Network should have members from the relevant academic and business communities covering the disciplines of biology, chemistry and engineering. Networks should comprise a diversity of expertise and experience and may include international researchers, Government Departments and other stakeholders, as appropriate. Networks should include participation at all levels including, where appropriate, postdoctoral and postgraduate researchers as well as more senior members. Applicants should also consider the wider impacts of work undertaken by the Network and include representatives from the environmental, economic and social science communities.
• Successful Networks are intended to be “open” in that participation by other interested members will be encouraged throughout the life of the Network in order to develop the community as it matures. How new members can join the Network should be described within the full proposal.

Previous Networks are listed here:
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/research/programmes-networks/research-networks/nibb/