P

UBLIC AND

R

ESEARCH

T

HE

R F

UNDING ESEARCH

D

EVELOPMENT

O

FFICE

(RDO)

S TEPHEN I SON

T HE O BJECTIVES O F T HIS T ALK

• To briefly explain some benefits of a research career • To explain the benefits of applying for external (public) research grants • To explain how the RDO can support in this process

W HAT ARE THE B ENEFITS OF R ESEARCH F OLLOWING A

(aside from the benefits of working at a University)

P H D?

•

Intellectual

- Opportunity to make an original contribution to knowledge and become an expert in your field •

Career

- A route into an academic career •

Skills and experience

gained enable you to pursue a very wide variety of careers within and outside of the higher education sector

W

HY

B

OTHER

W

ITH

(P

UBLIC

) R

ESEARCH

E

XTERNAL

F

UNDING

?

(F

OR

T

HOSE

C A

CADEMIC ONSIDERING

C

AREER

...) A

N

B ENEFITS OF E XTERNAL R ESEARCH F UNDING

• Successful research bids bring considerable benefits to researchers and Institution...

• For the individual, the ability to win external research income: – Provides resources to enable serious research to be done – Can enable you to employ other researchers – Enables you to progress in a research career – Gives valuable transferable skills – Increases recognition and employability

B ENEFITS TO THE U NIVERSITY

Successful research bids: •

Enhance our external credibility

as a research active University • Increase our

academic (research) focus

•

Fund our research teams

(increasing opportunities for ECRs) • Help

build a strong research culture and community

• • Increases the

appeal

of the university to external researchers, organisations and potential students

Improves performance

against various research assessments (e.g. the Research Excellence Framework) – (which in turn leads to increased Quality Related research funding)

T HE S IZE OF T HE M ARKET

• The public funding ‘market’ is very large: –

UK Research Councils £2.8 billion (Bn)

per annum invested into research, fellowships, postgraduate training and research facilities –

European Commission (EC)

framework 7 programme budget

€53bn

(2007-2013) –

UK Government

(Technology Strategy Board) investing around

£1Bn

over the period 2008-2011

T

HE

D R

IFFICULTIES ESEARCH

I

N

W

INNING

F

UNDING

M ARKET F ORCES

• The research environment is more competitive than ever • Grant applications are increasing (competition ↑) • Funding bodies are: – Increasing the complexity of the application process and raising evaluation thresholds for research proposals – raising the level of their requirements and expected outcomes • The funds necessary to carry out research are lean, and growing leaner

Funding opportunities are decreasing

D ISADVANTAGES F OR E ARLY C AREER R ESEARCHERS

• Few opportunities immediately post PhD – Without a permanent contract you usually need to be a collaborator

or

have HEI support for a fellowship • Lack of experience • • Lack of track record – Funding bodies are often hesitant to award grants to junior researchers without the presence of senior researchers on their teams • Lack of guidance – Regarding the host of funding instruments available – With experienced researchers often having little time to guide novice peers

Support, mentoring and guidance are vital

H

OW

C

AN

T

HE

RDO H

ELP

?

T HE RDO’ S R OLE

• • The RDO has been created

to provide comprehensive and cohesive support for research and knowledge transfer

, working with faculty and institute research offices, the Corporate Development Office and the Graduate School Office

To facilitate all aspects of research

and associated research organisation, functions and operations.

RDO S UPPORT

• Research Management Strategy •

Research Funding Support

• The Research Excellence Framework (REF) • Knowledge Transfer Support • Information and Communication

R

ESEARCH

F

UNDING

S

UPPORT

• • • To support the development and growth of research funding across the university

Strategic

– Increase involvement with funding bodies (influencing EC bodies, review panels, steering committees) – Horizon scanning for new funding streams – Interdisciplinary applications, cross faculty collaborations

Technical Support and guidance:

– Support with bid quality and composition – Guidelines to assist in the bid preparation process – Checklists to help researchers address the admin side – Widespread adoption of best practise – Training of novice/driven academics

RDO O FFICERS

Dr Stephen Ison

European and International Research Officer • PhD Physicist with 9 years’ industry experience • 3 years proposal writing for EC, TSB and regional funding • 2 years running EC, TSB and commercial projects • Secured in excess of €3.8m in internationally competitive grants for project funding 06-08

Dr Sarah Lee

Research Councils and Charities Research Officer • PhD Chemist with12 years post doctoral experience with inter disciplinary projects • Gained at 5 different universities (most recently Oxford) • Proposal & paper writing; lab & project management etc • Secured funding from BBSRC, CRUK

Contact Details: E-mail: Tel: [email protected]

0116 2506310