The University has a fund which provides support for large bids. You can find further information on the Large Bid Fund and guidance how to apply here:
https://www.research-strategy.admin.cam.ac.uk/research-funding/support-large-bid-preparation
The team in the Research Strategy Ofiice can assist you, as we are aware the application process can be time consuming. The RSO can offer support with facilitation, coordination and input into large complex bids, particularly to promote cross-disciplinary grant applications.
Please get in touch if you are interested and we can help.
Restricted call: ESRC New Investigator Grants (internal deadline: 5pm Monday, 20 March 2023)
The ESRC have announced their New Investigator Grant scheme. This scheme is suitable for early career researchers who have yet to make the transition to be an independent researcher. Proposals are welcome in any topic which falls within ESRC’s remit, including projects at the “interface with the wider sciences”, provided that social sciences accounts for at least 50% of the proposed research. The ESRC will award grants of between £100-300K (covered at 80%fEC). For full details please see the call specification.
This call has a rolling deadline. The ESRC aims to announce the majority of decisions within 26 weeks of submission, but the recommended project start date is 8 months after submission.
University Internal selection
The ESRC expect the University to run an internal selection process to ensure that we submit only bids from outstanding individuals with the potential to become the research leaders of the future. The University may only submit a limited number of applications. To meet these requirements, this call will be overseen by a cross-school Committee, as decided by University’s Research Policy Committee.
There are three internal calls every year (in March, June and October). Only applicants whose proposals have been approved through the internal selection process will be allowed to proceed with submission of their applications to ESRC.
Interested applicants should submit an online application.
You will be required to upload the following:
- Your research project proposal (template provided within the online form)
- A letter of support from your Head of Department
This letter is very important to the success of the application as it is needed to confirm the details of the departmental support and the applicant’s eligibility. The letter must also specify a department/faculty based mentor, and a reviewer, both of whom have agreed to provide feedback on the full proposal, should the applicant be selected to proceed. The reviewer may be from within or outside the applicant’s department/faculty. Please note that naming a reviewer is an internal requirement, and the reviewer will not be named on the full application to the ESRC. The mentor and the named reviewer will be expected to provide feedback on the full proposal prior to submission to ESRC. This will be coordinated by the School Research Facilitator.
- An X5 PDF report
The report should show the preliminary costing for the project, including the cost of the applicant’s salary and research assistance (if required). The X5 should not be submitted for ROO approval at this stage; the costing is for indicative purposes only, to inform the internal selection. It will be possible to modify it after the internal selection.
If you have any questions, please write to ESRCNewInv@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Restricted call: Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award 2023: Round 9 (internal deadline: 04 April 2023)
The Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) has just invited institutions to begin their internal triage processes for the Academy’s competitive Springboard Awards – Round 9. Most of the documents listed on the Academy’s website are still for Round 8 – but the Academy has informed us that these should be updated soon. The only two differences between the current Round 9 and previous Round 8 are:
- The level of funding has increased to £125,000 over two years.
- All candidates will need to provide a 300-word statement on the outputs management plan when submitting their application to the funder.
Aim of the award:
Springboard offers a bespoke package of support to biomedical researchers at the start of their first independent post to help launch their research careers.
Scope of the scheme:
This scheme is targeted at those who are in the early stages of their first independent research position and have not yet obtained substantial research funding support from other sources, such as large research grants or large fellowships. The lack of funding to spring the candidate’s research career is crucial here – and those who have already secured substantial funding would not be deemed in the spirit of this scheme as they will be regarded as ones whose career has already ‘sprung’.
Remit:
Proposals are accepted across the breadth of biomedical research as long as the research aims to improve human health.
Funding and duration:
As mentioned above, the award for Round 9 will provide funding of up to £125,000 over two years from March 2024 to support research costs (excluding applicant salary) and professional development. The award also gives access to the Academy’s mentoring and career development programme.
Eligibility criteria:
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Hold a salaried academic position that incorporates research
- Have sufficient time remaining on their contract to complete the proposed Springboard project
- Be in their first independent position (i.e. group-leader level, line managed not supervised)
- Have been appointed within the last 5 years (FTE; exceptions made for career breaks) to this position
Candidates MUST NOT:
- Hold a clinical contract
- Be in receipt of substantial research funding as the Principal or Co- Investigator exceeding £150,000 for the two-year Springboard award (excluding your personal salary, overhead and indirect costs)
- Have already secured a significant fellowship – please see the internal application form for a full list
- Be a postdoctoral researcher employed on a grant awarded in the name of another Principal Investigator
- Hold a Research Associate position where they are under someone’s supervision
- Have already secured a promotion onto a second independent post
Interested applicants are strongly advised to contact the Research Strategy Office at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk in case of uncertainly around eligibility.
University Internal selection:
The University can make up to four nominations for Round 9. Therefore, this call is managed according to the University’s restricted calls policy.
To take part in the internal selection process, please complete the online AMS Springboard Round 9 form at https://forms.office.com/e/CwYSK2Y1uv by close of play 04 April 2023. For your convenience, the attached document outlines the questions asked in the form.
NB1: If asked to log-in, please use your Raven details. Please note that the online form cannot be saved and/or returned to for future editing.
NB2: The form can be completed only by current members of staff/PhD students. External applicants are welcome to contact the Research Strategy Office at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk to discuss alternative ways of submitting an application.
Assessment criteria that will be used in the internal selection process:
- applicant’s track record
- potential benefit to applicant’s career
- career aspirations
- importance and relevance of the research
- quality and appropriateness of research methodology
- degree of innovation
Funder deadlines:
- 02 May 2023: deadline for the University to notify the Academy of the outcome of the University’s triage process
- 15 June 2023: deadline for submission to the funder
If you have any questions, please contact us at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk.
