Early Career Fellowships

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• Early Career Fellowships
• February 2010
• Paula Gurteen
• Sue Hopcroft
• Humanities Social Sciences Research Centre

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Humanities Social Sciences Research Centre

• The HSSRC facilitates interdisciplinary research
  across the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences,
  encouraging and enhancing research synergy among
  scholars both within the University and in the
  wider academic community.
• www.nottingham.ac.uk/hssrc

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HSSRC key functions

• To provide support and advice on building
  individual research profiles and research
  planning.
• To provide specialised support for the
  development of research projects.
• To open up research to a wider arena of
  institutes, agencies and business and facilitate
  external partnerships and knowledge transfer
  activities.
• To foster large scale, collaborative and
  interdisciplinary research networks and
  programmes. To provide intelligence on shifts in
  the regional, national and international research
  landscape.
• To provide knowledge and guidance on the
  Universitys research strategy.
• To support and promote conferences, colloquia and
  lectures.

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HSSRC staff

• Research Business Development Staff
• Support the development of research
  applications, as well as collaborations within
  and beyond academia
• Funding Staff
• Provide costing advice, administrative support
  and guidance in submitting research grant
  applications

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• Research and Business Development Officers
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Rosamund Aubrey (rosamund.aubrey_at_nottingham.ac.uk
  , ext 14881)
• Paula Gurteen (paula.gurteen_at_nottingham.ac.uk,
  ext 13074)
• Faculty of Arts
• Sue Hopcroft (sue.hopcroft_at_nottingham.ac.uk, ext
  16039)
• Lisa McCabe (lisa.mccabe_at_nottingham.ac.uk, ext
  68345)
• HSSRC funding office
• Research Funding Officer - Laura Pearson
• (laura.pearson_at_nottingham.ac.uk, ext 14832)

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Early Career Fellowships

• What are Early Career Fellowships?
• Consolidation and building of research track
  record
• Usually 1-3 years in duration
• Often require involvement of a mentor to support
  the transition to an academic career
• Cover the costs of your salary and some (modest)
  research expenses
• General Considerations
• When to apply
• Whether to apply
• The importance of finding the right mentor
• Which scheme to apply to?

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Early Career Fellowships

• Key Funding Schemes in the Arts Social
  Sciences
• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships
• AHRC Fellowships (Early Career)
• ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships
• British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Career development for researchers with proven
  record of research
• To assist those at a relatively early stage in
  academic careers
• Hoped to lead to a more permanent position
• To undertake a significant piece of publishable
  research. Project should not be a reworking or
  extension of the candidates doctoral research
  project

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Subject areas
• Leverhulme covers all disciplines, but places
  special weight on
• Originality of projects
• Judging and taking of appropriate risk in
  research
• The removal of barriers between traditional
  disciplines
• If you plan to apply to the Leverhulme, go to
  them first

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Eligibility candidates must
• Normally under 35 years of age
• Not yet held a full-time established academic
  post
• Hold a doctorate or equivalent research
  experience
• Normally hold a degree from a UK HEI

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Duration 24 or 36 months (part-time possible, if
  appropriate)
• Must commence between 1 September 2010 and 1 May
  2011
• Requests for a 3-year post should give explicit
  justification for why this is necessary in the
  detailed statement of their proposed research

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Considerations
• Slightly broader scheme that encompasses a wider
  definition of early career if just finishing
  PhD, may be competing against post-docs with some
  experience
• Very competitive scheme
• Whether to move Institution

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Considerations
• Need to demonstrate support from the host
  department, including a commitment to 50 match
  fund (UoN automatically provides half of this)
• May be internal sifting process at the HEI

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Putting an application together
• Give yourself several months to develop and hone
  your application, and seek advice from others
• Discuss your application with the proposed
  department
• Read scheme leaflet (http//www.leverhulme.ac.uk/g
  rants_awards/grants/early_career_fellowships/Leafl
  et2010)

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Putting an application together
• Read Directors note (http//www.leverhulme.ac.uk/
  about/note_from_director/note_from_director.pdf)
• Abstract must be understood by non-specialist
• Detailed account of proposed research required

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Application procedure
• Leverhulme electronic on-line application system
  via www.leverhulme.ac.uk
• Applications must be approved and submitted to
  the Trust by the University by 4.00pm, 11 March
  2010
• Institutional approval is required both from the
  head of the host department and from an
  administrative officer on behalf of the host
  institution

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Application procedure
• Nominated referees to provide references via the
  on-line system
• Results by end of May 2010
• 70 Fellowships likely in this round
• Trust recommends submission to HEI at least 5
  working days before deadline

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Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships

• Internal procedure
• Check specific requirements of proposed host
  department
• To enable HSSRC support with content drafts by
  15 February, if possible
• To all plenty of time for finalisation of costs
  completed applications to laura.pearson_at_nottingham
  .ac.uk by 1 March, if possible

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AHRC Fellowship (Early Career)

• Route for ECRs, which provides mentoring and
  career development support
• To take forward new avenues of research developed
  since completion of PhD or to pursue new research
  directions which have evolved from PhD research
• New scheme rolling open deadline.
• 50 - 100 time funded, over periods of up to 9
  months

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AHRC Fellowship (Early Career)

• Eligibility
• At the time of application, applicants must have
  either a contract of employment with the HEI in
  place for the duration of the award or an
  assurance from the submitting institution that,
  if the proposal is successful, a contract of
  employment will be given that covers the period
  of the award.
• Applicants on full-time or part-time contracts
  may apply.
• Applicants should be actively engaged in research
  and be of postdoctoral standing.

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AHRC Fellowship (Early Career)

• In addition you must at the point of application
  be either
• within eight years? of the award of your PhD or
  equivalent professional training or
• within six years? of your first academic
  appointment?
• and
• have at least a year of post-doctoral experience
  in an academic/research environment or to have an
  equivalent level of professional/practice
  experience of direct relevance to the proposed
  research

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AHRC Fellowship (Early Career)

• How to apply
• Applications are made via the online Je-S system
• https//je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/
• Scheme operates with open deadlines
• Statements of support are required from proposed
  mentor and the Head of Department
• Alert your School and HSSRC as soon as possible
  if you plan to apply

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UoN Early Career Research Knowledge Transfer
scheme

• Provides pump-priming funding for high quality
  research, leading to an external grant
  application
• Targeted at those within 6 years of completion of
  PhD and who have not previously been PI on a
  research award
• Up to 12 months funding
• Must generate high impact publications or other
  significant outcomes

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CAS Post-Doctoral Bursaries

• For early career researchers whose work
  complements any area of Arts and Social Sciences
  research
• About career development and positioning for
  success
• Next deadline will be announced in March for
  bursaries during 2010/2011
• Duration likely to be up to 12 months

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ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Open Call (but expect a gap of up to 6 months
  between applying and the start date)
• Subject Areas ESRC covers all areas of economic
  and social sciences.
• Crossover with the AHRC.
• The focus of the ESRC PDF (unlike other schemes)
  is not on conducting new research.
• Consolidating PhD work
• Training and career development
• Improving publications record
• Developing funding applications for future work

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ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Key information
• Fellowship duration is 1 year (2 years in
  priority subjects)
• You should have an identified mentor who will
  support the Fellowship throughout.
• Should not be your PhD supervisor.
• You need to demonstrate support from the host
  department.
• You will need to justify staying at the same
  institution where you conducted your PhD.
• Think about impact and dissemination in planning
  your application.
• Cut down on complex terminology wherever
  possible!
• Give yourself several months to develop and hone
  your application, and seek advice from others.

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ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Success rate 2008-09 13 (12 awards)
• Previous successful application titles
• An investigation into approach/avoid responses
  in confabulatory patients
• Flexibility of Personal Space and the Body
  Schema - Role of Haptic Feedback on Body
  Representation 
• Blood,biobanks and mutuality
• Sonic culture Geographies of sound, technology
  and society
• TRIPS network, public health and developing
  states
• Household finances and housing wealth

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How to apply

• Applications are made via the online JeS system
• https//je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/
• Both applicant and mentor should have access to
  the form.
• The application must be approved by Head of
  School and RIS before they can be submitted
  onwards to the ESRC.
• Alert your School and HSSRC as soon as possible
  if you plan to apply and leave plenty of time
  before the closing date to allow for
  administrative procedures to be completed.

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British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Next deadline is likely to be in November 2010.
• Subject Areas The British Academy funds all
  areas within the Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Note there is a crossover between BA and Royal
  Society on the more scientific end of the
  spectrum (e.g., Psychology) contact the BA
  before applying if in doubt.
• Funds around 45 Fellowships per year, with a 6
  success rate (around 700 applications)

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British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Key information
• Fellowship duration is 3 years.
• Applications are a two-stage process, with the
  outline submitted in November and then selected
  applications taken to full application stage
  submitted in March.
• For applications submitted in November 2010,
  Fellowships will start from September 2011, so
  bear that in mind when considering when to apply.
• Expects that you identify a mentor to support you
  throughout the Fellowship (to devote 1 hour per
  month to this).
• Expects you to carry out a significant piece of
  research.
• You need to demonstrate support from the host
  department,
• Give yourself several months to develop and hone
  your application, and seek advice from others.

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British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Previous successful application titles
• The Genetic and Environmental Underpinnings of
  Over- and Under-Achievement among UK School
  Children
• Preparing the UK for the Offshored Economy
  Facts, Theory and Policy
• An Anthropological Study of Public and Private
  Morality and Moral Authority among Muslim
  Communities in Lebanon
• The Glass Industry of Mycenaean Greece
  Technology, Production and Economy at Palatial
  Thebes and Beyond, c.14001200BC
• The Impact of Negative Life Events on Childrens
  Antisocial Behaviour
• Evaluation of Paradigms for Assessing Individual
  Differences in, and Validating Trait Measures of,
  Reward-Reactivity

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How to apply

• Applications are made via the BAs new electronic
  system, e-GAP, accessed via the website
• www.britac.ac.uk
• Your application will need to be approved by the
  Universitys research office (RIS) before it goes
  to the British Academy, so ensure you allow time
  for this process.
• Alert your School and HSSRC as soon as possible
  if you plan to apply and leave plenty of time
  before the closing date to allow for
  administrative procedures to be completed.

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• Developing a Fellowship Application
• Talk to your School
• It is crucial that you gain support from your
  School in putting in your application.
• Send your proposal to others your supervisor,
  other academics (esp. those who have previously
  gained similar funding) and peers, for feedback
  on
• Clarity of language and terms
• Academic content
• Whether the proposal fits the scheme (i.e.,
  timescale, realistic timetable, research outputs
  etc.)

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• Support in developing your application
• At the HSSRC, we can support you in
• Advising on the best funding schemes to apply for
• Reading proposal drafts and providing feedback
  (please provide us with drafts well in advance of
  deadlines for this purpose)
• Answering queries on specific aspects of the
  scheme
• Providing examples of previous successful
  applications
• Providing support in costing proposals and
  gaining institutional approvals and signatures
• N.B. The above applies for fellowship proposals
  to be held at Nottingham.

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• Alternatives
• Think carefully before applying
• Is the time right? Might you be better off
  applying next year (esp. if you have publications
  in the pipeline or if there is doubt about your
  PhD award date)?
• Is the project right? Is the work you propose a
  fit with your track record and with the funders
  priorities?
• Does the amount of time and resources you need to
  complete your proposed work fit your chosen
  funder and scheme?
• Have you got access to the appropriate academic
  support? Is the research environment optimal for
  the project and for your career development?

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• Other Types of Funding
• For discrete research projects
• The BA offers a small grants scheme up to 7.5k
  for discrete research projects.
• The ESRC offers a small grants scheme in
  responsive mode which is open to post-doctoral
  researchers. Up to 100k FEC.

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Other types of Funding

• The ESRC offers a first grants scheme with an
  annual deadline for a significant piece of
  research. Up to 400k FEC.
• The AHRC offers a project grant with a specific
  early career route. Up to 200k, FEC.
• Consider carefully what you want the next step in
  your research career to be.