Applying to the ESRC

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Applying to the ESRC

• Adrian Alsop, ESRC Director for Research

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What this presentation covers

• Brief overview of funding opportunities
• The lifecycle of a standard grant proposal
• Overview
• Writing the proposal
• ESRC Office Checks
• Peer Review
• Assessor review
• The Research Grants Board

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ESRC Facts and Figures

• 99m invested in research
• 46m invested in training
• At any one time, the ESRC supports
• 2,800 doctoral students
• 930 grants and fellowships
• 350 projects within our 20-30 managed programmes
• 40 large scale research and resource centres
• Over 120 institutions carry out research with
  ESRC funds

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Research careers funding pathway
On-going Training and Development
Professorial Fellowship
Centres
Priority Networks/ Groups
Mid-career Fellowship
Large Grant
Small Grant
Postdoctoral Fellowship
First Grant Scheme
3 Studentship
Research Masters
Research Opportunities
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ESRC funding schemes

• Open Schemes
• Research Grants (small and standard)
• Fellowships (postdoctoral and research)
• Annual calls
• Studentship Schemes
• First Grants
• Seminars
• Large Grants
• Centres
• Professorial Fellowships
• One-off Schemes
• Strategic initiatives/specific calls on
  highlighted areas

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Postdoctoral Fellowships

• You must start within 1 year of completing your
  doctorate 
• Designed to enable new researchers to
• Produce publications
• Disseminate their research
• Improve research skills
• Carry out LIMITED research related to PhD work
• They are not designed for new research

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First Grant Scheme

• Designed to allow new researchers to gain
  experience in managing a research project
• Up to
• 3 years in length
• 40 of investigators time
• 400,000 (FEC)
• Must not have been a PI or Co-I on an existing
  ESRC award
• Must be within 6 years of completing doctorate
• Call opens once a year in the autumn next
  deadline is 10th January 2008

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Responsive Mode Grants Scheme

• Project funding for up to 5 years
• Open-date scheme
• Small grants 15k up to 100k Full Economic Cost
• Standard grants 100k up to 1.5m Full Economic
  Cost
• Aim to make decision within
• 22 weeks for standard grants
• 14 weeks for small grants
• Stand-alone research projects

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Proposal Lifecycle Standard Research Grant
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Writing the Proposal overview

• Before you begin you need to.
• Know your funding source
• Plan the overall content and structure
• Consider the detailed content
• Check the details
• Identify critical friends who can comment on
  your proposal
• Ensure that you have met all the criteria on the
  proposal check-list

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Writing the Proposal Know your Funding Source

• ESRC criteria Quality, Impact and Independence
• Refer to ESRC research funding rules
• Demonstrate
• Excellent research
• Value to potential users
• Ability to deliver research
• Value for money
• Get Je-S registration

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Writing the Proposal Plan the Overall Content
and Structure

• Convey to the reader your genuine interest,
  understanding and enthusiasm for the work
• what is the story you are telling
• what is the audience
• why does it matter
• why now
• why you

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Writing the Proposal Consider the Detailed
Content

• Content
• Potential difficulties
• Ethical considerations
• Bibliography
• Dissemination strategy
• Fits with guidance notes
• Skills competencies

• Formulate the problem
• Aims objectives
• Research design methods
• Data collection analysis
• Potential users user engagement

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Writing the Proposal Checklist

• Have I
• established appropriate aims and objectives?
• provided a well thought-out research design,
  fully defending it against critical appraisal?
• considered already existing resources?
• given a full and detailed description of the
  proposed methods, including a clear and
  systematic approach to the analysis and/or data
  collection?
• thought about and addressed ethics?
• identified potential users and thought about how
  to engage them?
• recognised and planned for all the skills and
  competencies required ensuring they are reflected
  in the proposals research team?

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Grants you CANNOT apply for

• Unspecified research work
• Research already carried out
• Literature surveys
• Solely general travel, seminars, conferences
• Production of materials e.g. software
• Preparation of books publications
• Writing up previous research

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Filling in the Je-S Form

• You must be a registered user in Je-S your
  institution will approve you
• Complete all sections carefully check word /
  character limits
• Je-S Help Guidance click help in top right
  hand corner of your Je-S editing screen or click
  system help on the log in screen
• Give your department and Je-S approver time at
  the institution
• Remember, closing dates and times are strict it
  will not be submitted immediately!

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Writing the Proposal Details matter!

• Presentation
• Typeface point 12
• 6 side limit (12 sides if over 1m)
• Plain English
• Check spelling, grammar, readability etc
• Provide appropriate attachments (in addition to
  case for support)
• Justification of resources (explanation of
  costings) - 1 page only in addition to above
• References
• CVs - 2 pages only in addition to above
• Technical annex (if appropriate) - 1 page only in
  addition to above

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Proposal Lifecycle Office Checks
Fails ESRC Office checks 10 of proposals are
rejected out-right, or the applicant is advised
to withdraw and resubmit
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Proposal lifecycle Peer Review
A further 7 of proposals are rejected on the
grounds that they lack positive Referee comments
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Referee Grading

• ALPHA
• ALPHA
• ALPHA
• BETA
• REJECT
• All applications with an average grade of A-minus
  or above are forwarded to the Board for
  consideration
• Applications receiving an average referee grade
  of below A-minus are normally rejected without
  referral to the Board

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Proposal Lifecycle Assessor Review
Around 20 of proposals are rejected by Board
Assessors, taking the Referee comments into
consideration
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Assessor Grading

• A1 - outstanding scientific
  merit/contribution
• A2 - significant value important
  scientific contribution
• A3 - considerable value potentially
  important scientific contribution
• A4 - some value potential scientific
  contribution
• A5 - some value inconsistent quality
• Beta - worthy of support lesser
  quality/urgency
• Reject - flawed repetitious technically
  defective

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Proposal Lifecycle Research Grants Board
Only around 19 of proposals considered by the
Grants Board are actually funded
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Characteristics of a successful grant proposal

• Four characteristics of all successful ESRC
  research grants are constant
• promise excellent research
• demonstrate value to potential users outside or
  within the research community
• convince of the ability to deliver research
• demonstrate value for money (not necessarily the
  same as cheapness)

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Summary

• Allow yourself time
• Study your funding source read (and understand!)
  the rules and the guidance notes
• Consider discussing your proposal with colleagues
  or critical friends who have successfully
  obtained funding
• Think about how you will present your proposal
  presentation matters
• Think about how to build dissemination activities
  into the structure of your research plan
• Justify your costing
• Schedule in time to get your proposal through
  internal checks at your institution (and Je-S)
• Plan in time to check the details and then
  check them again

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Further information

• Website http//www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCIn
  foCentre/index.aspx
• Funding rules http//www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/E
  SRCInfoCentre/opportunities/research5Ffunding/
• How to write a good application
• http//www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/S
  upport/research_award_holders/FAQs2/index1.aspx
• Frequently Asked Questions http//www.esrcsociety
  today.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/How/researchers/