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24 February 2016

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Senior academicS have criticiSed the government’s stance on mental health research, saying they are disappointed at the lack of concrete recommendations for improving the condition of research on mental health in England.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, pub-lished on 15 February by the government’s Mental Health Taskforce to the NHS in England, made a series of recommendations for improving mental health ser-vices, which it said were in a poor state. In particular, the taskforce admitted that research in the area is under-funded—receiving less than 5.5 per cent of all health research funding. The report said that for every £115 million spent on mental health, £970m is spent on research on physical health.

As well as identifying research areas to address—such as prevention in young people—the document said that the UK should create “a coordinated plan for strength-ening and developing the research pipeline”. The Department of Health should start planning a 10-year strategy on mental health research in 2017, it said.

Although academics have welcomed the renewed government focus on mental health, they say that the research chapter of the report needs to be more detailed in order to effect real change.

“It needs to be far more prescriptive,” said Kathryn Abel, professor of psychiatry at the University of Manchester and national specialty co-lead at the Clinical Research Network on mental health. “It’s a bit wishy-washy. We know we should be looking at young people and prevention; we know that early intervention is key in mental illness,” Abel said. “The fact is that it doesn’t matter what the strategy is, we need more money.”

Jonathan Roiser, professor of neuroscience and mental health at University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, echoed this point. He said that it was an “interesting omission” that the report acknowledged the low funding levels for mental health research without setting out how this should change.

However, one source, who saw an early draft of the chapter on research and asked not to be named, told Research Fortnight that there had been more detail on funding, but it had been taken out before publication.

Simon Wessely, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, who advised on the report, acknowl-edged that parts had been changed to cut down the number of recommendations. “It is always a compro-mise,” he said, adding that the group had tried to focus on recommendations likely to be accepted. Referring to the research chapter, he stressed that some important elements remained, such as a recommendation that the Higher Education Funding Council for England reviews the criteria for assessing mental health research in the Research Excellence Framework.

“Neuroscience and mental health lost quite a con-siderable settlement in the last REF because of how the units of assessment were organised,” he said. “It was a real own goal and the taskforce has called on the government to reverse this.”

Wessely added that the taskforce’s work—includ-ing its recommendations—was not principally about research. “There is excellent rhetoric from the top about mental health but money has been withdrawn from primary and community care since 2010,” he said. “This has to be addressed and there needs to be clear accountability on what money is spent on.”

Cynthia Joyce, chief executive of the mental health research charity MQ, acknowledged the breadth of the report, saying that it was “great” that research had been included. Joyce said that she particularly welcomed the report’s recommendation to follow the guidance set out by the European-Commission-funded project Roamer in 2015, which produced a roadmap for mental health research spanning biological, psycho-logical and social research.

Joyce said that she hoped this holistic view would emphasise the fact that the field needed more than just a cash injection. “Not only do we need more funding but also a long-term strategy to look at what we can do with research and how we can tap into areas of real promise,” she said.

by Anna McKie amnews@ResearchResearch.com

Researchers back HEFCE’s postponed REF consultation – p4Identity crisis Are we a community? – p22

Ten-year turnaround Reforming an elite club into charity with a mission – p6

Mental health report lacks research specificsAcademics say change hard to achieve without detail on funding

Issue No. 473

2 editorial

Edited by Ehsan Masoodnews@ResearchResearch.comTel: 020 7216 6500Fax: 020 7216 6501 Unit 111, 134-146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR

e l s e w h e r e“The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.”Apple director Tim Cook says that the US gov-ernment has overstepped the mark by asking Apple to build a “backdoor” to the iPhone to grant access to the phone of a suspect in the 2015 San Berndino terrorist attack. Apple open letter, 16/2/16.

“To see that women do better than men in a field where there is a bias against women is very exciting because it ques-tions social norms around this field.”Commenting on a preprint published in PeerJ PrePrints, University of Warwick data scientist Adrian Letchford says that it’s worth celebrating that female software pro-grammers have their code accepted more frequently than their male counterparts. Nature, 15/2/16.

“Making a tiny but high-profile cut diverts attention from this continuing problem—the solution to which is in the government’s rather than the House of Lords’ hands.”To start writing bills on paper, rather than on the ancient material vellum, would contrib-ute less than 0.01 per cent of the necessary savings in the House of Lords—the real prob-lem is the ever-increasing number of peers, says Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Guardian, 17/2/16.

“Being in the EU is not, of course, of itself a solution. It will only be a platform for environmental and scientific collabora-tion if we continue to push it in that direction.”Fiona Reynolds, chairwoman of think-tank Green Alliance, says that a Brexit would be a risky step that could undermine environ-mental policies that have been negotiated as part of the EU. New Scientist, 17/2/16.

Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

Edited by Ehsan Masoodnews@ResearchResearch.comTel: 020 7216 6500Fax: 020 7216 6501 Unit 111, 134-146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR

d e c a d e

“The problem is if you’re working in land use, you’re basically dealing with manure and you might not get your paper into Nature.”After a review of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s institutes found some to have poor publi-cation performance, chief executive Julia Goodfellow says the criticism was of the written output, rather than the science.

Research Fortnight, 22 February 2006

Watch this spaceNicholas Stern could shake things up for the REF

So now we know: as Lindsay McKenzie and Cristina Gallardo report on page four, the Higher Education Funding Council for England did not plan to ask radical questions in its consultation on the next Research Excellence Framework, and for understandable reasons. After the changes to the 2014 REF, the managers who have to administer the framework are tired, if not wary, of further change. HEFCE appears not to want to add to their worries.

But, as Marie Breen-Smyth writes on page 23, many academics being assessed do not have a sunny outlook on research evaluation. Fundamentally, the REF exists to function as a performance management system. Like most such mechanisms it contributes to stress and anxiety, not to mention the loss of some high-profile academics. Breen-Smyth, an internationally recognised scholar on political violence, lost her position as a professor of politics at the University of Surrey, in part because of the REF. She now works in the United States.

In that sense, universities and science minister Jo Johnson has made a sound choice in putting the brakes on HEFCE’s plans and instead appoint-ing economist and British Academy president Nicholas Stern to take a broader view of research evaluation.

Stern brings at least three strengths to the table. First, as a working researcher he will have an instinctive grasp of the REF’s effects on his peers. Second, as an economist who works in the area of climate change he knows a thing or two about the drivers for interdisciplinary research. Third, Stern is an authority on the effects of metrics on behaviour.

This latter point is an important one. There are some who fear that Stern’s appointment could open the doors to a more metrics-driven pro-cess, which has the potential to create yet more stress in the system.

There are reasons behind such fears. We know that former science minister David Willetts was anticipating a greater role for metrics. And although The Metric Tide review group made it clear that metrics are not yet of sufficient robustness to be used for research assessment, we also know that an impatient Whitehall machine remains interested in metrics to help it to keep a lid on ever-increasing REF costs.

But, it must be remembered that Stern contributed to the influential 2010 report Mismeasuring Our Lives, which took governments to task for running economies based on flaky indices. A recommendation in that report was to focus on solid, granular data—for example in healthcare—and do away with composite indicators such as GDP. The report argued that com-posite indicators have little value beyond the production of league tables, and that they also encourage gaming. All of this is also true for the REF.

But the REF provides a degree of transparency and accountability. It is a method of identifying excellence, and it ensures that very small institutions continue to get quality work funded. But it is costly, and especially so for institutions looking to boost their scores.

The questions HEFCE proposed for the consultation assumed a continu-ation of the status quo. They didn’t address more fundamental issues of assessing research excellence. Stern’s review has the potential to rethink the basics. We await with interest whether it will.

Scottish universities face deep funding cutsPublic spending on Scottish universities in the 2016-17 financial year will be reduced by almost £30 million, according to indicative figures from the Scottish Funding Council. Universities will face an average budget cut of 3.1 per cent, with the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh and Robert Gordon University seeing 3.9 per cent reductions.

Javid and Johnson to campaign for RemainBusiness secretary Sajid Javid and science and universities minister Jo Johnson have backed the campaign for the UK to stay in the European Union, ahead of the referendum on 23 June. Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Javid said that the UK should never have joined the EU, but that global economic forecasts made it “too risky” to leave now.

Academics question ‘unclear’ anti-lobbying clauseResearchers have called for clarification of how research will be affected by the government’s plan to introduce an anti-lobbying clause into grant agreements. Academics have asked the government to confirm that the changes will not prevent the use of government-funded research to influence policymaking, which they say would contradict its own impact agenda.

Health R&D strategy for Northern Ireland launchedNorthern Ireland has said that it wants to increase collaboration between health and social care workers and academics, as well as strengthening links between research and policy, as part of its revamped health and social care R&D strategy. The 10-year strategy, published on 11 February, also outlines plans to bid for a National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Unit.

BIS names Davies director-general for scienceGareth Davies has been appointed director-general for business and science at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on a permanent basis. Davies became interim director-general of knowledge and innovation in February 2015, when John O’Reilly stepped down.

BBSRC appoints interim chief executiveMelanie Welham will become interim chief executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council on 1 March until a permanent appointment is made. Jackie Hunter, the incumbent chief executive, announced in November 2015 that she would step down to become chief executive of the artificial intelligence and drug discovery firm Stratified Medical.

McDonnell says BIS should have more say in economic developmentShadow chancellor John McDonnell has said that Labour would consider splitting the Treasury’s present responsibilities to give the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills more control over economic development. Speaking at the London School of Economics and Political Science on 16 February, McDonnell said he would like BIS to be a “proper economic development department”.

Don’t merge research and innovation budgets, BIS toldThe Russell Group has said that the budgets of Innovate UK and the research councils must be completely separate if the agency is brought under the proposed umbrella body Research UK. In its response to a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation, the group said that it was not convinced the move would improve the relationship between the councils and Innovate UK.

w h a t ’ s g o i n g o nResearch Fortnight, 24 February 2016 what’s going on 3

The Higher Education Funding Council for England’s planned consultation on the next Research Excellence Framework has garnered positive reviews from research-ers contacted by Research Fortnight, even though the process has been delayed indefinitely.

The document, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, suggested that there should be an overall continuity in the approach to the REF. However, several ideas put forward would change research evaluation markedly. These include the introduction of a 5* rating, increasing the weighting of impact from 20 to 25 per cent, and the possibility of “decoupling” staff and outputs.

James Wilsdon, director of impact and engagement at the University of Sheffield, said the document was “in line with what one would have expected from the exten-sive series of evaluations that HEFCE commissioned of the REF”. Clair Thrower, research information manager at the University of Kent, agrees. “It’s a good document—HEFCE obviously got a long way ahead with it. Not too many surprises and some pretty sensible questions.”

HEFCE had planned to consult on the document at the end of 2015, but that was postponed at the request of uni-versities minister Jo Johnson, to allow for a broader review of UK university research assessment. The economist Nicholas Stern, president of the British Academy, is car-rying out that review and is due to report in the summer.

One question HEFCE had planned to ask respond-ents was whether a 5* quality rating would “better reflect the panels’ ability to make more granular judge-ments”. Thrower said there were pros and cons to that suggestion. “It’s a good way of distinguishing at the top and teasing out the bunching of profiles—particu-larly of impact. But it would make comparisons between exercises more difficult. In REF 2014, 4* research was described as world-leading, which is a tricky one to top.”

HEFCE also intended to seek opinions on whether to increase the impact weighting from 20 to 25 per cent, which was the figure originally suggested for REF 2014. In addition the document sought views on whether the names of staff and their outputs should be decou-pled. This was recommended in REF manager Graeme Rosenberg’s 2015 report as a way of reducing the stress of staff selection in the REF.

Another question was whether the categorisation of research areas under the units of assessment scheme should be revised, having been reduced from 69 to 36 areas for the 2014 exercise. “I don’t think you would want to reduce the number of units any further,” said Alan Penn, dean of University College London’s Bartlett

faculty of the built environment and chairman of the sub-panel for the architecture unit in REF 2014.

Frans Berkhout, executive dean of King’s College London’s faculty of social science and public policy, and a member of the social sciences panel for REF 2014, agrees. “I think they got the structure more or less right in the past REF,” Berkhout said.

Berkhout said the structure of the panels did not need significant change, but added that he did have con-cerns that the REF was not supporting interdisciplinary work enough, an issue highlighted in the document. “Assessments in systems like the REF should be doing much more to value interdisciplinary work,” he said. “I don’t think that means you need to change the structure of the subpanels, but it does mean something about the representativeness of people on the sub-panels and the guidance given to the value of interdisciplinary work.”

The consultation document also reveals HEFCE’s intention to mandate open-access monographs in the exercise after next. HEFCE and two of the research coun-cils commissioned Geoffrey Crossick to write a report on open-access monographs, which was published in January 2015. Crossick said that the consultation document marked the first time he had seen the principles laid out so that the funding councils can “move forward to shape policy”. He said that the main points raised in his report have been dealt with “in a very flexible and sensible way”.

Martin Eve, senior lecturer in literature, technology and publishing at Birkbeck, University of London, said that he hoped HEFCE’s approach to open-access monographs would find its way into any consultation document pub-lished after Stern’s review. He said that HEFCE’s proposed approach was in line with a recent review led by Adam Tickell of the University of Birmingham (see View, page 20).

As for whether HEFCE’s consultation on the next REF will take place at a later date, David Sweeney, director of research, education and knowledge exchange at HEFCE, said, “We will just have to wait and see what Stern rec-ommends and then consider what to do after that.”

Despite uncertainty cast over HEFCE’s future by the government’s green paper on higher education, Wilsdon predicts that an updated version of the consultation will surface at a later date, reflecting recommendations the government agrees to from the Stern review. “If we want a REF in 2021, the machinery needs to keep on grinding fairly fast after the review comes out. At the moment there is no-one to operate that machinery other than HEFCE.”

Researchers praise ‘steady as she goes’ REF consultation

4 news Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

n e w s

by Lindsay McKenzie and Cristina Gallardo

ESRC emphasises consent in revised research-ethics framework

Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

Academics should think of consent as an ongoing pro-cess throughout the lifetime of a project, according to updated guidance on research ethics from the Economic and Social Research Council.

The revised ESRC Framework for Research Ethics, pub-lished this month, contains advice on how researchers should gain and consider consent from participants in their studies. John Oates, senior lecturer in devel-opmental psychology at the Open University, helped develop the framework. He said that the guidance now “recognises that consent should be an ongoing pro-cess, perhaps extending even to the dissemination of the results”. Gaining written consent at the start of a piece of research is no longer seen as a sufficient way to respect individuals’ autonomy, he said.

David Carpenter, university ethics adviser at the University of Portsmouth, agreed that ethics reviews shouldn’t be a one-off. However, he said that most uni-versities don’t have the resources to monitor ethics for so long. “In some cases the best that can be asked for is a report at the end of the study and an annual report if it’s a long-running project,” Carpenter said.

This is the third major revision of the ESRC’s ethics guidance. In it, the council said that in some contexts other forms of consent—such as audio recordings—might be ethically preferable, for instance in cultures where written consent has negative connotations. In addition, when securing explicit consent would put the partici-pants at unnecessary risk, such as with political activists, the ESRC said that researchers should submit a full state-ment as part of their review justifying the approach taken.

Oates said that the revised framework also aims to bring researchers and ethics committees closer together, by including detailed guidance for both groups. “There is a real emphasis now on committees acting as facilita-tors, to aid research and not to impede it,” he said.

Tony Wainwright, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Exeter, said that the revised framework was “extremely comprehensive”, but that issues surrounding big data, the treatment of vulnerable groups like refu-gees and the rapid development of genetic techniques would need updating regularly.

by Cristina Gallardo cgnews@ResearchResearch.com

news 5

Universities are to be banned from boycotting goods and services on political grounds, but will not be held accountable if their academics take action on confer-ences, the Cabinet Office has said.

A set of procurement guidelines published on 17 February prevents any public organisation—including universities, arm’s-length bodies and local councils—from imposing a boycott on a country signed up to the World Trade Organization government-procurement agreement. Breaching the rules will incur penalties including damages, fines and contract cancellations, but will not be considered a criminal offence.

The decision was announced during Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock’s visit to Israel, but extends beyond products from Israel. The Cabinet Office said in a press release that boycotts “undermine good community relations, poisoning and polarising debate, weakening integration and fuelling anti-Semitism”.

Michael Deas, campaign officer at the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, which campaigns against Israel’s policies, says that the committee will still ask public bodies to boycott compa-nies that contribute to human rights violations in the Palestinian occupied territories. This, he said, included boycotting the British multinational security services firm G4S and the French water services provider Veolia.

Simon Johnson, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, a charity made up of the heads of Jewish organisations based in London, welcomed the regulation, saying that universities should not have their own foreign policy. “Boycotts are an impediment to com-munity relations and sow division and discord,” he said.

A spokeswoman from the Cabinet Office said that the ruling would not affect universities whose aca-demics refused to attend events organised by Israeli institutions. A number of campaigns of this kind have been organised since the early 2000s. The most recent launched in October 2015 and has been supported by more than 300 UK researchers. The academics in support of the movement said that they would not accept invita-tions for academic visits to Israel or engage in activities related to Israeli universities, including conferences funded, organised or sponsored by them.

Claire Fox, director of the libertarian think tank Institute of Ideas, said that boycotts against Israeli institutions “are a disgrace” that go against the princi-ples of academic freedom and collaboration. However, she added that boycotts should be discouraged through discussion rather than regulation, which she called “very dangerously prescriptive and interventionist”.

Ban on boycotts won’t cover academic collaborationby Cristina Gallardo cgnews@ResearchResearch.com

Research Fortnight, 24 February 20166 news

Unfinished revolutionTen years ago, Matthew Taylor left his job advising Tony Blair to reform a society whose fellows were found from mailing lists. He tells Lindsay McKenzie he’s not done yet.

When I walk into Matthew Taylor’s office he’s just putting the finishing touches to a blog post. A prolific writer, Taylor’s room looks suitably creative. There’s a busy flip-chart, a wall of post-it notes behind a large desk, and a guitar propped against a well-stocked bookshelf.

Taylor pulls up a chair and tells me what drew him to work at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce 10 years ago. His decision to leave his role as chief political-strategy adviser to Tony Blair, then prime minister, was surprising to some, he tells me. “When I first came here, everyone asked me why, because I had a top job,” he says. “But I came here not because of what the RSA was, but because of my vision of what it could become.”

The RSA is a difficult organisation to pigeonhole. Taylor describes it as an apolitical charity with a mission to mobilise 21st century enlightenment by supporting people’s power to create. He stresses that it is neither an arts organisation nor a learned society. It was the RSA’s unusual combination of thought leadership, research, innovation, mobilisation and engagement that first drew Taylor to the organisation, he says. This is still what he finds most exciting about it today.

But being chief executive of such a complex organi-sation hasn’t always been plain sailing, he admits, especially in the early years. “I tried to change the governance of the organisation before I changed the pol-itics. It meant everything took a few years longer than it should have, and there was a point when the old guard—those who wanted the RSA to be an elite club rather than a charity with a fellowship—almost won.”

The RSA used to recruit some of its fellows by buying mailing lists and writing to people to tell them that they had been chosen for a fellowship. “It was misleading and bred a lot of cynicism about the RSA,” says Taylor. “I went

through a hard battle to change that. We lost some fellows along the way—those for whom the status of being a fellow was more important than shar-ing our values and working with us.”

Fellowship of the RSA is now open to anyone who can demonstrate that they support the mission of the RSA with a written application and two character references. Membership costs £168 a year, and in exchange members receive a quarterly magazine, access to exclu-sive facilities, lectures and networking

events and get to write FRSA after their name. Although Taylor says the goal is not to get as many fellows as possi-ble, it seems that the RSA’s offering is popular. So far more than 27,000 people have signed up.

Taylor views this shift in attitude to RSA fellowship as one of his biggest achievements to date, but he says that the organisation has also become much more collabora-tive in the way it operates. “When I arrived there was a lot of departmentalism,” he says. “I think any organi-sation that wants to be innovative and powerful in the modern world has to find ways of working across silos.”

Taylor still has lofty ambitions for the RSA. He says that the RSA aspires to be as good at mobilising people as the community action group Citizens UK, as good at engaging mass audiences as The Guardian, as good at producing robust research as the Institute for Public Policy Research, and as influential in government as Policy Exchange.

When asked about his policy and research successes, Taylor doesn’t hesitate before picking out the society’s work with the City Growth Commission on an approach to economic growth and inclusion driven by cities. “That was some of the most successful think-tank work that I’ve ever been associated with,” he says. The series of reports the commission published in 2014 garnered cross-party support and contributed to the government’s Northern Powerhouse strategy.

When asked what he thinks of that strategy, Taylor’s response is measured. “There are enormous challeng-es to overcome, but it would be completely churlish to focus on the problems with it,” he tells me. “Back when we embarked on the work with the commission, people would have thought the Northern Powerhouse was some kind of soul club.” Since that time, Taylor says, enormous strides have been made. “I think when people look back, they will see George Osborne’s commitment as the most important domestic reform agenda of this government.”

After a decade at the RSA, I wonder what Taylor will turn to next. Perhaps even a move back into politics? “In a perfect world, I’d like to have more time to read and write, support my crap football team and continue to find out that I’ve got absolutely no musical talent what-soever,” he says, gesturing to the guitar. “But I guess I’ve always been rather tribal. I love this organisation. It massively motivates me, and I think it’s continuing to become more exciting and more effective than ever. But there are still unfinished revolutions to be won.”More to say? Email comment@ResearchResearch.com

i n t e r v i e w m a t t h e w t a y l o r

Matthew Taylor

* 2006-present Chief exec-utive of the RSA

* 2003-06 Chief political-strategy adviser to the prime minister

* 1998-2003 Chief execu-tive of the Institute for Public Policy Research

* 1995-98 Labour Party director of policy and assistant general secretary

funding opportunitiesevery new opportunity every discipline

Innovate UK photonicsInnovate UK, the Welsh Government and the Welsh Opto-Electronics Forum invite proposals for their North Wales photonics launchpad. The total budget is worth £500,000. Each project may receive up to £90,000 over a maximum period of one year [9].

NERC doctoral trainingThe Natural Environment Research Council invites outline proposals for its centre for doctoral training studentships on modelling and quantitative skills in ecology and evolution. Studentships are worth up to £84,936 each [11].

BBSRC trainingThe Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its collaborative training partnerships. Studentships provide a training support grant worth £5,000 per year over four years [20].

MRC/NIHR healthcareThe Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research invite applications for their call on methodological research for health and care systems modelling – identifying and measuring spillover effects [23].

Research Fortnight 24 February 2015

Opportunities from previous issues of Research Fortnight, listed by closing date. European Commission and associated funders marked EU.

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d e a d l i n e sf o c u s p o i n t s

3 ESRC UK in a changing Europe – commissioning fund 1183731

EU Horizon 2020: Industrial Leadership H2020-COMPET-2016 competitiveness of the European space sector: technology and sci-ence 1184849

EU Horizon 2020: Industrial Leader-ship H2020-EO-2016 earth observa-tion 1184847

NERC environmental science impact programme 1188155

4 Academy of Medical Sciences/Wellcome starter grants for clinical lecturers 255041

Breast Cancer Now pilot grants 255713

British Science Association award lectures 1183386

Clothworkers' Foundation conserva-tion research fellowship 1158084

College of Optometrists clinical research fellowships 1187878

College of Optometrists research fellowships – postdoctoral lecturers 1177196

Core Dr Falk Pharma UK/Core awards 1170893

Core research essay prize 255569 DFID evaluation services for the

Strengthening African Networks for Governance, Accountability and Transparency Programme – phase II (SANGAT II) 1188391

East Africa Research Fund under-standing the economic contribution of small-scale mining in East Africa 1188690

European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism research fellowships 1171323

Kidney Research UK innovation grants 210676

Kidney Research UK research pro-ject grants 210675

MOD Defence Science and Technol-ogy Laboratory/Direction Générale de l'Armement UK-France joint PhD programme 1188698

Primate Society of Great Britain captive care grants 212382

Society for the Study of French His-tory conference grants 1175975

Society for the Study of French History postgraduate conference panels 1175976

College of Optometrists postgradu-ate scholarships 1177197

6 Ben Gurion University of the Negev Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research regular fellowships 210332

Environmental Mutagen Society small grants scheme for feasibility or pilot studies 1187072

7 British Medical Association research grants 194232

British Society for the Philosophy of Science doctoral scholarship 1188403

European Federation of Immuno-logical Societies meeting support grants 1183250

European Federation of Immuno-logical Societies short-term fellow-ship 1173049

European Federation of Immuno-logical Societies world fellowships 1177162

European Hematology Association/Japanese Society of Hematology fellowship exchange programme 1167325

Jérôme Lejeune Foundation research grants 213435

Society of Legal Scholars research activities fund grants 1171914

Wellbeing of Women entry-level research scholarships 260835

Wellbeing of Women/Royal College of Midwives international fellowship for midwives 1175061

8 South African National Research Foundation UK-South Africa researcher links – mobility grants 1185435

CRUK postdoctoral research bursary for clinical trainees 1186932

EU Horizon 2020: Societal Chal-lenges H2020-CIRC-2016 industry 2020 in the circular economy – single stage 1184915

EU Horizon 2020: Societal Chal-lenges H2020-CIRC-2016 industry 2020 in the circular economy – two stage 1186034

EU Horizon 2020: Societal Chal-lenges H2020-SCC-02-2016 smart cities and communities 1186037

EU Horizon 2020: Societal Chal-lenges H2020-SCC-2016 smart cities and communities call – topics 3 and 4 1186038

NIHR programme development grants for applied research 260944

EU Horizon 2020 Societal Chal-lenges H2020-SC5-2016 greening

the economy, topics 1, 14 and 21 - two stage 1186006

EU Horizon 2020: Societal Chal-lenges H2020-SC5-2016 greening the economy – single stage 1184952

9 British Academy/Royal Society/Academy of Medical Sciences Newton international fellowships 1186801

Henry Moore Foundation confer-ences, lectures and publications grants 1157850

Henry Moore Foundation small research grants 1174482

EU Horizon 2020: Societal Chal-lenges food scanner prize 1180929

Innovate UK surface engineering and coating technologies for high-value manufacturing 1188036

Royal Society Newton international fellowships – Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Turkey 1188363

Royal Society/Academy of Medical Sciences/Newton Fund interna-tional fellowships – China and India 1188330

10 Action on Hearing Loss international project grant 198200

Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland Symington bequest 1178584

Anatomical Society research grant 1187680

EU Joint Programme for Neuro-degenerative Disease Research transnational call on harmonisation and alignment in brain imaging methods for neurodegeneration 1187770

Intensive Care Society new investi-gator awards 211290

Leverhulme early-career fellowships 210573

11 CERN corresponding associates programme 259704

CERN scientific associates pro-gramme 251966

DFID social protection system capacity strengthening 1188723

Healthcare Infection Society career development fund 1182303

Institute of Historical Research Scouloudi historical awards – publi-cation awards 1170240

Institute of Historical Research Scouloudi historical research awards 211511

Wellcome Trust society awards 261000

13 Society for Applied Microbiology president's fund 202163

14 Action on Hearing Loss translational research initiative for hearing grant 1175049

Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland project grants 1176027

Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland travel grants 205767

EU Directorate-General for Hu-manitarian Aid and Civil Protection projects on preparedness and prevention 213189

EU Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries study on the economic benefits of marine protected areas 1188231

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Issue no. 473

8 funding opportunities Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

Data science scholarshipsThe Alan Turing Institute invites applica-tions for its doctoral studentships. These enable students to pursue doctoral stud-ies in data science at the institute's hub, as well as at one of the founding partner universities. Grants cover tuition fees and a stipend for three and a half years.Web id: 1188902Email: doctoral-scheme@turing.ac.ukNo deadline [1]

postgraduate summer schemeThe British Society for Immunology invites applications for its medical elective and summer placement award scheme. Fund-ing enables medical students, and PhD and MSc students, to undertake a place-ment in a selected laboratory for their medical elective or a summer placement. Awards are worth £1,500 each.Web id: 1188729Contact: Hannah HopeEmail: h.hope@immunology.orgNo deadline [2]

Emerging technologiesThe Royal Society of Chemistry invites proposals for its emerging technolo-gies competition. This aims to acceler-ate the commercialisation of innovative technologies in the areas of health and wellbeing, energy and environment, food and water, and materials. Prizes are worth up to £20,000 each.Web id: 1188734Deadline: 14 March 2016 [3]

StFC Artemis laser facilityThe Science and Technology Facilities Council invites proposals for access to the Artemis laser facility. Funding enables researchers to access the Artemis laser facility and conduct experiments related to ultra short laser and XUV pulses, as well as those related to a range of end-stations for time resolved spectroscopy in gases, liquids and condensed matter, and for XUV imaging. Up to 14 weeks' access is avail-able, of which three weeks is for EU access, provided through Laserlab Europe. Web id: 1188742Email: emma.springate@stfc.ac.ukDeadline: 14 March 2016 [4]

NERC knowledge exchangeThe Natural Environment Research Coun-cil invites applications for its open knowl-edge exchange fellowships. These enable the sharing and flow of knowledge and expertise between NERC-funded research-ers and their user communities. Fellow-ships cover salary on a pro-rata basis, as well as up to £40,000 for travel and other costs, over three years.Web id: 1188776Contact: Lynne PorterEmail: keschemes@nerc.ac.ukDeadline: 17 March 2016 [5]

CRUK/DH experimental centresCancer Research UK and the Department of Health, under the experimental cancer medicine centres (ECMCs) network, invite expressions of interest for their 2017-22 Quinquennium. This enables experimen-tal cancer medicine centres to contrib-

ute to a leading network of early-phase clinical trials, and enhances the existing bench-to-bedside pathway by supporting key infrastructures tailored to the needs of each ECMC site. The award provides support over a period of five years.Web id: 154831Email: centresandecmcs@cancer.org.ukDeadline: 18 March 2016 [6]

Gastroenterology traineesCore and the British Society of Gastro-enterology invite applications for their trainee research grants. These support trainees who are conducting research on an area of clinical need within gastroen-terology which has clear patient benefit. Grants are worth up to £5,000 each.Web id: 1188799Contact: Alice Kington Email: research@corecharity.org.uk Deadline: 31 March 2016 [7]

Novice dissemination awardThe European Oncology Nursing Society invites applications for its novice dis-semination award. This enables oncology nursing researchers to attend the EONS10 congress, to be held from 17 to 18 October 2016 in Dublin, Ireland. Awards cover reg-istration fees and up to €1,500 (£1,200)for travel and accommodation.Web id: 1188693Email: eons2016@abbey.ieDeadline: 31 March 2016 [8]

Innovate UK photonics R&DInnovate UK, the Welsh Government and the Welsh Opto-Electronics Forum invite proposals for their North Wales photonics launchpad. Funding supports innovative and industrial R&D projects that aim to stimulate photonics, electro-optics and opto-electronics businesses in North Wales by enabling them to go further towards com-mercial success. The total budget is worth £500,000. Each project may receive up to £90,000 over a maximum period of one year. Web id: 1188842Email: support@innovateuk.gov.ukDeadline: 6 April 2016 [9]

Innovate UK sharing economyInnovate UK invites proposals for its call on digital innovation in the sharing economy. Funding aims to encourage innovation in the sharing economy across the themes of trust, tourism and travel; opening up new sectors; home improve-ments; construction; and data and analyt-ics. Awards are worth up to £30,000 each. Web id: 1188836Email: support@innovateuk.gov.ukDeadline: 12 April 2016 [10]

NERC doctoral training awardsThe Natural Environment Research Coun-cil invites outline proposals for its centre for doctoral training studentships on modelling and quantitative skills in ecol-ogy and evolution. These aim to train the next generation of UK environmental scientists in various aspects of data col-lection, modelling, statistical analysis and inference with input from a range of quantitative disciplines, producing researchers with substantial quantita-tive expertise capable of developing new theoretical modelling methods. Student-ships are worth up to £84,936 each.Web id: 1187488Email: stag@nerc.ac.ukDeadline: 13 April 2016 [11]

AHRC leadership fellowsThe Arts and Humanities Research Council invites applications for its priority area leadership fellowships on design, herit-age and modern languages. These support research related to design, heritage or modern languages. Fellowships are ten-able for up to three years and cover up to 80 per cent of full-time equivalent, with the option to include up to 40 per cent FTE for personal research activity.Web id: 1188917Contact: Jessica ClarkEmail: j.clark@ahrc.ac.ukDeadline: 15 April 2016 [12]

philosophy conference awardThe British Society for the History of Philosophy invites applications for its major conference award. This funds an international conference held in the UK on any aspect of the history of philosophy. The award is worth £1,000.Web id: 1188034Contact: Michael BeaneyEmail: bjhp@bshp.org.ukDeadline: 15 April 2016 [13]

Soil health and biologyThe Agriculture and Horticulture Develop-ment Board and the British Beet Research Organisation invite applications for their research partnerships on management for soil biology and soil health. Funding supports research partnerships that aim to better understand soil biology and key soil health metrics, in order to improve management for soil health across a range of systems including arable rota-tions, grassland systems and production systems for perennial crops. Each part-nership may receive about £200,000 per year over a maximum period of five years. Web id: 1188743Email: amanda.bennet@ahdb.org.ukDeadline: 28 April 2016 [15]

Rare diseases researchThe Pfizer Rare Disease Research Unit and the Chief Scientist Office invite propos-als for their collaborative drug discovery research projects. Funding supports collab-orative projects in the area of rare diseases that aim to advance the RDC model into repositioning and repurposing of legacy, clinic ready Pfizer assets for rare diseases. Web id: 1188860Email: alan.mcnair@gov.scotDeadline: 29 April 2016 [16]

Arts impact research grantsArts Council England invites applica-tions for its research grants programme. These support projects that aim to better understand the impact of arts and culture and promote greater collaboration and cooperation between the arts, cultural sector and research partners. The budget is £1.11 million and grants are worth up to £200,000 each.Web id: 1183462Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.ukDeadline: 5 May 2016 [17]

Regional studies grantsThe Regional Studies Associations invites applications for the following grants:

•fellowship research grants, worth up to £7,500 each. Web id: 1188831•membership research grants, worth

up to £5,000 each.Web id: 1188828Deadline: 8 May 2016 [18]

BBSRC collaborative trainingThe Biotechnology and Biological Scienc-es Research Council invites applications for its collaborative training partnerships. These aim to train the next generation of skilled people for the research base and wider bioeconomy by providing PhD students with a first-rate, challenging research training experience within the context of a mutually beneficial research collaboration, between academic and partner organisations. Studentships are calculated on a four-year basis, and pro-vide a research training support grant worth £5,000 per year.Web id: 1188797Email: simon.cutler@bbsrc.ac.ukDeadline: 25 May 2016 [20]

travel awardsThe Rank Prize Funds invites applications for its travel awards. These enable early- and mid-career scientists to establish con-tacts with international counterparts by spending time in an institution outside the UK. Awards are worth up to £7,500 each.Web id: 1188919Email: enquiries@rankprize.org.Deadline: 6 June 2016 [21]

General surgery fellowshipThe Royal College of Surgeons of Edin-burgh invites applications for the Alban Barros D'Sa memorial travelling fellowship in general surgery. This supports travel abroad to gain further experience or train-ing. The fellowship is worth up to £1,000.Web id: 1188889Email: mail@rcsed.ac.ukDeadline: 15 June 2016 [22]

MRC/NIHR healthcare systemsThe Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research invite applications for their call on meth-odological research for health and care systems modelling – identifying and measuring spillover effects. This high-light notice supports research into meth-odologies for developing models which may enable identification, measurement and understanding of spillover effects in health service and public health systems. Web id: 1188840Email: david.crosby@headoffice.mrc.ac.ukDeadline: 21 June 2016 [23]

political studies grantsThe Political Studies Association invites applications for its international visitor grants. These support the presentation of research at the annual Political Stud-ies Association conference by members of partner associations across the world. Grants are worth around £500 each. Web id: 1186334Email: info@psa.ac.ukDeadline: 1 September 2016 [24]

Graduate music awardThe Society for Education, Music and Psy-chology Research invites applications for the Aubrey Hickman award. This promotes research in the fields of education, music and psychology. The award is worth £500.Web id: 1188750Contact: Graham WelchEmail: g.welch@sempre.org.ukDeadline: 21 october 2016 [25]

u k h i g h l i g h t s

New opportunities from UK-based funders.

Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016 funding opportunities 9

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Renewed opportunities from funders based in the UK.

Japan fellowshipsThe Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Royal Society invite appli-cations for their postdoctoral fellowship programme. This enables young post-doctoral researchers from the UK to con-duct cooperative research with research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions. Fellowships are tenable for 12 to 24 months and provide subsistence worth JPY362,000 (£2,200) per month, a settling-in allowance of JPY200,000, a return air ticket and insurance.Web id: 260856Email: international.jsps@royalsociety.orgDeadline: 14 March 2016 [26]

Scottish researchThe Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland invites applications for its research incentive grants. These support short research projects, either stand-alone projects or initial studies that may lead to a more extensive project, that are likely to be of benefit to one or more of the universities of Scotland. Grants are worth between £500 and £7,500 each. Web id: 253138Deadline: 15 March 2016 [27]

MRC regenerative medicineThe Medical Research Council, under the biomedical catalyst programme, invites proposals for its call on regenerative medicine research. This supports the translation of fundamental discoveries that aim to develop regenerative medi-cine therapies in order to improve human health. Proposals are funded on the basis of 80 per cent of full economic costs, except for exceptional costs which are funded at 100 per cent. MRC aims to meet the academic costs of the project only.Web id: 1167138Email: grants@headoffice.mrc.ac.ukDeadline: 17 March 2016 [29]

Research merit awardsThe Royal Society, in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation and the Depart-ment for Business, Innovation and Skills, invites nominations for the Wolfson research merit awards. These enable universities to attract, or keep in the UK, respected researchers in all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engi-neering. Awards are worth up to £30,000 per year over a maximum of five years.Web id: 255189Email: seniorfellowships@royalsociety.orgDeadline: 30 March 2016 [31]

Ecology fellowshipThe British Ecological Society invites applications for its fellowship at the Par-liamentary Office of Science and Technol-ogy. This enables a postgraduate student to work with POST on a three-month place-ment. The fellowship provides £5,000 to cover living costs.Web id: 211926Contact: Ben ConnorEmail: ben@britishecologicalsociety.orgDeadline: 31 March 2016 [33]

EpSRC large-area electronics The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, under its Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Large-Area Electronics, invites proposals for its call on large-area electronics pathfinders. This enables academic and postdoctoral researchers to undertake short pathfinder projects for innovative manufacturing in large-area electronics. Grants are worth up to £50,000 per project at 80 per cent full economic cost for a maximum period of six months.Web id: 1185278Email: info@largeareaelectronics.orgDeadline: 31 March 2016 [34]

physician grantsThe Royal College of Physicians of Edin-burgh invites applications for the Myre Sim Fund research and travel grants. These sup-port activities that assist viable research projects, such as payments for secretarial, library or computer facilities; nursing, laboratory or student assistance; travel expenses to attend scientific meetings; courses of postgraduate education; visits to special clinics; other educational activi-ties. Grants are worth up to £2,000 each.Web id: 1179916Contact: Roselin CombeEmail: r.combe@rcpe.ac.ukDeadline: 31 March 2016 [36]

Royal Society fellowshipsThe Royal Society, in collaboration with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Rolls-Royce, invites applications for its industry fellowships. These enable academic scientists to work on collaborative projects with industry, or individuals employed in industry to work on collaborative projects with univer-sity departments or non-profit research organisations. Fellowships support a period of up to two years and cover basic salary and research expenses of up to £2,000 per year. Web id: 255580Email: innovationgrants@royalsociety.orgDeadline: 31 March 2016 [37]

Higher education prizeThe Society for Research into Higher Education, in collaboration with the Rout-ledge Taylor & Francis Group, invites applications for its prize for newer researchers. This supports early-stage researchers in the field of higher educa-tion, by enabling them to undertake a research project in their own right, or to develop research skills which will help advance their research career. Grants are worth £3,000 each over one year. Web id: 1161423Contact: Rob GreshamEmail: rgresham@srhe.ac.uk Deadline: 31 March 2016 [38]

Biochemical grantsThe Biochemical Society invites applica-tions for the Eric Reid fund for methodol-ogy. Funding supports benchwork, with an emphasis on methodology and prefer-ably cellular or bioanalytical work. Grants are worth up to £2,000 each.Web id: 251628Email: rowena.mitchell@biochemistry.orgDeadline: 1 April 2016 [39]

Education disadvantagesThe Education Endowment Foundation invites proposals for its general project funding. This supports the evaluation of interventions or approaches that improve the learning and development of children aged three and four, as well as pupils in mainstream schools from ages five to 16. Grants are worth up to £1.8 million each. Web id: 1171336Email: info@eefoundation.org.ukDeadline: 1 April 2016 [43]

Civil engineering travelThe Institution of Civil Engineers invites applications for the QUEST travel award. This enables candidates to travel overseas and undertake an activity that furthers their professional development. The award is worth up to £6,000.Web id: 1169776Email: quest.awards@ice.org.uk Deadline: 1 April 2016 [44]

oxford Near Eastern studiesThe University of Oxford's Faculty of Ori-ental Studies invites applications for the Gerald Averay Wainwright research grants for Near Eastern archaeology. These encourage the study of non-classical archaeology of Middle Eastern countries.Web id: 208714Email: wainwright.fund@orinst.ox.ac.ukDeadline: 1 April 2016 [47]

Cereals and oilseeds The Agriculture and Horticulture Develop-ment Board's cereals and oilseeds division invites applications for its student research bursaries. These enable postgraduate or postdoctoral researchers working on cur-rent cereals and oilseeds-funded projects to supervise undergraduate students while they conduct a short research project that may benefit the cereals and oilseeds indus-try. Bursaries are worth up to £10,000 each.Web id: 1172993Email: cereals.research@ahdb.org.ukDeadline: 4 April 2016 [48]

Art/medicine grantsThe Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation invites applications for its medical research travel grants. These enable can-didates to visits laboratories to gain new clinical and laboratory skills, and to set up inter-institutional collaborative research. Grants are worth up to £1,000 each.Web id: 213946Deadline: 5 April 2016 [49]

veterinary awardThe British Veterinary Association invites applications for the Harry Steele-Bodger memorial travel scholarship. This enables an individual to undertake a visit to a vet-erinary or agricultural school, or research institute, or some other course of study approved by the governing committee. The scholarship is worth £1,000.Web id: 192663Contact: Helen CottonEmail: helenc@bva.co.ukDeadline: 6 April 2016 [50]

NIHR applied researchThe National Institute for Health Research invites applications for its programme grants for applied research. These support high-quality projects, feasibility or pilot studies that aim to provide evidence to improve health outcomes in England

10 funding opportunities Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

through the promotion of health, preven-tion of ill health, and optimal disease management, with particular emphasis on conditions causing significant disease burden. There is no fixed upper limit, although funding in excess of £2.5 mil-lion is unusual. Web id: 254032Email: info@nihr-ccf.org.ukDeadline: 6 April 2016 [51]

UK-China student awardThe Great Britain-China Educational Trust invites applications for its student awards, and administers awards on behalf of the Sino-British Fellowship Trust, the Universities' China Committee in London, and the Han Suyin Trust. These enable students to pursue doctoral research by contributing towards their university tuition fees and living expenses. Awards are worth up to £3,000 each.Web id: 143335Email: trust@gbcc.org.ukDeadline: 7 April 2016 [52]

Economic historyThe Economic History Society, with the Institute of Historical Research, invites applications for its fellowships. Funding offers one-year postdoctoral fellowships in economic and social history, tenable at the Institute of Historical Research.Web id: 1175190Email: ihr.reception@sas.ac.ukDeadline: 13 April 2016 [54]

tudor history prizeThe Institute of Historical Research invites submissions for the Sir John Neale prize in early modern British his-tory. This recognises a historian in the early stages of their career for studies relating to early modern British history, with a specific focus on the years from 1450 to 1700. The prize is worth £1,000, with an additional payment of £500 to support the development of the winner's scholarly career. Web id: 212032Email: ihr.fellowships@sas.ac.ukDeadline: 15 April 2016 [55]

StFC beam time accessThe Science and Technology Facilities Council invites applications for beam time access. Academic and industry research-ers may apply for free access to neutron and muon instruments, provided by the ISIS Centre for Research in the Physical and Life Sciences, in order to investigate the properties of materials on the atomic scale. The instruments are free to use, provided results from experiments are published in the public domain.Web id: 253215Email: isisuo@stfc.ac.ukDeadline: 16 April 2016 [56]

Surgical fellowshipsThe Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Dunhill Medical Trust invite appli-cations for their joint research fellow-ships. These support research that focuses on conditions that predominantly affect people aged over 70 as well as interven-tions that address these. Fellowships cover salary and some running expenses for a two-year period.Web id: 1164973Email: research@rcseng.ac.ukDeadline: 18 April 2016 [57]

English language educationThe International Research Foundation for English Language Education and the British Council invite proposals for their doctoral dissertation grants. These support students whose dissertation research is related to English language education. Grants are worth up to US$5,000 (£3,500) each.Web id: 1184598Email: info@tirfonline.orgDeadline: 20 April 2016 [58]

NERC environmental risks The Natural Environment Research Coun-cil invites expressions of interest for its call on environmental risks to infrastruc-ture innovation. This supports a balanced portfolio of projects which cover the range of environmental hazards and sectors of interest to Environmental Risks to Infra-structure Innovation Programme mem-bers. The total budget is worth £1 million. Web id: 1179157Contact: Kay HeuserEmail: kaus@nerc.ac.ukDeadline: 20 April 2016 [59]

Epilepsy research bursariesEpilepsy Action invites applications for its postgraduate research bursaries. These support non-laboratory research focusing on clinical, healthcare, medical, educa-tional, social or psychological aspects of epilepsy. Bursaries are worth £3,000 each.Web id: 206331Contact: Amanda StonemanEmail: researchadmin@epilepsy.org.ukDeadline: 22 April 2016 [60]

Diabetes care grantsThe Novo Nordisk UK Research Founda-tion invites applications for grants for healthcare professionals. These support clinical projects, training and education within the field of diabetes mellitus. Grants may support the costs of clinical projects, meeting attendance, courses, or study at home or overseas. Web id: 1165007Contact: Jackie ShuttlewoodEmail: ukresearchfoundation@ novonordisk.comDeadline: 22 April 2016 [61]

NIHR public healthThe National Institute for Health Research invites proposals for commissioned research under its public health research programme. This supports research on local interventions to reduce intake and harm from alcohol, interventions to build resilience in children and young people or preventing the uptake of smoking by children and young people.Web id: 1186774Email: info@phr.ac.ukDeadline: 26 April 2016 [62]

Biological fellowshipsThe National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) invites outlines for the David Sainsbury fellowships. These sup-port early-career scientists with the transi-tion to an independent career within one of the three areas of replacement, reduc-tion and refinement and in any area of medical, biological or veterinary research. The total budget is worth £1 million.Web id: 1169823Email: fellowships@nc3rs.org.ukDeadline: 26 April 2016 [63]

Cambridge Asian anthropologyCambridge University invites applica-tions for the Evans fund fellowship. This supports the study of anthropology and archaeology in Cambridge. The fellowship is worth up to £18,000 over three years.Web id: 1172154Contact: Madeline Watt Email: mmw23@cam.ac.ukDeadline: 27 April 2016 [65]

psychology research awardThe British Psychological Society invites nominations for its lifetime achievement award. This recognises distinctive and exemplary contributions to psychological knowledge. The award is worth £1,000 Web id: 1172419Email: elizabeth.beech@bps.org.ukDeadline: 29 April 2016 [67]

NIHR medical fellowshipsThe National Institute for Health Research invites applications for its in-practice fel-lowships. These offer academic training to qualified general practitioners, dental practitioners and community dentists who have spent some time in NHS practice in England and who have had little formal academic training at the current point of their careers. Fellowships cover salary for applicants currently in vocational train-ing at senior clinical lecturer spine point 2 or equivalent for a maximum period of two years. For all other applicants, the salary funding is limited to the top of the consultant UK scale.Web id: 210916Email: iatenquiries@nihrtcc.org.ukDeadline: 29 April 2016 [68]

Charity/medical grantsThe Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust invites applications for the following grants:

•general grants. Web id: 1160928• minor medical research grants, worth

up to £15,000 each. Web id: 1177353Contact: Michelle BertenshawEmail: secretary@peeltrust.comDeadline: 30 April 2016 [71]

Geriatrics researchThe British Geriatrics Society invites applications for its specialist registrar travel and start-up grants. These provide short-term assistance to early-stage spec-ulative and innovative research, in order to enable geriatricians to take advantage of unique or rare opportunities. Grants are worth up to £10,000 each.Web id: 196002Deadline: 1 May 2016 [75]

Economic history grantsThe Economic History Society invites applications for the Carnevali small research grants scheme. This encour-ages small-scale research initiatives or pilot studies in economic or social history. Grants are worth up to £5,000 each.Web id: 1175188Deadline: 1 May 2016 [76]

German studiesThe German History Society invites appli-cations for its postgraduate bursaries. These may support language courses, archive study trips, fees or general main-tenance. Bursaries are worth £2,000 each.Web id: 1170660Contact: Matthew Stibbe

Email: secretary@ germanhistorysociety.orgDeadline: 1 May 2016 [77]

Continence researchThe International Continence Society invites applications for the following opportunities:

•fellowships, worth up to £5,000 each.Web id: 1168377

•international, multidisciplinary res- earch project grants, worth up to £10,000 each. Web id: 1168369Email: awards@icsoffice.orgDeadline: 1 May 2016 [78]

Glaucoma research awardsThe International Glaucoma Associa-tion, in collaboration with the College of Optometrists, invites applications for its glaucoma care research awards. These facilitate research into supporting patients during their glaucoma care. Awards are worth up to £25,000 each. Web id: 1171665Contact: Richenda KewEmail: r.kew@iga.org.ukDeadline: 2 May 2016 [80]

Wellcome master's awardsThe Wellcome Trust invites applications for its master's awards in humanities and social science. These enable individuals to undertake any humanities or social sci-ence master's course which has a predomi-nant focus on human or animal health. Awards include a stipend, as well as UK home student level fees, for one year.Web id: 1165131Email: hssgrants@wellcome.ac.ukDeadline: 2 May 2016 [81]

pharmacy researchPharmacy Research UK invites applica-tions for the following opportunities:

•personal research awards.Web id: 195473

•research training bursaries, worth up to £30,000 each. Web id: 255178Email: yen.truong@rpharms.comDeadline: 4 May 2016 [82]

Scottish enterprise fellowsThe Royal Society of Edinburgh invites applications for the following fellowships:

•BBSRC enterprise fellowships. Web id: 259761•Scottish Enterprise fellowships.

Web id: 256331•STFC enterprise fellowships.

Web id: 1161927Email: resfells@royalsoced.org.ukDeadline: 4 May 2016 [84]

Leverhulme fellowshipsThe Leverhulme Trust invites applications for its major research fellowships in the humanities and social sciences. These enable humanities and social sciences researchers to work on a single project. Fel-lowships are awarded for up to three years and cover salary costs, as well as research expenses worth up to £6,000 per year.Web id: 258101Contact: Nicola ThorpEmail: nthorp@leverhulme.ac.ukDeadline: 5 May 2016 [88]

CRUK small molecule cancerCancer Research UK invites applications for its small molecule drug discovery project awards. These support research on the

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An initiative to help early-career researchers at the University of Cambridge connect with policymakers will need institutional support if it is to last in the long term, one of the group’s founders has said.

The Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange was formed in 2012 by a group of PhD students and postdocs interested in improving engagement with policymakers. The exchange aims to provide insight on evidence-based policy through public lectures and professional-development workshops, which are all free to attend.

However, because the exchange depends on students and early-career researchers, it loses expertise and experience on a fairly regular basis. “The big problem is that members are relatively transitory,” said James Dolan, who co-founded the group and is now its deputy president. “They’re around for three or four years at most and it’s difficult to pass on knowledge.”

The exchange has enjoyed the support of senior colleagues, especially from academics at the university’s Centre for Science and Policy, but Dolan says that he believes support and funding from the university itself is necessary to extend the group’s life. “Some sort of promise of continuity from the university would be immensely helpful,” he said. “IT support or a small amount of funding so the group didn’t have to worry about the first term of each year—you want sufficient impetus that it won’t disappear with the loss of a couple of people.”

Jackie Ouchikh, head of programmes at the Centre for Science Policy, agrees that institutional support is important, and is optimistic that the exchange will secure it as interest in policy engagement grows across the university.

“I think we’re getting closer to institutional networks of support,” she said. “There are lots of centres and groups getting involved in this sort of work.” The challenge now, she added, was to work out how to be more joined-up with various groups at the university. The Centre for Science Policy was trying to kick this off, she said, and had recently hosted a meeting for people from across the university to work out how to work together on professional development in policymaking.

In the meantime, Dolan says that he is hopeful the group will continue to gain momentum and build a reputation that will attract more members as well as funding. Alumni have gone on to work as policy officers at the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Wellcome Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons; others have gone into the civil service Fast Stream, he said. “Of course I can’t link their success directly to membership of the exchange,” Dolan said, “but these were the sorts of people involved from the start, and now they’re real role models for us current PhD students and postdocs.”

by James Field jfnews@ResearchResearch.com

Student-led policy exchange calls for institutional buy-in to survive

Could you change the world in just three minutes? That is the challenge for entrants to Policy Idol, a competition organised by the Policy Institute at King’s College London.

Open to students and staff at King’s, entrants are asked to come up with ideas for policies and then pitch them to a panel of judges—which this year includes chief medical officer Sally Davies and Labour MP for Barking Margaret Hodge. Ten finalists will be offered the chance to have their work published by the Policy Institute, and one will walk away with a cash prize of £1,000.

The competition was launched last year with £15,000 from King’s 2014 impact-acceleration grant from the Economic and Social Research Council. It aims to get researchers to think about how they can talk about their research with policymakers.

One of last year’s finalists, Erin Montague, came up with an idea to create a tax break for young people to encourage them to vote. “I wanted to present an issue that was a personal concern of mine, and this was a great way for me to do that,” she said.

Montague, who now works at the Policy Institute, was doing a masters in public service, policy and management when she applied. She said that the competition taught her how to make

a strong pitch. “A business degree might prepare you for how to make an elevator pitch, but I’d never had this kind of training before,” she said. “It really made me appreciate the importance of getting to the issue right away, then answering the question of why decision makers should care, and what we plan to do about it.”

Matthew Lam, communications manager at the Policy Institute, is organising the second round of the competition, the final of which will be held on 22 March. “The feedback from participants has been great so far,” he said. “Not only has it helped them to practice their communication skills, it’s also raised their confidence and helped them to think about their research in new ways.”

Kieron Flanagan, senior lecturer in science and technology policy at the University of Manchester, said that the competition had a lot of potential, not just to get people interested enough to take part, but also to raise awareness and “create a buzz”. However, he cautioned that Policy Idol’s format implies a very linear, one-way transmission of ideas into policy, “which we know is rarely how things happen”.

by Lindsay McKenzie lmnews@ResearchResearch.com

Have you got what it takes to be a policy idol?

12 jobs

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jobs 13

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Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016 funding opportunities 15

identification and validation of new targets, and the discovery of novel small molecule therapeutic and preventive agents. Awards are typically worth £100,000 per year, and cover salaries and running expenses.Web id: 1184483Email: matthew.ashenden@cancer.org.ukDeadline: 9 May 2016 [89]

Leverhulme leadershipThe Leverhulme Trust invites applications for its research leadership awards. These support researchers with established university careers who wish to build a research team to address a distinct research problem. Awards are worth up to £1 million each for four to five years.Web id: 168388Contact: Gillian DupinEmail: gdupin@leverhulme.ac.ukDeadline: 10 May 2016 [90]

BBSRC fellowshipsThe Biotechnology and Biological Scienc-es Research Council invites applications for the David Phillips fellowships. These support researchers who wish to establish their first independent research group in any area of science within the council's remit, which includes research on plants, microbes, animals, and tools and technol-ogy underpinning biological research. Each fellowship is worth up to £1 million at 80 per cent full economic cost.Web id: 1162893Email: postdoc.fellowships@bbsrc.ac.ukDeadline: 12 May 2016 [91]

Leverhulme prizesThe Leverhulme Trust invites nominations for the Philip Leverhulme prizes. These recognise the achievement of researchers whose work has attracted international recognition and whose future career is promising. Prizes are worth £100,000 each. Web id: 205620Contact: Bridget KerrEmail: bkerr@leverhulme.ac.ukDeadline: 16 May 2016 [93]

CRUK fellowshipCancer Research UK invites applications for the following fellowships:

•advanced clinician scientist fellow-ship. Web id: 1186517•clinician scientist fellowships.

Web id: 189108Email: rachael.panizzo@cancer.org.ukDeadline: 23 May 2016 [94]

Animals in researchThe National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) invites outlines for its PhD studentships. These support the training of graduate scientists from a broad range of scientific backgrounds within one of the three areas of replace-ment, reduction and refinement and in any area of medical, biological or vet-erinary research. Awards are worth up to £90,000 each over three years. The total budget is worth £1.08 million.Web id: 1159302Email: studentships@nc3rs.org.uk Deadline: 23 May 2016 [96]

Wellcome senior fellowshipsThe Wellcome Trust invites applications for the following fellowships:

•senior research fellowships in basic biomedical science. Web id: 251190

•senior research fellowships in clinical science. Web id: 254862Email: sciencegrants@wellcome.ac.ukDeadline: 24 May 2016 [97]

Irish awardsUniversities Ireland invites applications for the following opportunities:

•north-south postgraduate scholar-ships, worth €15,000 (€11,600) each.Web id: 1162239

•PhD history bursary, worth €6,500 each. Web id: 1173078Email: eimear.donnelly@qub.ac.ukDeadline: 26 May 2016 [100]

Urology researchThe Urology Foundation invites applica-tions for its smaller research projects fund. This supports projects for patient benefit that aim to improve clinical ser-vices, treatments and education, as well as communication with patients and car-ers. Grants are worth up to £10,000 each. Web id: 1179538Email: info@theurologyfoundation.orgDeadline: 30 May 2016 [102]

Cardiovascular researchThe British Society for Cardiovascular Research invites applications for the Ber-nard and Joan Marshall research prizes. These recognise research in any area of cardiovascular biology or medicine. Prizes are worth up to £4,000 each.Web id: 1165206Contact: David GrieveEmail: d.grieve@qub.ac.ukDeadline: 31 May 2016 [103]

Endocrinology exchangesThe European Society of Endocrinology invites applications for its short-term fellowship. This enables early-career can-didates to undertake research exchanges between two laboratories based in dif-ferent countries in order to promote scientific collaboration. The fellowship is worth up to €2,500 (£1,900).Web id: 1178994Email: info@euro-endo.orgDeadline: 31 May 2016 [105]

Regional studies grantsThe Regional Studies Association invites applications for its early-career grants. These enable association members to con-duct research in regional studies or regional science. The grant is worth up to £10,000.Web id: 1165109Email: office@regionalstudies.orgDeadline: 31 May 2016 [107]

Neuropsychiatry researchThe Royal College of Psychiatrists, with a contribution from the Gosling Estate, invites applications for the Gosling fel-lowship, under the faculty of academic psychiatry. This enables psychiatry trainees to complete a research project related to neuropsychiatry as part of their training programme. The fellowship is worth £5,000.Web id: 1184383Email: kkottasz@rcpsych.ac.ukDeadline: 31 May 2016 [108]

Commonwealth studiesThe Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the School of Advanced Study invites appli-cations for the Henry Charles Chapman fel-lowship. This supports research conducted at the institute in the social sciences or in

recent history relating to the countries of the Commonwealth, excluding Britain. The fellowship is worth up to £4,000.Web id: 1163319Email: chloe.pieters@sas.ac.ukDeadline: 31 May 2016 [109]

Radiology awardsThe Society for Radiological Protection invites applications for its research and innovation grants. These support projects in the field of radiological protection. Awards are worth up to £10,000 each.Web id: 1174264Email: admin@srp-uk.orgDeadline: 31 May 2016 [110]

Hand surgery awardsThe British Society for Surgery of the Hand invites applications for its pump priming research grants. These support early studies and systematic reviews with the potential to benefit patients within a three to five-year time span. Grants are worth up to £10,000 each.Web id: 1175287Email: secretariat@bssh.ac.ukDeadline: 1 June 2016 [111]

CRUK drug discovery awardsCancer Research UK invites applications for its biotherapeutic drug discovery project awards. These support projects at all stages of drug discovery, from target identification and validation to early preclinical studies. Awards are typically worth £300,000 each.Web id: 1182473Email: marjolein.schaap@cancer.org.ukDeadline: 1 June 2016 [112]

Diabetes grantsDiabetes UK invites applications for the following opportunities:

•project grants. Web id: 210483•small grants, worth up to £15,000

each. Web id: 202100Email: info@diabetes.org.ukDeadline: 1 June 2016 [113]

Antarctic research The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research invites applications for its Antarc-tic research fellowships. These encourage active involvement of early-career scien-tists and engineers in Antarctic research, in order to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in the field. Awards are worth up to US$15,000 (£10,400) each.Web id: 199203Email: info@scar.orgDeadline: 1 June 2016 [115]

textiles awardThe Textile Society invites applications for its museum, archive and conservation award. This supports a textile-related pro-ject within the museum, archive or conser-vation studio for exhibitions, publications or conservation that will help achieve greater awareness and access for the pub-lic. Awards are worth up to £5,000 each.Web id: 1157782Contact: Ngozi IkokuEmail: museumaward@textilesociety.org.ukDeadline: 1 June 2016 [117]

BBSRC awardsThe Biotechnology and Biological Sci-ences Research Council invites applica-tions for the following opportunities:

•modular training partnerships.Web id: 212336

•strategic training awards for research skills. Web id: 1186703Deadline: 2 June 2016 [118]

Library & information studiesThe Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals invites applica-tions for the following bursaries:

•the John Campbell conference and travel bursary, worth up to £1,000.Web id: 1166007

•the John Campbell student research bursary, worth up to £1,000. Web id: 1166008Email: membership@cilip.org.ukDeadline: 10 June 2016 [121]

Science prizesThe Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation invites applications for the Daiwa Adrian prizes. These recognise British-Japanese collaboration in pure or applied science, including physics, chemistry, mathemat-ics, computer science, engineering, agri-cultural, biological and medical research, and the scientific aspects of archaeology, geology and experimental psychology. Prizes are worth up to £10,000 each. Web id: 180374Email: grants@dajf.org.ukDeadline: 10 June 2016 [123]

Surgical awardsThe Royal College of Surgeons of Edin-burgh invites applications for the follow-ing opportunities:

•the Cutner travelling fellowship in orthopaedics, worth up to £3,000. Web id: 1185420

•the John Steyn travelling fellowship in urology, worth £900. Web id: 1185421

•the Sir James Fraser travelling fellow-ship in general surgery, worth £2,000.Web id: 1185422

•small research pump priming grants, worth up to £10,000 each. Web id: 255235Deadline: 15 June 2016 [124]

CRUK clinical awardsCancer Research UK invites applications for the following opportunities:

•biomarker project awards, worth up to £300,000 each. Web id: 255327

•feasibility study project grants, worth up to £150,000 each. Web id: 255375

•phase III clinical trial grants, worth up to £1 million each. Web id: 257327•prospective sample collections pro-

ject grants. Web id: 255338Email: clinicalresearch@cancer.org.ukDeadline: 20 June 2016 [129]

MRC/NIHR methodologyThe Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research invite proposals for their methodology research programme. This supports the development of methods to underpin the biomedical and health sciences, as well as their implementation in research standards. Grants may be awarded for up to five years.Web id: 212394Email: david.crosby@headoffice.mrc.ac.ukDeadline: 21 June 2016 [133]

Head and neck fellowshipThe Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Scottish Oral and Maxillofacial Society invite applications for their head

16 funding opportunities Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

and neck oncology fellowship. This enables a member to undertake a visit of up to six weeks to the Shanghai Jiatong University to conduct head and neck oncology research. The fellowship is worth up to £3,000.Web id: 1185423Contact: Cathy McCartneyEmail: c.mccartney@rcsed.ac.ukDeadline: 29 June 2016 [134]

e u r o p e h i g h l i g h t s

New opportunities from European funders, excluding funders based in the UK.

Interdisciplinary workshopsBielefeld University's Center for Interdis-ciplinary Research invites proposals for its workshop grants. These support the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas on a short-term basis, ranging from colloquia on specific questions to larger scale confer-ences which discuss the state of the art in a particular interdisciplinary field. Grants are worth up to €10,000 (£7,700) each.Web id: 1188653Email: britta.padberg@uni-bielefeld.deNo deadline [135]

Social psychology grantThe European Asociation of Social Psy-chology invites applications for its pre-registered research grants. These support pre-registration of research in the area of social psychology that has received an in principal acceptance from a peer reviewed journal. Grants are worth up to €1,000 (£770) each.Web id: 1188896Email: sibylle@easp.euNo deadline [136]

toxicology paper awardThe Society of Environmental Toxicol-ogy and Chemistry invites applications for its journal’s best paper award. This recognises innovative, creative papers with transparent, reproducible science published in the prior volume year. The prize includes one year's free SETAC mem-bership, registration to the annual meet-ing, and a cash prize of US$1,000 (£700). Web id: 1188888Email: setaceu@setac.orgNo deadline [137]

EU railway communicationThe European Railway Agency invites tenders for a feasibility study on satcom for railway communication. The tenderer will conduct a study to conclude on the potential feasibility for railway applica-tions of current and future commercially available satellite communication ser-vices and products or equipment, as part of an integrated radio communication architecture with other radio communica-tion networks. The contract is worth up to €120,000 (£92,700) over eight months.Web id: 1188784Email: procurement@era.europa.euDeadline: 9 March 2016 [138]

Respiratory fellowshipThe European Respiratory Society invites applications for the following fellowships:

•European Molecular Biology Organi-sation short-term fellowship. Web id: 1188804

•international short-term fellowship.

Web id: 1188802•GlaxoSmithKline pulmonary arterial

hypertension short-term fellowship.Web id: 1188805Email: fellowships@ersnet.orgDeadline: 1 April 2016 [139]

EU psychological risksThe European Agency for Safety and Health at Work invites tenders for an evaluation of the management of psycho-logical risks in European workplaces. The tenderer will undertake further analysis of the data on management of psychologi-cal risks that were gathered through the Esener-2 survey. The contract is worth €80,000 (£61,700) over 18 months. Web id: 1188883Email: procurement-pru@osha.europa.euDeadline: 11 April 2016 [142]

EU India-UK collaboration ERA-Net INNO INDIGO invites proposals for its India-UK collaborative industrial research and development programme – joint call. This encourages participants to build sustainable research partnerships and increase bilateral R&D collaboration with the goal of generating new intel-lectual property and developing technol-ogy prototypes or processes leading to economic growth and societal benefit.Web id: 1188908Email: office@indigoprojects.euDeadline: 20 April 2016 [142.1]

Metals research awardThe Society of Environmental Toxicol-ogy and Chemistry and the International Copper Association invite applications for the Chris Lee award. This recognises a graduate researcher conducting work on the fate and effects of metals in the environment. The award is worth up to US$5,000 (£3,500).Web id: 1188867Email: laura.swanson@setac.orgDeadline: 6 May 2016 [143]

e u r o p e o t h e r

Renewed opportunities from European funders, excluding funders based in the UK.

Science policy lecturesThe European Molecular Biology Organi-sation invites applications for its science policy lectures funding. This supports non-scientific talks addressing the policy implications of science and technology during scientific events. Grants are worth up to €2,000 (£1,500) each.Web id: 1181696Contact: Michele GarfinkelEmail: policy@embo.orgNo deadline [145]

Microbiology grantsThe European Society of Clinical Micro-biology and Infectious Diseases invites applications for its observerships. These encourage international training and col-laboration by enabling members to visit ESCMID collaborative centres of infectious diseases or clinical microbiology in other countries. Funding covers travel costs and subsistence of up to €1,700 (£1,300).Web id: 258342No deadline [146]

Historical humanities The Gerda Henkel Foundation invites proposals for its small research project grants. These support projects in the historical humanities, particularly within the fields of archaeology, art history, historical Islamic studies, history, his-tory of law, history of science, prehistory and early history. Grants are worth up to €15,000 (£11,600) each.Web id: 1181526Email: info@gerda-henkel-stiftung.deNo deadline [147]

EU neutron and muon accessThe Integrated Infrastructure Initiative for Neutron Scattering and Muon Spec-troscopy invites proposals for its trans-national access call. This provides access to major national neutron and muon sources in Europe. Facilities are available in Germany, Hungary, UK, France, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Switzer-land. Funding provides free access, as well as support for travel and subsistence expenses for one young scientist.Web id: 1173494Email: info@nmi3.euNo deadline [149]

EU ocean research drillingERA-Net ECORD, the European Consor-tium for Ocean Research Drilling, invites applications for its summer school schol-arships. These enable young scientists to attend one of the 2016 ECORD summer schools in Urbino, Italy, Bremen, Ger-many or Leicester, UK. Scholarships are worth approximately €1,000 (£770) each.Web id: 1172747Email: essac.office@erdw.ethz.chDeadline: 15 March 2016 [150]

Social psychology meetingsThe European Association of Social Psychology invites applications from members for its meetings grants. These support the organisation of meetings attractive to EASP members. Grants are worth up to €6,000 (£4,600) per meeting.Web id: 250973Email: sibylle@easp.euDeadline: 15 March 2016 [151]

Youth development prizeThe Jacobs Foundation invites nomina-tions for the Klaus J Jacobs research prize. This rewards scientific contributions from all disciplines aimed at the improvement of young people's development and per-spectives worldwide. The award is worth CHF1 million (£699,300). Web id: 1166354Contact: Gelgia FetzEmail: gelgia.fetz@jacobsfoundation.orgDeadline: 15 March 2016 [152]

Immunology grantsThe European Federation of Immunologi-cal Societies invites applications for its travel grants. These enable young post-doctoral investigators and PhD students to attend the International Congress of Immunology, to be held from 21 to 26 August 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. Grants are worth €1,500 (£1,200) each.Web id: 1172627Contact: Thomas WileyEmail: office@efis.orgDeadline: 18 March 2016 [153]

EU ocean energy OCEANERA-NET invites proposals for its joint call. This supports collaborative R&D projects on wave energy, tidal energy, tidal and ocean currents, salinity gradient and ocean thermal energy conversion. The total budget is €6.4 million (£4.9m).Web id: 1182230Email: karen.fraser@scotent.co.ukDeadline: 30 March 2016 [154]

Social psychology awardsThe European Association of Social Psy-chology invites applications for the fol-lowing opportunities:

•research knowledge transfer scheme, with grants worth up to €3,500 (£2,700) each. Web id: 250965•seedcorn research grants, worth up to

€2,000 each. Web id: 250960•travel grants, worth up to €1,000

each. Web id: 210704Email: sibylle@easp.euDeadline: 31 March 2016 [155]

translation studies The European Society for Translation Studies invites applications for its book purchase grant. This enables an aca-demic institution to purchase translation studies publications. The grant is worth approximately €1,000 (£770).Web id: 1165753Contact: Ágnes SomlóEmail: somlo.agnes@btk.ppke.huDeadline: 31 March 2016 [158]

European integration grantsThe European University Institute invites applications for the Sørensen grants. These encourage research on the history of European integration using primary sourc-es held at EU historical archives. Grants are worth up to €1,280 (£990) each. Web id: 1177578Email: laura.burgassi@eui.euDeadline: 31 March 2016 [159]

Sedimentology phD grantsThe International Association of Sedimen-tologists invites applications for its post-graduate grant scheme. This supports PhD students in their fieldwork, data acquisi-tion and analysis, visits to other institutes to use specialised facilities, or participa-tion in field excursions directly related to their PhD research subject. Grants are worth about €1,000 (£770) each.Web id: 1168721Deadline: 31 March 2016 [160]

Respiratory fellowshipThe European Respiratory Society invites applications for its standard short-term fellowship. This enables young scientists and clinicians in the early stages of their research career in respiratory medicine to visit a host unit in a European country other than the candidate's own, with the aim of learning a research technique not available in their home unit. Fellowships are tenable for up to three months and provide a stipend, child allowance and travel grant. Web id: 212908Email: fellowships@ersnet.orgDeadline: 1 April 2016 [161]

EU anti-counterfeitingThe European Anti-Fraud Office invites proposals for the Pericles 2020 pro-gramme. This aims to prevent and com-

for their study on understanding intra-regional labour migration in the East Africa Community. This aims to strength-en the evidence base on intra-regional labour migration to understand what opportunities and challenges this pre-sents for both the countries of origin and destination countries. The total budget is worth up to £350,000 over 20 months.Web id: 1188825Email: ea.researchfund@ke.pwc.comDeadline: 11 March 2016 [180]

Fellowship in JapanThe Australian Federation of Graduate Women, on behalf of the Japanese Associ-ation of University Women, invites appli-cations for its international fellowships. These enable master's, pre-doctoral or dissertation level students and postdoc-toral researchers of younger age to pursue ongoing studies or research in Japan. Fellowships are worth up to JPY1 million (£6,200) each.Web id: 1188751Email: afgw.fellowships.officer@ gmail.comDeadline: 31 March 2016 [181]

German-Canadian studiesThe University of Winnipeg invites appli-cations for the German-Canadian studies research grant. This supports the best project proposal on any aspect of German-Canadian studies. The grant is worth CA$2,500 (£1,300) and is non-renewable.Web id: 1180720Deadline: 15 April 2016 [182]

Research fellowshipThe University of Melbourne, in collabo-ration with the State Library of Victoria, invites applications for the Redmond Barry fellowship. This enables scholars and writers to pursue research and works of literature that utilise the collections of the State Library of Victoria and the University of Melbourne. The fellowship is worth up to AU$20,000 (£9,900).Web id: 211342Contact: Gail SchmidtEmail: fellows@slv.vic.gov.auDeadline: 17 April 2016 [183]

Agriculture fellowshipsThe Government of Western Australia's Office of Science, under the Science and Agribusiness Connect initiative, invites applications for the Premier's agricul-ture and food fellowships. These enable researchers to lead cutting edge R&D using their data science and analytic capabilities to capture the opportunities offered by big data. Fellowships are worth up to AU$1 million (£497,100) each over four years. The total budget is AU$1.5m.Web id: 1188873Email: johanna.dowsett@dpc.wa.gov.auDeadline: 29 April 2016 [184]

travel to Australia The Australian Academy of Science invites nominations for the Selby fellowship. This enables distinguished scientists to visit Australia for public lecture or seminar tours, and to visit scientific centres. The fellowship is worth up to AU$15,000 (£7,500) and covers economy airfares and living expenses assistance.Web id: 203772Email: awards@science.org.auDeadline: 15 June 2016 [185]

Biomechanics awardThe European Society of Biomechanics invites applications for its mobility award for young researchers. This supports col-laborative research in a foreign country as part of a PhD or early postdoctoral research. Awards are worth up to €4,000 (£3,100) each.Web id: 1178897Email: hanna.isaksson@solid.lth.seDeadline: 31 May 2016 [171]

Biomedical phD awardsThe Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds invites applications for its PhD fellowships. These enable junior scientists to pursue a PhD project in basic biomedical science at a leading laboratory in Europe. Fellow-ships are tenable for up to three years and provide a monthly stipend of €1,550 (£1,200).Web id: 254062Email: secretariat@bifonds.deDeadline: 1 June 2016 [172]

translation studies prizeThe European Society for Translation Studies invites applications for its trans-lation prize. This recognises a project in translation studies, including research on interpreting and localisation. The prize is worth €2,000 (£1,500). Web id: 1171455Email: isabelle.robert@uantwerpen.beDeadline: 1 June 2016 [173]

Historical humanities awardsThe Gerda Henkel Foundation invites proposals for the following calls:

•research project grants.Web id: 1166541

•research scholarships, worth up to €64,800 (£50,000) over 24 months. Web id: 1166545Email: info@gerda-henkel-stiftung.deDeadline: 15 June 2016 [174]

Reproductive healthThe European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health invites applica-tions for the following grants:

•course grants. A total budget of €35,000 (£27,000) is available for pro-jects and courses. Web id: 1170016•project grants, worth up to €10,000

each. Web id: 1170015Email: info@escrh.euDeadline: 30 June 2016 [177]

Regional anaesthesiaThe European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy invites applications for its educational grant. This supports participation in a teach-ing programme at an approved training institution in regional anaesthesia and pain medicine in Europe. Grants are worth up to €4,000 (£3,100) each.Web id: 1170467Email: office@esraeurope.orgDeadline: 30 June 2016 [179]

r e s t o f w o r l dOpportunities from funders outside of the UK, Europe and the US.

Labour migrationThe East Africa Research Fund and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency invite applications

bat counterfeiting and related fraud, and more specifically to protect euro banknotes and coins, by supporting and supplementing the measures undertaken by the member states, assist the devel-opment of regular cooperation and by an exchange of best practice. The total budget is €350,000 (£270,400).Web id: 1163180Contact: Kristine VlagsmaEmail: ecfin-pericles@ec.europa.euDeadline: 15 April 2016 [162]

Nuclear medicine awardsThe European Association of Nuclear Medicine invites applications for the fol-lowing awards:

•the Eckert and Ziegler abstract awards, worth €1,000 (£770) each.Web id: 197325

•the Marie Curie award, worth €5,000.Web id: 197320Email: office@eanm.orgDeadline: 25 April 2016 [163]

postdoctoral research grantsThe Estonian Research Council, through the Mobilitas Pluss programme, invites applica-tions for its postdoctoral researcher grants. These enable researchers who earned their doctoral degree abroad to undertake postdoctoral research in Estonia. Grants are provided for one or two years, and are worth up to €34,650 (£26,800) per year for experimental projects.Web id: 191125Email: oskar.otsus@etag.eeDeadline: 29 April 2016 [165]

Neurochemistry grantThe International Society for Neurochem-istry's Committee for Aid and Education in Neurochemistry invites applicants for its career interruption re-entry grant. This supports the return to an active research career in the field of neurochemistry fol-lowing significant career interruptions as a result of childbirth, career responsibili-ties or major illness. The grant is generally worth up to US$10,000 (£7,000).Web id: 1188791Contact: Caroline Rae Email: c.rae@unsw.edu.auDeadline: 30 April 2016 [166]

pegasus fellowshipsThe Fund for Scientific Research - Flan-ders (FWO), supported by the COFUND programme within the Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions of Horizon 2020, invites applications for the Pegasus Marie Skodowska-Curie fellowships. These encourage the international mobility of researchers by attracting postdoctoral researchers to the Flemish community, as well as by offering postdoctoral research-ers in the Flemish community the oppor-tunity to carry out part of their research abroad. Fellowships cover a PhD salary, monthly allowance and travel expenses.Web id: 1170499Deadline: 1 May 2016 [168]

Market research impactThe European Society for Opinion and Market Research invites applications for its research effectiveness award. This rewards clients of research, in any mar-ket and in any field, who can prove the payback of their research investment. The award is worth €4,000 (£3,100).Web id: 1183090Deadline: 27 May 2016 [170]

Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016 funding opportunities 17

u s a n i h

Opportunities from the National Institutes of Health. Recurring NIH calls include the next closing date only.

Assessing human placental development and function using existing data (R01)NIH ref: RFA- HD-17-004Web id: 1188817Deadline: 6 April 2016 [186]

Assessing human placental development and function using existing data (R21)NIH ref: RFA- HD-17-005Web id: 1188818Deadline: 6 April 2016 [187]

Mechanistic basis of diffuse white matter disease in vascular contributions to cog-nitive impairment and dementia NIH ref: RFA-NS-16-021Web id: 1188739Deadline: 19 April 2016 [188]

Targets of low dose alcohol in the brain (R01)NIH ref: RFA-AA-16-008Web id: 1188738Deadline: 21 April 2016 [189]

Targets of low dose alcohol in the brain (R21)NIH ref: RFA-AA-16-009Web id: 1188741Deadline: 21 April 2016 [190]

International research ethics educa-tion and curriculum development award (R25)NIH ref: PAR-16-081Web id: 1188457Deadline: 18 May 2016 [191]

Neural mechanisms of multidimensional emotional and social representation (R01) NIH ref: RFA-MH-17-300Web id: 1188637Deadline: 3 June 2016 [192]

Neural mechanisms of multidimensional emotional and social representation (R21) NIH ref: RFA-MH-17-305Web id: 1188635Deadline: 3 June 2016 [193]

Oocyte mitochondrial function in rela-tion to fertility, ageing and mitochon-drial diseases (R01)NIH ref: PA-16-088Web id: 1188601Deadline: 5 June 2016 [194]

Accelerating research on intervertebral disc (R01) NIH ref: PA-16-097Web id: 1188859Deadline: 5 June 2016 [195]

Education and health (R01)NIH ref: PAR-16-080Web id: 1188411Deadline: 5 June 2016 [196]

Improvement of animal models for stem-cell-based regenerative medicine (R01)NIH ref: PAR-16-093Web id: 1171854Deadline: 5 June 2016 [197]

Oocyte mitochondrial function in rela-tion to fertility, ageing and mitochon-drial diseases (R21)NIH ref: PA-16-087Web id: 1188598Deadline: 16 June 2016 [198]

18 funding news Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

NERC unveils potential areas for strategic researchThe Natural Environment Research Council has identified three areas where it may spend its next tranche of strategic funding, which could be up to £20 million over six years. These are: fundamental ecological research for sustainable resource exploitation in the deep ocean; the role of the Southern Ocean in the Earth system; and processes associated with UK unconventional hydrocarbon extraction. However, the council stressed that it does not expect to be able to fund all of the strategic programme areas.

Scotland pledges £70m for circular economyThe Scottish government has announced plans to boost the nation’s circular economy and create a centre of excellence for manufacturing, to help Scotland’s industries remain sustainable and competitive. The government announced £70 million in funding to implement the plan, £30m of which will come from the European Regional Development Fund.

£82m Norwich food research hub namedConstruction of the centre for food and health research at Norwich Research Park, which has been named the Quadram Institute, is due to begin this month. The facility, which brings together researchers from the Institute of Food Research, the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is expected to open in 2018.

MRC awards £23m to innovative researchThe Medical Research Council has named the winners of three initiatives for accelerating the development of innovative medical research at UK universities. The largest funding is the Confidence in Concept scheme, which aims to help move basic research into the clinic and has £11.6 million to be shared between 21 UK universities.

Analytical science ‘needs its own strategy’The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has been told to raise the profile of analytical science in the UK by improving collaborations with other funders and developing a strategy for the field. The recommendations, published on 16 February, also say the council should fund a number of chairs of analytical scientists.

Review panel for Valuing Nature call revealedThe names of the 11-strong review panel for the cross-council Valuing Nature programme’s health and wellbeing call have been announced. The group, which will meet on 26 February, will be led by Judith Smith, dean of the University of Salford’s school of environment and life sciences.

British Academy funds first anti-corruption projectsThe first eight projects to be funded as part of the British Academy’s £3.6-million global anti-corruption research scheme have been announced. Run with the Department for International Development, they aim to explore policies and interventions in countries that have reduced corruption.

p o l i c y d i a r y

National Multiple Sclerosis Society out-side meeting support programmeWeb id: 1169086No deadline [209]

Department of State Request for PRM humanitarian research concept notesWeb id: 1188416Deadline: 11 March 2016 [210]

Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epi-demiologic Research annual student paper awardWeb id: 153693Deadline: 11 March 2016 [211]

American Philosophical Association Joseph B Gittler awardWeb id: 212044Deadline: 15 March 2016 [212]

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation new interventions for global healthWeb id: 1182649Deadline: 15 March 2016 [213]

Electrochemical Society battery division research awardWeb id: 147124Deadline: 15 March 2016 [214]

Society for Pediatric Radiology Research and Education Foundation seed grantsWeb id: 208017Deadline: 15 March 2016 [215]

American Statistical Association Julius Shiskin award for economic statisticsWeb id: 187838Deadline: 21 March 2016 [216]

Organization for Autism Research applied research grantsWeb id: 1173006Deadline: 28 March 2016 [217]

Campbell Collaboration systematic review grantsWeb id: 1188663Deadline: 29 March 2016 [218]

Department of Defense bone marrow failure – idea development award Web id: 1188319Deadline: 29 March 2016 [219]

Association for Computing Machinery/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society Eckert-Mauchly awardWeb id: 251798Deadline: 30 March 2016 [220]

American Musicological Society Janet Levy fundWeb id: 1172754Deadline: 1 April 2016 [221]

Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes/Chiang Ching-kuo Foun-dation for International Scholarly Exchange summer institutes in Chinese studies and global humanitiesWeb id: 1184242Deadline: 1 April 2016 [222]

Sigma Theta Tau International/Associa-tion of Nurses in Aids Care nursing grantWeb id: 211374Deadline: 1 April 2016 [223]

Sigma Theta Tau International/Associa-tion of Perioperative Registered Nurses perioperative nursing grantWeb id: 211370Deadline: 1 April 2016 [224]

u s a o t h e r

US funding opportunities available to UK researchers.

March 1 PraxisUnico: Working Effectively

With Universities, London. http://rsrch.co/1owf35u

10 WHEF: The Changing Shape of Higher EducationAdmissions and Next Steps for Widening Participation Policy, London http://rsrch.co/1BlQVaO

15 HEPI: Challenger Institutions – Useful Competition or Unhelp-ful Disruption? London. http://rsrch.co/1SE8okJ

• AMRC: Public Affairs Working Group, London. http://rsrch.co/1Qpyp27

• NERC: Engaging with NERC, Lon-don. http://rsrch.co/1PJZHmz

22 HEPI: Challenger Institutions – Useful Competition or Unhelp-ful Disruption? London. http://rsrch.co/1SE8okJ

• AHRC: Changing the Future Research Landscape?, Norwich. To 23. http://rsrch.co/1Lwumj8

April 7 WHEF: Next Steps for Postgrad-

uate Research: Funding, Stu-dent Experience and Transition to Post-Doctoral Roles, London. http://rsrch.co/1QZN0FO

12 WHEF: Improving Graduate Employability, London. http://rsrch.co/1QDrEia

14 WHEF: The Future of STEM Subjects in HE, London. http://rsrch.co/1HhJXXr

17 Royal Society: Future Directions in STEMM for People with Dis-abilities, London. http://rsrch.co/1TpILnC

18 WHEF: Implementing the Teach-ing Excellence Framework, Lon-don. http://rsrch.co/1ZRYgH2

21 CSaP: Behaviour and Health Research Unit Annual Lecture 2016, Cambridge. http://rsrch.co/1ParSMv

22 AHRC: The Politics of Academic Publishing 1950-2016, London. http://rsrch.co/1Oj41ov

27 Universities UK: Universities, Communities and Business: Collaborating to Drive Growth and Power Innovation, London. http://rsrch.co/1S9mUjU

• AHRC: Leading for Impact, London. To 28. http://rsrch.co/1QNg2EC

28 WHEF: The Future of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in HE, Lon-don. http://rsrch.co/1ZaB6cM

• Vitae, Leadership in Researcher Development, Glasgow. http://rsrch.co/1PVrcYe

May 4 Universities UK: Innovation

and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, London. http://rsrch.co/1J7lQEC

europe 19Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

Huawei joins EIT in sustained push for European R&D expansionThe Chinese telecommunications and services company Huawei has joined the digital branch of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, making it the first Asian member of the 149 organisations involved.

Huawei launched its European Research Institute in Leuven, Belgium, in May 2015, to oversee the company’s activities in Europe. On 4 February, the institute became an affiliate partner of the Knowledge and Innovation Community EIT Digital, in a move intended to expand its foothold in European R&D.

“We want to connect to the whole network of ICT companies and academics here in Europe,” says vice-president of Huawei’s European institute, Walter Weigel. The EIT’s focus on linking academia and business makes it an ideal partner for Huawei, Weigel said. “We’re not after a Nobel prize—we want to create products and services.”

The institute oversees 1,400 researchers working across 18 sites on topics such as big data, computer stor-age, the Internet of Things and 5G telecommunications, including at the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation

Centre and the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute, both in the UK. It is also a member of the European 5G Public-Private Partnership.

Jost Wübbeke, head of economy and innovation at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, said that the com-pany is one of a growing number of Chinese companies to set up R&D facilities in Europe. Huawei’s biggest domes-tic rival, ZTE, has founded several centres in Europe, and companies from other industries such as machinery man-ufacturing are intensifying their R&D in Europe.

With about 1.43 trillion yuan (£150 billion) dedicated to R&D a year—2.1 per cent of GDP—China now outper-forms the EU in R&D intensity. But China is increasing investment in Europe to increase the opportunities for its companies to access European academics and policymak-ers, said Wei Shen, director of the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University. Wübbeke said that it also helped companies to adapt technologies to the European market.

by Amanda Stringfellow asnews@ResearchResearch.com

e u r o p e

Smits admits Horizon 2020 evaluations need workRobert-Jan Smits, director-gen-eral of research at the European

Commission, has said that Horizon 2020 faces “enor-mous challenges” in controlling the quality of the evaluators who assess applications. Speaking in Brussels on 16 February, Smits said that the process was robust but it was a problem that anyone could register as an expert. However, any change should not involve a return to the former system of hand-picking experts, Smits said, as this would undermine the improved openness of Horizon 2020.

Ombudsman slams EU chemical controlsThe European Ombudsman has launched an own-initiative inquiry into delays in the European Union’s regulation of chemicals. On 17 February, Emily O’Reilly announced that she would look into the handling of tests of 216 chemi-cals over concern about damage to human health and the environment. Decisions on the chemicals have been pend-ing since 2011, which O’Reilly said was not satisfactory.

Arctic plan calls for global outlookA report from the third International Conference on Arctic Research Planning has said that formal programmes should be established to provide longer-term opportunities in Arctic research for early-career researchers and indigenous people. Researchers from the humanities, as well as those from countries outside the region, should be encouraged to participate more in Arctic research, the report said.

EU presidency targets antimicrobial resistance The Dutch government is using its European Union presi-dency to persuade health and agriculture ministers to work more closely together to tackle antimicrobial resistance. A conference of ministers on 9 and 10 February organ-ised by the Dutch presidency was followed by a European Food Safety Authority announcement that antimicrobial resistance is on the rise and a warning that multiple-drug-resistant Salmonella is spreading in Europe.

Medicines agency sets up Zika task force The European Medicines Agency has established a task force for responding to the Zika epidemic. Experts in infec-tious diseases will give scientific and regulatory advice on R&D for vaccines and treatments. The agency is encour-aging drug developers to get in touch if they have any promising relevant projects. The task force was established after the World Health Organization declared the Zika out-break a public health emergency of international concern.

U-Multirank deemed far from perfectThe university ranking system U-Multirank must improve if it is to attract more participants, the 38-member Coimbra group of European universities has said. The system, which received seed funding from the European Union, is based on unverifiable data provided by the institutions, using imprecise definitions, Coimbra said in a report. University rectors’ attitudes to league tables were described as con-fused, with rectors wary of simplistic ranking systems and yet anxious to improve their standing with them.

e u r o p e i n b r i e f

Research Fortnight, 24 February 201620 view

The UK has long been a world-leading research power with a well-rounded, high-quality and highly produc-tive research ecosystem. However, in 2011 perceptions that public investment in research wasn’t being matched by open access to research publications prompted David Willetts, then minister for universities and science, to commission a review of the policy options around open-access publishing, led by the sociologist Janet Finch.

Following the publication of the Finch review in 2012, the research councils and the funding councils introduced mandates for publicly funded research outputs to be made freely available to the public. There have been many associated developments and in the last two years I have chaired a national group, Universities UK’s Open Access Coordination Group, involving many of the leading play-ers. Our aim is to ensure that the UK continues to make progress enhancing open access to the country’s research.

Last year, Willetts’s successor Jo Johnson asked for my advice on whether the UK’s approach to open access needed to change. His interest was timely. Policies from before and after the Finch review have had time to bed in, and our ability to monitor progress has improved.

As my report, published on 11 February, illustrates, the UK has come a long way towards open access since the Finch review, and there is still impressive momen-tum. In 2012, 18 per cent of journal articles authored by UK researchers were open access, against a world average of 19 per cent. By 2014, the UK was ahead of the world average, at 27 per cent compared with 23 per cent.

My report is in this spirit: the UK is delivering on open access and is providing clear leadership in Europe and beyond. Johnson’s response to the report shows that this message has been heard: he has expressed strong confidence in the partnership approach that we have adopted and in our collective ability to deliver. He has also, however, sent some messages of his own.

First—and this is important—we have been set anoth-er target. The aim is for the UK to publish “almost all of

our scientific output” via open access by 2020. This provides a welcome focus but it will take effort to achieve. When considered in light of the Dutch govern-ment’s target to make all Dutch scientific publications open by 2024, Johnson’s goal is perhaps another reminder that the UK remains at the forefront of the global move to open access.

Johnson recognises that there are “sig-nificant financial and policy differences”

among those involved in open access, and that construc-tive dialogue has maintained balance and cohesion. Although this isn’t always popular with advocates for one or other solution, the UK’s research ecosystem is delicate.

The UK is, for example, home to a disproportionate number of leading learned societies—something that helps to underwrite our research prowess. As many of their activities are sustained through publication income, we should beware an open-access regime that would undermine them.

That said, it is clear that the next few years are going to be financially challenging. The ministerial steer is to maintain the Finch review’s preference for open access funded by author payments—this, after all, is both immediate and without restrictions on re-use. In straitened times, however, there is recognition that institutional and subject-based repositories, as well as the walk-in service at public libraries supported by commercial publishers, are also important gateways to publicly funded research.

One unresolved issue from the Finch review was the concern that the UK would end up bearing a dispropor-tionate share of the costs of an open-access world. In the coming years we will need to make sure that initiatives to offset article processing charges against subscriptions, such as those pioneered by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics, defray some of these costs.

The minister also encourages greater flexibility, harmony and simplicity when it comes to funder poli-cies, implicitly encouraging the research and funding councils to work together. Similarly, the complexity and diversity of publisher policies is an issue; a guide to good practice to clarify service-level expectations between publishers and researchers would be a welcome start.

Open access will remain on the government’s radar. Our group will, with partners, continue to monitor developments and we will report to the minister again in 2017. By the summer, the UK Open Research Forum will also produce an action plan for developing a national infrastructure roadmap for open research data. This is a busy agenda to fulfil in a potentially challenging time-frame, but I am confident that through collaboration and the dedicated work of many, the UK will continue to lead the world in providing open access to research.More to say? Email comment@ResearchResearch.com

‘The UK has come a long way and there is still impressive momentum.’

Adam Tickell is provost and vice-principal of the University of Birmingham and chairman of the Universities UK Open Access Coordination Group.

Where next for open access and how to keep up the good work

v i e w f r o m t h e t o p a d a m t i c k e l l

view 21

The World Economic Forum ranks the UK fourth in the world for collaboration between business and univer-sities. We also rank second in the Global Innovation Index. Even so, as the Treasury’s productivity plan released last July remarked, there is still further to go in commercialising discoveries made in research.

In particular, our small and medium-sized businesses have a poor record of introducing product or process innovations. This matters, not only because 99 per cent of UK businesses are small, but also because it is among these firms that we will find the scale-up companies—those that grow their employees or turnover by about 20 per cent a year—that the entrepreneur Sherry Coutu has argued are crucial to economic growth.

This view is supported by the innovation funder Nesta’s 2009 report The Vital 6 Per Cent, which quoted research showing that the top 6 per cent of the fastest growing businesses accounted for half of the jobs created by exist-ing businesses between 2002 and 2008.

What to do? Ann Dowling’s review of university-busi-ness collaboration suggested that one problem was the compexity of UK support for research and innovation. This is a particular issue for small firms, which may lack the resources to track down the most appropriate scheme. The Dowling review was followed in November 2015 by Paul Nurse’s review, which suggested that integrating Innovate UK with the research councils under the proposed umbrel-la body Research UK would make things simpler.

Ministers, including business secretary Sajid Javid and chief secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands, have indicat-ed that they think Nurse’s idea has merit. Nevertheless, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has put the proposal out for consultation and said that if we have anything to say, we should say it now.

So, here goes: the worry is that the innovation prob-lem is being seen through a research lens. It is no accident that the recommendation to integrate Innovate UK into Research UK appeared in a review of the research councils. This risks undervaluing the distinct innovation activity that is not just about commercialising research.

Of course, translating research is important. The research councils, universities and other research insti-tutions already put a lot of effort into technology transfer, but clearly need to do more to reach out to small business-es. Equally, the creation of hi-tech, high-value spinout companies makes a huge contribution to UK growth.

But this is not the only form of innovation support that businesses value; nor is it the form that Innovate UK is primarily set up to deliver. At the moment only about 8 per cent of Innovate UK’s funding goes directly to university spinout companies and only 15 per cent supports the development of activity from the research base. The rest goes to business.

Innovate UK is a business-facing organisation. It works with businesses to understand their needs and help them find support. Some of these needs are not about research at all. In fact, none of Coutu’s recom-mendations for supporting scale-up companies refer to research. She focuses on support for identifying and developing talent.

Lack of leadership and management skills has also been identified as a barrier to innovation by small busi-nesses. It is therefore essential that, as overall budgets fall, a growing share of the remaining government sup-port goes to knowledge-exchange activity and to giving people the skills to innovate and be entrepreneurial.

This might be through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, which have survived multiple overhauls of the innovation system because they can be used flex-ibly. Or it might be through staff exchange programmes between universities and businesses.

Some might argue that Innovate UK could do all this from within Research UK. They are probably right, if—and it’s a big if—certain protections are put in place. Innovate UK has a different client base from the research councils; the businesses that come to Innovate UK might not automatically see Research UK as the go-to place for business consultancy and innovation support.

It is therefore important that Innovate UK keeps a dis-tinct brand—possibly under the umbrella of Research and Innovation UK, rather than Research UK. Back-office functions should only be merged with Research UK if this would not affect the delivery of Innovate UK’s service to business.

Similarly, the governance of Research UK must not allow the research councils—great-er in number and richer in resources—to overpower Innovate UK. Research must not have seven votes to innovation’s one, and Innovate UK must not be reduced to a technology-transfer office for the research councils. There are many roads to innova-tion—let’s keep them all open.Something to add? Emai l comment@ResearchResearch.com

Don’t make Innovate UK a poor relation of the research councils

Maddalaine Ansell is chief executive of the University Alliance of business-focused universities.

‘Some of businesses’

needs are not about

research at all.’

m a d d a l a i n e a n s e l l v i e w f r o m t h e t o p

Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

22 view Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

For a physicist or a biologist, an economist or a histo-rian, identity is marked by belonging to a discipline. We are, to a considerable extent, what our peers think we are. Often this disciplinary being is reinforced by membership of a learned society or, for the very grand, fellowship of a national academy.

Some researchers extract an additional sense of iden-tity from where they work, in a particular laboratory or department. Some—probably a minority—identify with the university that employs them, whether one of the Russell Group elite or a thrusting aspirant.

Many of us are lucky enough to have strong non-voca-tional reference points, through partner, family, place, hobby or team. But how far down the list must we go to find scientists and scholars identifying themselves with the research community? This thing issues no member-ship cards, convenes no meetings, sends out no bulletins and maintains no website.

Yet some people—especially Paul Nurse—believe pro-foundly that it exists and must now play a pivotal role in research governance. The Nurse review mentioned this fabulous beast some 29 times and prescribed in considerable detail its future role in making his rec-ommendations work. For example, under Nurse’s plan the research community will “interact” more with the research councils as they come together under the pro-posed umbrella body of Research UK. It will discuss with this body the “strategy” for the UK’s research endeavour. Its “wisdom” will be harnessed.

There’s more. The research community has a “duty of care” towards the research councils, and they to the community. It is to be encouraged to contribute more to the councils’ work. It will have a new “interface”, its “strategic thinking” will be strengthened and through “greater engagement“ with senior policymakers it will demonstrate “in-depth knowledge and understanding of

the research landscape in government”.Nurse is betting a lot on the research

community’s self-awareness and capacity for activism. But does it even exist?

Working in his own sphere of cell biolo-gy, Nurse would be careful about ascribing causes. He would make observations and attempt measurements. Away from the bench, different rules seem to apply.

If Nurse had asked, social scientists would have told him that community is a difficult concept—one they have struggled with since at least the 19th century, when

the sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies sought to distinguish it from society.

Defining a community, let alone ascribing powers of agency to it, is treacherous. But the word has a warm, cosy glow. It suggests people liking and doing things for one another, recognising shared values and interests.

The research community isn’t one, and not just because the sciences are internally divided—let alone the divides between the natural sciences and the social sciences and humanities. Community implies voice and a means of coming together to talk and agree.

Nurse says that he would like the research councils and, eventually, Research UK to reach out to the community. But it has no presence, outwith the obvious suspects of the Royal Society, British Academy, the other national acad-emies and learned societies—and even these tend to be sectional or elitist. As for higher education, many profes-sors say the “university community” is oxymoronic.

Nurse hints that the research councils themselves represent community interest, just as government departments act as the custodians of sectional interests such as farming or business. But this is a suggestion fraught with ambiguities. The Cabinet Office is clamping down on the lobbying of MPs and ministers by any body in receipt of public money. What will this do to Nurse’s call for engagement with policymakers and the research councils’ efforts to make a case for their communities?

Each research council deals with only part of the research in its discipline—this doesn’t just take place in universities. Even in universities, researchers are sometimes dismissive of ‘their’ research council, pointing to philanthropic and business support and, of course, to funding directly from the higher education funding councils.

Nurse talks of engagement, but relations between the research councils and practising researchers are often dis-tant. In the social sciences, as elsewhere, only a minority commit to labyrinthine research council procedures and panels. Some council chiefs are peripatetic, often out and about talking to those on the front line; others occasion-ally visit a vice-chancellor and leave it at that.

Researchers are, in principle, a formidable body, a cornerstone of civilisation and highly important in eco-nomic advance. But as it stands they are a body without much corporeal existence and, despite Nurse’s belief, they are far from being a community.More to say? Email comment@ResearchResearch.com

‘Defining a community, let alone ascribing powers of agency to it, is treacherous.’

David Walker is head of policy at the Academy of Social Sciences. He writes in a personal capacity.

Nurse review recommends harnessing a mythical beast

v i e w f r o m t h e t o p d a v i d w a l k e r

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When you face the music, sometimes you can dance a little

m a r i e b r e e n - s m y t h v i e w f r o m t h e t o p

Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

In June 2015, I wrote for Research Fortnight about the restructuring of the University of Surrey’s politics department [RF 10/6/15, p23]. Despite a media cam-paign by our doughty students, some, including myself, were made redundant. All departures were voluntary in the same manner that one voluntarily undergoes sur-gery to remove a diseased limb.

Before I left, I found alternative institutions for my doctoral students who would be left without supervi-sion; I don’t know whether they took these up. Of the original academic staff, six remain; three doctoral stu-dents who have since graduated now work as teaching fellows, and there is an additional teaching fellow.

Effectively, then, four professors have been replaced by four teaching fellows. At the time of writing, the department’s website still lists me as academic director of one research centre, along with a fellow disappeared professor as the director of another.

I had relocated to work in Surrey, so after the redun-dancy, I sold my home. What I didn’t say in my original piece was that redundancy coincided with the death of my mother. One loss seemed to follow another, my health suffered and I was not able to work for a period.

Last June, I wrote that my soul shrivelled at the prospect of working for another UK higher education institution with the same managerialist business focus. Another colleague who felt the same way has left aca-demic life altogether.

at that time, I was grieving—for the loss of great colleagues and students, for my lovely home and the friends I had made, and of course for my mother and all that entailed. It felt like the end of my life as a scholar, even though I had writing commissions and speaking engagements were still coming in. I was too busy clear-ing and selling houses to look for jobs, even if I had had the heart to do so.

So when, unsolicited, a university in my old stomping ground of Massachusetts emailed to ask if I was free to come for a year to teach, it seemed like a small miracle.

Here, I have rediscovered what I came into higher education to do. I teach an international cohort of grad-uate students, all of whom want to change the world. I work with respectful colleagues who are all actively

involved in both scholarship and practice in the glob-al south. They have heard of the Research Excellence Framework, and are worried that something similar might be introduced here in the United States. They do worry about rankings, but they are much busier with teaching and research.

I have no management responsibilities beyond admin-istering my courses, no REF dry runs, no monitoring, no meetings with colleagues about their ‘performance’, no staff weeping in my room because they have been put on capability or performance management.

Instead, I am writing a textbook and trialling it in one of my classes, and I have two research assistants. I am supporting Muslim students in considering responses to Islamophobia, and I am fulfilling speaking engagements in other parts of the country.

After a month or so, the head of department asked if I would stay another year. I think I will.

i am lucky that my work is international in nature and that moving around the world has been a feature of my career. The US is my second home—I have links stretch-ing back decades and as many friends and family here as in the UK. I am also fortunate that I am not striv-ing to make my name, that my ambitions are limited to improving my work and writing and passing on what I have learned.

For younger folk with none of these advantages, it is much more challenging. Several younger colleagues, one a professor, have left academia altogether; all report the return of health and happiness.

In the past, I too left an intolerable situation at a university. At that point I set up a research institute as a not-for-profit organisation, before being invited back to academic life by a better department. I have learned that universities are not the only place one can be a scholar. Sometimes it is better to go than stay; your security lies in doing the best work that you can, not in keeping a job in an organisation where your work is not respected.

None of this solves the problem of what is happening in higher education in the UK, but at least it saves the health, sanity and sometimes the lives of those damaged by the audit culture. And there can be life after academia in the UK.Something to add? Email comment@ResearchResearch.com

‘Universities are not the

only place to be a scholar; sometimes it

is better to go than stay.’

Marie Breen-Smyth is a professor in the department of conflict resolution, human security and global governance in the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts, US.

24 interesting if true

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Research Fortnight, 24 February 2016

hidden heFce If you were browsing the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s board papers last week (and why not?), you’d be forgiven for thinking that the body seems to be particularly transparent, especially if you peeked at November 2015 and saw the draft Research Excellence Framework consultation documents that were discussed at the meeting. However, we have it on good authority that these papers weren’t published until 11 February, just minutes before the very same docu-ments landed in our inbox, released under an FOI request.

Baking waveS Last week, the news that scientists had found evidence of gravitational waves was broken not by a major news outlet, but by a cake. Just 16 minutes before the official announcement was due to be made, Erin Lee Ryan, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, tweeted a picture of a celebratory cake, decorated with a beautifully iced “Here’s to the first direct detection of gravitational waves!”. Ryan told The Washington Post that it was hard not to share the excit-ing results of your peers. Or news of free food.

leading From the rear The Royal Society recently hosted an event to discuss a set of reports published as part of the Churchill 2015 21st Century Statesmanship Global Leaders Programme, marking the 50th anniversary of the

death of Winston Churchill. It was with some surprise, then, that your correspondent clocked the man near the exit alternating between checking his phone or dozing (waking for the applause). He was none other than the British Bulldog’s grandson, Nicholas Soames.

reSiStant FellowS Sadly these yellow pages don’t have space for all of our interviewees’ anecdotes, but we had to make space for this one. Apparently, when Matthew Taylor started as head of the RSA (see Interview, page 6) he was keen to make an impression and said the society should have members, not fellows—saying that ‘fellows’ could be seen as sexist. Taylor told your correspondent that, on leaving the meeting—and feeling proud of the impression he’d made—he was stopped in the corridor by a colleague, who said: “It’s great to have you here, we welcome your ideas. But do you really think people are going to want the letters MRSA after their name?”

community Breakdown Our sub-editors were gleeful to find in their inbox for this week’s Research Fortnight a detailed articulation of the reason that ‘community’ takes pride of place on our list of banned words (see View, page 22). They are now petitioning for a series of such articles to cover the rest of the list, which includes sector, current and stakeholder.

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