Challenge Investment Fund 2011-12

Call for Applications - Round 2

Deadline: Now closed

Grants from this Fund will engage with the College’s strategic objective to exploit and develop existing synergies and areas of cross-disciplinary expertise within the College and across College boundaries.

This is a pilot programme which may be repeated in future years should funding allow.

The College expects to make an investment of up to £150,000 for this fund in the academic year 2011/12 (although projects can be completed and expenditure incurred in the next academic year). Individual investments are unlikely to be for less than £3,000 or more than £10,000. Seven grants were awarded in the 1st Round with a further four applications recommended for re-submission, without guarantee of funding.

The agenda for grants from the Challenge Investment Fund is deliberately broad, and all types of proposal aimed at developing capacity for inter- and/or multi-disciplinary working will be considered providing they satisfy the criteria of the Fund. Risk-taking and experimentation with disciplinary fields new to a researcher or group of researchers are strongly encouraged. Applications may be made for ‘proof of concept’ projects which may lead on to further programmes, but which are - by their nature - speculative. Although the investment is primarily aimed at supporting the development of individual researchers, collaboration with other disciplines is recommended. Colleagues who wish to collaborate may each apply for funding separately provided they both fit the criteria and the applicants are based within CHSS. Where the collaborator is in another College or outside the University the funding could only directly support the CHSS-based researcher and/or the project as a whole. This limitation should not, however, discourage applications which involve collaborations outside the CHSS, as innovative solutions to support the work proposed may be found.

Applications are welcomed from colleagues at all stages of their career, as the main criteria are innovation and evidence of inter/multi-disciplinary capacity-building.

The awards are not directly intended to boost the REF2014 performance of individuals or Units of Assessment, although they may do so indirectly through a contribution to the research environment or knowledge exchange.

‘Outcomes’ or ‘outputs’ from the projects will be varied, and may include:

• A further external application for funding for inter/multi-disciplinary research or knowledge exchange focused on activities or collaborations which would not have been possible without the investment;
• The creation of a new inter/multi-disciplinary research/knowledge exchange network with a sustainable and innovative programme for new work (such networks could consist of academics only, or of academics and other parties engaged in the production or use of research);
• New research-led inter/multi-disciplinary teaching activities, which might – for example – engage undergraduates or postgraduates themselves in the production of new inter/multi-disciplinary research or knowledge.

How individuals or groups propose to reach such outcomes is a matter for them, and could include:

• Following courses or programmes in other disciplines which it would not be possible to undertake unless time were freed up from other activities
• Learning new techniques for data collection or analysis
• Organising networking events
• Preparing applications or position papers
• Using archives or facilities
• Conducting a pilot study

Accordingly, the investment could be used for the following types of support as well as others not listed:

• Teaching relief (including summer sabbaticals if appropriate)
• Salary support for applicants not on core budget
• Research assistance
• Course fees
• Travel and subsistence
• Networking costs (e.g. meetings)

The investment cannot be used to meet costs normally included in overheads, day to day consumables, or equipment (e.g. laptops, etc.). In all cases, the investment must support new projects, or at least the extension of a project for which only preliminary work has been done. The funding cannot be used as “bridge” funding between contracts, but must focus on new programmes of activity with concrete and sustainable outcomes.

The application process consists of a simple form (see below) to be submitted by email attachment to Jacqueline McMahon at the College Research Office by 29 February 2012, plus an endorsement (see below) sent by email from the Director of Research and Head of School, indicating how the application fits the broader research, research-led teaching or knowledge exchange strategies of the School/subject area (as appropriate). All applicants will therefore need to contact their School research office in order to complete the application process, and in particular in order to complete the budget section of the application form. Please email or call Jacqueline McMahon (details below) if you have any queries about this fund.

Decisions will be made by a small group of members of College Research Committee, led by the Dean of Research and the Head of College. Decisions will take into account all the materials submitted including endorsements from Schools, and the proven fit with School and College Research Strategies.

The main criterion against which applications will be judged is whether the proposal is innovative and is likely to contribute to capacity building for inter/multi-disciplinary working as defined in this document, and understood in its widest sense.

Projects may begin from 1 April 2012, although it is appreciated that significant expenditure may not be incurred until later in the duration of the Project. Work must be completed before 31 December 2012 and a report will be due by 31 March 2013.

Jo Shaw, Dean of Research

Dorothy Miell, Head of College

2 November 2011

Updated 11 January 2012

Application forms