Research Grants

1. What they are, where they come from, how they work… Research Grants

2. Research Grants • Money paid to University to pay for: • Staff • postdocs • Studentships • Support staff – secretaries, computer officers…. • Teaching replacement • Equipment • Travel • Out to conferences and visits • In for visitors and workshops

3. Some Sources of Grants (for Maths & CS) • From richest and most bureaucratic to poorest & least bureaucratic • EU – Frameworks • EPSRC • Leverhulme Trust • Royal Society • Royal Society of Edi. • Nuffield Foundation • LMS • EMS

4. Focus on EPSRCBut you shouldn’t forget the others • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council -- www.epsrc.ac.uk • Fellowships • Post-doctoral, advanced, senior, knowledge transfer • Smaller grants: • Overseas travel grants • Visiting Fellowships • Workshops • Networks • Responsive mode – normal grants • First Grant • Assorted special schemes – eg Critical Mass

5. Fellowships • Fellowships are special • You apply to support yourself • Your chosen University agrees to employ you if you get it – in practice usually easy to move • In practice you can apply for and get a lectureship while on a PDRF or ARF, then start it with years of unpaid leave • Only one application round per year, in autumn • For PDRF (theory only) < 3 years from formal PhD decision to closing date, ARF 3-10 years • Don’t miss the boat!

6. Standard Research Grants • Very flexible in principle • 1 wk – 6 yrs • £500-£6m • Mainly 2-3 years, £150K--£300K in CS, a bit less in maths • Investigators must have a position longer than the grant • Except that existing RAs can be co-investigators applying for their own salary (new)

7. Price Points • Although EPSRC denies it, grants cluster around certain “price points”, different in different subjects • If you aim for a higher price point, you need a more impressive science case • In CS: £60K-£70K (a studentship), £100-120K (first grant, 2 year postdoc), £200-250K (3 year postdoc & a student), £300-350K (big grant, two postdocs or a postdoc & a student and big computers) • Anything off the top of this scale is very unlikely to fly as a “standard research grant”

8. How It Works 1The Basic Grant Application • Fill in EPSRC form, prepare 8 page case for support and University pink form, Investigators and head of school sign • includes three referees names • Research Grants Finance Office (RGFO) provide costs for staff • RGFO check and sign, keep pink form + copy • Send original + eight copies to EPSRC • Catch up on sleep, teaching, life, etc.

9. Electronic Submission • Now mandatory, but I haven't tried it yet • All investigators need to get accounts • Fill in form on Web • Upload supporting documents in PDF • Submit on-line • Sent automatically to head(s) of school(s) and RGFO to review • Not sure how this works with deadlines

10. How it Works 2What EPSRC does next • Paperwork checks, send to referees, usually one of yours + two or three of theirs • Reject outright if referees reports are bad • For some schemes (travel, networks, first grant) may accept if reports are good • Otherwise goes to a panel • Normally you get to see the referees reports and respond briefly before the panel

11. EPSRC Panels • Panels of a dozen or so – mainly academics, held every couple of months • consider up to 50 grant applications • Have applications, referees reports, final reviews of applicants previous grants,…. • Consider scientific merit, and “justification of resources” – not supposed to consider cost directly • Panel ranks proposals – EPSRC decides how far down the list to fund • Details of past panels on the Web

12. Funded 1/4 (£123K/390K) First Grant Scheme 11/41 (£2M/8M) Standard grants Funded grants ranged from: Algorithms of Nework-sharing Games (£89K Warwick) A Security Model For XML (£309K Edinburgh) Generative Programming for Embedded Systems (£156K Kevin) etc. Example PanelJuly 29 2004 Computer Science • Prof. A Finkelstein (UCL) • Prof. J Derrick (Kent) • Prof. Z Irani (Brunel) • Dr MJ Kirton (QinetiQ) • Dr GA McCusker (Sussex) • Dr J Shapiro (Manchester) • Prof. S Stepney (York) • Prof. IA Stewart (Durham) • Prof. Y Wilks (Sheffield) • Mrs J Edwards (EPSRC)

13. What Happens when you Get Funded 1? • The “Grant progress tracker” on the EPSRC Web site goes to “decision reached” • A week after the panel, you can phone EPSRC and ask what the decision was • Usually you need to talk to them to agree the actual start date before they can send the formal letter to the University • Research Grants Finance get the letter and give you an account code (like 1-SCS2-XEP279) to use to spend the money

14. What happens when you get funded 2? • If there are staff on the grant, Human Resources will send you terrifying documents about recruitment procedures • You can start spending money when: • The start date is reached and • At least one person has started work (if there are people on the grant) • Although you can bend this a bit

15. You can’t pay for Your own salary, or teaching replacement “departmental computing costs” Travel by staff/postdocs not on the grant Overseas student fees The university sorts out the cash flow issues You effectively have all the money to spend from day 1 Remember that different funders have different rules Using the Money • You can pay for: • Research staff as funded • Support staff, but tends to be grabbed to pay for existing people • Home/EU fees and maintenance for students • Equipment (over £3K) • Consumables (under £3K) • Travel for people named on grant • Have to justify conferences not named • This isn’t closely policed • You can move funds between categories “vire” fairly freely

16. Overheads • Funding bodies pay some money for “indirect costs” of staff – rooms, light, library, human resources, secretarial, etc. • EPSRC pays 46% of staff costs • EU pays 10% of everything • Leverhulme pays nothing • At St Andrews most of this money goes to Schools (eventually), but may be siphoned off to help meet School deficits • Some is supposed to be earmarked for PI to spend, eg on setting up the next grant • This is going to change from Sep ’05 • “Full Economic Costs”

17. Final Report • You have to submit a final report within 3 months of the end of the grant • They keep back 10% of the money until you do • Also you can’t put in any other applications • Usual stuff about how successful it all was, publications, etc. • Justification for moving money between headings, attending extra conferences • This report goes to a referee or two • Their assessment is sent to panel with your subsequent applications

18. Writing the Application • Apart from boring factual stuff and costs, you have to produce • Summary, relevance to beneficiaries, and objectives (4000 chars each) for the form • 2 page track record • 6 page case for support • 1 page diagrammatic project plan • CVs of named researchers

19. The Generic Application 1The Basic Message • Area X is really important. • Famous people have worked in it, • it has led to important discoveries • Subarea Y is important and topical • Reasonably famous people have worked in it recently • What subarea Y really needs right now is a thorough and systematic investigation of topic Z • The investigators are uniquely well qualified and equipped to do that investigation – fund them!

20. The Generic Application 2The Subtext • We know what we’re talking about • We have a clear idea what we want to do • We know the recent and current work in the field • We have some understanding of a larger context for it • We have some idea how we might go about the investigation • You have to give ludicrous detail, but it doesn’t matter • We are reliable • We can organise ourselves enough to do the work and hand in the final report on time • We are willing to cooperate in helping EPSRC prove that it met its political goals

21. Who you’re writing for 1 • EPSRC Admin • Key words in title and summary guide choice of referees • Keep them sweet • Do the paperwork right • Give them ammunition to prove to their bosses that they’re meeting their goals • Your nominated referees • presumably they’re going to support you • give them ammunition to make their case • Give them things to put in all the parts of the form.

22. Who You’re Writing For 2 • EPSRC nominated referees • Will read the whole thing, reasonably close to the area • Large luck element – friendly, neutral or hostile • Give ammunition to friendly referees; avoid things that neutral referees might pick on; genuinely hostile referees are a lost cause • The Panel • Will not read the whole thing, may not be in the area • Aim the summary and the first page or so of the Case for Support at them, also beneficiaries and similar.

23. Final Tips • There is a large random element in the process • resubmitting virtually the same grant six months later can work • Coherence is important – the grant should be structured around a simple story • Line up aims, objectives, work packages, behind your story • Always try to see the referees form and write with it in mind (EPSRC ones on the Web) • Failing that, get the “criteria” for the scheme and make sure you have addressed them all