Managed calls

In anticipation of the next round of the Pushing the Frontiers scheme, potential applicants are invited to join the internal “pipeline” to receive support and guidance from experienced academic colleagues. You can join the pipeline at any time but for the next call, the following timetable has been agreed.

TIMETABLE

1. Applicants wishing to submit to the July 2024 call should complete the Pipeline Form by close of business on 1 March 2024 and return it to grantsacademy@abdn.ac.uk 
2. The first meeting of the internal NERC panel is on 20 March 2024. This will be an in-person meeting where candidates will present their proposals and participate in the Q&A session
3. The second meeting of the internal NERC panel is on 5 June 2024. This will be an in-person meeting for candidates to give a brief update on the status of the proposal.

More information on the last call can be found here (based on this guidance, you could only be involved in two applications and only one as project lead). Applications will be submitted by the lead organisation via the UKRI Funding Service.

Please complete the NERC Pipeline Form below and send it to grantsacademy@abdn.ac.uk to be part of the pipeline.

Round 2 will open 25 September 2023 with an outline deadline of 7 February 2024. A UKRI webinar will be delivered in November 23, details to be confirmed by UKRI in due course.

Applications to Round 2 must focus on one of three themes: Enhancing lifespan, Immune regulation or Molecular Mechanisms to inform cancer intervention. Whilst there is no institutional limit on bids there is a requirement for significant institutional commitment and early discussions with the funder are essential.

Interested applicants should contact Dr Anne McGavigan at the earliest opportunity.

The Post Graduate Research School (PGRS) oversees applications to multiple PhD calls through an institution-wide internal triage. The R&I Impact & Knowledge Exchange and Research Development team work closely with researchers and the PGRS to support the development of proposals selected to go forward.

Upcoming:

NERC and AHRC Doctoral Focal Award (formerly CDT) Sandpits (Bishops Table, Crombie Hall)

AHRC 12-2pm 7 Feb 24

NERC 2-4pm   7 Feb 24

Colleagues are invited to join one or both sandpits to hear details of the upcoming 2024 NERC and AHRC calls,   network with colleagues and exchange ideas for applications within each of the research council remits.

 Please contact  Dr Lucy Leiper to register interest in attending.

Further details of specific calls will appear here as they are announced and details will also be communicated via mailing lists and School Directors of Research.

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 9 - UKRI deadline 18 June 2024

The University is restricted to submitting four applications to UKRI FLF Round 9. R&I support Schools manage internal and external interest through an institution-wide Expression of Interest triage which involves submission of a proforma and presentation to an internal panel.

The internal deadline for the Round 9 triage has closed. Further details on the funding scheme and internal triage process for R9 are on the UKRI FLF staffnet page here.

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 10 - deadline anticipated summer 2025 

A pre-triage deadline is planned in autumn 2024 to enable interested applicants to benefit from early support in developing their proposals ahead of a later internal triage deadline - the date of this will be confirmed once UKRI has announced details of R10.

Internal and external potential applicants: please contact your proposed host School in the first instance to confirm School endorsement to proceed with an Expression of Interest.

For queries on the scheme please contact your R&I Research Development Executive. 

UKRI (via the Research Councils) issue annual calls for applications for significant equipment that will facilitate more ambitious research activities. Funders often impose an institutional cap on the number of applications that can be submitted which necessitates an internal triage. Large capital bids take time to develop and require evidence of future use and sustainability but typically deadlines are announced with short lead times.  As an institutional commitment is usually included in large capital bids sufficient time to undertake internal assessment and approval is required.

To assist in the dialogue around equipment requirements on both campuses, we are inviting early identification of equipment needs. 

Capital calls anticipated 2024/25

BBSRC - Mid-range equipment for biosciences research: ALERT 2024 – UKRI – expected January 2025

MRC - Purchase mid-range equipment for biomedical research: MRC Equip – UKRI – expected January 2025

EPSRC - Strategic infrastructure outlines – UKRI  - expected March 2025

NERC - NERC strategic capital funding opportunity 2023 – UKRI expected December 2024

Internal triage outcome: The internal deadline to submit EoIs for  these calls has closed. During April 24, a panel will review the submissions and agree on a timetable for the next stage to be concluded before the end of May. This will include organising meetings to enable dialogue between overlapping proposals and inviting shortlisted applicants to present their bid to the panel.

Research and Innovation and Finance will work with selected applicants to develop sustainability plans and gather information so that institutional commitments can be considered and approved by the University Senior Management team.

If you are interested in applying to a capital call but did not submit an EoI please contact your R&I Research Development Executive asap to explore whether it may still be possible for your proposal to be considered for the 2024/25 calls.

The AXA Chair and Fellowship schemes support projects in the broad risk areas of health, climate & environment, and socioeconomics. The University is restricted to submit one candidate per round. (i) AXA Chairs: (EoI deadline October) are to attract an individual to the University and a permanent position must be created at the end of the funding. (ii) AXA Fellowships: (EoI deadline May) applications must be in specific thematic areas announced at each call. 

For both schemes researchers should seek initial support from their School; where supportive, Heads of School and Directors of Research should approach their R&I Research Development Executive, stating the strategic benefit of the individual they wish to attract. R&I will confirm eligibility and if the Vice-Principal for Research is convinced of the strategic need, and the University has not met its application limit, the School will be informed of next steps for proceeding with the application.

Institutions can nominate up to three outstanding young researchers, in each of the three disciplinary categories: Chemistry, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Life Sciences per call. Nominations must be submitted by the institution’s official nominator (Dr Liz Rattray, Director Research & Innovation). Applications can be submitted April – June each year. Interested applicants or nominators should contact their R&I Research Development Executive in the first instance.

Deadline: Internal Triage - 5pm, 29 February 2024
Deadline: Outline Stage - 12pm, 7 June 2024

The Leverhulme Trust invites applications for Research Centres that will not only conduct research of outstanding originality but also aspire to achieve a significant step-change in scholarship. The Trust’s aim is to encourage new approaches that may establish or reshape a field of study and so transform our understanding of a significant contemporary topic.  Applicants are therefore invited to be bold in compiling their bids.

The Trust has a reputation for encouraging higher-risk research which is often therefore fundamental or curiosity-driven – so-called 'blue skies' – and multi-disciplinary. The expectation is that Centres will draw upon a range of disciplinary perspectives and expertise, perhaps bringing new disciplinary mixes to bear on a particular topic. In this new call, the Trust is looking for applications strongly led by the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.  In line with the Trust’s responsive-mode of working, the choice of research topic is left open, with the exclusion of studies of disease, illness and disabilities in humans and animals, research that is intended to inform clinical practice or the development of medical applications, policy-driven research, research aimed at immediate commercial application or proposals that are heavily inclined to assembling a data bank or database.

Leverhulme Research Centres should not duplicate existing activity at a comparable scale, whether in UKRI-funded or university research centres. The Trust wishes to support research activity where it can be confident that the work will have substantial added-value compared to smaller initiatives in the same area of research. Up to £10 million is available for up to 10 years with an appropriate mid-term review.

More Info: Leverhulme Research Centres | The Leverhulme Trust

Special Conditions: Each UK university is permitted to make only one bid as the principal applicant. Additional involvement in partnership(s) with other universities is, however, permitted. Details of the internal selection process are noted below:

The information required from potential applicants by 5pm on 29 February 2024 is outlined below. Please submit this information by email to grantsacademy@abdn.ac.uk .

• Description of the area of research (including why this is interesting and important and suited to the Trust), key research questions to be addressed, structure of the proposed Centre and an overview of the team involved in the proposal – max two pages (Arial 11, single line spacing, 2cm margins)
• Details of any institutional commitment sought to strengthen the bid. This will be reviewed by the panel and a contribution from the institution will be discussed with the PI of the selected bid - max one half page (Arial 11)

Internal Timetable – 2024:

• Week commencing 4 March – internal panel meets to review submissions (composition will include Deans, appropriate School Directors of Research and IDR Directors and academics who have undertaken peer reviews for the Trust)
• 25 March – shortlisted candidates invited to present their potential bid to the internal panel
• 30 April – deadline for submission of outline bid to panel members for review and comments.

 The University is restricted to submitting one application each round. Calls usually open in January with a deadline in April; each call has an identified theme. R&I support Schools to manage interest through an institution-wide internal triage (deadline usually mid-February). Queries on the call can be made at any time to Dr Juliette Snow.