1. grant proposal writing & research policy - maren pannemann (uva)

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Grant proposal writing and research policy 29 August 2014- Maren Pannemann PhD – Advisor Research FundingUniversity of Amsterdam

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Structure of the talk Why research grants

Overview research funding possibilities (EU, other international, national)

Best practices in grant writing

CV building and bridging a funding gap

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Why research grants?

More focus and time for research New research projects/ groups Research visits abroad Material/conference organisations

CV improvement Publications, invited talks, international network,

(PhD) supervising experience, Enter the “funding circuit”

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The funding circuit

Receive grant

More focus on and time for research

CV: improvement

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Overview research funding possibilities

EU funding Other international National

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http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/index.html

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Bottom up: investigator driven, subject of own choice

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Bottom up: investigator driven, subject of own choice

Top Down: Predefined calls in Work Programmes

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Bottom up: personal grants/consortia

Top Down: consortia

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Pilar 1 – Excellent ScienceMarie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

Objective: Training and diversification of skills Support the career development of “Experienced Researchers” (ER) ER: at the deadline for the submission of proposals, be in possession

of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience

Mobility is a key word: always cross a border (country/sector) to be eligible

European Fellowships (EF) Global Fellowship (GF)

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Marie S. Curie European Fellowship (EF)

MSC fellow applies in collaboration with host Fellow goes to host organisation in Europe for 12 – 24

months Also researchers from non-EU country coming to the EU Funding for: full salary of Experienced Researcher +

contribution to host organisation

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Marie S. Curie Global Fellowships (GF) Experienced Researcher applies in collaboration with host Outgoing phase: 12-24 months,

mandatory return phase: 12 months Fellow goes to host organisation outside Europe, and

comes back to host organisation in Europe (secondment) Any nationality, but previously long-term EU resident

(>5 yrs) For the GF the partner organisations in TC (Third

Country) must include a letter of commitment

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Marie S. Curie Secondments

MSC: partner organisations provide additional training and host researchers during secondments

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Marie S. Curie Structure of Proposal

1. SUMMARY 2. EXCELLENCE 50%3. IMPACT 30%4. IMPLEMENTATION 20%-----------------------------------------------------------------10 pages

5. CV OF THE EXPERIENCED RESEARCHER 6. CAPACITIES OF THE PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS 7. ETHICAL ASPECTS 8. LETTERS OF COMMITMENT OF PARTNER ORGANISATIONS

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Marie S. Curie EvaluationExcellence 50% Quality, innovative aspects and credibility of the research Clarity and quality of transfer of knowledge/training Capacity of the researcher Quality of the supervision and the hosting arrangementsImpact 30% Enhancing research- and innovation-related human resources, skills, and

working conditions to realise the potential of individuals and to provide new career perspectives

communication and results dissemination Implementation 20% Overall coherence and effectiveness of the work plan Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures Appropriateness of the institutional environment Competences, experience and complementarity of the participating

organisations and institutional commitment

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Marie S. Curie Evaluators

3 experts in the field, not necessarily all of them experts on your specific topic

Might be non-native English speakers

Choice of panel (strongest/most innovative elements of your proposal)

Choice of keywords (basis for identifying experts)

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Valorization – Research Impact

relevance of the results to current economic, societal, cultural, policy-related or technological problems

effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach to knowledge utilisation with respect to meeting the needs of third parties both within and outside the academic sector;

the period over which potential knowledge utilisation is expected to occur;

what, if anything, the researcher intends to do to bring about knowledge utilisation

Who are the ‘stakeholders’? Who is interested in your results?

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Marie S. Curie: Submit proposal… Annual deadline in September Next deadline 11 September 2014 at 17:00 Electronic Proposal Submission System Chose your Panel: 8 Panels

Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC) Chose keywords The choice of panel and keywords will guide the REA in

the selection of experts for proposal evaluation. Relevant Documents on the page:

Guide for Applicants

Work Programme People 2014

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Pilar 1 – Excellent ScienceERC- three main types of grantsERC STARTING 2-7 years after PhD1,5 Mill. EUR – 5 years PI is starting first research team

Transition to independence3 February 2015

ERC CONSOLIDATOR 7-12 years after PhD2 Mill. EUR – 5 years PI is consolidating team

Consolidation of independence12 March 2015

ERC ADVANCED > 12 years after PhD2,5 Mill. EUR – 5 years Internationally recognised

research leaders21 October 2014, 2 June 2015

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Profile ERC Starting Grant

A competitive Starting Grant candidate must have potential for independence and evidence of maturity

at least one important publication without the participation of their PhD supervisor

demonstrate a promising track record of early achievements appropriate to their research field and career stage, including significant publications (as main author) in major international peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journals, or in the leading international peer-reviewed journals of their respective field.

They may also demonstrate a record of invited presentations in well-established international conferences, granted patents, awards, prizes etc.

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ERC - Excellence of the Project

Ground-breaking nature and potential impact Methodology (feasible / appropriate) High risk / High gain balance

Commitment: 50% of PI working time on the project

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ERC - Panel StructureSOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

SH1 Markets, individuals and institutions: SH2 The social world, diversity and common ground: SH3 Environment, space and population: SH4 The human mind and its complexity: SH5 Cultures and cultural production: SH6 The study of the human past:

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Grants at different stages of career

ERC consolidator7-12 y*

ERC advanced>12 y*

ERC starting2-7 y*

Marie Skłodowska Curie

Participation Consortia H2020 Coordinator Consortia H2020

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EURIAS Fellowshipshttp://www.2015-2016.eurias-fp.eu/

humanities - social sciences 10-month residencies in one of the 14

participating Institutes: Berlin, Bologna, Budapest, Cambridge, Delmenhorst, Edinburgh, Freiburg, Helsinki, Jerusalem, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Uppsala, Vienna, Wassenaar, Zürich.

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Other examples possible funding Volkswagenstiftunghttp://www.volkswagenstiftung.de

Fyssen foundation (postdoctoral study grants, Logic) http://www.fondationfyssen.fr/

Google research grants (topics among others: Software engineering and programming languages, Machine learning/translation/perception)

http://research.google.com/university/relations/research_awards.html

Canon Foundation (all research topics)https://www.canonfoundation.org/

AXA Research Fund (risks)http://www.axa-research.org/

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Joining a research project

http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/

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The Netherlands NWO Innovational Research Incentive Scheme

in a nutshell: promotes innovation in the academic research field individual researchers at various stages of their careers annual deadlines: VENI: January, VIDI: October, VICI: March

VENI 0-3 years after completion of PhD 250,000 €, duration 3 years

VIDI 3-8 years after completion of PhD 800,000 €, duration 5 years

VICI 8-15 years after completion of PhD 1,500,000 €, duration 5 years

Impact criterion: use of knowledge in society and industry!

http://www.nwo.nl/en/funding/our-funding-instruments/nwo/innovational-research-incentives-scheme/index.html

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Germany

Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers For candidates who completed doctorate in the last four years 6-24 months at a research institution in Germanyhttp://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/humboldt-fellowship-postdoc.html

German Science Foundation (DFG): Emmy Noether Programme Postdocs gain the qualifications required for a university teaching

career lasting five years, in which they lead their own research grouphttp://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/individual/emmy_noether/index.html

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Other examples

Max Plank Society Germany French National Research Agency Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and

Research Science Foundation Ireland Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation

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Disclaimer

The list of grants here is not exhaustive, but is intended to give you an idea about the possibilities

Please do also your own research, e.g. local postdoc grants

e.g. http://www.scholarships-links.com/category/Postdoc-Scholarships.html

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The proposal (1)

State of mind:

You ask the funding organisation to fund your research

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The proposal (1)

State of mind:

You ask the funding organisation to fund your research

You help the EU/society/science etc to solve their problems

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The proposal (2)

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How to structure your text?

Stand out from the pile of applications Catchy title/ Acronym Start with a very short introduction which states the

objectives of the research proposal Summary essential part of proposal, sets the tone

Pitch training: focus on the essential information, preparation for interviews

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Make it as easy as possible for the evaluators

not a detective story: Start directly with the most important thing

Clear and compact : use figures, bullets, numbers, charts

Put everything where “they” want it: Follow the subheadings

provided. Start writing in the template provided, including CV

Add additional subheadings if necessary for emphasis of certain

issues

Write the proposal for different readers (both expert and non-expert)

Circulate your draft early among colleagues and non-experts

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State of the art is a bottle neck

What is a problem in your field ?

What is the scientific or technological bottle neck to solvethis problem ?

How is YOUR project going to solve this bottle neck ?

What are the opportunities once the bottle neck is solved ?

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State of the art is a bottle neck

Example:

“So far, no one has investigated [this topic]. This project will fill this gap by …”

The fact that something has not been investigated yet, does not mean that it is interesting or relevant.

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State of the art – why?

Help the evaluator understand the problem

Help the evaluator understand where the technological / methodological challenge lies

Show that you know what other research has been done(refer to specific publications/ work)

Show that your research will attempt something new

(if relevant) show any proof of principle or reason why youthink a particularly challenging approach might succeed

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Formulating your objectives: SMART Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to

achieve. Measurable – You should be able to measure whether

you are meeting the objectives or not. Achievable - Are the objectives you set, achievable and

attainable? Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the objectives

with the resources you have? Time – When do you want to achieve the set objectives?

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Pitch excercise Pair up Describe in 1 minute the essence of your

research project to your neighbour Include

the bottle neck in your field

what, how, why, when

stakeholders – who is waiting

for your results Switch roles

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“Worst practices”

“The proposal as written takes up far too much of the permitted word count in telling us about the topic rather than in explaining in detail the what, how, and why of the actual work to be carried out. As it stands, the proposal comes across as a compelling introduction to the topic, but it lacks any development of exactly what is going to be done.”

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“Worst practices”

“No clear research question; much too broad set of concepts and research themes; serious doubts about the feasibility of proposed analysis of historical sources; no clear contribution to the field; candidate's quality is good but not exceptional; knowledge utilization is not convincing.”

“The author's hypotheses and objectives are not always clearly documented and supported.”

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CV section of proposalDo not start filling in the CV section at last, include it in the draft proposal when you are circulating it.

Quality of the researcher: Researchers who have already demonstrated an

outstanding talent for academic research Publications and other relevant achievements in the field List prizes and awards Supervision experience

Have a look at grant criteria andStart building your CV NOW

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ERC CV requirements (ERC guide for applicants stg/cons 2014)

The ‘funding ID’ must specify any current research grants and their subject.

c. Early achievements track-record (max. 2 pages): The Principal Investigator (PI) must provide a list of achievements reflecting their track record. The PI should list his/her activity as regards: 1. Publications in major international peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary scientific

journals and/or in the leading international peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed conferences proceedings and/or monographs of their respective research fields, highlighting five (Starting Grant) or ten (Consolidator Grant) representative publications, those without the presence as co-author of their PhD supervisor, and the number of citations (excluding self-citations) they have attracted (if applicable).

2. Granted patent(s) (if applicable). 3. Invited presentations to peer-reviewed, internationally established conferences

and/or international advanced schools (if applicable). 4. Prizes and Awards (if applicable).

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Smaller grants – work on your “funding ID”

Research stays abroade.g. USA: Fulbright Grants, annual deadline 1 December, min. 3 months

Travel grants for conferences “Seed money” Best paper awards

http://www.scholarshipportal.eu http://www.nuffic.nl/en

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What to do when rejected

Read the reviews and any other feedback in a balanced way

Speak with the funding body if possible

Stay positive (rethink, revise, resubmit)

Try to learn as much as possible from the experience

Remember that most grants don’t get funded first time

Do not fire off an e-mail that you might regret!

Did you give yourself the best chance last time?

Look for a mentor and talk to your Research Officers(Courtesy of DCU)

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Final tips and recommendations.

Give yourself at least four months to write a grant proposal with the goal to have the grant ready about one month prior to submission.

Use the last month to polish the writing and the style of presentation.

Circulate the draft proposal among colleagues.

(Courtesy of DCU)

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Further Support

Local Grant Officers Technology Transfer Office

National Contact Points H2020http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/national_contact_points.html#c,contact=country/sbg/Belgium/1/1/0&+contact_name/asc

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Thank you and good luck!

1. grant proposal writing & research policy - maren pannemann (uva)

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