Early career research: possibilities &

opportunities for success

Chris Phillipson

Keele University

Areas covered

Key principles Life course model Funding possibilities Structuring proposals Concordat Future challenges

Early Career

Key principles

Institutional/researcher responsibility Importance of mentoring Publishing strategy Research management Training and professional development Disciplinary development Life course

Centres

Research Masters

+3 Studentship

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Large GrantMid-career Fellowship

First Grant Scheme

Professorial Fellowship

Priority Networks/

Groups

Research Opportunities

On-going Training and Development

Research Career – Funding Pathway

Centres

Research Masters

+3 Studentship

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Small/Standard Grants

Large GrantMid-career Fellowship

First Grant Scheme

Professorial Fellowship

Priority Networks/

Groups

Research Opportunities

Early career possibilities

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships – eligible up to 3 years

after submission of Ph.D (steer towards particular subject areas in 2010)

Small grants scheme – less than £100,000k useful for new researchers Response Mode

First Grants – open to those who have not been PIs; must be within 6 years completion of Ph.D; up to £400,000 Next call in Oct

Standard grants - £100,000k plus Response mode Mid-Career Development Fellowships – between 5

and 15 years postdoc experience

Early career possibilities

ESRC Research Methods Festival - Festival aims to engage social scientists across a wide range of disciplines and sectors and at different points in their research careers.

Support from professional bodies (e.g. BSA, SPA, BSG)

Researcher Development Initiative http://www.rdi.ac.uk/projects/round4/ National Centre for Research Methods http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/TandE/calendar.php

Early career possibilities Leverhulme early career fellowships – 70 were

available in 2010. Anticipated that Fellowship will lead to permanent academic position.

British Academy: Small grants scheme (up £7,500) Postdoctoral fellowship scheme – aimed at strengthening research and teaching experience in

a university environment Nuffield Foundation: Social Science Small Grants

Scheme (£15,000) International

Structuring proposals

The research question

The theory

The analysis

Early career

Research Staff Implementation of Concordat to support

career development of researchers – agreement between funders and employers of researchers.

http://www.researchconcordat.ac.uk/documents/concordat.pdf

Concordat Principles

Recognition of the importance of recruiting, selecting and retaining researchers with the highest potential to achieve excellence in research.

Researchers are recognised and valued by their employing organisation as an essential part of their organisation's human resources and a key component of their overall strategy to develop and deliver world-class research.

Researchers are equipped and supported to be adaptable and flexible in an increasingly diverse, mobile, global research environment.

Concordat Principles The importance of researchers' personal and career

development, and lifelong learning, is clearly recognised and promoted at all stages of their career.

Individual researchers share the responsibility for and need to pro-actively engage in their own personal and career development, and lifelong learning.

Diversity and equality must be promoted in all aspects of the recruitment and career management of researchers.

The sector and all stakeholders will undertake regular and collective review of their progress in strengthening the attractiveness and sustainability of research careers in the UK.

Future challenges

Adjusting to inter-disciplinary challenges Funding issues Management Training Changing university and public sector

environment