Category Archives: Funding Policy
ESRC success rates by discipline: what on earth is going on?
The ESRC have recently published a set of ‘vital statistics‘ which are “a detailed breakdown of research funding for the 2011/12 financial year” (see page 22). While differences in success rates between academic disciplines are nothing new, this year’s figures … Continue reading
News from the ESRC: International co-investigators and the Future Leaders Scheme
I’m still behind on my blogging – I owe the internet the second part of the impact series, and a book review I really must get round to writing. But I picked up an interesting nugget of information regarding the … Continue reading
An Impact Statement: Part 1: Impact and the REF
Partly inspired by a twitter conversation and partly to try to bring some semblance of order my own thoughts, I’m going to have a go about writing about impact. Roughly, I’d argue that: The impact agenda is – broadly – … Continue reading
Posted in Funding, Funding Policy, Research Impact, University culture
3 Comments
Are institutions over-reacting to impact?
Interesting article and leader in this week’s Times Higher on the topic of impact, both of which carry arguments that “university managers” have over-reacted to the impact agenda. I’m not sure whether that’s true or not, but I suspect that … Continue reading
Responding to Referees
This post is co-authored by Adam Golberg of Cash for Questions (UK), and Jonathan O’Donnell and Tseen Khoo of The Research Whisperer (Australia). It arises out of a comment that Jonathan made about understanding and responding to referees on one … Continue reading
Posted in Application advice, ESRC, Frustrations, Funding, Funding Policy, University culture
1 Comment
Coping with rejection: What to do if your grant application is unsuccessful. Part 2: Next Steps
In the first part of this series, I argued that it’s important not to misunderstand or misinterpret the reasons for a grant application being unsuccessful. In the comments, Jo VanEvery shared a phrase that she’s heard from a senior figure … Continue reading
Posted in Application advice, ESRC, Funding, Funding Policy, University culture
5 Comments
Leverhulme Trust to support British Academy Small Research Grant scheme
The British Academy announced yesterday that agreement has been reached on a new collaborative agreement with the Leverhulme Trust about funding for its Small Grants Scheme. This is very good news for researchers in the humanities and the social sciences, … Continue reading
Posted in British Academy, Funding, Funding Policy, Research Costs
3 Comments
Coping with rejection: What to do if your grant application is unsuccessful. Part 1: Understand what it means…. and what it doesn’t mean
Some application and assessment processes are for limited goods, and some are for unlimited goods, and it’s important to understand the difference. PhD vivas and driving tests are assessments for unlimited goods – there’s no limit on how many PhDs … Continue reading
New year’s wishes….
The new calendar year is traditionally a time for reflection and for resolutions, but in a fit of hubris I’ve put together a list of resolutions I’d like to see for the sector, research funders, and university culture in general. … Continue reading
Outstanding researcher or Oustanding grant writer?
The Times Higher has a report on Sir Paul Nurse‘s ‘Anniversary Day’ address to the Royal Society. Although the Royal Society is a learned society in the natural rather than the social sciences, he makes an interesting distinction that seems … Continue reading