Tag Archives: policy

Research beyond borders: Use UKRO to boost your European funding record!

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Today’s post comes from a guest-blogger, Inga Benner of the UK Research Office in Brussels, who has some helpful advice on how to make the most of their services. Thanks Inga!

“The UK Research Office is the European office of the UK Research Councils in Brussels and the team offers a range of useful services to researchers and research administrators in UK universities and other research institutions who subscribe to UKRO. UKRO’s team is based in Brussels and its mission is to promote effective UK engagement in EU research, innovation and higher education activities. Subscribing institution has a dedicated UKRO European Advisor who can be contacted with queries on a wide range of issues including European funding streams, research policy and advice on European project implementation. The office also monitors relevant policy developments on an EU level, including those of interest to the arts and humanities research community.

The UKRO Portal is a useful tool to ensure that you stay up to date with European funding, especially through the UKRO Portal News. Entering the subscriber pages and signing up to the Portal News is free of charge for researchers and administrators in subscribing institutions. Via the Portal News, UKRO disseminates information on calls for proposals and deadlines, background information on the development of new programmes, including the next EU funding programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020, but also on other EU streams such as the Creative Europe programme or Erasmus for All. To give an example of how you could benefit from receiving UKRO News, the team is currently providing regular advice and updates on the upcoming deadlines for the Marie Cure Individual Fellowship calls, the last set of deadlines under the EU’s 7th Framework Programme. UKRO also keeps an eye out for relevant European networking events and informs researchers of opportunities for feeding into programme development, for example through providing input to European Commission consultations.

Even if your institution is not an UKRO subscriber you might still be able to benefit from UKRO, as the office runs the national contact points for the UK for the Marie Curie Actions and the European Research Council. The national contact points offer a general query service on the two funding schemes, a website and runs regular event in advance of major deadlines for calls for proposals. In addition, UKRO publishes European RTD Insight, a publication on developments in EU research and policy funded by the British Council.”

· To find out whether your institution is an UKRO subscriber go to http://www.ukro.ac.uk/aboutukro/Pages/subscribers.aspx

· Signing up to the UKRO Portal is easy and quick, and once an account is created it can be personalised and tailored to your specific areas of interest. To sign up, go to http://www.ukro.ac.uk or follow the guidance provided in this flyer: http://www.ukro.ac.uk/Documents/120828_ukro_portal_brief_guide_subscribers.pdf

Source: Research beyond borders

 

HEA: impact of the shifting UK higher education landscape on learning and teaching

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Higher Education Academy logoThe Higher Education Academy (HEA) invites applications for its impact of the shifting UK higher education landscape on learning and teaching call.

This seeks to understand, discuss and debate the impact of the recent changes in UK higher education policy on learning, teaching and the student experience in HE. Strands relating to this theme include:

1. How has the status of teaching changed in institutions in the context of an increased emphasis on teaching excellence in national HE policy?

2. What impact have reforms had on institutions’ overall curriculum design and programme provision?

3. Are there any early signs that the diversification and reconfiguration of higher education providers is resulting in an improved student learning experience?

4. How have changes to student number controls, and fees and student support changed the student profile and what impact is this having on the student learning environment?

5. What is the impact of the availability of enhanced information for students about HE and HEIs? Are students receiving the best information to inform their choices? What is the impact on students’ expectations? Are initiatives such as the KIS having an impact on academic freedom?

6. Transitions into undergraduate education from schools and colleges and returning adult learners.

7. The changing nature of postgraduate study. Higher undergraduate fees seem to be affecting the take-up of postgraduate study and student demographics. How, if at all, are curriculum and supporting learning for postgraduate taught provision changing as a result?

The total amount of funding available is £50,000 and project proposals of up to £20,000 are invited.

The deadline for this call is 14 January 2013.

Please visit the HEA website for further information, or see the call documents below:

Related documents

Engaging with Government

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The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has launched a new programme, ‘Engaging with Government,’ for early career researchers (ECRs) in the arts and humanities.

The Engaging with Government programme is a three day course designed to provide an insight into the policy making process, and enable academics to apply this to their own research. It aims to build links between policy makers and the most dynamic new research in the arts and humanities. We are inviting eligible researchers to submit an application to attend the course.

The programme will:

  • Encourage you to see opportunities where your own research could make a valuable contribution in a public policy context
  • Challenge you to think in more depth about the policy process, and the role of research within it
  • Increase the influencing and communication skills that you need to achieve this.

The course will be held on 12, 13 and 14th February 2013 at the Institute for Government in central London, an award winning think tank using research and engagement to improve the effectiveness of government. The AHRC will be inviting 15-20 people to attend the course.

The programme will include discussions with a range of senior civil servants, researchers, politicians and media professionals on the challenges and opportunities involved in engaging with the policy making process.

The programme is for ECRs only, and applicants must have received AHRC funding, although this also includes funding for research that has not yet started.

For full details and eligibility criteria please see the call document: Engaging with Government Programme –Call for Applications

Applications for consideration for attendance should be made using the application form via Survey Monkey.  This form must be submitted by 5pm Monday 29 October 2012.

RCUK announces new Open Access policy

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Open Access RepositoryResearch Councils UK (RCUK) have announced a new policy for Open Access:

Research Councils UK (RCUK) has today, 16th July 2012, unveiled its new Open Access policy. Informed by the work of the National Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, chaired by Professor Dame Janet Finch, the policy at once harmonises and makes significant changes to existing Research Councils’ Open Access policies.

Professor Douglas Kell, RCUK Champion for Research and Information Management commented: “Widening access to the outputs of research currently published in journals has the potential to contribute substantially to furthering the progress of scientific and other research, ensuring that the UK continues to be a world leader in these fields. I am delighted that, together, the Research Councils have been able to been able both to harmonise and to make significant changes to their policies, ensuring that more people have access to cutting edge research that can contribute to both economic growth in our knowledge economy and the wider wellbeing of the UK.”

Drs. Astrid Wissenburg, Chair of RCUK Impact Group and RCUK representative on the National Working Group on Open Access commented: “As the bodies charged with investing public money in research, the Research Councils take very seriously their responsibilities in making the outputs from this research publicly available – not just to other researchers, but also to potential users in business; charitable and public sectors; and to the general public. Working with other funders such as HEFCE, DFID and the Wellcome Trust, this new policy signifies a move to a sustainable, affordable and transparent model of making outputs from the research that they fund more openly accessible.”

The new policy, which will apply to all qualifying publications being submitted for publication from 1 April 2013, states that peer reviewed research papers which result from research that is wholly or partially funded by the Research Councils:

  • must be published in journals which are compliant with Research Council policy on Open Access, and;
  • must include details of the funding that supported the research, and a statement on how the underlying research materials such as data, samples or models can be accessed.

Criteria which journals must fulfill to be compliant with the Research Councils’ Open Access policy are detailed within the policy, but include offering a “pay to publish” option or allowing deposit in a subject or institutional repository after a mandated maximum embargo period. In addition, the policy mandates use of ‘CC-BY’, the Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ license, when an APC is levied. The CC_BY licence allows others to modify, build upon and/or distribute the licensed work (including for commercial purposes) as long as the original author is credited.

The Research Councils will provide block grants to eligible UK Higher Education Institutions, approved independent research organisations and Research Council Institutes to support payment of the Article Processing Charges (APCs) associated with ‘pay-to-publish’. In parallel, eligible organisations will be expected to set-up and manage their own publication funds. The Research Councils will work with eligible organisations to discuss the detail of the new approach to funding APCs and to ensure that appropriate and auditable mechanisms are put in place to manage the funds.

Along with HEFCE and other relevant Funding Bodies, we shall monitor these policies actively, both to review their effects and to ensure that our joint objectives on Open Access are being met.

The RCUK policy on Access to Research Outputs is available here .

The new policy on access to research outputs brings together the commitment that the Research Councils have to Open Access and builds on the separate policies that they have had in place since 2005.

Access To Research Publications – A Reminder

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Open Access RepositoryThe EPSRC has released the following reminder about access to research publications:

EPSRC would like to remind all those it funds that published research arising from EPSRC funding must be made openly accessible by any available route.

Free and open access to publicly-funded research offers significant social and economic benefits. The Government, in line with its overarching commitment to transparency and open data, is committed to ensuring that such research should be accessible free of charge.

As public bodies, the Research Councils take very seriously their responsibilities in making the outputs from this research publicly available – not just to other researchers, but also to potential users in business, charitable and public sectors, and to the public.

The current EPSRC policy requires that all published research articles arising from EPSRC-sponsored research, and which were submitted for publication on or after 1 September 2011, must become available on an Open Access basis through any appropriate route.

Article processing fees for open access journals are allowable as direct costs and may be included in any grant application. For the full policy see the Open Access Full Policy.

The Research Councils are very pleased to be members and sponsors of the independent National Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, chaired by Dame Janet Finch (see Working Group for Expanding Access for more information). This independent group will propose a programme of action and make recommendations to government, research funders, publishers and other interested parties on how access to research findings and outcomes can be broadened for key audiences such as researchers, policymakers and the general public. Within the context of this group, the Research Councils will be developing further its own policies for open access to publications.

The requirement for open access arises from the EPSRC’s belief that current and future research fundamentally relies on access to the findings and ideas that come out of publicly-funded research. To support the policy of universal access, and to enable everyone to benefit from new knowledge,  academics are able to recover the cost of publication as a directly incurred cost (or as indirect costs, and this factored into the fEC indirect cost for the university.)

If you would like to discuss the implications of the open access policy please get in touch with the Research and Enterprise team.