Energy and International Development: Understanding Sustainable Energy Solutions in Developing Countries
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), is leading a call on behalf of RCUK Energy Programme, inviting expressions of interest from organisations (based in either developing countries or the UK) who wish to bid under a major new research call on understanding sustainable energy solutions in developing countries.
£5M budget has been allotted by the UK Research Council’s Energy programme, for projects arising from this call. Also an additional £7.5M of matching funding can be made available from DFID and DECC, depending upon the quality of the received proposals. It is anticipated that up to three large-scale and ten smaller-scale proposals will be funded through this call.
Closing date: 28 September 2012.
Contact: Dr Lewis Preece
For further information please visit http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/energyandinternationaldevelopment.aspx
BBSRC-DBT call for proposals in Sustainable Bioenergy and Biofuels
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) jointly invite proposals under the Sustainable Bioenergy and Biofuels initiative.
The call for proposals is focussed around three key areas:
- Identification, characterisation and improvement of novel biomass (including algal biomass) processing enzymes. Such enzymes may originate from different biological sources including: algae, animal, bacteria, fungi or plants and may be natural isolates or manipulated by molecular and / or metabolic engineering, including synthetic biology approaches, to produce more efficient enzymes.
- Application of systems and synthetic biology approaches for the development of microbial strains (bacteria, yeast, fungal) for the production of advanced biofuels and capable of using all of the sugars derived from lignocellulosic or algal biomass.
- The improvement of algal strains suitable for biofuel applications including genomics approaches.
UK applicants must complete an intention to submit form by 1600 hours (UK time) on 30th August 2012.
Closing date: 1600 hours UK time on 9th October 2012
Contact:
BBSRC (UK) Eligibility and Peer Review Queries: Nicola Easen
BBSRC (UK) Scientific Queries: Dr Vicky Jackson, Dr Sarah Wagstaffe
DBT (India) Scientific and administrative Queries: Dr Shailja Gupta
For further information, see here.
EPSRC-DST call for proposals in Advanced Manufacturing
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) jointly invite proposals under the Advanced Manufacturing initiative.
Proposals must address one or more of the areas below in a coherent programme of innovative research:
- Advanced automation for manufacturing
- Engineering-driven sustainable manufacturing
- Manufacturing of high-performance materials and processes
- Industrialisation of biomedical procedures
- Integrated materials design, modelling, simulation and verification in a digital platform
- Next-generation sensors for manufacturing processes
- Realisation of functional surfaces
EPSRC and DST have committed to a contribution up to £3M each. Proposals should last for a maximum of three years.
Closing date: 27 September 2012 (1600 hours GMT, 2030 hours IST)
Contact:
UK: Dr Derek Gillespie or Dr Mark Claydon-Smith
India: Dr A Mukhopadhyay or Er Milind R Kulkarni
For further information, see:
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/ukindiasadvmanpartnership.aspx
ICSSR - ESRC - UKIERI PhD Partnering Initiative
The UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) and Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) are pleased to invite applications for the PhD Partnering Initiative.
The ESRC, UKIERI and ICSSR are committed to providing opportunities, for postgraduate students to build strong, sustainable networks through this opportunity. The main objectives of the initiative are to:
- Facilitate the development of reciprocal institutional links between the ESRC Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs) and centres of research excellence in India;
- Support the development of an international cohort of early career researchers with the skills, links and contacts to operate in the global research environment;
- Encourage the development of intellectual networks to foster long-term sustainable research collaboration between the UK and India;
- Foster the development of long-term international research collaborations on issues of global concern and with strong potential for international impact.
Closing date: 31 July 2012
For further information
ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation):
Call for Proposals: Evidence Synthesis Research Awards (ESRA)
ESRC and DFID are pleased to welcome applications to review and synthesise the research that has been funded under the ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation) on the themes of:
- social protection
- food security.
It is anticipated the syntheses will be conducted during the period from April to August 2012 with final reports submitted in September 2012. Applications can be made for up to £10,000 for each synthesis. Applicants are welcome to undertake one synthesis up to a maximum of £10,000; or both, up to a maximum of £20,000.
Eligibility includes:
- Researchers, normally located in a Higher Education Institute.
- Researchers in non-HE institutions, for example from government departments or from the third sector.
- Researchers may be based in either UK or non-UK organisations with recognised research capacity.
- Applications from non-UK institutions.
- Applications from teams of people.
Closing date: 20 April 2012 at 1600 hours UK time, via email to ESRC: dfid@esrc.ac.uk.
Contact: dfid@esrc.ac.uk.
For further information, see: www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRA
AHRC-Sarai: International Placement Scheme
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) UK , under its annual International Placement Scheme (IPS) invites applications for IPS fellowships for up to three months under the Sarai programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, India.
Successful applicants will receive a contribution towards their flights costs, plus a monthly allowance of £1000 in addition to their normal monthly stipend/salary paid as part of their existing AHRC award. The fellowships must take place between 1 October 2012 and 30 September 2013.
The call is open to current AHRC-funded PhD students, research assistants and early career researchers.
Closing date: 1600 hours GMT on 15 March 2012
Call for Proposals: ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation)
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) UK and Department for International Development (DFID) and are pleased to announce a third call for applications under Phase 2 of their strategic partnership to provide a joint funding scheme for development research.
This call has a total budget of £7 million. Applications are invited for projects with a fEC value of between £100,000 and £500,000.
This scheme is open to UK and non-UK researchers based in higher education institutions, research organisations and organisations with a credible research capacity.
Closing date: 1600 hours (UK time) on 27 September 2011
Contact: dfid@esrc.ac.uk
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/international-funding/esrc-dfid/DFID-phase2-call3.aspx
Indian-European Research Networking Programme: Call for Proposals
The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR, India) in association with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, UK), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, France), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany), and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO, The Netherlands) invites applications for joint social science networking proposals between research centres in the participating European countries and India.
The aim of the scheme is to promote the strengthening of the social sciences within and between the five countries by providing additional funding to allow joint research activities for internationally excellent research in relevant areas.
The call is open to research groups from the participating countries, while other European or South Asian countries who wish to participate must be able to contribute any resources which may be required for their participation.
Closing date:
Online applications to NWO via Iris online application by 1500 GMT on 15 September 2011.
In addition, email applications to ICSSR by 1100 GMT on 15 September 2011
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/15464/indian-european-research-networking-programme.aspx
Rising Powers and Interdependent Futures - research grant proposals
The Economic and Social Research Council, UK (ESRC) invites proposals for international collaborative research projects under the ‘Rising Powers and Interdependent Futures’ initiative.
Non-UK applicants from any country can be co-investigators on research applications.
Closing date: 1600 hours UK time on 8 September 2011.
For further information, see: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/15262/rising-powers-and-interdependent-futures.aspx
DFID-ESRC Growth Programme: Call for applications
The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK invite applications under the new DFID-ESRC Growth Programme: a new funding scheme partnership.
£8.91 million has been provisionally allocated for collaborative research projects under this programme up to 30 research projects are expected to be funded.
Research must be relevant to the countries of DFID interest, being primarily low-income countries, and including large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of this research programme is on economic growth, and the development and use of policy-relevant knowledge. However, a number of cross-cutting issues are important, and proposals that contribute to these will be welcomed. These include strengthened governance in fragile and conflict-affected states, the empowerment of women, and adapting to the affects of climate change.
Theme 1: Agriculture and Growth: This theme will focus on developing understanding of the relationship between agricultural development and broader economic growth, and on the impact of policies on agricultural productivity.
Theme 2: Financial Sector Development and Growth: This theme will focus on macro issues in finance in low-income countries, including regulation and supervision of financial markets, the structure of the sector, and management of capital inflows.
Theme 3: Innovation, Diffusion and Economic Growth: Raising Productivity in Low Income Countries: This theme will investigate issues around innovation, the spread of know-how, and the process of adapting know-how to meet local conditions in low-income countries.
Closing date: 16.00 UK time on 26 May 2011
For further information, see: www.esrc.ac.uk/DFID-ESRCgrowth.
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Medical Research Council invites applications with focus on Systems Biology
The Medical Research Council, UK (MRC) has issued a 'highlight notice'
to invite proposals which take a systems biology approach to medical research
'systems medicine'.
Systems biology describes the study of complex systems, with emphasis on
how interactions between components of biological systems underlie the behaviour
of the system as a whole. It is typified by the generation and testing of models
of complex processes (generally quantitative and computational) to explain and
predict biological phenomena, and combines iterative cycles of theory, modelling
and experiments.
While the MRC already supports some medically-related research in this area,
it now wishes to build on the research & training foundations laid by other
research councils. Applications in systems medicine will be welcomed across
the MRC’s broad remit, especially at programme-level.
The MRC recognises the importance of collaborating with leading groups
internationally, and would particularly like to encourage applications of this
type.
Research groups in India which have
a) expertise in systems biology
b) an interest in applying this to medical research, and
c) links with leading UK research groups
should contact their UK colleagues to explore possibilities for developing
joint research proposals which can seek funding in both countries.
For further information, see:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Highlightnotices/Systemsbiologyformedicine/index.htm
Contact:
Dr Tom Foulkes on 020 7670 5305
DFID-ESRC Growth Programme: Call for applications
The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK invite applications under the new DFID-ESRC Growth Programme: a new funding scheme partnership.
£8.91 million has been provisionally allocated for collaborative research projects under this programme up to 30 research projects are expected to be funded.
Research must be relevant to the countries of DFID interest, being primarily low-income countries, and including large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of this research programme is on economic growth, and the development and use of policy-relevant knowledge. However, a number of cross-cutting issues are important, and proposals that contribute to these will be welcomed. These include strengthened governance in fragile and conflict-affected states, the empowerment of women, and adapting to the affects of climate change.
Theme 1: Agriculture and Growth: This theme will focus on developing understanding of the relationship between agricultural development and broader economic growth, and on the impact of policies on agricultural productivity.
Theme 2: Financial Sector Development and Growth: This theme will focus on macro issues in finance in low-income countries, including regulation and supervision of financial markets, the structure of the sector, and management of capital inflows.
Theme 3: Innovation, Diffusion and Economic Growth: Raising Productivity in Low Income Countries: This theme will investigate issues around innovation, the spread of know-how, and the process of adapting know-how to meet local conditions in low-income countries.
Closing date: 16.00 UK time on 26 May 2011
For further information, see: www.esrc.ac.uk/DFID-ESRCgrowth.
Major international research initiative launched to improve food security for developing countries
In a unique and important move to harness science to improve food security for millions of people in the developing world, research funders from the UK and USA and government departments in the UK and India have announced a new £20M/$32M joint research initiative.
Funding will be awarded to teams that can show that their research can improve food security and increase sustainable crop yields within the next 5-10 years.
The new initiative is being managed by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The £20M fund is made up of contributions from BBSRC, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (through a grant to BBSRC), the UK Department for International Development and the Indian Department of Biotechnology.
Closing date: 31 March 2011
Further information is available here
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RCUKI Travel Funding for UK-based Early Career Researchers
The Research Councils UK office in India (RCUKI) early career researchers’
travel funding aims to create opportunities for UK-based early career researchers
to visit India as part of a broader UK-India networking activity. Subject to
a successful application, the office will provide limited funds to support a
single trip to India for UK based early career researchers to enhance their
UK-India collaboration knowledge. This could include attending a workshop, seminar
or other similar events in India.
These funds are meant to specifically enable UK-based, early career researchers,
to accompany Research Council supported researchers who are involved in organising/planning
or attending an event in India. It should essentially be seen as ‘top-up’ funding
to an activity that would otherwise take place without early career researcher
involvement.
For further information, see
here
RCUK-DST Collaborative Research Initiative in ‘Bridging the Urban and rural
Divide’
RCUK and DST have agreed to fund research projects that tackle the challenges
in ‘Bridging the Urban and Rural Divide’. This initiative aims to address whole
systems research problems in making living rurally a sustainable option, both
in the UK and India.
This funding expects to support large collaborative consortia projects which
address the research challenges highlighted in full call document. The funding
requested should reflect the scale and ambition of the project.
The costs of the UK Institutions will be met from RCUK funds, those for the
Indian partner institutions will be met by the DST. Projects should be three
years in duration.
Closing date:
For declaration of intention to submit: 1 December 2010 GMT
For receipt of applications: 5 January 2011 1600 hours GMT
For further information, see:
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/2010/burd/Pages/default.aspx
Contacts
UK
Dr Hannah Foreman
Portfolio Manager, Digital Economy and Energy Programmes
EPSRC
Tel: +44 (0)1793 444428
Email:
Hannah.foreman@epsrc.ac.uk
India
Head
Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development Division
Department of Science and Technology
Technology Bhawan
New Delhi 110016
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RCUK-DST Collaborative Research Initiative in Fuel Cell Technologies
The Research Councils UK (RCUK) Energy Programme and India’s Department of
Science and Technology (DST) jointly invite proposals for consortia research
projects focussing on fuel cell technologies.
Fuel Cell Technologies have been identified by both India and the UK as an
area of significance in providing solutions to the problem of meeting future
energy needs. The potential for the UK and India to work together in this area
was outlined in a publication entitled
Fuel Cells in India: Opportunities for UK-India Collaboration. The agreement
to collaborate on research funding was confirmed at Ministerial level in a meeting
between the Indian and UK Science Ministers in July 2010.
In order to scope the areas for potential collaboration, a workshop to bring
together leading fuel cell technology researchers from both the India and the
UK was arranged and held in Chennai in September 2010. This call is based around
areas identified as themes of common interest during the workshop.
The Research Councils’ Energy Programme has committed to a contribution of
up to £3M for this call over a three year period with matched resources from
DST.
Closing date: November 25th 2010
For further information, see:
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/2010/fuelcells/Pages/default.aspx
Contacts:
UK
Dr Samantha Riches, EPSRC
Tel +44 (0)1793 444536
mailto:samantha.riches@epsrc.ac.uk
India
Head
Science and Engineering Research Council
Department of Science and Technology
Technology Bhawan
New Delhi
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NERC-International Opportunities Fund
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) UK announces the International
Opportunities Fund to facilitate international collaboration for research and
research-related activities that are aligned with NERC strategic priorities,
and are not typically supported through NERC's usual funding schemes.
This may include, for example, international programmes and networks; collaborative
secondments and exchanges; major international workshops or conferences; pump-priming
to attract inward investment to UK research institutions; or international project
offices.
Closing date: 14 December 2010 (1600 hours UK time)
For further information, see:
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/news/ao-iof.asp
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Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) - Announcement of Opportunity
The Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme is a partnership
that brings together the Department for International Development (DFID), the
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic & Social Research
Council (ESRC) to deliver a planned seven year interdisciplinary research programme,
with a total budget of £40.5m. The ESPA programme is part of the
Living With Environmental Change partnership.
ESPA's goal is to ensure that, in developing countries, ecosystems are being
sustainably managed in a way that contributes to poverty reduction and inclusive/sustainable
growth.
To achieve this goal, ESPA will invest in cutting-edge research that delivers
improved understanding of how ecosystem function, the services they provide,
the full value of these services, and their potential role in achieving sustainable
poverty reduction. Crucially, ESPA funded research must provide evidence and
tools to enable decision makers and end users to manage ecosystems sustainably
and in a way that contributes to poverty reduction.
This announcement of opportunity invites proposals for research consortium
projects that will address this agenda. The call has a total budget of £16m.
Awards may be between three to five years in duration, with a total value
of the project (the 100% full economic cost) between £500k and £4m, with exceptional
projects able to bid for up to £5m.
Closing date for Expression of Interest (EOI): 8 December 2010
These will not be assessed, but submission of an EOI is a condition of submitting
a full proposal.
The deadline for full proposals is 1600 hours (UK time) on 19 January 2011.
For further information, visit:
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/espa/events/ao6.asp
Contact:
ESPA Directorate:
info@espa.ac.uk
ESPA Secretariat:
Chloe Onoufriou
Tel: 01793 411603
Beth Woodward
Tel: 01793 442597
Dominique Butt
Tel: 01793 411751
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ESRC/DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty
Alleviation)
Phase 2 - Second call for applications
The Department for International Development (DFID) and Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC) invite applications towards the second call of Phase
2 of their strategic partnership to provide a joint funding scheme for development
research.
The purpose of the scheme is to provide a more robust conceptual and empirical
basis for development, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). The second phase of funding retains the overall 'poverty alleviation'
theme from the first phase, and applications under this broad heading will still
be welcome.
However, ESRC and DFID have identified three thematic areas for this call where
work will be of particular interest. These areas are:
-Population and Development
-Development in a Changing World-the Challenge for Theory, Policy and Action
-Inequality and Development
The scheme is open to applicants from both UK and non-UK Institutions.
Closing date: 1600 hours UK time on 30 September 2010
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/international-funding/esrc-dfid/
Contact:
DFID@esrc.ac.uk
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ICMR-MRC Joint Initiative - Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases Research Funding
The world is facing a new health crisis: a rapidly increasing epidemic of
chronic disease which is no longer restricted to high income countries. Today
four out of five deaths from these conditions are occurring in low and middle
income countries and at younger ages.
To help address the causes of this epidemic, in November 2009 the Indian
Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the UK Medical Research Council (MRC)
jointly hosted a workshop in New Delhi. The full report of the workshop can
be freely downloaded from the MRC website here: www.mrc.ac.uk/Utilities/Documentrecord/index.htm?d=MRC006744.
As a result of these discussions a number of research priorities were identified
which form the basis of this call which will be jointly funded by the two agencies.
The partnership between ICMR and MRC aims to combine the strengths of the
Indian and UK chronic disease research communities. The guiding principles for
the call will be:
- The proposed research programme should have relevance to the burden
of chronic disease in both countries and in addition, outcomes should ideally
be meaningful to a wider international audience.
- The research should involve collaboration and co-leadership between
Indian and UK researchers/groups and encompass work in India and the UK.
- Programmes of work should either involve implementation research or
applicants should make clear how the outputs of their investigations could
be implemented at scale i.e. they must be feasible and cost-effective to
apply on a large scale. It is expected that the scaling-up would be addressed
through other programmes and would not be part of this call.
- Applicants will be encouraged to take a multidisciplinary approach (including
health economics, social science, bio-statistics, data management, other
allied health and non-health disciplines) where appropriate and to involve
clinical and non-clinical (community) health workers, other elements of
civil society, industry, policy/decision makers and patient groups/families
in study designs.
- The research collaboration should foster the sharing of methods, tools
and research materials, encourage the exchange of researchers and ensure
the effective dissemination of results.
- Applicants will be expected to build in an appropriate monitoring/evaluation
process (with agreed milestones) from the initiation of the programme.
Further information is availiable on the MRC website here:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Calls/ICMR-MRCJointInitiative/MRC007038
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Changing water cycle in South Asia
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) India and the Natural Environment Research
Council (NERC) UK, jointly invite outline bid proposals for research on the
changing water cycle in South Asia.
For NERC this activity forms the second phase of its Changing Water Cycle
programme. This is a five-year, £10m research programme that directly relates
to the delivery of NERC strategy (in particular the climate system, sustainable
use of natural resources and natural hazards science themes) and UK Government's
strategic goals with respect to adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change.
For MoES this activity forms part of its programme on capacity building and
research and development in Earth sciences.
Proposals are sought for collaborations between UK and Indian researchers.
Please see the
NERC website for further information.
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ESRC-ICSSR India-UK Scholar Exchanges 2010
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Indian Council for Social
Science Research (ICSSR) are pleased to invite applications under the third
call for India-UK scholar exchanges.
The purpose of the scheme is to strengthen the quality and potential of research
in both countries by building greater research interaction. The scheme is aimed
at established scholars in either country to undertake clearly specified research
collaborations between India and UK.
Funding will be available for academic visits of 1-3 months to recognised
research organisations, including universities and research institutes.
Exchange Scholars must be ordinarily resident in the appropriate country
and employed, with an appointment of at least three years, in a research or
academic position in a recognised Research Organisation in that country. They
must also hold a PhD or equivalent qualification, and have held this for at
least three years by April 2010 (ie since at least April 2007).
The Councils expect to be able to make up to 10 Grants during 2010, with
arrangements for the visit to be completed by not later than December 2010,
and the visit to be taken up during academic year 2010-11. The Councils expect
but do not require that five of the exchange visits will be to the UK and the
other five to India.
Contact:
International at ESRC:
international@esrc.ac.uk
Dr K N Jehangir at ICSSR:
knjehangir@gmail.com
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BioPharm 2020: UK-India Biotechnology Business Challenge
BioPharm 2020 is a Science Bridge award jointly funded by RCUK and India's
Department of Science and Technology (DST). Launched in October 2009 in New
Delhi, BioPharm 2020 now presents the UK-India Biotechnology Business Challenge
which is a business plan competition aiming to promote entrepreneurship in Healthcare
and Pharmaceutical Sciences within the UK and India.
The competition is designed to encourage scientists with promising scientific
advances underpinning a new business idea to progress their concept towards
commercialisation. Entrants will have access to tools to assist them in developing
their business plan submission, including on-line Master Classes from a range
of experts.The winning teams from the UK and India will be provided with
a package of benefits to support them in setting up their own business, with
a prize worth over £40,000 for the winning UK team and over Rs 15 lakhs for
the winning Indian team.
The competition is open to scientists from academia, research institutes
and industry who reside either in the UK or India.
For further information, see:
http://www.biopharm2020.org/competition.php
Contact:
BioPharm2020@nottingham.ac.uk
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RCUK Bursaries for ESRC’s Research Methods Festival
The Research Councils UK Office in India are offering five bursaries for
up to £2000 (1,30,000 INR) each to attend the ESRC Research Methods Festival
being held in the UK in July 2010. The aim is to enable academics in the Indian
social science community engaged in research, teaching research methods or supervising
research to engage with UK academics in these areas.
For further information, eligibility criteria and application forms, see:
http://www.india.rcuk.ac.uk/forthev/default.htm
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Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) - Announcement of Opportunity
The Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme is a partnership
that brings together the Department for International Development (DFID), the
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic and Social Research
Council (ESRC) to deliver a planned 7 year interdisciplinary research programme,
with a total budget of £40.5 million.
This announcement of opportunity invites proposals for the following research
activities:
- Programme Framework grants. The purpose of these awards is to ‘kick
start’ the development of the new and innovative concepts, methodologies
and / or models needed to deliver ESPA’s objectives.
- Partnership and Project Development grants. These will provide catalyst
funding to support consortia formation and proposal writing, in order to
develop a proposal for submission to subsequent ESPA calls.
For further information, see:
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/espa/events/ao4.asp
Contact: ESPA secretariat - 01793 411751
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The Newton International Fellowships
The Newton International Fellowship scheme is run by The British Academy, The
Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society in collaboration with the
Research Councils UK.
They select the very best early stage post-doctoral researchers from all
over the world, and offer support for two years at UK research institutions.
The long-term aim of the scheme is to build a global pool of research leaders
and encourage long-term international collaboration with the UK. The Fellowships
cover the broad range of natural and social sciences, engineering and the humanities.
Contact: info@newtonfellowships.org
or call +44 (0)20 7451 2559
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BA/AHRC/ESRC- Visiting Scholars Scheme for South Asia and Middle East
The British Academy (BA), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) are pleased to invite applications
under the fourth round of their Visiting Scholars scheme for South Asia and
the Middle East. The Scheme aims to attract early career researchers in any
branch of the humanities or social sciences to collaborate on research and develop
ideas likely to lead to a joint research proposal in the near future. Researchers,
in conjunction with a UK host academic, can apply to spend two to six months
undertaking a clearly specified research project in the United Kingdom.
Applications should be made by the UK host via the Research Council Joint Electronic
Submission System (Je-S).
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/international-funding/theme.aspx
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Adapting Rural Living and Land Use to Environmental Change: Call for Proposals
The Relu Programme, with additional funding from the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC), invites applications under a fourth call on the theme
of "Adapting Rural Living and Land Use to Environmental Change". The call has
been developed in conjunction with the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC)
Programme.
Projects that include an international dimension will be welcome though the
primary focus of the work should be on the UK. Also welcome are proposals for
projects and collaborations that include piloting or testing of innovative approaches
and experiments in adaptation to, or mitigation of, environmental change in
real life contexts.
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/current_funding_opportunities/RELU.aspx.
Contact: For queries please contact
Owen Dowsett
or Eloise
Stott.
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Comparative Cross-National Research Methods
The ESRC welcomes applications under the initiative on Comparative
Cross-National Research Methods. This initiative is aimed at generating expertise
and knowledge relevant to methodological development in comparative cross-national
research and advancing understanding of the implementation of best practice.
It is not focused on any particular methodological approach and will fund high-quality
proposals from qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods researchers.
This call is open to international co-investigators. Training
and capacity building will be a significant component of each project. Applications
may also include funding for a research-linked studentship (+3 awards).
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/current_funding_opportunities/CCNRM.aspx
Contact:
Any enquiries relating to the initiative or to ESRC research funding rules should
be addressed to Kristine Doronenkova
at ESRC, 01793 444303.
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ESRC initiative on Rising Powers - Global Challenges and Social Change
The ESRC invites applications to its new initiative on 'Rising Powers, Global
Challenges and Social Change'. The emergence of the so-called "Rising Powers"
- including but not limited to India, China, Brazil and Russia - represents
one of the key drivers of global economic and social change.
The aim of the new initiative is to deepen our understanding of the regional
and global impacts of the Rising Powers and the economic, political and social
implications for the UK.
This call is for Networks with embedded Visiting Fellowships only. Costs
relating to Indian scholars can be included as part of these Networks.
A call for research awards follows in 2010.
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ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty
Alleviation)
Phase 2 - First Call for Applications
The first phase of this scheme, launched in August 2005, funded 46 world
class research projects.
Read more.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK’s Department for
International Development (DFID) have agreed to continue their strategic partnership
to provide a joint funding scheme for development research. The aim of the scheme
is to enhance the quality and impact of social science research addressing the
key international development goal of reducing poverty amongst the poorest countries
and peoples of the world. This second phase of the joint scheme has a total
budget of £23 million and will consist of three annual calls for proposals.
£7m is set aside for this first call. Costs for scholars from anywhere in the
world can be included in proposals, where justified and appropriate. The second
phase of funding retains the overall 'poverty alleviation' theme from the first
phase, and applications under this broad heading will be welcome. However, ESRC
and DFID have identified three thematic areas for this call where work will
be of particular interest. These areas are:
- Security, Conflict and Development;
- Economic Crisis, Poverty and Growth: the Implications for Development
Theory and Practice;
- Cities and Development
Important Reminder:
Any UK and non-UK applicant(s) and their institutions intending to apply
to this call must ensure they are registered with the Joint Electronic Submission
System (Je-S). It is essential to allow sufficient time to secure JeS registration
- we strongly recommend that applicants register with Je-S at least three weeks
prior to the call deadline, as no exceptions can be made for late submission
of applications.
If you and your research organisation are already registered for Je-S, electronic
applications can be accessed via the central Je-S web site.
For further information, see:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/international-funding/esrc-dfid/
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India-UK Collaborative Research Initiative in Solar Energy
Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology
(DST) are looking to strengthen collaboration between UK and Indian research
institutions. India remains one of the UK Research Councils' priority countries
for increasing research collaboration.
This call will focus on Thin Film and Excitonic Solar Energy Technologies.
The area of the call was agreed upon through a dialogue between the UK Research
Councils' Energy programme and the Government of India’s Department of Science
and Technology (DST). Development of technologies relating to solar energy was
agreed to be of importance to both countries.
For further information, see:
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/CallsForProposals/default.htm
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BA/AHRC/ESRC- Visiting Fellowships Scheme
The British Academy (BA), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) are inviting applications
under the third round of their Visiting Fellowships Scheme for South Asia and
the Middle East. The Scheme aims to attract early career researchers in any
branch of the humanities or social sciences to collaborate on research and develop
ideas likely to lead to a joint research proposal in the near future. Grants
are provided to a maximum of £7,500 and are intended to cover travel and subsistence
costs for the Visiting Fellow for the duration of their stay.
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Newton International Fellowships
The Newton International Fellowship scheme is run by The British Academy,
The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society in collaboration with
the Research Councils UK. They will select the very best early stage post-doctoral
researchers from all over the world, and offer support for two years at UK research
institutions. The long-term aim of the scheme is to build a global pool of research
leaders and encourage long-term international collaboration with the UK.
For further information, see:
http://www.newtonfellowships.org/your-questions.html
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BBSRC - India Partnering Awards
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These awards aim to set up partnership links between UK and overseas laboratories;
to promote the exchange of researchers and to promote access to facilities.
This is an opportunity for UK scientists to apply for up to £25,000 over a period
of four years, with one or more Indian life sciences laboratories.
For further information, see:
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/science/international/india.html
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Four PhD Studentship Awards 2008
Awards for excellent graduates in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering
or cognate area.
(A) two EPSRC/ BT funded CASE Awards (based at Ulster-UK)
(B) two University of Ulster (UK) funded/ in collaboration with BT PhD awards
All the projects have been created under the auspices of the
India-UK Advanced Technology Centre (IU-ATC) of Excellence in Next Generation
Networks Systems and Services.
For further information, see:
http://www.compeng.ulster.ac.uk/rgs/Phd_EPSRC_1.php
http://www.compeng.ulster.ac.uk/rgs/Phd_EPSRC_2.php
http://www.compeng.ulster.ac.uk/rgs/Phd_VCRS_1.php
http://www.compeng.ulster.ac.uk/rgs/Phd_VCRS_2.php
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EPSRC - INTERACT
INTERACT provides funding for setting up new collaborations between researchers
in the UK and either China, India or Japan. The grants can be used to cover
travel and subsistence for groups of UK researchers to make visits.
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ESRC- Brazil-India Pathfinder Research Projects
This call is aimed at building and strengthening research networks joining
social scientists in Brazil and India with UK counterparts by fostering research
collaboration and knowledge around the secondary analysis of existing microdata
resources. Through this initiative the ESRC is seeking to fund eight to ten
research projects per country which will address research questions under one,
or more, of the following indicative themes:
- Economic Restructuring;
- Higher Education;
- Social Equality.
The ESRC will also consider proposals addressing other areas that might be
of mutual interest to UK, Brazil and India. Applications are invited for bilateral
pathfinder projects, i.e. UK-Brazilian, UK-Indian or trilateral projects, i.e.
projects involving all three countries. A representative from the UK research
community will undertake a role of a principle investigator while representatives
of the research communities of Brazil and India will assume a role of overseas
co-investigators. Costs for within India (including for Indian collaborators)
are therefore permissible through these awards.
Contact:
Any enquiries relating to the initiative or to ESRC research funding rules should
be addressed to:
Kristine Doronenkova at ESRC, 01793 444303
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ESRC-ICSSR India-UK Scholar Exchanges 2009
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Indian Council for Social
Science Research (ICSSR) are inviting applications under the second call for
India-UK scholar exchanges.
The scheme is aimed at established scholars in either country to undertake
clearly specified research collaborations between India and UK. Funding will
be available for academic visits of 1-3 months to recognised research organisations,
including universities and research institutes.
Exchange Scholars must be ordinarily resident in the appropriate country
and employed, with an appointment of at least three years, in a research or
academic position in a recognised research or academic institution in that country.
They must also hold a PhD or equivalent qualification, and have held this for
at least three years by April 2009 (i.e. since at least April 2006).
Proposals should be submitted on the ESRC-ICSSR Scholar Exchanges Application
Form (Word). The deadline for proposals is at 4 pm GMT on Tuesday 14 April 2009.
The Exchange Scholar should work together with The Lead Collaborator to complete
the application form.
Applications for Indian scholars wishing to visit UK have to be submitted
by their UK collaborators to ESRC.
Application and all supporting materials (1-2-page CVs of Exchange Scholar
and Lead Collaborator, Letter of Invitation from Host institution) should be
sent to The Records Management, ESRC in hard copy and to
international@esrc.ac.uk
as an attachment.
It is expected that decisions on applications will be available by late August
2009.
Contact:
Any query regarding the competition should be addressed to:
Zaneta Ulozeviciute at ESRC; or
Dr KN Jehangir
at ICSSR.