Grant review scheme
The department submits a large number of research funding applications each year. To improve the likelihood of funding, a substantial fraction of applications are reviewed by two faculty members, ideally by one quite close to the applicants proposed field of research and another more distant from it.
The scheme is being extended to provide postgraduate students (years three and beyond) and postdoctoral researchers with the opportunity to gain exposure to and knowledge of grant writing and peer review processes.
Grant applications typically comprise
- administrative forms
- budget and budget justification
- administrative attachments (eg, covering letter, department supporting statements)
- main scientific case
- documents supporting the main scientific case (eg, CV, track record, scientific leadership profile, list of publications, impact plan).
The expected focus of the reviews is on the presentation of the scientific case. The experience gained will assist in the advancement of researchers careers, particularly for those who may remain in academia. No prior experience of the grant writing process is required.
Participants are asked to review the main scientific case and its supporting documents only. In advance of a review, participants are provided with funder guidelines, example (successful) applications where possible, and an estimate of the length of the expected application timescales for review, though we normally expect to allow one full week for the completion of reviews. Reviews should be conducted anonymously and completed reviews in the form of annotated pdfs should be sent by email to research facilitation.
Faculty are asked to conduct further reviews, which are shared with scheme participants. The additional reviews provide alternative viewpoints and allow participants to adjust and improve the approach taken. Reviews conducted by other scheme participants will also be shared, providing further points for comparison.
Participants are to be paid a fixed fee per grant, with the fee depending on the size of the grant. Rates for postdoctoral researchers are based on an estimated number of hours and the hourly rate for grade seven postdoctoral researchers at spinal point 31 on the casual pay scale. Rates for postgraduate students are based on an estimated number of hours and the hourly rate for grade six postdoctoral researchers at spinal point 27 on the casual pay scale.
Potential participants should contact the Head of Research Facilitation.