Author Archives: Sharon

RIFS Drop-In for November

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We’ll be setting up base in The Ground Cafe on the first floor of the Learning Hub for our drop-in this month. Come along between 1-3pm on Wednesday, 20th November for a friendly chat with the team. Look out for the RIFS pink banner.

You may be thinking of a particular project and would like some initial advice or on the hunt for specific funding opportunities and not sure where to start. No need to book for these sessions, just turn up. If you have something specific you’d like to discuss then drop us an email beforehand and we can be ready and waiting for you.

Our drop-ins are open to all Faculties, Research Institutes and PGR students. We are normally joined by a member from the LLS team who can assist you on a range of topics, including REF impact and Copyright.

UKRI – European Union Exit

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The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has now published the first of five tranches of information about delivery of the government’s funding commitments for Horizon 2020, Research Fund for Coal and Steel and Euratom R&T.

UKRI aim to provide specific information on the following areas prior to our exit from the European Union (EU):

  • Further information about onboarding and other UKRI processes (17 October)
  • Information about guarantee coverage (23 October)
  • Information about UKRI contracts that UK beneficiaries will need to sign to access guarantee funding (by 31 October)
  • Guidance on funding for UK bids submitted to Horizon 2020 after Exit if the UK leaves the EU without a deal and further information about the ‘in flight’ assessment process (by 31 Octobe

Information about how to prepare

UKRI has a special email address for inquiries: EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org

Additionally, the UK government’s Horizon 2020 Fact Pack can be found here

UKRI’s UK Research Office in Brussels has a factsheet here

For more information on the portal and to register your grant, please visit UKRI EU Exit

RIFS Drop in – Join us on 21st October

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Our drop-ins make a welcome return this month and you’ll find us on the sofas outside the Research and Enterprise office on the ground floor, Senate on Monday, 21st October from 10am-12pm.

Funding opportunities, project advice, collaborating with businesses – we can help with these and more. No need to book, just drop in for some friendly one-to-one support with the team. This session is an ideal opportunity to also meet with members of the LLS team who can support you with any REF and Research Management questions you may have.

Our drop-ins are open to all Faculties, Research Institutes and PGR students. If you are unable to make this one, don’t worry, these sessions are run on a monthly basis.

Big Ideas is Back

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If you are working with a small business or organisation on an idea that could use a financial boost, you are invited to apply for a Business Innovation Grant  in our second round of this new competitive fund.

Funding of £5,000 is available for University-led projects that can be spent on staff time, materials and other project expenses, with the ultimate aim of furthering collaboration and progressing new ideas. This equates to approximately 8-14 days of staff time (depending on your seniority) and could offer you the ring-fenced time you need to take the project forward.

Suggestions for activity include:

  • Developing a proof of concept
  • Completing initial research that will inform how the concept will develop
  • Market research
  • Progressing a concept so you’re ready to apply for larger funding, such as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership
  • Securing a working relationship so that it leads to further consultancy, research or student placements
  • Supporting REF and research outcomes – could this project lead to a new research output or provide evidence for an ongoing impact case study?

Interested? download the application form here. This is an internal competitive application process and all applications will be scored against a clear matrix.  Successful projects will need to have their funding spent by May 2020.

This is the second round of BIG funding offered by the University in 2019. The first round, held earlier in the year, attracted around 50 applications resulting in six organisations being successful.

One of those was Burton Latimer-based manufacturer, Versalift UK, which used the BIG fund to link up with Mohammed Ghaleeh, Engineering Lecturer at the University to develop a new automated process. You can read more on this exciting collaboration here

The Business Innovation Grants application deadline is Thursday, 7th November and we are currently promoting this fund out to businesses for expressions of interest to match up with relevant academics.

For more information please email Charlotte Patrick

We are running a BIG Ideas Funding event on Thursday, 10th October at 10am-12pm to coincide with the launch of this popular fund. Please book your space here

 

Erasmus+ co-funding Grants

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With the 31 October 2019 fast approaching, the University needs to ensure that it has fulfilled its obligations if a No Deal Brexit occurs. If you are leading or partnering an Erasmus+ Grant co-funded project you should already be aware the UK government has confirmed that in a ‘no deal’ scenario, it will underwrite Erasmus+ grants already agreed by exit day subject to existing projects being deemed ‘viable’ to continue. However, the underwrite will not cover funding committed to partners and participants in other Member States and other participating countries.

Details still need to be clarified by the government around the term ‘viable’ and how we work with Erasmus+ partner countries that are not underwritten by the UK government.  This information will be shared once it becomes available.

To ensure that all our Erasmus+ Grants are underwritten, the RIFS team need to provide the Cabinet Office with a list of Erasmus+ co-funded Grants with supporting evidence and amounts still owed. If you are working on an Erasmus KA2 project and have not received an email from us, please get in touch with Paul Bramble, Research Project Manager, urgently.

Please note Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (Student and Staff mobility) or European funded streams (ie Horizon 2020) have different guidelines and submission processes.

Further information can be found at UK Erasmus+ National Agency and Universities UK

Exciting News! Gateway Phase 2 Coming Soon

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We have some exciting news to share.

The team have been busy developing the next phase of Gateway Haplo and can now reveal this will soon be live.  Gateway Haplo Funding is our system for monitoring and reporting on the bidding activity throughout the University.

You’ll be happy to know that this next phase will deliver a number of improvements:-

  • Online Justification form – no more paper forms
  • Post Award section for recording project meetings, milestones and actions and storing those important documents
  • Improved reporting with a range of extra functions

As the system is updated and rolled out to all staff over the next couple of weeks, these changes will take shape. A set of guidelines, including handy tips, will also be available after our launch date.

Our official launch date is the 1st August and to help staff with these changes, a drop-in session will take place on Wednesday, 14th August from 10am-12pm in the Research and Enterprise Office, Ground Floor, Senate.

Unable to make the session? Drop the RIFS team an email and we can organise a 1:1 or group session.

What does the REF mean for me?

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The University of Northampton will be submitting its draft Code of Practice (CoP) to the REF on the 3rd of June 2019.  The CoP outlines the process taken by the University to determine eligibility for submission to the REF for all staff on teaching and research contracts, and research only contacts.  It also outlines the process for the selection of outputs to be submitted to the REF.

We will receive feedback from the REF on 16th August, and will consult with staff on any required changes.

This poster should help to clarify what the REF means for you!

The Graduate School and RIFS drop in – 6TH June

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We’ll be joining forces with the Graduate School and throwing open the doors to the Research and Enterprise Office. Come along between 1-3pm on Thursday, 6th June for coffee, homemade cakes and a friendly chat with the teams. You’ll find us on the ground floor of the Senate building, just behind reception.

Colleagues from the Graduate School will be on hand to help with those questions about research degree regulations and processes, or training and development. Whilst the RIFS team can offer support with your project, advice on funding, bid writing and working with businesses. There’s also the chance to chat with one of the LLS team on topics such as PURE and copyright.

This is an ideal opportunity to meet with a range of teams all at once and not to be missed. Our drop-in is open to all Faculties, Research Institutes and PGR students.

RIFS drop in – join us on the 29th April

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The RIFS on tour continues and you’ll find us in the ground floor Cafe of the Senate building this month. Look out for our pink pop-up banner.

There is no need to book, just pop in between 9.30-11.30am or drop us an email beforehand if you’d like to discuss something specific.  Our drop-ins are an ideal opportunity for an informal chat with the team on all things research related.  From GRANTfinder, funding and tendering advice to working with businesses and KTPs, we can help with all these and more.

So save this date in your diary, grab a drink from the Cafe and come join us.

RIFS drop in for March

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Pop this date in your diary and come chat with the RIFS team on Thursday, 28th March. We’ll be setting up camp in the green sofa area on The Market Mezzanine of the Learning Hub at Waterside. 

Struggling to find suitable funding opportunities or need guidance through the bid writing maze?  Or perhaps you have a project in mind and not sure where to start.  We can help with all of these and much more.  There is no need to book, just pop in between 10am-12pm.  You can always drop us an email beforehand if you have something specific you’d like advice on so we can be ready and waiting for you.

The mezzanine can be reached from the ground floor of The Market and up the stairs.  Be the first to find us to be awarded with a cake treat.