UK-specific parallel sessions

The parallel sessions detailed below are specifically relevant to a UK audience. This may be because they relate to funding opportunities only available to UK-based research organisations, or they relate to UK-specific policies. Please review the description of each session for further information about what it will cover.

For other sessions, see also:

101: Funding for Multidisciplinary Research

Pete Munday, Eureka UK National Project Coordinator, Technology Strategy Board
Oliver Flude, Project Manager (Science Links), British Council
Dr Anne Dean, Assistant Director, Leverhulme Trust

Theme(s): Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: Departmental and central administrators whose remit includes provision of advice on research funding
Experience Level: No/basic experience

The speakers will outline the remit of their respective organisations including strategic priorities and funds available across all disciplines. Details will be provided on the eligibility criteria for applicants, allowed costs, and the application processes. As well as giving a broad overview of the funding themes, the speakers will give details of current funding opportunities, and those which will appear in the near future. The British Council funds international activities and this section may be of interest to both UK and non-UK delegates.

201: Knowledge Transfer and Impact

Fiona Nightingale, KTP Senior Advisor, Technology Strategy Board
Robert Heathman, Senior Knowledge Transfer Manager, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Kevin Moore, Deputy Head of Knowledge Transfer, Economic and Social Research Council

Theme(s): Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: Departmental and central administrators whose remit includes provision of advice on research funding
Experience Level: No/basic experience

The speakers will outline the knowledge transfer opportunities of their respective organisations including strategic priorities and funds available across all disciplines. Details will be provided on the eligibility criteria for applicants, allowed costs, and the application processes. They will include examples of the impact of knowledge transfer from universities to other sectors.

206: Managing academic research in universities or cat-herding for beginners? The case of the UK

Professor Rosemary Deem, Professor of Education, University of Bristol
Ewart Wooldridge, Chief Executive, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education

Theme(s): Developing professional research managers and administrators
Target Audience: Anyone involved with research administration
Experience Level: No prior experience required

Academics are regarded as particularly challenging to manage, leading to descriptions of the process as being like 'herding cats'. The paper examines how UK universities manage their research through such roles as Pro-Vice Chancellors for research, and via the work of central administrative units which specialise in the management of research, consultancy and entrepreneurial/ enterprise activity. What are the possible consequences for academic research and researchers' identities and practices of the attempts to herd research cats? The paper draws on theories about the permeation of universities by new managerialism and the new governance of higher education well as theories about the complexities of strategic management in higher education.

301: Funding for Science and Engineering

Speakers to be confirmed, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council

Theme(s): Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: Departmental and central administrators whose remit includes provision of advice on research funding
Experience Level: No/basic experience

The speakers will outline the subject remit of their respective organisations including strategic priorities and funds available. Details will be provided on the eligibility criteria for applicants, allowed costs, and the application processes. As well as giving a broad overview of the funding themes, the speakers will give details of current funding opportunities, and those which will appear in the near future.

307: The UK Research Excellence Framework

Paul Hubbard, Head of Research Policy, Higher Education Funding Council for England

Theme(s): Assessing research/Policy and strategy
Target Audience: UK research administrators who may be involved in supporting REF preparations
Experience Level: Any

In November 2007 the Higher Education Funding Council for England published a consultation paper concerning proposals for the future assessment and funding of research. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) will consist of an over-arching framework for the funding and assessment of research that takes account of key differences between the different disciplines. Research income, research student data and a new bibliometric indicator of research quality will drive assessment and funding for the science-based disciplines. For the arts, humanities and social sciences (where quantitative approaches are less developed) the REF will use a light-touch form of peer review. The new framework will be phased in; it will inform funding gradually for the science-based disciplines from 2010. The light-touch peer review exercise for the other disciplines will take place in 2013. The new framework will drive funding for all disciplines fully from 2014. An analysis of the responses to the consultation exercise will be published in spring 2008. This session will provide an update on recent developments and next steps to be taken, and allow participants to debate key issues.

308: The RCUK review of Full Economic Costing

Stuart Ward, Director of Resources, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Ian Carter, Director of Research, University of Liverpool

Theme(s): Policy and strategy/Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: UK research administrators who may be involved in proposal costing, or in supporting the TRAC process
Experience Level: No/basic experience/Intermediate

UK higher education institutions have developed and implemented full economic costing (FEC) for all research over the past three years and Research Councils have been required to fund research projects on the basis of FEC, in order to help to address the sustainability of research. Its introduction has had numbers of effects within the sector. At the start of the process, the government indicated that FEC would be reviewed after three years. That review, by Research Councils UK, has now been initiated, to report by the end of 2008. This session will discuss some of the issues arising from the introduction of FEC, and the approach being taken in the review.

401: Funding for Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

Frances Burstow, Associate Director, Research Grants Policy, Policy and Resources Directorate, Economic and Social Research Council
Ian Broadbridge, Programme Manager, Arts and Humanities Research Council
Dr Ken Emond, Assistant Secretary, Research Posts and Projects, British Academy

Theme(s): Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: Departmental and central administrators whose remit includes provision of advice on research funding
Experience Level: No/basic experience

501: Funding for Biomedical Sciences - Research Councils

Dr David Cox, University Relationships Manager, Medical Research Council
Dr Adam Staines, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Theme(s): Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: Departmental and central administrators whose remit includes provision of advice on research funding
Experience Level: No/basic experience

The speakers will outline the subject remit of their respective Research Councils including strategic priorities and funds available. Details will be provided on the eligibility criteria for applicants, allowed costs, and the application processes. As well as giving a broad overview of the funding themes, the speakers will give details of current funding opportunities, and those which will appear in the near future.

601: Funding for Biomedical Sciences: Charities

Simon Denegri, Chief Executive, Association of Medical Research Charities
Speaker from the Wellcome Trust, to be confirmed
Dr Simon Vincent, Head of Personal Awards and Training, Cancer Research UK

Theme(s): Research funding and funding opportunities
Target Audience: Departmental and central administrators whose remit includes provision of advice on research funding
Experience Level: No/basic experience

The speakers will outline the subject remit of the their respective organisations including details of the current strategic plans and funds available. Details will be provided of the eligibility criteria for applicants, allowed costs, and the application processes. As well as giving a broad overview of the funding themes, the speakers will give details of current funding opportunities, and those which are planned for the near future.

607: Putting Open Access Publishing into Practice: funding mechanisms, institutional collaboration and building repositories

Matthew Cockerill, Publisher, BioMed Central
Stephen Pinfield, Chief Information Officer, University of Nottingham
Margaret Hurley and Nicola Perrin, The Wellcome Trust
Bill Hubbard, SHERPA Manager, SHERPA

Theme(s): Dissemination and translation of research
Target Audience: All
Experience Level: Any

This session includes talks from experts in the field talking about putting open access publishing into practice covering policies, institutional collaboration and funding mechanisms. It will include an introduction to the open access business model and how the success of the model is reliant on sustainable funding from research funders. The session features a presentation on how to set up an institutional repository from the point of view of policy, process and practicality. A case study will be presented on why and how to set up a central institutional fund for authors wishing to publish their work in open access journals. Representatives from the Wellcome Trust will discuss how to comply with their open access policy and the funding they provide for open access publishing.

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