Deadline: 9-Nov-22
The Wolfson Foundation and the Royal Society are jointly funding for their Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship programme that will enable UK Universities and Research Institutions to attract outstanding international researchers to the UK’s scientific community, through one of two complementary routes:
- A five-year Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship, which will focus entirely on recruitment, enabling UK institutions to enhance their offering with a £300,000 fellowship award to international research leaders wishing to relocate to the UK.
- A new Visiting Fellowship strand, which will allow excellent international researchers a flexible sabbatical period at a UK university or research institution with an award of up to £125,000, to build and develop international collaborations and networks with the host UK university or research institution. Visiting Fellow alumni will also be welcome to apply for longer term support provided by the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship.
Aims
The Royal Society Wolfson Fellowships will enable UK Universities and not-for- profit Research Institutions to attract and recruit internationally outstanding leading researchers (and their teams) to their organisation. The objectives of the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowships are to:
- Enable UK Universities and Research Institutions to strategically recruit and attract outstanding research leaders to the UK from overseas by offering long-term support and flexible funding to conduct high-quality research, and
- Strengthen research and help build a critical mass of excellence in the UK’s best University departments and Research Institutions in fields considered to be strategically important by the institution.
Funding Information
Candidates can apply for up to £300,000. Funding can be used flexibly by the Fellow and as part of their startup package to support their research programme and team. This can cover:
- Salary Enhancement – The institution may include a salary enhancement for the researcher. This will be limited to a maximum of 20% of the total salary. The Host Organisation will be responsible for meeting the full costs of the award holder’s basic salary, including the employer’s national insurance and superannuation contributions for the salary enhancement payment. The Society h expenses (100%) – Flexible research expenses including consumables, travel, small pieces of equipment of up to £10K, access costs and undergraduate students.
- Research assistance – 80% of the full economic cost of a postdoctoral researcher/PDRA (salary costs and associated indirect and directly allocated costs, including estate costs) and can include contribution to technical support if appropriately justified.
- 4 year PhD studentship – The cost of PhD studentship may only be included if the host organisation will commit to underwriting the remaining cost of the studentship and appropriate alternative supervision for the student in the event that the RS Wolfson Fellow leaves the institution.
- Other – The funding is intended to be flexible, so other appropriate and justified research costs are also eligible.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Candidate: This scheme supports the recruitment of a researcher from overseas to hold the grant in a UK institution who will contribute to the scientific strategy of the host institution. Therefore, the scheme is open to all nationalities. Award holders are expected to hold (the equivalent of) a full-time post at a UK institution. The grant cannot be used for researchers wishing to move between UK institutions. The scheme is aimed at exceptional researchers at the peak of their career as well as those established researchers whose career is on a steep upward trajectory. The candidates must be nominated by the Vice Chancellor or Institute Director (or their representative) from the proposed host institution (as outlined above). Nominated researchers must have received a firm offer of employment from the UK host organisation.
- Nominated individuals must not have previously held a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award. Former Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellows are eligible and encouraged to apply for a Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship should they wish to relocate to the UK. Nominated candidates cannot, from the outset of the award, hold an external funded UK fellowship.
- Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellows requiring a visa to work in the UK are eligible to apply for a Global Talent Visa under the fast-track process of endorsement. Other visa categories are available. In line with the highly prestigious nature of the award, the Global Talent visa is designed for people who are recognised as leaders and potential leaders in their field.
- Host Organisation: Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship appointments must be held at a UK university or not-for-profit research institution. The grants are made to the nominating host organisation and therefore non-transferable. As such if the Royal Society Wolfson Fellow leaves the host organisation during the tenure of their fellowship award, the grant will be withdrawn with no further funding provided. There should be a clear case on why the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship is needed by the host organisation to help attract the nominated individual to the UK.
Assessment Criteria
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
- The research track record of the candidate (taking into consideration any career breaks). Candidates should be exceptional researchers at the peak of their career or established researchers whose career is on a steep upward trajectory.
- The strength of the strategic case for the nomination and fit to the institution’s scientific strategy.
- The high quality and originality of the candidate’s proposed research vision and the contribution that the researcher can make to the furtherance of UK research in their field as well as potential benefit to the UK science base.
- The quality and suitability of the host organisation for the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship candidate, the organisation’s commitment to supporting the researcher’s longer-term and broader career development.
For more information, visit The Royal Society.
For more information, visit https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/royal-society-wolfson-fellowship