Deadline: 12 June 2020
Newton Researcher Links Workshops bring together early-career researchers from the UK and a partner country to make international connections that can improve the quality of their research.
The Fund aims to promote the economic development and welfare of either the partner countries or, through working with the partner country, to address the problems of low-income and vulnerable populations.
Once funded, grants are available for early-career researchers in the UK and the country hosting the workshop to attend.These grants are funded under the Newton Fund, a UK Government initiative funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), together with partner funders from around the world.
The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with 17 active partner countries to support their economic development and social welfare, and to develop their research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth.
All Researcher Links-funded workshops will have the following three overarching objectives:
- Support international development-relevant research – Workshops under the NewtonBhabha Fund are intended to support research areas relevant to address development needs that are global.
- Contribute to capacity building of early career researchers – The proposal must include a description of how the workshop will contribute to the personal and professional development of the participants. Principal Applicants should indicate how they envisage this occurring, including any plans for long-term mentoring of early career researchers (either within each country, or cross-nationally).
- Establish new research links or significantly develop existing links, with the potential for longer term sustainability – Principal Applicants must outline the specific outputs anticipated from the workshop. The aim of the workshop is to stimulate longer term links between the UK and India, as well as to contribute to the personal and professional development of the participants. The workshop proposal should include an explanation of the mutual benefits to the UK and Indian researchers and institutions. They should also explore any potential longer term benefit that might arise, thinking about who might benefit and how they might benefit and describing the actions that will be taken to ensure that potential impact is realised.
Thematic focus of the workshops
Workshops may be specific to a particular field of research or interdisciplinary in nature. Any relevant field of research can be covered, except where partner countries have indicated specific priority areas.
Duration
- The minimum duration of a workshop is three (3) days and the maximum duration is five (5) days.
- Workshops must take place between 01 February 2021 and 31 January 2022.
Language
Workshops will be held in English. It is expected that all participants will have a sufficient standard of English to engage fully in discussion. However, consideration should be given to non-native speakers.
Partner Countries
China
India
Philippines
Eligibility Criteria
Leading or Established Researchers may apply to be workshop Principal Applicants and must propose a theme for the workshop using the online application form. The proposal must be a joint application, with one Principal Applicant based at a UK institution and one based in the partner country. Applications must have the support of the home and partner institutions, confirmed by supporting letters uploaded in the online application. In this round, only one application may be submitted per Principal Applicant, but there is no limit to the number of applications submitted per institution.
Proposals must fulfil the following criteria in order to be eligible for funding under this Programme:
- Each proposal must have one Principal Applicant from the UK and one Principal Applicant from the partner country.
- Both Principal Applicants must be Leading Researchers or Established Researchers.
- Principal Applicants cannot assume role of workshop Mentors.
- Principal Applicants must be permanent employees of one of the following (this means that Emeritus and Honorary Professors may not apply as lead):
- A not-for-profit higher education institution unless specified
- A UK higher education institution (all UK higher education institutions are eligible)
- A not-for-profit research organisation. A Catapult Centre (in the case of the UK Principal Applicant)
- Both of the Principal Applicants’ institutions (the ‘Lead Institutions’) must have the capacity to administer the grant where contracting requires.
- Individual departments within a single institution can make multiple applications per call provided that the proposed activities are clearly different.
- Principal Applicants may only submit one Researcher Links application per Researcher Links call.
- Principal Applicants that have received Researcher Links grants in previous years can submit further applications for Researcher Links provided the proposed activities are clearly distinct from, or build on, any already funded through the Newton Fund. In all cases the additionality must be clearly articulated in the application.
- Organisations affiliated to higher education institutions in the UK or any other country and based in the partner country, (e.g. an overseas campus) are not eligible for Newton Fund awarded grants. (ECR’s from affiliated organisations however are eligible as workshop participants).
Not-for-profit higher education institutions or publicly-funded research organisations are eligible to apply as Lead Institutions. For-profit organisations and not-for-profit organisations can participate in but are usually not eligible to apply for Researcher Links grants. Furthermore, for-profit organisations are not eligible to receive any grant funds.
For more information, visit https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/science/current-opportunities/newton-fund-researcher-links-workshops