ESRC PDF Call Specification
ESRC PDF Call Specification
ESRC PDF Call Specification
Call specification
Summary
The PDF call forms part of ESRC’s strategy to support early career
researchers and will be delivered through our national network of Doctoral
Training Partnerships (DTPs) and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs)
which encompasses 73 research organisations across the UK.
DTPs and CDTs will have their own procedures in place to peer review the
proposals and make funding decisions on behalf of ESRC. Where this
includes an Expression of Interest stage, potential applicants
must abide by the deadlines specified by the DTP/CDT to which
they intend applying.
Call details
The objective of this call is to provide support to those who are within 12
months of completing their PhD, to support them in consolidating their
PhD, and preparing them for the next stage of their research careers. For
the majority this is likely to be a research career in academia; however,
those with a clearly articulated programme of activities to support their
transition to a research career outside of academia (eg a researcher in
public, private, or civil society organisations) will also be considered.
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Produce publications in order to help establish track record
Engage with a range of different audiences to communicate research
findings
Build networks to develop impact opportunities and inform and
support further development
Collaborate with users through an internship or placement to help
develop professional and transferrable skills and understanding of
users’ organisations, provided they are an integral part of the
fellowship
Further training to improve research and related skills
Developing funding proposals
Carry out further limited research (up to 25% of the programme of
work) related to their PhD
Teaching, if this is aligned with the wider purposes of the fellowship
(up to a maximum of six hours per week);
Research visits to internationally leading research organisations –
either in the UK or abroad – for the purposes of research
collaboration, training, and/or access to data or other resources not
available at the applicant’s host organisation.
Each DTP must allocated at least one fellowship that is aligned to the
Industrial Strategy. Alignment can be demonstrated in terms of
addressing the skills gaps of advanced quantitative methods or data
science, or where the proposed programme activities involves
collaboration with a private sector partner such as a placement or a co-
designed research activity.
Duration of fellowships
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time and not for applicants who wish to hold the fellowship and continue
other employment. Fellows must spend 100% of their working time
(whether full-time or part-time) on the fellowship and cannot take
any secondary paid employment during the course of the grant.
Eligibility
Applicants are eligible for funding whether or not they are established
members of the RO at which they are applying. Applicants who are not
established members must be accommodated by the RO and provided
with appropriate facilities to carry out the fellowship. Further details about
eligibility of applicants can be found in the Research Funding Guide
(https://esrc.ukri.org/funding/guidance-for-applicants/research-funding-
guide/). The call is not open to applicants who are established,
permanent members of staff in an academic position with a research
component.
Please see the Frequently Asked Questions document that supports this
call for further information on eligibility.
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criterion of having no more than 12 months of active postdoctoral
experience.
The total cost for each fellowship can include the following:
Fellow’s salary costs
Indirect costs
Estate costs
Up to a maximum of £10,000 for all other costs (to include costs
such as mentoring costs, travel and subsistence, conference
attendance, training, and fieldwork, for example).
Each proposal will need to show these figures as 100% of full Economic
Cost (fEC) and the ESRC will meet 80% fEC on the proposals submitted. All
proposals will be subject to ESRC’s funding rules as outlined in our
Research Funding Guide (https://esrc.ukri.org/files/funding/guidance-for-
applicants/research-funding-guide/).
Mentoring arrangements
Whilst the mentor should be able to assist the fellow in achieving the
goals and activities of the fellowship, it will be important for the applicant
to demonstrate how they are actively managing their own career
development.
We expect the mentoring time required to be around one or two hours per
week, and funding will be provided through the fellowship to enable this
(under the ‘other costs’ heading).
We expect fellows funded under the call to have identified the potential
impacts of their research on policy and practice, and to actively consider
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how these can be maximised and developed. This emphasis on research
impact will be reflected within the assessment process and taken into
account during the review process. Costs for impact-related activities can
be included within the proposal.
When completing the ‘Impact plan and user engagement’ section of the
proposal, applicants may find it helpful to refer to ESRC guidance on
developing an impact strategy.
How to apply
DTPs and CDTs will have their own procedures in place to peer review the
proposals and make funding decisions on behalf of ESRC. Where this
includes an Expressions of Interest stage, potential applicants must abide
by the deadlines specified by the DTP/CDT to which they intend applying.
All applicants must submit full proposals on the provided submission form
along with required attachments by 16.00 on 23 March 2020 to the DTP
or CDT to which they are applying (https://esrc.ukri.org/funding/funding-
opportunities/postdoctoral-fellowships/).
Each DTP/CDT will peer review the proposals and make funding decisions
on behalf of ESRC. Successful applicants will be required to submit their
proposal through the Research Council’s Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S)
system (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).
Assessment criteria
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Mandatory attachments
In addition to an application pro forma, the following eight attachments
are mandatory and must be included with each proposal in a minimum of
font size 11:
Research-related achievements
This section requires a well-structured summary of 'where you are
now' in your training and personal development. This will help
reviewers decide whether an applicant is at a stage in their career
development where a fellowship will have an important and lasting
impact on their ability to work as a professional researcher.
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research, collaborating with users, learning the skills of writing for
publication, and further improving their research and related skills.
This statement should be used to break down and justify the resources
required to undertake the research project.
The CV needs to provide the date the PhD viva voce was
passed, or the scheduled date for the viva voce, brief details of
education to date, any awards received for work or training, previous
employment history, and any conference papers or publications.
4. List of publications
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grant. In addition, the host RO will be expected to show they have a
commitment to the support and promotion of early career researchers
and lecturers.
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A workplan should be included. It should summarise and complement,
rather than duplicate, the detailed description of the proposed
programme of activities included in your case for support by providing
a high level timetable and summary.
Additional attachments
Attachments under the following two headings must also be included
where necessary. This will be dependent on the nature of activities being
undertaken in the proposal (minimum of font size 11):
Commissioning timetable
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Decisions confirmed to applicants – 26 June 2020
Successful proposals submitted in Je-S – between June and mid-
July 2019
Fellowships commence – 1 October 2020
Contacts
For queries related to the call, please contact the DTP or CDT you are
applying to.
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