ESRC - specific requirements

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Please select the required fellowship scheme below, which will take you to the specific help text.

Research Fellowships / Professorial Fellowships / Public Sector Placement Fellowships

Please note that all attachments must be in a minimum of font size 11. Please see here for cross council guidance on attachments.

Research Fellowships/Professorial Fellowships scheme attachments

Case for Support	Mandatory	Exactly 1
Justification of Resources	Mandatory	ESRC require a A4 attachment (up to 2 sides)to the proposal entitled "Justification of Resources". This statement should be used to justify the resources required to undertake the research project and is a mandatory addition. Applicants should: Explain why the indicated resources are needed, taking account of the nature and complexity of the research proposed. Note that it is not sufficient merely to list what is required. Have regard for the breakdown of resources into the summary fund headings Directly Incurred, Directly Allocated and (where appropriate) Exceptions. In some cases, such as investigator time, use of internal facilities and shared staff costs (all likely to be Directly Allocated costs), the basis of the costing need not be justified, but the need for the resources does need justification. Try to be explicit about the need for the level of investigator time sought, bearing in mind the complexity of the research, the need to manage the project and supervise staff and any wider considerations such as collaboration or facilities usage. Estates and indirect costs do not need to be justified. The document should be attached as type Justification of Resources.
Data Management Plan	Mandatory (if new data generated)	Exactly 1 Please see details below
Letter of Support	Optional	Letters of support that are essential to the successful conduct of the research (e.g. access to datasets, or organisations) can be submitted with an application. Letters of support can be accepted by email, and must be signed and dated within six months of the proposal submission date. General letters of support should not be included with the application.
C.V.	Mandatory	CV (max two sides of A4) is mandatory and needs to provide brief details of education to date, any awards received for work or training, previous employment history and any conference papers or publications.
List of Publications	Required	Exactly 1
Covering Letter	Required if proposal is a resubmission
Final/Interim Report	Current award holders must submit a progress report with new applications.	Principal and Co-Investigators on current awards must submit a progress report on their current awards with any new application which should match their impact and output records on Research Fish. The progress reports must not exceed three A4 sides per project. As part of this, all current and past award holders must ensure that the output records for current and past awards on Research Fish are up-to-date, as this information might be taken into account.
Head of Department Statement	Mandatory	The head of department at the host institution must complete a statement in support of the application. The statement should: confirm that the applicant would be accepted into the department for the purpose of undertaking the proposed programme of work and explain how the proposed programme of work would fit in with the department's wider research programme.
Project Student Request	Mandatory (if project student section completed)	This should be used as a case for support to request studentship costs, where an additional two sides of A4 (max) can be used to give information and justification for each 'project student' applied for, within the research proposal (please see ESRC specific project student helptext).
Workplan	Mandatory	Exactly 1. See guidance below
Other		If the scheme-specific guidance requires the submission of additional material not covered by other attachments, please upload them as type other.
Proposal Cover letter	Mandatory (if project student section completed)	If Project linked costs requested; submission must include a letter of support from the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) or Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) Director.

Case for Support

All applications must include a Case for Support.

This section must not exceed 6 A4 sides in the case of applications for less than £1,000,000 at 100% full economic cost or 12 A4 sides in the case of applications for £1,000,000 or more at 100% full economic cost. All materials must be produced in a minimum of font size 11. Applications which exceed the specified limits will not be processed by the ESRC, but will be returned to the applicants.

Attached material should be uploaded to the application using the most appropriate attachment option. The maximum length of all attached material must not exceed 6 A4 sides. All materials must be produced in font size 11 or above. Each side should be numbered. Applicants must include the total word count at the end of this section. Applications which exceed the specified limits will not be processed by the ESRC, but will be returned to the applicants.

Please provide a summary of the programme of work you intend to undertake during the period of the award. Please use the following headings:

i. Summary of Research Programme (including the rationale, theoretical and conceptual background etc).
Applicants should clearly state how the activities in the research programme form a cohesive package. This may include stating how the Fellowship will draw on a specific prospective or concept.

ESRC is committed to funding excellent research which is also adventurous, speculative and innovative, and with the potential for high scientific and/or user impact. Where there are risks associated with such research, please outline any measures which will be taken to mitigate them.

ESRC recognises that in generating new knowledge, it may be most appropriate for research on some topics to be multi-disciplinary and harness and/or combine different disciplinary perspectives, while others will be based on a single discipline. Applicants are asked to state clearly their chosen approach, which should match the discipline(s) indicated in the proposal, and to provide justification for that choice

ii. Contribution to Career Development (how you feel this Fellowship would provide you with opportunities not normally available to you in your current position).
Applicants should clearly state how the Fellowship will develop their research career. It should be clear which opportunities within the proposed research programme are not available to the applicant within their current position.

iii. Research Projects (including title, duration, whether new or continued work, aims, methodology, outcomes).
The first part of this section should briefly sketch out the main work upon which the research will draw. Any relevant policy or practical background should be included. This introduction should set the aims and objectives of the study in context.

The detailed research questions to be addressed should be clearly stated.

If the research involves data collection or acquisition, applicants are required to show evidence in their application that they have carried out a datasets review and to explicitly state why current datasets are inadequate for the proposed research. A full statement of ESRC's dataset policy is given in the Research Funding Guide.

The data, materials or information to be collected should be clearly stated, and the methods for archiving this, explained. Where sampling is involved, the sampling frame, population and sample sizes, the sample design and arrangements for any pilot should be specified in an annex, along with reasons given for the procedures adopted. Where access to people or archives is needed, a clear indication should be given in the annex of the records, population or samples to be consulted.

The attachment should also contain any potential problems such as access, obtaining reasonable response rates, availability or records, materials or data, should be clearly stated; how they will be resolved should be set out. Applicants should demonstrate what steps have been taken towards securing access.

The framework and methods for analysis should be clearly stated, and the reasons for their choice explained.

iv. Publications (include publishing arrangements and dates where planned).
The proposal should conclude with an indication of the outputs to be expected (articles, papers, datasets, etc.)

Award holders should update Researchfish (http://www.researchfish.com) with the outputs of their research. A condition of award is that award holders continue to update outcomes onto Researchfish and submit during the annual Researchfish submission periods.

v. Research Dissemination (including focus, audience and venue where known).
The proposal should outline any plans for disseminating the work during the fellowship, including conference attendance.

vi. Networking (including seminars and discussion groups)
The proposal should detail any planned academic networking activities, such as organising research seminars or discussion groups, or collaboration with peers.

vii. Development of Research Skills
The proposal should detail any planned training opportunities, to in advance the Fellow's scientific or research skills, This may include dissemination techniques or IT developments.

viii. Other Activities
Please use this heading to detail any other planned activities which do not fall under the other categories.

ix. Impact It is vital that the economic and social impact of all projects funded by ESRC is maximised. Consider potential beneficiaries and users involved in the development of the proposal and the delivery of the grant where appropriate. This should cover who will benefit from the proposed research, and the relevance of the research to these beneficiaries.

Explain what steps you will take, to provide opportunities for users to benefit from your research, and to ensure that your research has maximum economic and societal impact.

Data Management Plan (maximum 3 x A4 pages)

It is a requirement of the ESRC Research Data Policy (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding/guidance-for-grant-holders/research-data-policy/) that all applicants planning to generate data as part of their award must include a Data Management Plan.

Data Management Plan should be used as an opportunity to describe how the data, i.e. primary input into research and first order results of that research, are going to be managed, starting from planning for research and through the life-cycle of the award until data is accepted for archiving by the UK Data Service (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/research/our-research/uk-data-service/). The ESRC recognises the importance of research data quality and provenance. Research data generated by ESRC-funded research must be well-managed by the award holder during the award period to enable their data to be exploited to the maximum potential for further research.

Most data generated as a result of economic and social research can be successfully archived and shared. However, some research data are more sensitive than others. It is a responsibility of the award holders to consider all issues related to confidentiality, ethics, security and copyright before initiating the research. Any challenges to data sharing (e.g. copyright or data confidentiality) should be critically considered in a plan, with possible solutions discussed to optimise data sharing.

It is expected that Data Management Plan will include the consideration of the following points in the context of information presented in the Case for Support and Justification for Resources:

Assessment of existing data

If you are creating new data sources as part of this project please explain why existing data sources can not be re-used. If you envisage purchasing or re-using existing data sources please explain whether issues such as copyright and IPR have been addressed to ensure that the data can be shared i.e. explain how you plan to deal with permissions to share data you have created which is derived from data which you do not own.

Information on new data

Please provide a brief description of new data which you envisage creating. This information should include how the data will be collected, i.e. proposed approach and the format (e.g. Open Document Format, tab-deliminated format, MS Excel etc.) in which the data will be collected, analysed and stored, as well as an indication of how they will be documented. For more guidance please refer to a relevant section in UKDS Data Management Guides (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/research/our-research/uk-data-service/) and UK Data Archive Managing and Sharing Data Guide (http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/manage-data).

Quality assurance of data

Quality control of data is an integral part of a research process. In support to the information about the planned research described in a Case for Support, please briefly describe the procedures for quality assurance that will be carried out on the data collected. Quality issues to be addressed at the time of data collection, data entry, digitisation or data checking. It must be ensured that the data recorded reflect the actual facts, responses, observations or events. For example this might include: documenting the calibration of instruments, the collection of duplicate samples, data entry methods, data entry validation techniques, methods of transcription. For more guidance please refer to a relevant section in the UKDS Data Management Guides (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/research/our-research/uk-data-service/) and UK Data Archive Managing and Sharing Data Guide (http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/manage-data).

Back-up and security of data

Please describe the data back-up procedures that you will adopt to ensure the data and metadata are securely stored during the lifetime of the project. You may need to discuss your institution’s policy on back-ups. If your data is sensitive (e.g. detailed personal data) in any way you should discuss appropriate security measures which you will be taking. Methods of version control (i.e. making sure that if the information in one file is altered, the related information in other files is also adopted, as well as keeping a track on a number of versions and their locations), should also be stated. For more guidance please refer to a relevant section in UK Data Archive Managing and Sharing Data Guide (http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/manage-data).

Expected difficulties in data sharing

If you expect any obstacles to sharing your newly generated data please explain their causes and possible measures you are going to apply to overcome those. If you consider that there will be ethical issues which may cause difficulties in data sharing please explain your strategies for dealing with these issues in the relevant section in Je-S form, e.g. where possible discussing archiving with interviewees, anonymising data. Please refer to the requirements of ESRC Framework for Research Ethics (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/files/funding/guidance-for-applicants/esrc-framework-for-research-ethics-2015/).

Copyright/Intellectual Property Right

Please state who will own the copyright and IPR of any new data that you will generate. For further information please refer to a relevant part of the ESRC Research Data Policy (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding/guidance-for-grant-holders/research-data-policy/).

Responsibilities

Please indicate who within your research team will be responsible for data management, metadata production, dealing with quality issues and the final delivery of data for sharing or archiving. Please provide this information within the Staff Duties section in the Je-S form and where appropriate in the Justification of Resources. If several people will be responsible state their roles and responsibilities in the relevant section of the JeS form. For collaborative projects you should explain the coordination of data management responsibilities across partners in your Data Management Plan.

Preparation of data for sharing and archiving

Please outline your plans for preparing and documenting data for sharing and archiving with the Social Data Service (unless otherwise agreed). Please identify any additional plans for data sharing, if any.

Other issues

Please indicate if there are there any other issues relating to data management or sharing.

Workplan (Detailed Timetable) (maximum 2 A4 sides)

In constructing a detailed timetable as part of the Workplan, applicants should bear the following in mind:

PDFs are not expected to undertake new research during an award. However, limited additional research directly linked to the PhD can be undertaken. The work programme should provide the PDFs with time to develop their research skills through further advanced training, to learn the skills of writing for publication and to prepare new research proposals for submission to funding bodies. PDFs must not however be funded from any other source during the lifetime of the award except for the activities detailed below.

It is accepted that during the period of award a limited amount of teaching and other non -research activities could be beneficial to the professional development of the PDF. Award holders will therefore be permitted to put aside a maximum of 120 hours to other duties, including not more than 30 contact hours of teaching, pro rata for part time award holders. Other activities included in this provision include organising and running seminars to explore research topics and issues or developing discussion networks based around the award holders particular research interest. The details of any planned extra duties should be specified in the application.

To summarise, applicants should clearly demonstrate they are ready to take the next step toward an academic career, explain how an award would improve their research career prospects; and, outline plans for writing and other publication activities. Applicants should also detail any proposed extra activities including teaching that might be carried out during the year and describe the planned training that will take place.

Public Sector Placement Fellowship scheme

Case for Support	Mandatory	Exactly 1
Justification of Resources	Mandatory	Exactly 1
C.V.	Mandatory	1 or more
Head of Department Statement	Mandatory	Exactly 1
List of Publications	Optional	Any number
Data Management Plan	Mandatory (if new data generated)	Exactly 1

Public Sector Placement Fellowship Scheme attachments

1) Case for support

All applications must include a Case for Support.

This section must not exceed 2 A4 All materials must be produced in a minimum of font size 11

Applications which exceed the specified limits will not be processed by the ESRC, but will be returned to the applicants.

This is the body of your application and it must not exceed 2 sides and should include the following sections:

How will your knowledge and experience be applied to undertake the project?

You should give examples of any previous engagement with policy-makers that is relevant to this call.

A detailed description of the proposed research methods if relevant to this project. Particular care should be taken to explain any innovation in the methodology or where you intend to develop new methods.

If the research involves data collection or acquisition you must demonstrate that you have carried out a datasets review, and explicitly state why currently available datasets are inadequate for the proposed research.

Where possible describe the potential impact of the Fellowship on policy or practice.

It is vital that the economic and social impact of all projects funded by ESRC is maximised. Consider potential beneficiaries and users involved in the development of the proposal and the delivery of the grant where appropriate. This should cover who will benefit from the proposed research, and the relevance of the research to these beneficiaries.

Explain what steps you will take, to provide opportunities for users to benefit from your research, and to ensure that your research has maximum economic and societal impact.

(2) Justification of Resources

It is only necessary to justify Travel & Subsistence costs claimed, so a statement of up to 2 sides of A4 setting out these costs is sufficient.

The Scheme allows for Travel & Subsistence costs of up to £1,000 per month for a maximum period of 6 months.

(3) CV

A CV for the applicant must be included. This should include contact details, qualifications (including class and subject), academic and professional posts held since graduation, a list of the most relevant and recent publications, and a record of research funded by the ESRC and other bodies. This should not exceed two A4 sides.

(4) List of Publications

The bibliography for references cited in the proposal should be attached.

(5) Head of Department statement

The Applicant's Head of Department should complete a statement in support of the application. The statement should confirm that the Applicant will be released from university duties for the duration of the Fellowship.

Resource for the activity

If there are any resource implications as a result of implementing the knowledge exchange and/or impact activities, please ensure these are documented in the financial summary and also in the Justification of Resources section of the proposal.

Data Management Plan (maximum 3 x A4 pages)

It is expected that Data Management Plan will include the consideration of the following points in the context of information presented in the Case for Support and Justification for Resources:

Assessment of existing data

Information on new data

Quality assurance of data

Back-up and security of data

Expected difficulties in data sharing

Copyright/Intellectual Property Right

Responsibilities

Please indicate who within your research team will be responsible for data management, metadata production, dealing with quality issues and the final delivery of data for sharing or archiving. Please provide this information within the Staff Duties section in the Je-S form and where appropriate in the Justification of Resources. If several people will be responsible state their roles and responsibilities in the relevant section of the Je-S form. For collaborative projects you should explain the coordination of data management responsibilities across partners in your Data Management Plan.

Preparation of data for sharing and archiving

Other issues

Please indicate if there are there any other issues relating to data management or sharing.

Head of Department Statement

This should be completed by the Head of the proposed department which will be supporting the Fellowship and submitted as an attachment to the application.

The ESRC is a co-supporter of the Concordat on Research Careers. Please outline under the headings (i)-(vi) the institutional arrangements for supporting research staff:

(i) Please note institutional or departmental initiatives for encouraging high quality research capacity.

(ii) Please note any institutional funding for supporting staff research time. Indicate how the Fellowship will complement these arrangements.

(iii) Please outline the resources the Research Fellow will have access to within the institution and department. Where resources take the form of contributions in kind, or through access or other assistance rather than financial resources, details should also be given. Value for money is taken into account in the assessment of research proposals. A letter confirming any co-funding in collaborative ventures should accompany the application.

(iv) Please outline how the Fellowship will develop the applicant's career. If the applicant is an established member of staff at your institution, state how the concentrated research time will be of additional benefit in comparison to the applicant's usual position. If the applicant usually has no institutional base, state what the benefits of working within your institution will be.

(v) If the applicant has less than 10 years' research experience, please give details of the arrangements for mentoring, e.g. how many meetings over a year; commitment to providing a progress report with the Fellow; training and development opportunities.

(vi) If the applicant has less than 10 years research experience, please supply a short CV for the proposed mentor. This should indicate the mentor's skills and qualifications to undertake this role.

The Head of Department must confirm that the the institution is willing to make the commitments outlined above and confirm that resources necessary for the research, other than those requested from the ESRC, will be made available to the applicant.

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