Bring on the Visionaries

The AHRC is seeking out 'visionaries' for its revised Fellowships scheme. The scheme aims 'to develop and promote visionary individuals who set research agendas, lead research communities, provide intellectual leadership in their own disciplines and beyond, have a transformative impact on their subject area and also act as advocates for the value and benefit of arts and humanities research beyond academia.'

I think they missed 'an ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound' off that list. I'll give them a call to rectify that.

The new scheme has a whiff of the ESRC's 'Future Leaders' to it. Not only should they undertake Nobel Prize-level work themselves, but they should also undertake 'a substantial programme of activities which support the development of the Fellow’s leadership role.' These could include networking, knowledge exchange, international collaboration, public engagement and defeating Lex Luthor.

Of course, identifying these visionaries will be no easy task, and the AHRC don't want individuals or institutions to take it on lightly. Whilst not setting specific limits on the number of people who can apply, they are expecting universities to identify suitable candidates, provide an 'appropriate package' of career and leadership development for them, internally sift potential applicants, and monitor their visionary prowess during the lifetime of the award.

Applications will be for between £50,000 and £250,000 fEC and will be for periods of between 6 and 18 months (or 6-24 months for applications from early career researchers). If you think you might have the necessary background - being born on the planet Krypton and brought up by a Kansas farmer, say - then do get in touch with me or my colleague Lynne Bennett.

ESRC Launches Future Leaders Scheme

The ESRC has officially launched its Future Leaders scheme. This scheme was announced in the Council's Delivery Plan in December, and discussed at the London workshop and regional events.

The scheme will use a two part application process, which suggests that the ESRC expects a high number of applications, despite limiting the eligibility to less those with less than four years experience since their PhD (measured as the thesis submission date). This might be a narrow window, but the view's far-reaching (if you'll excuse the tortured metaphor): it's open to people from anywhere in the world, as long as they've got the support of a UK institution.

You can apply for up to £215k (100% fEC - or £172k at 80% fEC, which is what they'll actually give you), for support for up to three years. They aim to fund 70 awards. The deadline for applications is 15 September 2011.

So what will a successful FL project look like? Well, you'll need to have the following:

• a mentor 'of high international research standing';
• a programme of research skills development;
• a programme of knowledge exchange skills development;
• plans for maximising potential impact, and a 'clear strategy to build relationships and networks with potential beneficiaries and users';

In terms of the type of research they want, it's open, but they're keen on:

• research proposals involving secondary analysis of existing datasets and the application of innovative research methods;
  
• inter/multidisciplinary working both within and beyond the social sciences;
• international working;
• strong impact.

That's not much to ask, is it? So really, it's an international multidisciplinary analysis of existing datasets involving end users, or nothing. Get your thinking caps on.

Proposals will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Originality;
• Academic potential of applicant;
• Research design and methods;
• Collaborations;
• Outputs and dissemination;
• Knowledge exchange, including impact plans;
• Organisational support, including mentor, and commitment of organisation to applicant's career development.

Finally, from what I understand they're not so much looking for applications from established academics, but more from those hoping to enter the profession with the potential to be 4* researchers, who will move into a permanent position when the grant finishes. In addition they expect the applicant's salary to be (at least 40%) match funded by the host university. So in essence it's a little like a combination between the RCUK's erstwhile Academic Fellowships, and the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships.

The Squeezed Middle: Redrawing the ESRC 'Bubbles'

As I reported elsewhere, the recent ESRC events in London and Brighton gave a good insight into developments at the Council, and how they are planning to implement their Delivery Plan. One of the slides in Adrian Alsop's presentation was a graphic representation of how their schemes fitted together neatly to fill the career of a social science academic, from 'early' to 'senior', and from £100k to £5m+. Here it is:

However, I think this is a little disingenuous. It suggest that there is a wide range of funding available to a wide range of academics at pretty much any time in their careers. It suggests that early career researchers (including those doing PhDs) can apply for Centre and Large Grants, as well as having a pretty good crack at the whip when it comes to Research Grants.

However, given the size of these grants, I think the ESRC is really looking for someone with a considerable track record, both for their research and for the management of grants. So, more realistically, it should look something like this:

So, on the left are the Future Leaders who are less than 4 years from their PhDs, and on the right are the more senior researchers with at least 10 years postdoc experience. This leaves a big gap in the middle where there's not a lot, apart from the soon to be announced Secondary Data Analysis Initiative and various international and knowledge exchange schemes.

This area - let's reclaim the political phrase du jour and call it the 'squeezed middle' - is ill served elsewhere. Perhaps the 'deserted middle' is more accurate. The BA does have the 'Mid-career Fellowship', but this only offers 40 grants annually. To both those in the social sciences and humanities. Nationally.

The forthcoming 'risky' research route will redress this somewhat, but what about mid career researchers who are doing good, solid work that doesn't rely on risks? Bide your time and don't bother us seems to be the message from the redrawn ESRC bubbles.