Hints for Postdocs Applying for Funding

On Monday I took part in the Graduate School's Postgraduate Research Festival. It was a good opportunity to meet research students and to read about some of their research in the poster exhibition. I gave a talk on putting together a good funding application, but I also listened to Dr Mario Weick, a lecturer in Psychology, as he gave some personal insights into what it takes to get into academia.

As well as outlining the different (funded) routes you can take, he gave the students some tips on what to bear in mind in the difficult times ahead:

• Think globally. Academic research isn't limited by national boundaries, and you need to be flexible in where you work. Sure, you might want to aim to work in a particular country, but it pays to open your mind and think more broadly about where you can work;
• Develop a portfolio of applications. Each scheme has different success rates, and a different level of risk. You need to develop a portfolio of applications to different schemes in order to balance these risks;
• Make contingency plans. Following on from the idea of a portfolio of applications, you might have 'fallow periods' when you're not receiving any salary or funding. Make sure you save for these fallow periods, or have a plan C, D and E to cover them.
• Network. Around 50% of researchers and academics found their job though contacts, so you need to make sure that you're tuned into networks to hear about opportunities as soon as you can. Sign up to email lists, twitter accounts, conferences, workshops and any other place you might hear about things through the grapevine. Being in the right place at the right time means being in lots of places at lots of times.
• Get feedback. This is as true for postdocs as it is for permanent academics. Get as much feedback from as many different sources as possible. It's easy to miss something, or be so wrapped up in your project that you can't see its weaknesses. Get feedback from other postdocs, academics, your supervisor, PI, Research Services, people inside and outside your discipline, and inside or outside your institution. Anyone.

More Demand Management from EPSRC

The EPSRC has issued guidance on the number of applications it will accept to it's Postdoc Fellowships in the Mathematical Sciences.
This year it will only accept five per institution. In subsequent years, it will alter this allowance, depending on the quality of applications submitted previously, according to the following criteria

1. The cap will increase by one if all proposals submitted by that research organisation ranked above the quality cut- off as determined by the peer review panel.
2. The cap will remain constant if between 70% and 100% of proposals submitted by that research organisation ranked above quality cut-off.
3. The cap will decrease by one if between 50% and 70% of proposals submitted by that research organisation ranked above quality cut-off.
4. The cap will decrease by two if less than 50% of proposals submitted by that research organisation ranked above quality cut-off.
   

A minimum of two applications per research organisation will be guaranteed at any given year (independently of the above table). Also, no more than eight proposals will be accepted by any research organisation at any given time.
Every year, the Sift Panel will be asked to draw the quality cut-off, which will be used to determine variations on the number of proposals for the following year. EPSRC will email HoDs and Research Offices to tell them how many applications can be submitted.
At the moment this cap is being limited to the Mathematical Sciences, which is particularly oversubscribed. I called them to get a sense of whether it would be rolled out into other areas, and they were adamant that they would not. But watch this space...