The ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) First Grants scheme enables new researchers and those starting their academic careers to gain experience of managing and leading research projects. It is highly competitive, but successful applicants are able to pursue a significant programme of research for up to 3 years and £400,000, which will considerably advance their research career. The call is currently closed but it is expected to open again later this year, with an outline stage deadline anticipated in late November 2010.

To support high quality applications to this scheme, Prof. Hugh Bochel (School of Social Sciences) and the Research Office have arranged an ESRC First Grant Workshop on 11th June from 9.30am-3.30pm (location TBC). Hugh is a member of the ESRC’s First Grants Panel and so has direct experience of reading and judging applications to this scheme. He is also a member of the ESRC’s Peer Review College, and is regularly called upon to assess applications to a range of ESRC funding schemes.

The workshop will involve a discussion of the First Grant scheme, what makes a good application, and how the review process works, led by Hugh and David Young from the Research Office. We will also carry out a mock reviewing exercise on a sample ESRC application. The focus of the day will be on developing your First Grant applications through constructive criticism and advice. To that end, those interested in attending should fill in an outline application form and contact the Research Office if you are interested in attending. Please contact us to register your intention to attend as soon as possible; the completed outline form should be forwarded to the research office by 9th June at the latest if you are attending.

Please note the eligibility requirements for the ESRC First Grant scheme below:

• You must not have previously held any Research Council grant as a Principal Investigator (except Post-Doctoral Fellowships, Seminar grants and RCUK Academic Fellowships).
• However, you are still eligible if you have applied for one or more Research Council grants as a Principal Investigator (including the First Grants scheme itself) which were unsuccessful, provided you match the criteria below.
• You must be within six years of the completion of your PhD (i.e. viva voce date) or of equivalent professional standing. This excludes any formal career breaks taken for family care responsibilities.
• You must not hold a Professorship.

An indication of the disciplines covered by ESRC is given in the outline form. Please direct any questions about the event to either Hugh or the Research Office.