August 2009 Issue 73
Keeping you in touch with opportunities from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
www.epsrc.ac.uk
Impact plan advice EPSRC
has issued grant proposal advice to the research community in light of changes made to the Peer Review system earlier this year. The requirement to include an impact plan with proposals was introduced in April, and new guidance is based on proposals received since that date. EPSRC’s Susan Morrell, who is leading the work, said early observations could help researchers maximise the opportunities and avoid pitfalls. She added: “We have looked at the first batch of proposals received since the requirement for an impact plan was introduced, to see if there are any early lessons to be learnt. We were particularly impressed by the thorough plans prepared by those applying for First Grants.”
“We were particularly impressed by the thorough plans prepared by those applying for First Grants.” Dr Morrell added: “We will be refreshing the guidelines in the light of these observations, and we would welcome any comments and suggestions for improvement from those of you who have used the guidelines to prepare an impact plan.” Impact plans were introduced to support researchers in identifying and exploiting potential benefits of their work and to help EPSRC demonstrate these wide-ranging impacts as part of the ongoing case for sustained science and engineering funding. Quality of research remains the key criterion of funding but the impact plans give applicants a further opportunity to demonstrate the importance of their work and seek resources to support impact and dissemination routes.
Tips for researchers •
Please note the difference between the two summaries and the plan – in a sizeable number of submitted proposals the plan and the summaries were very similar. The plan needs to set out in detail what activities will be explored and why.
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Plans can be up to two pages. While some were appropriately one paragraph, others appeared to be expanded to fill the whole two pages.
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You can ask for resources to carry out the plan – the majority of proposals submitted so far have not taken this opportunity.
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Don’t forget the range of impacts – think more widely and imaginatively about the type of impact the research could have. Only a few projects made mention of the potential impact on the research assistant or student.
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For dissemination, be specific about which journals and conferences would be appropriate to reach the potential beneficiaries and why. Many plans contained general statements about ‘the usual journals’.
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If your project involves collaborators, don’t forget to get their help in developing the plan. How will their involvement be ‘built in’ to the project to maximise impact?
Further information: www.epsrc.ac.uk
EPSRC is seeking nominations for the RCUK Review of Energy in 2010 – turn to page 4.
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Grand Challenges 3 New in Chemical sciences and engineering
3 Calls Forthcoming EPSRC funding opportunities
for stories about 4 Calling international success