Published on 17 November 2023
Reminder: Book your place for Horizon Europe Information Sessions
At two information sessions in December, the dedicated European Advisor for Cambridge University and the UK Marie Sklodowska Curie National Contact Point (UKRO) will address important legal and financial changes under Horizon Europe, upcoming funding opportunities, advice on consortia building, proposal development and assessment criteria as well as available support. They will cover the European Research Council (ERC) as well as collaborative, interdisciplinary funding calls under the thematic clusters.
The sessions will be held at the West Hub as well as online. In-person participation is encouraged. Registrations are open until Monday 20 November.
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Horizon Europe Programme, Legal and Financial Matters (including Horizon 2020) - Wednesday 6 December 2023, West Hub, West 1 Meeting Room – for professional services staff. Visit the event page for more information on the agenda and how to book your place.
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Horizon Europe Funding Opportunities for Researchers – Thursday 7 December 2023, West Hub, East Room 2 - for academic and professional services staff. Visit the event page for more information on the agenda and how to book your place.
If you have any queries, please contact horizongrants@admin.cam.ac.uk.
The Council of the European Union gave green light to UK association to the Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes
On 15 November 2023, the Council of the EU – representing 27 EU Member States – gave the green light to UK association to the Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes from 1 January 2024 by approving the agreement in principle reached between the Commission and the UK Government on 7 September 2023.
UK organisations will be able to participate in Horizon Europe calls for proposals on the same terms as institutions from other Associated Countries, including leading consortia and receiving EU funding, from the 2024 Work Programme and onwards. This includes any 2024 calls opening this year. Reference and further information: Council Gives the Go-ahead to UK Association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus – UKRO.
Research Grants User Group Meeting – 30 November 2023
The next Research Grants User Group (RGUG) will take place on Thursday 30 November, 11:00am – 12:15pm (note earlier start time). This will be a hybrid meeting for you to join either online as a Teams call or in person at West 2, The West Hub, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge.
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To join in-person: go to Meeting Room West 2 on the first floor of the West Hub. Refreshments can be purchased from the canteen coffee bar on the ground floor and taken to the meeting room upstairs.
The agenda will include a presentation from HR on International working guidance, a demo of Worktribe and updates about Horizon Europe. This is an open meeting for any staff with an interest in grants administration. If you have any queries, contact Hannah.Pawson@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Reminder: Applications open for the Research Grants Administration Programme 2024
The Research Operations Office (ROO) invites Expressions of Interest for the Research Grants Administration Programme 2024 from all departmental professional support staff at the University who play an active role in the grants lifecycle, whether that be pre award, post award or contracts.
The training programme will take place over 5 half days between February and May 2024 and offers a range of benefits to participants including greater understanding of how the parts of the grants lifecycle fit together, tips for providing advice to academics and an extended network of contacts.
Applications to be on the programme need to be submitted by Monday 11 December 2023 and there are 15 places available. Further details and the Expression of Interest form are available on the Research Grants Administration Programme - '24 (sharepoint.com). If you have any queries, please contact Debbie.West-Lewis@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Reminder: Christmas and New Year deadlines for applications and expenditure statements
Due to the Christmas vacation the Research Operations Office (ROO) will close from 5pm on Friday 22 December 2023 and will re-open on Tuesday 2 January 2024. Therefore please be aware of the following deadlines and ensure that your researchers are made aware of these arrangements.
If you have a funder deadline application between Friday 22 December 2023 – Tuesday 2 January 2024, applications should reach the ROO by:
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2 working days deadline |
Wednesday 20 December 2023 |
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5 working days deadline |
Friday 15 December 2023 |
If you have applications with a funder deadline in the first week of January, when counting back for 2 or 5 working days, Friday 22 December will be the last full working day before Christmas. For example:
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Funder deadline |
Thursday 4 January 2024, 5pm |
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2 working days |
Tuesday 2 January 2024, 5pm |
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5 working days |
Wednesday 20 December 2023, 5pm |
As a reminder, the ROO asks for a minimum of four weeks’ notice of the intention to submit to a particular scheme. Some funders have very short turnaround times which means that it's not always possible to give the ROO four weeks' notice of intention to submit. In these circumstances, please continue to contact the ROO at the earliest opportunity so that we can assess the resource requirements to support the application. Full details of the deadline policy and the application deadline calculator can be found on the ROO website. The application deadline calculator will be updated shortly to reflect the deadlines above.
Confirmation of Final Expenditure for statements due over the Christmas closure period must be confirmed to ROO before Friday 24 November 2023. This is to enable due statements to be submitted to the funder, prior to the Christmas closure period.
Could you be a Worktribe Champion?
The Transforming Research Support (TRS) Programme will be introducing new grant management system Worktribe across the University using a phased approach from 2024 onwards. The School of Technology will be the first adopter.
To support this, the programme has launched the Worktribe Champions Network. Are you a researcher or administrator working in grants management? Keen to support your team/colleagues through change and help make grants management better for all involved? Learn more about this opportunity and how to express your interest on the TRS Programme Sharepoint.
Save the date for the first meet up
Our first Worktribe Champions meet up will be on Monday 4 December from 1.00-2.30pm at the West Hub in West Cambridge. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. In person attendance is encouraged and we would love to see you there, but there will also be the option to join online. We’ll run through what being a Champion will involve in more detail so you can decide whether to officially sign up.
Research Funding team – application support
Working on a large, complex grant application? Know someone who is? We’re here to help! Based in the Research Strategy arm of the Research Office, the Research Funding team offers application support services such as: coordination of bid preparation, de-mystification of funder guidance, non-scientific review and advice, and organisation of peer review and practice interviews to gather feedback focused on your unique needs. This service complements support available at a more local level, and we work together with School Research Facilitators and other colleagues across the University. Reach out to us at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk to discuss potential support.
We also manage two funds linked to the development of large proposals: the Large Grant Contributions Fund, which aims to provide financial contributions to large collaborative grant proposals; and the Bid Preparation Fund, which provides small grants to enable preparation of large collaborative bids. Visit the links for more information or email us at rpc@admin.cam.ac.uk and we’ll be happy to answer any questions.