Published on 6 May 2022
RGUG Meeting 26th April 2022 - recording and presentations now available
Thank you to those who were able to attend the Research Grants User Group Meeting (RGUG) on 26th April. The recording and slides are now available to view. The meeting included presentations on the revised UKRI open access policy, Horizon Europe guarantee funding, updated guidance on PI eligibility and feedback on the UKRI FAP Audit.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday 14th July at 11:15am. If you have any queries, please contact Hannah.Pawson@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Horizon Europe - UKRI Underwrite Guarantee
As outlined in the April RGUG meeting, there are ongoing delays in the formalisation of the UK’s association to Horizon Europe which are continuing to impact the Grant Agreement process for many of the recently awarded Horizon Europe grants. We are continuing to navigate the process of balancing the needs and timelines of the individual projects and how these relate to accessing the UK Government underwrite guarantee. This situation is developing at a pace and to help summarise the current position, a Frequently Asked Questions page is now available on the ROO website.
We are anticipating guidance for those schemes covered under the “second wave” of the guarantee to be released by the middle of May 2022. This should include guidance relating to
- the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
- MSCA Doctoral Networks
- ERC Consolidator, Advanced and Proof of Concept calls
Other collaborative schemes which were not already covered under the first wave ( March / April 2022) are also expected. Owing to some very specific requirements in completing the UKRI re-submissions, we urge applicants to liaise with the ROO team to ensure that the correct process is undertaken.
EC Webinars in May and June
There are a number of webinars scheduled over the next few weeks which may be of interest to researchers and support staff.
EU Missions info days - 17 and 18 May 2022
EU Missions are a new way to bring concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges. They have ambitious goals and will deliver concrete results in health, climate and the environment by 2030. There will be presentations on a wide range of new topics for all five missions, following the amendment to the Missions’ Work Programme 2021- 2022 under Horizon Europe.
ERC 2023 Starting Grant: Call Information Webinars
Session 1 Wednesday 22 June, 10am - provides an initial overview of the European Research Council and the nature of an ERC Starting Grant; UK participation in the ERC; eligibility criteria and proposal development.
Session 2 Friday 24 June, 10am - provides information on the submission process, how proposals are evaluated and other elements to consider when designing a project for your big research idea.
Registration is required in advance for the ERC sessions.
Expert Evaluators for EU Programmes
The European Research Executive Agency (REA) is looking for expert evaluators from a wide range of fields to evaluate project proposals and monitor the implementation of projects for EU Programmes including Horizon Europe. The Commission is seeking experts with extensive experience in at least one of the following thematic areas:
- Food and agriculture
- Soil
- Environment and bio-economy
- Civil security
- Engineering, IT and technologies
- Culture and creativity
- Democracy and society
- Other fields of science and innovation including social sciences and humanities, interdisciplinary research, open innovation, physics, medicine etc.
If you are interested in becoming an expert evaluator, you can register online through the European Commission’s experts’ database. The Commission selects candidates from this database with the most suitable profiles for each evaluation. Selected experts are contracted for short-term assignments which are mostly conducted remotely, although there are some cases where evaluators will be invited to the Commission’s premises in Brussels.
Being an expert evaluator can be a unique opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and experience on EU funding (including Horizon Europe). Please visit the Commission’s website for further details.
Managing Research Grants Guidance
Guidance is available on the Managing Research Grants Sharepoint page which has lots useful topics to help support you with grant administration. This includes understanding fEC, costing staff and working with contracts. Whether you are new to administering a grant portfolio or looking to update your knowledge, the topics presented can help you navigate the grants management lifecycle and terminology.
Travel on University business: new guidelines on sustainability
As part of the University’s commitment to carbon reduction, the Sustainability Team have consulted with stakeholders from across the University to produced new guidelines on sustainable business travel. The purpose of the guidelines, which were approved by University Council in March, is to support a reduction in non-essential business travel (particularly air travel) and its associated carbon impacts. They are not intended to limit essential travel.
The guidelines apply to all University staff and all students who choose to / are required to undertake travel as part of their learning or research. In summary, the guidelines recommend that:
- Staff and students attend meetings and conferences virtually
- Staff and students consider whether their travel is essential (guidance on defining this is provided)
- Staff and students prioritise modes of travel that have the lowest carbon impact, and provide a hierarchy of preferred travel modes
- Flights to UK destinations and to European destinations that can be reached by train within six hours from London terminals are discouraged
- Where it is necessary to travel by plane, staff and students are strongly encouraged to offset the carbon emissions in accordance with the University’s offsetting policy.
Please contact sustainability@admin.cam.ac.uk if you have further questions.