Published on 17 October 2023
ERC Synergy and ERC Consolidator applications - 7 working day deadline
As outlined in the application process, it is occasionally necessary to implement a 7 working day internal deadline for particular calls. Due to the volume and complexity of the forthcoming Horizon Europe calls, the following applications will require a 7 working day deadline:
|
Call |
Notification to ROO of intention to submit |
Internal Deadline to ROO |
ERC Deadline |
|
ERC-2024-SyG |
18 October 2023 |
6 November 2023 |
15 November 2023 |
|
ERC-2024-CoG |
14 November 2023 |
1 December 2023 |
12 December 2023 |
This means that the full and final application, and the X5 costing must be received by the Research Operations Office (ROO) at least 7 working days before the funder deadline. If you have any queries, please contact your Research Development Team at ROO.
Extension of call deadlines due to ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict
The European Commission has extended the deadlines for several Horizon Europe calls in light of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. The deadlines of the calls will be extended for all applicants, irrespective of the country where the organisation is based. Please check the individual call pages for any further information.
- The ERC Starting Grant Call will be extended from 24 October to 7 November
- The ERC Synergy Call will be extended from 8 November to 15 November
- The EIC Accelerator will be extended from 19 October to 8 November
- The EIC Pathfinder will be extended from 18 October to 25 October
Please refer to the UKRO’s news item: Deadline Extension for Horizon Europe Calls in Light of Israel-Gaza Conflict – UKRO
Horizon Europe Funding Opportunities Information Session – Thursday 7th December 2023
On 7th September 2023, the UK Government and the EU announced the UK’s association to the Horizon Europe and Copernicus Programmes, to enter into force on 1st January 2024.
To support our researchers, we have invited the dedicated European Advisor for the University of Cambridge and the UK MSCA National Contact Point representative, to present on Horizon Europe funding opportunities.
This event aims to:
- provide researchers with all relevant information on applying to the ERC calls
- discuss how UK researchers can participate in the 2024 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships and/or Doctoral Networks calls, including how to identify partners and get involved at different career levels
- give practical advice on how to write applications to Horizon Europe calls including how to transform innovative project ideas into competitive project proposals
- offer participants the opportunity to ask questions in a dedicated Q&A session
This information session will take place on Thursday 7th December 2023 at the West Hub, JJ Thomson Avenue, and is for University of Cambridge Researchers and support staff. We are also planning a hybrid aspect to the session and further information with registration details will follow in due course.
Use of ERC Branding confirmed for UKRI Guarantee Grant Holders
ERC President Maria Leptin has written to UK Principal Investigators (PIs) leading a project that would have been funded under the ERC Work Programmes for 2021-2023, but which was instead funded by the UKRI Guarantee.
The letter confirms that PIs can utilise ERC branding and refer to their project as ‘selected by the ERC, funded by UKRI’ and use the ERC logo. They can also join the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG). Please visit UKRO News item for further details.
NIH Grants – subrecipients to provide copies of all lab notebooks, data and documentation
Departments who receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) need to be aware of the updated NIH Grants Policy Statement, section 15.2
For foreign subrecipients, a provision requiring the foreign subrecipient to provide access to copies of all lab notebooks, all data, and all documentation that supports the research outcomes as described in the progress report, to the primary recipient with a frequency of no less than once per year, in alignment with the timing requirements for Research Performance Progress Report submission. Such access may be entirely electronic.
Grant recipients will need to comply with this updated policy guidance by 2nd March 2024.
In particular, please be aware that:
- this policy affects existing agreements which means that that existing subrecipient contracts must be amended to include this new requirement by March 2023.
- documents can be electronic and shared in secure platforms such as Onedrive, SharePoint, Teams etc. These documents do not need to be shared with the entire collaboration but only the lead to oversee the project effectively.
In those instances where the University is the prime recipient of NIH funding, the Research Operations Office will be in touch to provide specific guidance on the compliance requirements.
We will be providing more support and guidance in due course, but if you have any immediate queries, please contact crocompliance@admin.cam.ac.uk
New Teams channel to support users of UKRI’s The Funding Service (TFS)
Our Community of Practice (CoP) for Grants Administration aims to support all those who run and are involved in the grants lifecycle at the University of Cambridge. A new Teams channel has been set up called “The Funding Service (Je-S replacement)” to give members the opportunity to ask questions and receive support.
The Funding Service (TFS) has been launched by UKRI as part of its Simpler and Better Funding programme and TFS is replacing the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) platform. Several calls are already active on TFS and the new CoP channel will initially focus on application related queries. However, once TFS develops further, the channel can support other parts of the funding lifecycle.
If you are not already involved with this group and would like to join, please sign up on the Supporting Research at Cambridge SharePoint site or join directly using the MS Form to Join Grants Administration CoP (3 mins).
More information is available from UKRI including, guidance for applicants using TFS and how to sign up to their Simpler and Better newsletter.
VAT training session on research grants and contracts – recording available
On Tuesday 10th October, the University Tax Office with the support of the Research Office hosted an online VAT training session on research grants and contracts aimed at administrative staff in Departments. The session was recorded and is now available for you to view.