MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES SMALL GRANTS SCHEME

1. Title: MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES SMALL GRANTS SCHEME2. Awarding Authority: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), GB Tel: 01793444164. Email: Maths@epsrc.ukri.org. Web: (Je-S helpdesk)3. Contract type: Service contract4. Description: Applications to the Mathematical Sciences Small Grants Scheme must focus on original research projects or feasibility studies for research projects. The awarding authority is looking to support grants in the region of £10 -80k at 80% FEC, and of up to 12 months in duration. Full proposals can be submitted at any time and will be considered by EPSRC on a rolling basis.This scheme will follow a non-standard format for submission and assessment, with standard EPSRC eligibility and assessment criteria being applied. Applicants as PI or Co-I can only hold one Small Grant at any one time. Any submissions to this call will not count towards the Repeatedly Unsuccessful Applicants Policy5. CPV Code(s): 85320000, 85300000, 800000006. NUTS code(s): UKK, UKK1, UKK147. Main site or location of works, main place of delivery or main place of performance: South West (England), Gloucestershire, Wiltshire And Bristol/Bath Area, Swindon.8. Reference attributed by awarding authority: Not provided.9. Estimated value of requirement: Funding type: GrantTotal fund: £2,000,000It is expected that proposals will be up to 12 months in duration and costed at between £10,000 and £80,000 (80% value of the full costing). Grants costed higher than this will be permissible but applicants are asked to consider the spirit of the scheme and the impact a larger request will have on the number of grants EPSRC will be able to fund when applying.In the first instance, a rising funding level of £2 million per annum will be allocated to this initiative however, this will be reviewed and may be subject to change.Please ensure you account for adequate resources to enable the delivery of your proposed plans.Equipment over £10,000 in value (inc. vat) is not available through this call. Smaller items of equipment (individually under £10,000) should be in the Directly Incurred – Other Costs heading10. Closing date: 31.12.2021 (16:00:00).11. Address to which they must be sent: For further information regarding the above contract notice please visit:12. Other information: Minimum award: £10,000Maximum award: £80,000Standard EPSRC eligibility rules apply: Small grants are open to UK higher education institutions, research council institutes, UKRI-approved independent research organisations and NHS bodies with research capacity.Read the guidance on institutional eligibility.You can apply if you are resident in the UK and meet at least one of the bullets below:are employed at the submitting research organisation at lecturer level or equivalenthold a fixed-term contract that extends beyond the duration of the proposed project, and the host research organisation is prepared to give you all the support normal for a permanent employeehold an EPSRC, Royal Society or Royal Academy of Engineering fellowship aimed at later career stages hold fellowships under other schemes (please contact EPSRC to check eligibility, which is considered on a case-by-case basis). Holders of postdoctoral level fellowships are not eligible to apply for an EPSRC grant.There is no limit to the number of submissions from a single institution. However, applicants as PI or Co-I can only hold one Small Grant at any one time.Applications are driven by ideas, and as such may involve either single or multiple applicants. Interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary collaborative research is permissible, and must be in majority mathematical sciences remit.Applications to this call will not preclude applicants from schemes that include holding previous awards as an eligibility factor (e.g. New Investigator Awards).Submissions to this call will not count towards the Repeatedly Unsuccessful Applicants Policy.Please ensure sufficient time to create Je-S accounts for Investigators who do not currently have one.BackgroundFollowing the announcement by the Prime Minister on 27 January 2020 of up to an additional £300 million for mathematical sciences, EPSRC can now announce a scheme specifically aimed at providing freedom to grant small amounts for initial research and early-stage idea generation.The design of this scheme has taken into account steer from the Mathematical Sciences community including consultation through the Mathematical Sciences Strategy workshop held in March 2019, the Mathematical Sciences Strategic Advisory Team, Learned Societies, and the Advisory Group for the Additional Funding for Mathematical Sciences Programme.More information about EPSRC’s portfolio and strategies.ScopeSmall Grants are a mechanism for supporting mathematical sciences research which does not require funding at the level generally seen within standard mode.Projects must be focused on original research projects or feasibility studies for research projects. Proposals focused purely on networking or community building are not appropriate (and can be supported by other funding routes).This scheme is for research, therefore proposals better suited to the workshop, network or overseas travel grant schemes will be rejected.Requests for equipment over £10,000 in value should not be made.How to applyYou should prepare and submit your proposal using the research councils’ joint electronic submission (Je-S) system.When adding a new proposal, you should go to documents, select New Document, then select:council ‘EPSRC’document type ‘Standard Proposal’scheme ‘Standard/Outline/ …’On the Project Details page you should select the ‘Mathematical Sciences Small Grants Scheme’ call.After completing the application: You must ‘Submit document’ which will send your application to your host Organisation’s administrationYour host Organisation’s administration is required to complete the submission process.As well as the Je-S Application Form the following documents must be submitted:Case for support: four pages – including evidence of an ability to deliver the proposed researchJustification of resources: one pageLetters of support from all project partners included in the Je-S form: no page limit – Must be included from all named project partners. Must be on headed paper, and be signed and dated within six months of the proposal submission dateHost Organisation Letter of Support: This document type should only be used where a secondment is being supportedAdvice on writing proposals.Please note that on submission to EPSRC all non-PDF documents uploaded onto Je-S are converted to PDF, the use of non-standard fonts may result in errors or font conversion, which could affect the overall length of the document. If you are using software such as LaTeX please ensure you take extra care when converting to PDFs.Proposals that do not meet EPSRC formatting guidelines (e.g. correct font size, typeface and margins) will be rejected. Proposals will not be returned for amendment for incorrect formatting reasons. Further information on EPSRC formatting guidelines (e.g. correct font size, typeface and margins).EPSRC will not fund a project if it believes that there are ethical concerns that have been overlooked or not appropriately accounted for. All relevant parts of the Ethical Information section must be completed. Further guidance on completing the Je-S form. EPSRC guidance can be found under Additional InformationHow we will assess your applicationThe small grants scheme will have a single submission stage for full proposals.Full proposals will be batched and assessed by a panel drawn from the mathematical sciences community. Due to the nature and timescales of this scheme, there will be no postal peer review and no right to reply.In the event of this scheme being substantially oversubscribed as to be unmanageable, EPSRC reserve the right to modify the assessment process.This scheme will be kept under regular review and dependent on demand and timing of applications, EPSRC reserve the right to modify the assessment process.Standard criteriaQuality (Primary) the research excellence, making reference to:The novelty, relationship to the context, timeliness and relevance to identified stakeholders;The ambition, adventure, transformative aspects or potential outcomes;The suitability of the proposed methodology and the appropriateness of the approach to achieving impact.(For multi-disciplinary proposals please state which aspects of the proposal you feel qualified to assess)National Importance (Secondary Major) how the research:Contributes to, or helps maintain the health of other disciplines contributes to addressing key UK societal challenges and/or contributes to future UK economic success and development of emerging industry(s);Meets national needs by establishing/maintaining a unique world leading activity;Complements other UK research funded in the area, including any relationship to the EPSRC portfolio.Applicant and Partnerships (Secondary), the ability to deliver the proposed project, making reference to:Appropriateness of the track record of the applicant(s);Balance of skills of the project team, including collaborators.Resources and Management (Secondary), the effectiveness of the proposed planning and management and whether the requested resources are appropriate and have been fully justified, making reference to:Any equipment requested, or the viability of the arrangements described to access equipment needed for this project, and particularly on any university or third-party contribution;Any resources requested for activities to either increase impact, for public engagement or to support responsible innovation.FeedbackDetailed feedback will not be provided on submitted proposals.Key datesThere are no deadlines for a submission to the Mathematical Sciences Small Grants scheme. Proposals can be submitted at any time and will be considered by EPSRC on a rolling basis. These proposals will be assessed by a panel drawn from the mathematical sciences community. Please be aware we cannot guarantee applications going to specific panels. Proposals will be batched up for assessment four times a year.Batching dates for proposals* will be:Start of NovemberMid-JanuaryMid-AprilMid-JulyPanels* will be held shortly after.EPSRC aims to adhere to these dates as published, however there may be exceptions where dates have to change due to demand or panel member availabilityPlease refer the website above for documentationTKR-2020109-EX-1472166# funding opportunity