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Scotland Beyond Net Zero Seed Fund 2026

Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ), a partnership between Scotland’s universities to mobilise research expertise for beyond net zero, has launched its annual seed fund. 

Key Information

Application deadline: 5pm, Monday 27 April

Networking webinars: Visit to sign up. Please note these are not primarily information sessions and will be focussed on making connections across universities.

Expected project start dates: On or any time after 1 August 2026

Award amount: Small awards of £5,000; large awards of £15,000. Awards must be split evenly across university project partners.

The SBNZ seed fund is designed to spark potentially high-impact research which has been co-created with business, industry, government and communities in support of Scotland’s ambitious net zero and just transition goals. 

Applications to the fund should align with the core SBNZ themes of food, finance, built environment, natural systems, energy and transport. 

 Projects submitted should involve collaboration and co-creation of research across at least two university members of SBNZ who are participating in the fund. Participating SBNZ members are:

• ºÚÁÏÍø
• University of Dundee
• University of Edinburgh
• Edinburgh Napier University
• University of Glasgow
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• Robert Gordon University
• University of St Andrews
• University of Strathclyde

Only academic and research staff within these institutions can receive funding.

Projects should also include clear plans for co-creation, engagement or partnership with at least one other organisation (e.g. community group, third sector organisation, local or national government or industry).  

Member universities are invited to apply for funding of either £5k or £15k. The awards will be split evenly across university partners. 

Examples of suitable projects include, but are not limited to: 

• Research which advances, informs, develops or helps to deliver national climate change and sustainability policy.
• Projects which broaden or deepen collaboration between academia and external partners (for example towards a specific funding opportunity), with an emphasis on co-creation with external partners.
• Projects which pilot or trial new technologies, methods, data or approaches to climate change mitigation or adaptation, or that promote adoption and take-up of such approaches across the public, private and third sector.
• Place-based projects which explore particular contexts and challenges, potentially using participatory or arts-based approaches to work closely with communities.  

Eligibility

Projects should have a Principal Investigator (PI) from each participating university who is a member of staff within their university with responsibility for research (this can include staff with technical or knowledge exchange responsibilities as well as traditional academic posts). Postdocs can be part of research teams but cannot lead in this round. External partners cannot receive funding.

Application Process

You can find out more about the fund by visiting  where you can download guidance and an application form. SBNZ will also maintain a Q&A on our website which will be updated with commonly asked questions. Please check back to this link throughout the application process to access the Q&A. If you have questions about the fund, please contact the Scotland Beyond Net Zero Senior Research Partnership Manager, Dr Kate Symons, on k.symons@ed.ac.uk. 

ºÚÁÏÍø applicants are required to create a Worktribe project record and secure internal approval before submitting an application for assessment. Please create a project in Worktribe, selecting the ºÚÁÏÍø as the funder and entering the name of the call 'Scotland Beyond Net Zero - University Seed Fund'. Guidance and access to Worktribe can be found here /staffnet/research/RAMS.php. Should you have any queries about the internal process Emma Morrison, Interdisciplinary Research Development Executive, who will be supporting applications to this scheme (emma.morrison3@abdn.ac.uk).

Once internal Worktribe approvals are complete, the application form should be emailed to k.symons@ed.ac.uk and sbnz@ed.ac.uk by 5pm on the deadline given above. Your email must contain the phrase ‘seed_fund_application_2026’ in the subject line.

We are pleased to introduce the Impact & Engagement Accelerator Fund (IEAF) for 2026/27.

This is a purpose-led fund to support the acceleration of existing impact projects as part of our preparations for REF2029. Funding in 2026/27 seeks to target and address any gaps identified within an existing impact case study being submitted as part of the REF2029 submission.

We anticipate that the type of impact and engagement-related activities supported by this funding will be diverse, and we aim to provide flexibility in how it is used to accelerate impact across schools and disciplinary areas. We anticipate that funding will be distributed across a number of schools and all REF panel areas. Please note that although we encourage schools to contribute or match fund where possible, this is not a condition of funding. 

Funding will be allocated based on merit, providing a strong case for funding has been made in proportion to the activities planned. We aim to distribute funds across panels; however this does not automatically entitle units of assessment (UoAs) to funding or ensure that multiple submissions under one UoA will be funded. We aspire to distribute funding to a broad range of activity; this will be reflected in the panel’s decision-making.

As part of this funding call, support is available to enable a range of activities that have potential to:

• Increase the reach and/or facilitate acceleration of any existing potential impact activities or projects that will directly enhance the narrative of an existing impact case study for REF (Major Scheme) 
• Increase the significance, reach of impact and/or strengthen the portfolio of activities, partnerships or opportunities for impact within the current REF cycle. (Agile Scheme only)
• We will be prioritising applications against confirmed impact case studies for this REF cycle. 

The spend deadline under the 2026/27 scheme is the 31^st of July 2027 for all funding schemes. Please note that there is no guarantee that funds awarded for 2026/27 can be carried over to 2027/28. Please also note that an underspend in 2026/27 does not guarantee availability of funds in the next financial year.

The 2026/27 IEAF is comprised of two schemes: 

Major Award Scheme (rolling call)

Up to £10k per application for activities that will target and address any gaps within an existing ICS in development for REF2029. Activities should demonstrably enhance the reach and/or significance of impact towards 3*/4* quality, address the identified gaps to improve readiness of ICS and may include (but not limited to) capacity and capability-building activities, knowledge exchange (KE)/engagement activities, expert consultancy and third-party costs.

Applicants must submit a draft ICS along with the application form, clearly identifying/highlighting/explaining within the draft what impact or engagement activities are needed and why, identifying clearly what the outstanding gaps are and how the funding will allow for these gaps to be filled, to strengthen and/or complete the impact case study.

Agile Award Scheme (rolling call)

Between £1-5k available per project on a rolling basis. This is a light-touch responsive scheme that will enable ICS authors and staff involved in developing ICS and/or Engagement & Impact initiatives to undertake small-scale or time-bound activities that have potential to accelerate existing impact and engagement objectives (activities can include writing support, networking opportunities, workshop delivery, expert consultancy and evaluation etc).

The Agile Scheme encourages projects or initiatives to align with school ambitions for external engagement and that can demonstrate enhancement of Engagement & Impact at the unit level, such as partnership-building, undertaking objectives that align with UKRI approach to  and/or the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) principle for high quality engagement ().    

Eligible activities can include:

• Impact evaluation activities – supporting the collection of evidence to strengthen the significance and/or reach of your ICS.
• Capacity, capability-building activities and/or engagement with intermediary groups such as non-government organisations (NGOs), policy makers or local government towards creating or evidencing impact.
• Contribution to website development costs, design of a visual summary or infographic, report or other materials targeting external stakeholders e.g. business, third sector, think tanks and policy audiences.
• Support for software and app development is available through the university's 'Aberdeen Software Factory', a student-run software house that allows students to gain experience working on larger software projects and UoA researchers to benefit from a flexible, cost effective solution in which their application is developed to suit their needs. Please get in touch with Milan Markovic to discuss software needs and costing. 
• Travel costs to facilitate stakeholder engagement where face-to-face meeting is required for evidence gathering (i.e. securing a testimonial). We strongly encourage virtual collaborations in line with our Guiding Principles of Sustainable Business Travel and Travel Hierarchy.
• Facilitation of participation at meetings or workshops with non-academic stakeholders to collate evidence of impact (i.e. reach and significance/influence); funds could be available for travel and in exceptional cases for venue hire if required.
• Expert consultancy and third-party costs e.g. market assessment or analysis of data. Please ensure you receive a written quote from your preferred supplier and determine whether VAT needs to be included in the cost.
• Activities that can be shown to lead to the creation and curation of testimonials, including audio visual recordings and data generation for industry applications.
• Support for commercialisation in limited circumstances where clear REF impact is achievable on the timescale required for REF2029.
• Exceptional requests to support a non-academic stakeholder’s costs will be considered, providing that external stakeholders demonstrate commitment to the proposed development of impact and provide in-kind contribution.

Ineligible activities include:

• Funding for research or activities covered by an existing research grant (i.e. we will not double fund activities). IEAF funds can be used as ‘follow-on’ funding against existing activities; but you must demonstrate how funding will be used to help accelerate or enhance activities already covered by your grant.
• Costs for academic publications or publishing fees.
• Funding to support attendance at open conferences organised by a third party or international organisation, and overheads.
• Staff costs for new/additional project staff will not be considered.
• Staff buyout will not be considered.

Application Process

Major Scheme and Agile Scheme

Eligibility:

Applications are welcomed from staff across the University. The Lead Applicant must be developing an impact case study (this can include joint ICS) or be leading a relevant Engagement & Impact activity or initiative and be a university employee. Their current employment contract should extend for at least 6 months after the end of the proposed project. Applications can have co-leads from different schools or disciplinary areas and may include impact leads or DoR if justification is given e.g. capacity is required in order to deliver the application on behalf of the school.

Who is eligible to apply:

• ICS authors can apply providing they have written endorsement from their school Impact Lead and/or DoR.
• Impact Leads are invited to apply for funding on behalf of their own ICS or a colleagues’ (please consult your DoR and impact team before applying).
• Joint applications between impact case study authors within the same school or across schools are invited to apply, providing there is support from all school DoRs involved.
• If you think you may have an ICS but are still developing an outline (i.e. are not yet on the school ICS list), please discus with your impact lead and/or the central impact team before applying. Applications who do not have an ICS under development will only be able to apply to the Agile Scheme only.

You can be a Lead Applicant on more than one proposal at a time, however, please be sure to indicate where you will be lead or co-lead. You can apply to more than one scheme at a time, please ensure to justify the need to work across schemes and demonstrate the link between applications, indicating which application is priority.

Please note that an application cannot be accepted if there is a report outstanding on any previous internal grant awarded by the University to the Lead Applicant or Co-Applicant(s) named in a new proposal. In this instance, we will request that you submit an outstanding report before applying.

Key assessment criteria

Please consider the degree to which a proposal meets the criteria set out for each of these schemes, high-quality applications would be expected to demonstrate:

• Evidence of underpinning research linked to the ºÚÁÏÍø, published between 2008 – current. Noting that the 2* requirement no longer applies, ‘underpinning research’ can include reports, policy briefs, presentations, blogs etc.
• A track record of commitment to ICS development as confirmed by the school Impact Lead and/or where appropriate the central impact team and a supporting statement from the school DoR.
• Clear milestones for delivery of 4* (or 3*) impact within the current REF cycle with 4* and 3* impact being understood to be outstanding or very considerable in terms of significance and reach, respectively.  
• Details of how planned activities will enhance the significance, reach and/or rigour of any existing impact and plans to achieve impact objectives.
• Explain clearly if there are any outstanding gaps and how these gaps are going to be addressed to be able to finalise the ICS, and meet readiness for the REF2029 submission.
• Timeline and feasibility of proposed activities
• Cost effectiveness and appropriate use of funds
• Where appropriate, evidence of impact co-development or collaborative working and potential contribution to unit of assessment E&I sub-profile.
• Where appropriate, alignment with UKRI Responsible Innovation and/or NCCPE principles.
• A statement of endorsement and sign-off from School Impact Lead

Priority will be given to applicants who submit clear and costed plans that articulate how the use of funds will accelerate the significance, reach and/or rigour of impact, targeting any gaps or milestones yet to be achieved and facilitate development of their ICS or planned Engagement & Impact activities for REF2029 and beyond.

Application review process

Applications to the IEAF Major Scheme IEAF_Major_Form_2026/27. The panel will aim to make a decision within no more than 14 working days. 

Applications to the IEAF Agile Scheme IEAF_Agile_Form_2026/27. The panel will aim to make a decision within no more than 10 working days.

Please indicate the scheme(s) being targeted in the email subject line.

Submit Worktribe record: 17^th December 2025

Submit application form via Worktribe:  9^th January 2026

The University has been awarded funding from the SFC/International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) Institutional Support Grant to support ODA‑compliant activity. We are now inviting proposals for projects which are ODA compliant and can complete their activity by 31st July 2026.

A wide range of activities will be considered including seed funding, overseas researcher exchanges, capacity building and training, workshops, partnering activities, impact activities and the extension of existing ODA compliant projects.

Awards of up to £20k will be made (higher requests will be considered if fully justified). All spend must be completed by 31^st March 2026 but activities can run until 31^st July 2026.

For further information and application procedure please see attached document.

Queries should be directed to Wendy Rudland, RDE - International, europe-rg@abdn.ac.uk.

Funds are available to support the strengthening and initiating of partnerships within the Aberdeen-Curtin-Calgary (ACC) Alliance.  The following areas are considered as priority for applications: 

• Energy 

• Nutrition 

• Remote and Rural Health 

Applications either outside of or that are interdisciplinary approaches to priority areas will be accepted. Funds must be spent, and activities undertaken by 31^st July 2026. Project reports will be due within 60 days of the end of the project.  â€¯&²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Use of Funds 

The grant can be used to support the following: 

• Direct Project Costs: Directly incurred and directly allocated costs, including travel and subsistence. 

• Overseas researcher exchanges, training, workshops and partnering activities. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

The grant will not support: 

• Academic time

• Duplication of other sources of funding already in use for international activities  

• Staff costs or consumables at the overseas research organisation. 

• Undergraduate or Postgraduate activities or training, core PhD training, including fees or bench fees. 

We anticipate applications for up to £5k within each theme but encourage proposals ranging in value appropriate to the partnerships involved. We encourage partnerships aligned to School priorities and encourage interdisciplinarity. Priority will be given to applications that can evidence opportunities for large grant acquisition, including Horizon Europe applications. 

To apply, please complete a Worktribe record (select the ºÚÁÏÍø as the funder, name of call: Aberdeen-Curtin-Calgary Research Catalyst fund and Donna Walker as pre-award liaison) and use the attached application form. Projects can expect to start in March/April 2026. Awardees will be expected to provide an end of grant report by 30^th September 2026, and where requested, provide information to support the University’s reporting obligations. 

Queries should be directed to Dr Anpu Varghese, Research Development Executive (EU & International) at Europe-rg@abdn.ac.uk

Please note that the form does not require Head of School signature, however, you should notify your Head of School as they will need to approve on Worktribe.  

The institutional research leave scheme, now open for applications, offers up to 6 months of research leave for approximately 15 awards.

The scheme is aimed at individuals who conduct, enable, or support research, with a strong focus on enhancing research culture across the University. This includes Research Fellows, Advanced Research Fellows, Technicians and colleagues in Professional Services roles.

Eligible activities should contribute to a supportive and inclusive research environment, aligning with University goals for REF2029 by fostering shared standards of excellence, collective problem-solving, and career development.

Funding, covering replacement teaching, administrative and technical duties, and related expenses, supports applicants in creating a thriving research culture, where openness, integrity, and collaboration are prioritised. Please see the full call document for details.

For team-based applications, funding can be requested to cover the leave of one team member, with an explanation of how this will benefit the entire team. Alternatively, funds may be used to cover other expenses that allow the team to step away from regular duties to advance the project.

Proposals should detail how the research leave will strengthen research culture in areas such as establishing inclusive networks, developing policies for transparency and integrity, or implementing practices that advance equity, diversity, and inclusion. Each project should consider sustainability and long-term benefits to ensure ongoing impact on the University’s research culture.

Please note, all applications must clearly outline how existing research responsibilities including PhD supervision will be maintained. If you are in a funded research only role, your funded research must continue, but requested funding can be used to provide full or partial capacity to support research activities or your proposed culture project.

In all cases, projects should be evidence-led: using evidence-informed decision making to identify the need for the project and developing evaluation strategies for assessing the impact of the project. Projects that develop new evaluation strategies that may be transferrable to other activities are also encouraged.

Additionally, applicants must secure support from their Head of School or Professional Services Director, with a deadline for submissions by 4 pm on 24th January 2025.

For further guidance, please contact researchculture@abdn.ac.uk or consult your School Director of Research or Professional Service Director.

• Full Scheme Details
• Scheme Application Form

Background
We anticipate that the type of activities that could be supported by this funding will be diverse and want to provide flexibility in how it is used.

With this initiative, support is available to enable a range of activities including:

• Stakeholder Engagement – forming or building stakeholder relationships with individuals or groups. Emphasis is placed on co-creation with stakeholders. Supporting events related to research proposals and facilitating network-building activities, particularly those engaging non-academic organisations, is highly encouraged.
• Consortium Building – to develop, maintain or enhance links to groups, network cohorts, and European or other international partners, to facilitate the formation and advancement of a consortium with the view to supporting a future major bid.
• Project Management - to support existing projects and ventures which would benefit from enhanced project management expertise.
• Connective Funding – exclusively for postdoctoral researchers who have secured substantial funding, for example an independent fellowship or a project grant, to bridge the gap between funding streams.
• 4* outputs – generation of additional data that will enable 3* outcomes/outputs to be enhanced and published at 4*
• Other activities to catalyse high quality research outcomes – creative ideas are welcome, for example funding to deliver a themed seminar series, funder or other stakeholder visits.

Eligibility
Applications are welcome from academic staff across the University for the development of research which would leverage subsequent funding from external funding bodies and/or contribute to Aberdeen 2040 strategic priorities.
The Lead Applicant must be a current employee, and their current employment contract should extend for at least 2 months after the end of the proposed research project.
A project can have Co-Leads if from different disciplines.
You cannot be a Lead Applicant on more than one proposal at a time however it is permissible to be Lead Applicant on one application and a Co-Applicant on another.

Early Career Researchers
While open to all disciplines and career stages, we would particularly encourage applications from early career researchers and a proportion of the 2024/25 funding has been ringfenced to support such applications.
There is no one single definition of an Early Career Researcher, however for the purposes of the Research & Research Networks Pump Prime scheme, we have used the Royal Society of Edinburgh's definition of a postdoctoral early career researcher:

• Applicants within seven years of the award of their PhD (from the point of successful PhD viva to the point of applying) and within seven years of their first academic appointment (paid contract of employment which lists research or teaching as the primary role).

In instances where the lead applicant is an Early Career Researcher employed on an externally funded research grant (e.g., a postdoctoral research assistant) endorsement from the grant holder (Principal Investigator) is also required to confirm that the proposed activity can be accommodated alongside existing commitments and permissible under the terms and conditions of the externally funded research grant.

Level of Award
Applications up to £10,000 are anticipated.

Eligible Costs
Fully justified directly incurred costs will be eligible.

Dates of Eligible Spend
The proposed start date for a project should be no earlier than 1st March 2025.

Research Catalyst funds awarded must be spent by 31st July 2025, and grants will not be renewable. Costs incurred after this date will not be eligible and we cannot prepay or commit funds for an activity/event that takes place after 31st July 2025.

Apply: applications will be accepted ahead of the submission deadline 4pm 29th January 2025. You can find further guidance and the application form below. Please note feedback on applications will not be provided.

Queries - please contact Elspeth.spice@abdn.ac.uk, Research Development Executive.

Applications to this call are being routed through Worktribe. If you do not have access to Worktribe, please contact Ramsproject@abdn.ac.uk. Research Finance will review the costings of successful applications only and Worktribe records will be tagged as No Research Finance Input at Application Stage.

• Research Catalyst Supporting Information
• 2024-25 Internal Funding to Research Catalyst Application Form

BBSRC International Institutional Award 2024 - Closed for Applications

We are pleased to announce a call, within the UKRI-BBSRC remit, to support the strengthening and initiating of international partnerships across the world and strengthen linkages with Europe to enable our research community to re-engage fully with Horizon Europe. This grant replaces the BBSRC International Partnering Awards. Funds can be used to initiate and/or strengthen existing international partnership activities, bilaterally or multilaterally within the UKRI-BBSRC remit.

This call is underpinned by an awarded block grant from the BBSRC of £270,830 to the ºÚÁÏÍø. As such:

• Funds must be spent, and activities undertaken by 29th June 2024; for the avoidance of doubt, we cannot prepay or commit funds for an activity/event that takes place after 29th June 2024.
• The activity must be within UKRI-BBSRC remit.

Use of Funds

The grant can be used to support the following:

• Direct Project Costs: Directly incurred and directly allocated costs, including staff time, travel and subsistence.
• Overseas researcher exchanges, training, workshops and partnering activities.

The grant will not support:

• Duplication of other sources of funding already in use for international activities within the BBSRC remit
• Staff costs or consumables at the overseas research organisation.
• Equipment over £10,000
• Undergraduate or Postgraduate activities or training, core PhD training, including fees or bench fees.

We anticipate applications for up to £50k but encourage proposals ranging in value appropriate to the partnerships involved. Bids up to £70k will be considered where a strong case is made. We encourage partnerships aligned to School priorities and those applications aimed at enhancing new and existing strategic relationships with European partners, Curtin University and University of Calgary.

To apply, please complete and submit the attached application form to europe-rg@abdn.ac.uk We expect all applications to be submitted by 26th Jan 2024. Please see the application form for further details of eligibility and review criteria.

A Worktribe record must be completed. Please create a project and select the ºÚÁÏÍø as the funder. The Research Finance Manager will be the pre-award liaison.

Awardees will be expected to provide an end-of-grant report (Pro-forma will be issued), and where requested, provide information to support the University's reporting obligation to BBSRC.

To Apply: Please complete the form attached to this email and return it to Europe-rg@abdn.ac.uk. Queries should also be directed to this email address.

Please note that the form does not require Head of School signature, however, you should notify your head of school as they will need to approve on Worktribe.

Internal Funding to Pump-Prime Research and Research Networks 2023/24

Background

We anticipate that the type of activities that could be supported by this funding will be diverse and want to provide flexibility in how it is used.

With this initiative, support is available to enable a range of activities including:

• Pump-priming for interdisciplinary research initiatives to develop new interdisciplinary groups or networks, or for existing interdisciplinary groups or networks to develop new areas of research importance.
  
  The University is particularly keen on supporting projects advancing our Interdisciplinary Challenge areas, for more information on these please see here. To encourage the co-development of research programmes and networks, activities which engage non-academic organisations are particularly encouraged.
  
  
• Bid development funds to support the development of new major funding applications, as well as support for external grant applications that were highly graded by funding panels but remained unfunded, and for applications where internal peer review suggests specific actions for improvement (support for activities to underpin applications to fEC funders are strongly encouraged)
  
  
• Networking, access to consultants or pump priming initiatives that would lead to large network grants. Requests for support to help develop or maintain links with European partners, as well as international partners, especially those within our Strategic Alliance with University of Calgary and Curtin University, are particularly welcome.

Eligibility

Applications are welcome from academic staff across the University for research pilot projects and the development of research partnerships which would potentially lead to subsequent funding from external funding bodies and/or contribute to Aberdeen 2040 strategic priorities.

The Lead Applicant must be a current employee and their current employment contract should extend for at least 2 months after the end of the proposed research project.

A project can have Co-Leads if from different disciplines.

You cannot be a Lead Applicant on more than one proposal at a time however it is permissible to be Lead Applicant on one application and a Co-Applicant on another.

Priority will be given to applicants who have not received funding in recent rounds of the pump-priming scheme. Former awardees should make a clear case for additional funding sought, including an update on outcomes (both pending and achieved) of activities supported previously. In such cases you are encouraged to discuss a further application with your Research Development Executive prior to submitting your proposal.

An application cannot be accepted if there is a report outstanding on any previous pump-priming grant awarded by the University to the Lead Applicant or Co-Applicant(s) named in a new proposal.

Early Career Researchers

While open to all disciplines and career stages, we would particularly encourage applications from early career researchers and a proportion of the 2023/24 funding has been ringfenced to support such applications.

There is no one single definition of an Early Career Researcher, however for the purposes of the Research & Research Networks Pump Prime scheme, we have used the Royal Society of Edinburgh's definition of a postdoctoral early career researcher:

• Applicants within seven years of the award of their PhD (from the point of successful PhD viva to the point of applying) and within seven years of their first academic appointment (paid contract of employment which lists research or teaching as the primary role).

In instances where the lead applicant is an Early Career Researcher employed on an externally funded research grant (e.g., a postdoctoral research assistant) endorsement from the grant holder (Principal Investigator) is also required to confirm that the proposed activity can be accommodated alongside existing commitments and permissible under the terms and conditions of the externally funded research grant.

Level of Award

Applications up to £10,000 are anticipated, however larger awards will be considered upon reasonable request. Please discuss your needs with your Research Development Executive.

Eligible Costs

Funding can be requested to support high quality research initiatives which have the potential to become sustainable through external funding from traditional or novel sources.

Eligible costs can include:

• Costs associated with pilot studies e.g. consumables, data access fees, other research costs
• access to institutional core facilities to enable researchers (particularly early career researchers) to enhance their existing line of research or develop new studies that could potentially lead to external funding ()
• capacity building activities such as meetings and exchanges to develop and/or strengthen interdisciplinary relationships with partners to progress potential collaborations
• funding to support ODA compliant research to promote the economic development and welfare of Low or Middle Income Countries (LMICs) on the . More information can be found at ''
• workshops (most likely online, especially where this engages audiences beyond the University)
• administrative staff time e.g. to support the co-ordination of a new seminar series
• limited postdoctoral assistance e.g. PDRA time dedicated to support grant writing (1-2 months)
• academic staff time (buy-out) - replacement teaching costs to enable academic staff time for the development of grant bids only
• travel (where the outputs can only be achieved though face to face meetings). We strongly encourage virtual collaborations in line with our Guiding Principles of Sustainable Business Travel and Travel Hierarchy.
• third party costs (i.e. sub-contractors or consultants)
• invitations to Aberdeen for incoming researchers, especially from our Strategic Alliance partners the University of Calgary and Curtin University
• co-funding for large grants e.g. networking calls
• exceptional requests to support a non-academic stakeholder's costs will be considered however our expectation is that all external stakeholders will demonstrate commitment to the proposed research by co-funding activities

The funding cannot be used as standalone funding to underpin personal research programmes.

Ineligible costs:

Ineligible costs include academic staff time (buy-out) for any activity other than the development of grant bids; funding to continue existing research projects; costs for publications; funding to support attendance at open conferences organised by a third party or international organisation; and overheads.

Upcoming 2023/24 Deadlines for Applications

Round 3: 5pm Wednesday 14 February 2024

2023-24 Internal Funding to Pump-Prime Research and Research Networks Application Form (February 2024)

Applications should be submitted by email to grantsacademy@abdn.ac.uk

Please note, internal funding applications are not currently recorded on the University's grant management system Worktribe. Should you require any project staff costings please contact your School Planning Accountant.

Dates of Eligible Spend

For proposals submitted to Round 3, the proposed start date for a project should be no earlier than 1st April 2024. In exceptional cases, please discuss with your Research Development Executive prior to submission.

Pump-priming funds awarded must be spent by 31st July 2024, and grants will not be renewable. Costs incurred after this date will not be eligible and we cannot prepay or commit funds for an activity/event that takes place after 31st July 2024.

Review

Applications will be reviewed by a panel that will comprise of selected Deans of Research, School Directors of Research, Interdisciplinary Challenge Directors and the Director of Research & Innovation. Further reviewers (including external reviewers) may be added as required for relevant expertise including input from relevant Heads of School.

Key Assessment Criteria

The funding available is primarily intended to support research and research partnerships however the review panel will consider all applications on merit.

Highly rated proposals are likely to demonstrate several of the following characteristics:

• establishing new, high quality interdisciplinary research collaborations, or significantly enhance existing partnerships, both internally and externally
• building on excellent research
• demonstrable evidence of fulfilment of Aberdeen 2040 commitments to be a more inclusive, interdisciplinary, international and sustainable university
• providing the evidence-base, knowledge, solutions, innovations, technologies or pathways to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• novel approach to address a complex research challenge
• demonstrating collaborations with industry, international partners, community partners, or other external stakeholders (or clear plans to gain such collaborations in the course of the project), and the value that this adds to the research area, especially those within the Strategic Alliance (University of Calgary and Curtin University).
• demonstrating clear pathways to achieve outcomes e.g. attracting external funding, creating demonstrable impact within and beyond academia, etc.
• the extent to which the likely outcome of the research or activity will represent value for money

Ethics

Where applicable, approval of the relevant ethics board is required as a condition of funding.

Reporting

Awardees will be asked to contribute a lay project summary which will be used on the University's webpages.

A report must be provided within 60 days of completion of the project and a simple template proforma will be shared with awardees for this purpose.

We will seek to maintain conversations with awardees and follow the leverage achieved through the investment so there will be additional opportunities for awardees to provide updates and reports, for example you may be contacted from time to time by Research & Innovation to contribute to the development of a case study for additional reporting or invited to participate in research events such as symposia.

Please note details of successful applications will be added to Pure. Awardees are encouraged to keep Pure up to date with the latest research outputs and activities. For more information and guidance on how to add your content to Pure please visit Pure | StaffNet | The ºÚÁÏÍø (abdn.ac.uk).

International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) ODA Project Grants 2023/24 and 2024/25

The ºÚÁÏÍø will receive from the SFC an allocation from the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) Institutional Support Grant from the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25. These funds are to support ODA activity only.

Please discuss your needs with the EU and International team (Wendy Rudland and Anpu Varghese) in the first instance.

• Directly Allocated staff costs, plus associated indirect and estates costs
• Directly Incurred staff costs, plus associated indirect and estates costs
• Directly Incurred T&S
• Directly Incurred Other costs (to cover other expenses, workshops, consumables etc.)
• Other Directly Allocated costs

Equipment (over £10k) is not an eligible cost

Round 1 - for activity taking place between 2nd November 2023 - 31st March 2024 and;
Round 2 - for activity taking place between 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025

For the avoidance of doubt, we cannot prepay or commit funds for activities/events which fall outwith these dates. Single projects cannot span the two rounds.

If funds remain following the round 2 deadline a further deadline will be announced, likely to be April 2024.

Highly rated and competitive proposals are likely to demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics:

• Clearly set out how the economic development and/or welfare of the developing country will be enhanced through the project.
• Providing the evidence-base, knowledge, solutions, innovations, technologies or pathways to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Build on excellent research.
• Shows potential to share skills, knowledge, and techniques, and support best practices with overseas partnerships.
• Demonstrating collaborations with international partners, community partners, industry partners or other external stakeholders and the value that this adds to the research area.
• Demonstrates a clear and feasible route to achieve proposed outcomes
• Demonstrates excellent potential to yield international co-authorship.
• Builds on excellent research.
• Supports development opportunities for Early Career Researchers (ECRs).

Due to the short timeframe for completion of activity in round 1 preference will be given to projects involving existing partnerships in this round only.

Please note details of successful applications will be added to Pure and other research-related users of the system would have access to the information submitted. If you have any queries or believe that your application should be treated as confidential, please contact the impact team to discuss.

Up to £500 is available per award under this call (a maximum of 3 awards per unit of assessment). Whether you are considering engaging with a new stakeholder group e.g. policymakers , community groups or expanding the focus of an existing relationship, this award can be used to support early-stage or ongoing engagement activities such as workshops, focus groups and/or subsidise travel etc. for such activities.

We strongly encourage the submission of applications with an evaluative component to help you monitor any potential benefits, changes or interventions that might result from stakeholder engagement with your research - now or in the future. Please note that conference costs (including conference travel) are not eligible.

Up to 20 awards are available on a first come first served basis. To apply, please submit 150 words via email to impact@abdn.ac.uk outlining the planned activity and costs, together with confirmation of support from your school Impact Champion or Director of Research as appropriate

Spend deadline is 31st July 2023.

We are pleased to announce a call to support research impact from ODA-compliant UKRI/GCRF/Newton funded projects. Full details can be found in the application document.

(Please note that GCRF research Hubs are not eligible under this call).

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. We expect all applications to be submitted by 30th November 2022 in the first instance. If funds are still available after this time, we will consider applications up until 31st December 2022.

Funds must be spent, and activities undertaken by March 31st 2023.

BEIS and UKRI have awarded a block grant of £200,000 and £50,000 respectively to the ºÚÁÏÍø to fund impact-related activities arising from GCRF/Newton and UKRI projects (open or closed). We anticipate applications for up to £10k to support:

• Completion of GCRF and Newton Fund grant research objectives with existing partners impacted by various circumstances such as delays and the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Commencement of new follow-on activities with existing partners that support research along the route to achieving the most impact in beneficiary countries;
• Distribution of funding to existing research partners, including overseas institutions, to carry out activities. This can apply to lead organisation.

Eligible activities:

• Engagement with stakeholders, policy makers, practitioners, third sector and community organisations and groups, and other research users to facilitate knowledge exchange and accelerate the translation of research outputs into impacts
• Activities to disseminate research findings, such as workshops, development of briefings, public engagement, showcasing events, creative outputs (e.g., films, performances, exhibitions etc.), or publicity materials and associated activities to enhance the accessibility, inclusivity and reach of research outcomes (e.g., translation into relevant languages). This includes developing or extending existing resources or websites.
• Research activities or work packages - including associated staff time - that were not completed due to circumstances over the past year, where to carry them out now would enable realisation of project impact objectives and outputs.
• Costs for development of demonstrators, prototypes, industry engagement, market assessment, proof of concept, or other support required in commercialisation of outputs.
• Ongoing engagement with existing partners or networks to enable knowledge exchange and impact, including capacity development.

Key eligibility criteria:

• In line with BEIS requirements, ODA funding cannot be used to support partners in or from China.
• Proposals to work with partners in India must demonstrate a primary focus on delivering benefit to countries outside of India on the OECD DAC list. Such projects will require pre-approved by ODA team before funding can be granted.
• Projects involving partners in Chile are not eligible under this call due to removal from OECD DAC list.

Please direct any initial enquiries to jude.bain@abdn.ac.uk in the first instance. Full details of this call can be found in the application below.

The Aberdeen Grants Academy is inviting applications to three internal funding schemes to support ODA compliant research in DAC countries. Applicants to all three schemes are encouraged to consider a wide range of activities in the delivery of their project, including but not limited to supporting PhD student stipends, Postdoctoral Researchers and the use of online technologies.

The panel would particularly welcome creative solutions given the current restrictions on travel and face to face research. The activities must align to the Official Development Assistance (ODA) guidelines; namely to promote economic development and welfare within Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) on the DAC list and must demonstrate ODA compliance. More information can be found at '?'

Funding available through each scheme is indicated in the notes below, however, in exceptional circumstances the panel will consider higher value projects where sufficient justification is provided..

Covid-19 Response

Funding of up to £50,000 per project is available to support research activities as follows:

1. Support the response to Covid-19 in DAC countries. These may be new projects or existing projects which can be repurposed and/or extended to meet the challenges of COVID-19.
2. Providing additional support to existing ODA compliant projects which have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These projects need not be tackling issues related to the pandemic themselves but will have experienced significant disruption to the planned research activities. Projects in this category will need to demonstrate the disruption caused and how additional funding will enable them to achieve the objectives of the original project.

Internal Pump Priming

Funding of up to £20,000 are invited. Projects should seek to:

• Build new collaborative links and. or consolidate existing partnerships with researchers and stakeholders active in international development, with a particular emphasis in LMICs, to provide a firm foundation for future ODA-oriented projects and to demonstrate the demand lead nature from stakeholders of proposals.
• Enable researchers to capture pilot data and/or evidence to position research areas for future funding applications to the Global Challenge Research Fund.
• Support other relevant activity directly related to the development of proposals to GCRF initiatives.

Impact Accelerator

Projects of up to £20,000 are invited. Projects should seek to achieve and/or to evaluate impact arising from ODA-compliant research, including GCRF and Newton.

Applications

Please complete the appropriate application form and return it to grantsacademy@abdn.ac.uk .

An application form for GCRF-IPPF and Impact Accelerator funding may be downloaded here.

Those applying to the Covid-19 Response scheme should use this form. At present this is an open call and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. It is expected the panel will meet from late May on a regular basis.

Further information on the GCRF is available from where you will also find a list of current UKRI GCRF funding calls. You can also follow UKRI GCRF news via the twitter account.

If you wish to discuss an application, please contact the Grants Academy

For advice and for help with costing an application, please contact your pre-award costing accountant.

Review

Applications will be reviewed by circulation. The panel will comprise of selected Heads of Schools, Deans of Research, School Directors of Research and the Director of Research & Innovation. Further reviewers may be added as required for relevant expertise. The key assessment criteria for making awards will be on the potential to support excellent ODA-compliant research, to build and develop international partnerships to be competitive for GCRF funding.

Reporting

A report must be provided within a month of completion of the project. Guidance on reporting requirements will be provided to award holders at award stage.

Further Guidance

Further information about the GCRF calls and ODA compliance, please visit our GCRF webpage.

Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (KEC) Award

KEC Awards offer pump-priming funding for activities such as

• Working with industry (particularly SMEs) or engaging with stakeholders for knowledge exchange activities
• Developing intellectual property
• Commercialising research
• Applying for funding for translational research awards or KTPs

The call is open to any industry sector and any academic discipline. Applications must have Head of School/Institute/Department approval.

Awards are expected to be up to £6K and exceptionally up to £10K. Projects must be completed by 31 July 2023.

Deadline: 5pm, 26 January 2023.

Contact Dr Javier Lopez Vidal or Dr Ann Lewendon for further information and to discuss an application

Definitions

Knowledge exchange is a two-way process that moves knowledge derived from research activities to non-academic organisations to enhance and improve their practices, policies, products and services, and also allows for knowledge flow back to the University to inform research.

Commercialisation is the process by which research outcomes are brought to market through the development of new products, services or technologies. This often involves the protection of intellectual property and there is usually a commercial return to the University.

The University has awards of £500, and in exceptional circumstances up to £1000, to enable public engagement with research activities.

Summary of Eligibility

1. The awards are intended to support research-led public engagement projects that for lack of funding might otherwise not take place.

2. Proposals may consist of a standalone idea or feature elements of a larger project.

3. We will accept applications from anyone across the University community, however, projects must demonstrate a tangible link with current areas of University research.

4. Applications are made by an individual (the lead applicant), however, they may be made on behalf of a wider team.

5. The lead applicant must be a current employee or PGR student with the ºÚÁÏÍø.

6. We particularly welcome applications that:

• Are linked to one of the five interdisciplinary challenges linked to the University's strategy, Aberdeen 2040
• Will take place during or link with British Science Week (11-20 March 2022) or the University's Festival of New Ideas (27-29 May 2022)
• Help establish impact
• Foster 2-way digital engagement

7. Funds must be spent by 31st July 2022.

8. Proposals that involve partners and community engagement are welcome though we recommend seeking the support of third parties ahead of making your application.

9. Proposals must have an evaluation plan.

10. Applicants are encouraged to seek advice and support from the PERU team by emailing peru@abdn.ac.uk.

Summary of terms

1. Applications are assessed comparatively with other proposals received by a review panel, which represents different areas of the University. The decision of the review panel is final.

2. Applications must address the questions in the application form.

3. Where proposals require top-up or supplementary funding we may ask for evidence that such funding has been secured.

4. Applications should be submitted by email to peru@abdn.ac.uk indicating 'Enabling Fund' in the subject field.

5. Any funds not spent by 31 July 2022 will be required to be returned to PERU.

6. Funding recipients will be required to supply information about their project for the purposes of a case study.

7. A report on the project and its evaluation will be provided within 6 months of the project end date

Funding to support a range of strategic research activities that fall within the Wellcome Trust's remit.

We are pleased to announce a call to support our academics and researchers to 'discipline-hop' and, in doing so, facilitate and enhance interdisciplinary research in areas of relevance to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)'s Discovery Science agenda.

NERC has awarded a grant of £100,000 to the ºÚÁÏÍø to fund activities up to 31 March 2023 at the latest. The funding will be managed by the ºÚÁÏÍø Grants Academy.

We therefore invite applications for 'discipline-hopping' activities in areas of relevance to NERC's Discovery Science agenda. For example, projects could be undertaken to:

• Embed researchers, for a short period of time, in departments outside of their own discipline area (within the same organisation, or in other eligible UK research organisations*).
• Share insights on priorities and looking for synergies/ new ideas that cut across departmental boundaries.
• Work shadowing in other departments, for example to learn new skills and techniques.
• Organise meetings/ seminars/ workshops between departments and disciplines to share learning, understanding of key terms, concepts, language and tools to tackle problems.
• Work with end users (e.g. businesses, policymakers, non-governmental organisations) to understand how their needs could be addressed through interdisciplinary approaches.

*Update: The funds should be spent within and between UK research organisations. Currently institutions outside of the UK (and outside of any Lead agency agreement) are not eligible to receive funding via Discovery Science schemes. So whilst potential synergies with international partners are very important they would not be able to be capitalised on further through Discovery Science.”

To apply please complete and submit the application form to grantsacademy@abdn.ac.uk.

**Applications received by the second deadline of 26 January 2023 are currently under assessment. No further applications are being invited at this time however this page will be updated week commencing 6th February should any funds remain available and applications would be accepted on a rolling basis with the proviso that the activities have to be completed by 31 March 2023 at the latest.**

Eligibility

The funding must be used to facilitate and enhance interdisciplinary working in areas of relevance to the agenda. NERC discovery science funding supports environmental research driven by curiosity and imagination rather than the funder's strategic priorities, and spans the full breadth of sciences and methodologies required to advance our understanding of the Earth's major systems and to reveal people's impact on environmental processes. This funding will cover collaborations (to enable discovery within environmental science) across the breadth of UKRI remit, including the arts, humanities, engineering and technology and medical sciences.

The grant can be used to support ºÚÁÏÍø academics and researchers employed at lecturer (or equivalent) level or above, and costs for Post-Doctoral Research Assistants can be supported. PhD students are not eligible.

The funding can be used to support activities within our organisation, or in partnership with other UK research organisations (and/ or end users).

Level of Award

We are inviting applications for up to £10,000. Larger awards will be considered if a strong justification can be made. Please discuss your needs with your Research Development Executive in the first instance.

Eligible Costs

NERC has awarded up to £100,000 at 100% FEC. Eligible costs include:

• Directly Allocated staff costs, plus associated indirect and estates costs
• Directly Incurred staff costs, plus associated indirect and estates costs
• Directly Incurred T&S
• Directly Incurred Other costs (to cover other expenses, workshops, consumables etc.)
• Other Directly Allocated costs
• Equipment (over £10k) is not an eligible cost.

We can fund activities to 31 March 2023 at the latest due to the terms of NERC funding. We cannot prepay or commit funds for an activity/event that takes place after 31 March 2023.

Review

Applications will be reviewed by email circulation. The process will be overseen by our Internal NERC Panel which was established to make decisions and provide support to applicants seeking NERC Discovery Science funding. Membership of this Committee comprises an institutional Dean for research, and representatives from Schools with research within NERC remit, along with Research and Innovation. There will also be additional input from the Directors of our 5 Interdisciplinary Centres (as appropriate) and additional representatives to ensure compliance with NERC expectations.

Key Assessment Criteria

To ensure that funding is used to facilitate and enhance interdisciplinary research working in discovery science, the Committee will broadly apply the following criteria when assessing the good fit of applications in line with guidance provided:

• Establishing new, high quality interdisciplinary research collaborations, or significantly enhance existing partnerships, both internally and externally.
• Building expertise and agility to work across disciplinary boundaries. This could involve supporting projects which embed researchers in a different School within the University Structure, or in other eligible UK research organisations.
• Supporting development opportunities for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to undertake independent research projects which involve exposure and experience outwith their current research environment. Especially where such development will facilitate future applications to either NERC Independent Research Fellowship or UKRI Future Leader Fellowship schemes.
• Potential of the project to share skills knowledge, techniques, and support best practice across academic silos.
• Encourage the development of stakeholder engagement in bids particularly for ECRs.
• Demonstrating clear pathways to achieve outcomes e.g. attracting external funding or creating demonstrable impact within and beyond academia.
• All projects must seek to cross disciplinary boundaries and funded activity must be within NERC remit.

Ethics

Where applicable, approval of the relevant ethics board is required as a condition of activities taking place.

Reporting

Awardees will be expected to provide a brief final report on the activities undertaken and lessons learned, as well as a final expenditure statement, and we will share a simple proforma for this purpose in March 2023. The funder's terms and conditions are still to be confirmed however we expect that ResearchFish submissions may also be a requirement.