Research and Innovation Services

We want ALL applicants to engage in a pre-application conversation with the GKEF team prior to submitting their application. We hope this conversation will strengthen applications however it will also allow advice on scope, eligibility, costing, letters of support and the submission process. Applicants should contact Gordon Meiklejohn or Bhoomi Gor in Research Services Directorate to discuss their project in good time prior to submission. We will call on the appropriate College or Professional Services contacts (depending on the focus of the project, e.g. commercialisation, public engagement, etc) to be part of these conversations, if the applicant has not contacted them already.

Eligibility

Eligible Activities

Eligible Costs

Eligibility 

Projects funded by the GKE Flexible Fund are expected to cost up to a maximum of £30,000 and to last for 6 months, although both upper limits may be reassessed at the discretion of the GKE panel (if partners are predominantly based overseas, for example).

Funded projects will be expected to start within 2 months of the funding decision. We recognise that some projects may be looking for approval to start planning for an event beyond this period or to enable them to attract further matched funding. All project leads will be expected to provide regular short updates on progress against a pre-determined work-plan.

Projects must have a clear link to underpinning University of Glasgow research. The GKE does not fund research.

Applicants should discuss their project with an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) manager. If the project is in scope for IAA, then we would expect applicants to apply to the IAA rather than GKEF unless there is good reason why this is not possible.

Eligible Activities

The journey from research to impact is complex and varies across the broad range of disciplines represented at the University of Glasgow; the GKE panel welcome the creativity of our research and knowledge exchange community in proposing projects for funding. Whilst not an exhaustive list, some examples of eligible activities are provided below:

Secondments/Placements of post-doctoral researchers, and PhD students between the University and a non-academic partner organisation, company or agency from any sector. Secondments/Placements can be part-time or full-time and range in duration from weeks to months. Secondments/Placements of permanent staff may also be considered.

Fellowships and internships to concentrate on specific knowledge exchange projects. Staff buy-out may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

De-risking of research outputs/outcomes for commercial uptake, including market assessments, toolkit development, prototype and demonstrator development, proof-of-concept activity and application-focused feasibility projects.

Engagement with policy-makers and practitioners at any stage of the research-impact cycle, for example through events, knowledge exchange workshops, collaborative toolkit development, collaborative activity to co-produce evidence, and/or mechanisms to ensure the uptake of that evidence.

Engagement with partners in private, public or third sectors to foster new collaborative relationships, or deepen/broaden existing relationships.

Engagement with particular communities to pursue new research agendas, to increase the uptake of relevant research outcomes, and other public engagement initiatives, provided they are structured in a way that supports the creation of strong, well-evidenced impact.

Initiatives designed to support engagement with underserved or marginalised communities or groups are particularly welcome.

Eligible Costs

The funding is designed to be flexible and can cover items such as:

1. Staffing costs, e.g. RA's -- note that reimbursement for UofG permanent staff time is not permitted as knowledge exchange and engagement are assumed to fall within their existing remit. All requested funding for staff costs should be justified in the ‘detail’ text box
2. Consumables
3. Small equipment
4. Travel
5. Workshops and seminars
6. Specialist sub-contract work

The GKE does not fund Estates and Indirect costs.

A GKEF award is made to a UofG General Funds accounts. The Principal Applicant should be able to hold a General Funds account. Local finance contacts can advise about eligibility in this regard.

For collaborative projects with non-academic organisations, we are looking for evidence of partner commitment to the project. This may come in the form of a contribution to the project costs (cash and/or in-kind) - particularly with private sector partners. In-kind contributions could include partner organisation staff time, provision of access to equipment, materials, data or other items. Partner contributions should reflect the role of the partner in the project, their appreciation of its potential value, and their willingness and ability to contribute.

For collaborative projects, including secondments, a collaboration agreement will be required before funding is released to agree the arrangements for IP and the terms and conditions for staff. Applicants are encouraged to speak to their local knowledge exchange/impact team for support in discussing these issues with their partners at an early stage.

External collaborators are expected to have seen and approved the application, workplan and budget prior to submission. Applicants will be asked to confirm this arrangement.

Eligibility and suitability 

Mentor

Eligibility and suitability 

The fund is open to all postdoctoral research staff who are at an early stage in their research independence or staff who hold an academic lectureship.  

* Research independence will be assessed on whether the applicant is holding an external fellowship or is a lead investigator on an external research grant. 

The lead academic on the project should have ongoing research activity (conducted primarily at the University of Glasgow) underpinning the project. RAs, technicians, professional staff, and PGRs are eligible to be co-investigator(s) on the application.  

The call will accept applications for projects with maximum costs of up to £15,000 and a maximum duration of 6 months (1st January 2024 to 31 July 2024) (Note that all funds are required to be spent by 31 July 2024, with no possibility of extension.) 

A broad range of knowledge exchange and engagement activities are eligible and fundable. These are the same as the GKE Flexible Fund. 

Mentor 

A suitable internal mentor must be identified, and their role briefly described in the application. This could include but is not limited to providing disciplinary or sectoral guidance to formulate the engagement activity(s) of the project, sharing/developing contacts and networks, or coaching the mentee for career-related next steps during/after the end of GKEF project. The commitment of the mentor would be 3 meetings with the mentee.  

The applications will be scored on the below criteria: 

• Clarity of link between underpinning research to the engagement activities.  
• Visibility of any external partners in the project, including evidence of their commitment to the project via in-kind or cash support, role in work packages, if applicable, and in the potential for sustainability and further development of the collaborative relationships. (Note that any external organisation collaborating on the project will need to have seen/reviewed the application.) 
• Immediate- and longer-term vision for potential impact generation, and how the proposed project outcomes might enable next steps towards that goal.  
• Construction of the workplan, including any risks and mitigation steps, and probability that the project will deliver on its objectives and Fund aims. 
• Quality of evaluation plan and next steps -- a sustainability plan that should capture outcomes and provide a step forward or step-up to generating long-term envisaged impact.  

For the GKE Flexible Fund and Enabling fund assessment will consider but not score on the criteria below: 

• Contribution the project would make to your career development and the development of any UofG project team members (only applicable to the Enabling Fund scheme). 
• Consideration of good practice in creating equitable/ethical partnerships, awareness of working ethically and sustainably; working towards Responsible Research & Innovation (UKRI guidance) and environmental sustainability (UofG policies). 
• Potential to secure or leverage additional funding or generation of impact. 
• Value for money and effective mitigation of risk. 
• Alignment with the University’s Research Strategy priorities.  
• Alignment with the University’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Policy (see the UofG policy and the EDI unit site). 

1. Award recipients will be required to submit a report detailing expenditure, activities, outputs and outcomes after the conclusion of the project.
2. An in-project monitoring meeting will be arranged to check projects are progressing at the pace laid out in the workplan.
3. Additional audit may be conducted at further intervals after the conclusion of projects to track impact leverage over time.
4. All reporting requirements will be confirmed on award of funding
5. Except in situations of commercial sensitivity, the University will retain rights to project applications and reports in order to appropriately promote the outcomes of the funding