ESRC First Grants Competition 2009-2010

ESRC is pleased to invite applications under the fifth round of its First Grants Competition. First Grants enable new researchers and academics at the start of their careers to gain experience of managing and leading research projects.

The 2009/10 First Grants Competition will be run in the same format as last year in order to manage demand. The assessment of proposals will again be a two stage process; an Outline Stage will enable applications to be shortlisted and a number of applicants will be invited to submit applications to the Full Proposal stage.

The deadline for the submission of Outline proposals is 4 pm on 26 November 2009. Proposals received after this time will be rejected. ESRC will inform successful applicants by email and letter by 22 February 2010.
The Competition is open to all staff at Research Organisations (ROs) eligible for Research Council Funding, who have not previously been Principal Investigators (PIs) on Research Council awards. It is imperative that applicants are within six years of the completion of their PhD or equivalent professional standing; this will be assessed on a case by case basis by the ESRC. This time limit excludes any period of formal career breaks taken for family care responsibilities, health or other personal reasons; in such cases evidence must be provided.

Applications may be up to three years in length, and up to £400,000 at 100% of Full Economic Costs (fEC). Consistent with the Research Councils' arrangements for fEC, ESRC will contribute 80% of this cost and the remaining balance must be guaranteed by the RO.

There is no fixed budget allocated to this Competition although the ESRC expects to support up to 25 awards as a result of this Competition. The final decision on how many awards will be funded will depend on the quality of the proposals.
How to make an application

Applications should be made via the Research Council Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S), and submitted to ESRC by no later than 4pm on 26 November 2009. Under no circumstances will applications will be accepted after this deadline. All applications must be costed and approved by the relevant institutional authority at the Research Organisation.

It is intended that decisions from the Outline stage of shortlisting proposals will be available by 22 February 2010, and grants awarded under the Competition will start from 1 October 2010.
Further information

Any query regarding the Competition should be made to Paul Meller, First Grants Competition Project Manager (Email: FirstGrants@esrc.ac.uk).