HMRC/HMT/ESRC Collaborative Tax Administration Research Centre

The HMRC/HMT/ESRC are inviting outline proposals for a Centre for Research on Tax Administration. Applications may be made for up to £2.5 million (at 100 per cent fEC) for a period of up to five years. The Scheme is open to all staff at Research Organisations (RO) eligible for Research Council Funding. Consistent with the Research Councils’ arrangements for fEC, the ESRC will contribute 80 per cent of this cost and the remaining balance must be guaranteed by the Research Organisation.

Proposals are invited that offer high quality research and related activities on tax administration able to strengthen the theoretical and empirical understanding of the design and delivery of tax operations and policy.  It is expected that the centre will develop new approaches and insights to exploit the data resources available though the HMRC Datalab and the ESRC-Funded Secure Data Service. The centre is also expected to provide a focus for academic and practitioner networking, stakeholder engagement, knowledge exchange and the development of research capacity in tax administration. 

For full details refer to the call specification.

The deadline for submission of outline proposals is 16.00 on 22 March 2012. Proposals received after this time will be rejected.

Applications should be made via the Research Council Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). All applications must be costed and approved by the relevant institutional authority at the Research Organisation.

Any query regarding the call should be made to the project team at tax-centre-team@esrc.ac.uk

View the original article here

Transformative Research Call

ESRC is launching the second round of the ESRC Transformative Research Call, which was piloted in 2012/13. The aim of this call is to provide a stimulus for genuinely transformative research ideas at the frontiers of the social sciences, enabling research which challenges current thinking to be supported and developed.

We regard transformative research as that which involves pioneering theoretical and methodological innovation. The expectation is that the transformative research call will encourage novel developments of social science enquiry, and support research activity that entails an element of risk.

Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to £250,000 (at 100 per cent fEC).

Proposals should be pre-selected by the research organisation and then submitted to the ESRC by no later than 16.00 on 15 January 2014.

Applications should be made via Je-S. Please note that the Je-S portal for this call opens on 14 October 2013.

Anonymous Case for Support documents will initially be assessed by a Commissioning Panel of relevant experts from the academic community. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to pitch their proposal at a ‘Pitch to Peers’ workshop on 26 and 27 March 2014, which they must be able to attend in order to apply to this call. Funding decisions will be made immediately following the workshop and communicated to applicants within 2 working days.

Grants must start between 1 June 2014 and 1 September 2014, and we expect to award up to 20 grants, dependent on quality of the proposals.

For further information please see:

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Alcohol Misuse Research

This call has been launched as part of an on-going MRC and ESRC research strategy on the health and social harms caused by alcohol consumption. The research funded under this call will be considered for co-funding by MRC and Alcohol Research UK.

This call focuses on research supporting the aim of defining harms caused by alcohol and linking these to each of the various drinking behaviours prevalent in the UK. Harm is defined broadly and comprehensively; it ranges from damage to the organs, to the health and mental wellbeing of the drinker; to social harms - for example, the impact on the psychological development of children in a family where there is a heavy drinker. As the objective of defining and linking harms to behaviours is medium–term, this call aims to provide research impetus to support this goal.

The closing date for proposals is 16.00 on 29 November 2013. Proposals should be submitted electronically using the Research Councils’ Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) form.

Detailed guidance on the information required as part of proposals is provided in the Je-S guidance notes for applicants (see link below). All applicants should consult the ESRC Research Funding Guide (see link below) which sets out the rules and regulations governing funding. 

Applications should be submitted through MRC responsive mode or ESRC responsive mode depending on where the major emphasis of the research lies. It is strongly recommended that potential applicants contact the scheme contacts to discuss the remit of their proposal. Both Councils will follow the usual peer review process, supplemented by peer reviewers from the sister Council.

For further guidance on applications in the majority of ESRCs remit, please contact:

For further guidance on applications in the MRCs strategic areas, please contact:

Enquiries relating to the Je-S application procedure should be addressed to:

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Future Research Leaders – Third call for proposals

This call is now closed. The details below are for reference only.

We are pleased to announce the third call for proposals for our early careers scheme, Future Research Leaders. The Future Research Leaders scheme aims to support outstanding early career researchers to carry out excellent research and to develop all aspects of their research and knowledge exchange skills.

The call is open to high-quality candidates from anywhere in the world who have a maximum of four years' postdoctoral experience and the support of an eligible UK research organisation.

Grants will be for a maximum of three years with an overall limit of £312,500 (at 100 per cent full Economic Cost). We aim to fund around 70 awards.

If you have any questions or would like further information about the scheme please email futureresearchleaders@esrc.ac.uk

We are monitoring the questions we receive so that these can be included in the Frequently Asked Questions. We highly recommend that potential applicants review this document before contacting the ESRC case officers for advice:

Jennifer Edwards
Telephone: 01793 442544Henna Patel
Telephone: 01793 411914

Enquiries relating to the Je-S application procedure should be addressed to:

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Administrative Data Research Centres 2013 (closed 4 July)

Following the publication of the Administrative Data Taskforce (ADT) report Improving Access for Research and Policy (PDF, 1.1Mb) and the additional Technical Report (see attachment), the ESRC is inviting proposals for four Administrative Data Research Centres 2013.

The Administrative Data Research Centres will be part of the Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN) - a partnership between government departments, research funders, national statistical authorities, and the research community that will reach across the UK to facilitate research based upon linked, routinely collected administrative data. This call is for four Administrative Data Research Centres (ADRCs), one each in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales, and is being commissioned in parallel to a new Administrative Data Service - the information and coordinating body. Combined, this new data resource will help position the UK at the forefront of research based on linked administrative data.

For full details please see the call specification.

For a five-year period, the budgets for each ADRC application will be a maximum of £10 million and a minimum of £4 million, dependent partly on how much bids are built around existing resources. It is expected that the value of proposals will vary within this range. Costs should be calculated on a full economic costs (fEC) basis. As per standard funding rules, the ESRC will contribute 80 per cent of the total budget.

Full proposals where to be submitted via the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S) by 16.00, 4 July 2013. This call is now closed.

maximum and minimum budgets are at the research council funding level (80 per cent fEC)the guidance on page 6 of the Je-S guidance notes (UK co-investigators in civil society or government bodies) on the proportion of the grants that can be allocated to civil society/government department, does not apply in the case of the NSAs. Please seek guidance from the ESRC if there are other third parties for which costs will exceed 30 per cent.although NSA are partners in each of the ADRCs, we are not requiring them to be named as co-investigators. The NSA should be entered as a project partner (page 10 of Je-S guidance) however we do not require a letter of support to be provided with the application. The annex on the role of that NSA will act in that capacity and will be attached by the ESRC on receipt of the applicationany additional technical detail can be provided as an additional annex but it must be referred to in the Case for Support and must provide relevant detail of use in the review and decision making processes for the applicationFinal/interim reports are required as per the guidance on page 13 of AD Service or page 14 of ADRCs. However these should be concise and not exceed 3 pages per project - 1 page per project is acceptablethe letter of support must be attached from the Vice Chancellor (or equivalent) of the Principal Investigator and the Co-Investigators' institutions.

Applications must be made via the Research Council Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). All applications must be costed and approved by the relevant institutional authority at the proposed host research organisation.

Call Specification (PDF, 238Kb) Je-S Guidance (PDF, 254Kb) Key Terms Definitions (PDF, 44Kb) Technical Report (PDF, 883Kb) ADRN bidders information event slides (PDF, 790Kb) England national statistical authority contribution Annex 1 (PDF, 48Kb) England national statistical authority contribution Annex 2 (PDF, 48Kb) Northern Ireland national statistical authority contribution Annex (PDF, 47Kb) Scotland national statistical authority contribution Annex (PDF, 38Kb) Wales national statistical authority contribution Annex (PDF, 53Kb) Peer Reviewer guidance (PDF, 214Kb) Data Management Plan Guidance for Peer Reviewers (PDF, 82Kb)

Enquiries relating to the funding rules and commissioning process should be addressed to:

Enquiries relating to the Je-S application procedure should be addressed to the Je-S Helpdesk at:

Enquiries relating to the applicants’ event should be addressed to:

View the original article here

'Transforming' Social Science - Transformative Research Call

The Transformative Research Call is a new pilot for 2012/13 which aims to provide a stimulus for genuinely transformative research ideas at the frontiers of social sciences. Applications for the Transformative Research Call must be submitted using the online application form

The ESRC Transformative Research Call is a new pilot for 2012/13 which aims to provide a stimulus for genuinely transformative research ideas at the frontiers of social sciences and to trial a mechanism that enables research which challenges current thinking to be supported and developed.

The call is a pilot and is therefore subject to very specific eligibility criteria. Eligible research organisations will be notified by invitation and the eligibility criteria (including the number of applications allowed by each research organisation) and more information about the call can be found in the call specification.

Proposals will be assessed and successful applicants will receive a grant of up to £250,000 (at 100 per cent fEC). The ESRC will only fund 80 per cent of this cost, and the balance must be guaranteed by the research organisation. In addition, host research organisations of successful applicants will receive a further £50,000 to spend on fostering future transformative research in the social sciences.

This call has now closed.

If you have any questions or would like further information about the call, contact:

View the original article here

ESRC-DFID Joint fund for poverty alleviation research 2013

This call is now closed. The following is for information only.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID) are pleased to announce a call for three large and exciting Research Programmes of work under Phase 3 of the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research. Both funders are committed to commissioning world class research and ensuring the results are available for policy makers and development workers worldwide. 

The aim is to provide funding for new research on critical but relatively under-researched themes. The Research Programmes will undertake work in three areas:

Funding is available for one Research Programme of work of up to £2 million under this stream. Researchers are invited to develop research programme proposals which will examine the specific barriers to inclusion facing disabled people in low income country settings. The key research question is “What are the specific barriers to inclusion facing disabled children and adults in accessing health, education, social protection and labour market services, and how can these barriers be overcome in sustainable and cost-effective ways?”

Funding is available for one Research Programme of work of up to £2 million under this stream. Researchers are invited to develop research programme proposals which will examine how urban spaces are changing and what the emerging challenges for tackling urban poverty reduction are. This will include an understanding of towns and peri-urban areas, and work on new interventions that can tackle urban poverty at scale in low income countries.

Funding is available for one Research Programme of work up to £3.3 million to address evidence gaps around urbanisation and risk in an African context. Researchers applying under this stream are invited to develop research programme proposals which will map and measure the different dimensions of risk in urban Africa and produce policy-relevant evidence that can inform efforts by national, regional and municipal/city governments, multilateral agencies, NGOs and humanitarian donors to build urban resilience and manage risk and uncertainty. 

Applications are sought from across the social sciences and interdisciplinary research, both within and beyond the social sciences, is welcomed. However, applicants should note that it is a requirement of this call that all Research Programme applications must be a minimum of 50 per cent social science.

Applicants must ensure the proposed research will be carried out to a high ethical standard and must ensure that any potential ethical issues have been considered and explain how these will be addressed. The ESRCs Framework for Research Ethics contains a full explanation of our approach and includes guidance for applicants.

Deadline for applications closed 16.00 UK time, 10 September 2013.

Email: DFID@esrc.ac.ukLauren Watters
Telephone: +44 (0) 1793 413047Lyndy Griffin
Telephone: +44 (0) 1793 413135

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High Priority Behaviour and Social Research Networks

The ESRC and National Institute on Aging (NIA) are pleased to announce a joint call for networks. This call covers a number of thematic areas, the ESRC will consider co-funding applications which involve or are led by UK partners in the following areas:

Epigenetics: Advance research from a life course perspective that elucidates how epigenetic processes translate the effects of social environments into behavioural or behaviourally mediated outcomes that may persist throughout life into middle and late adulthood. This builds on the ESRC/BBSRC International Symposium on EpigeneticsReversibility: Assessing the prospects for mid-late life reversibility of phenotypes associated with early life adversity and subsequent later life health and socioeconomic disparities.Valuing Health Research: Facilitate a network to study the production of biomedical and behavioral science research and its impact on health, especially healthy aging, and the economy.

Full details of the call for Networks is available on the NIA website. To be eligible for ESRC co-funding, applications must include a social science UK component, including one or more UK Investigators. For further information on what constitutes a 'UK component' see the FAQ document.

If you have an interest in the area of reversibility then you may also be interested in a separate ESRC/NIA call on Mid-life Reversibility of Early-established Biobehavioural Risk Factors.

ESRC and NIA funding for networks in the above areas will provide infrastructure support for advancing the development of interdisciplinary areas of behavioural and social research of relevance to ageing. Ageing-relevant research is that which addresses issues of importance to the well-being and health of either mid-life or older adults, and can include data spanning the entire life course.

The infrastructure support will facilitate research networks through meetings, conferences, small scale pilots, training, and dissemination so that they can develop to the point where work in this area can be supported through standard research funding mechanisms. Development of research networks is critical to advance the science in high priority emerging areas, where integration across studies, disciplines and institutions is required.

BBSRC are co-funding this call, further information can also be found on their website:

Note: The NIH Guide notice providing detailed Guidance on Resumption of NIH Extramural Activities Following the Recent Lapse in Appropriations has just been published. The receipt date for the Networks (R24) RFA will be 17.00, 1 November your local time.

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Call for proposals - DFID ESRC Growth Research Programme Research Strategy Group

The ESRC, on behalf of the DFID ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP), wish to appoint a Research Strategy Group to lead on academic guidance and agenda setting for the programme. This is a key role which will underpin broader ESRC and DFID strategies to ensure the academic quality and maximise the policy and practice relevance of the research that we fund regarding developing countries. The Research Strategy Group will have a strong track record in international development; relevant research and demonstrate particular academic strength in the area of development economics. It will be expected to work closely with DEGRP’s Programme Executive Group, Evidence and Policy Group (currently based at the Overseas Development Institute) and Independent Advisory Committee, and a range of national and international stakeholders with shared interests in the academic substance and research outputs of the programme.

The Principal Investigator leading the Research Strategy Group will be based at a research organisation eligible to receive ESRC funding, other members of the team may be based at the same or at different research organisations. The appointment will be for an initial period of two years, subject to performance and with a review point after year one. Once fully established, the Research Strategy Group will be a consortium of two to four senior academics appointed on a part-time basis (15-30 per cent full time equivalent per individual) with their own networks of experts and who, between them, have the knowledge and skills to cover the themes relevant to DEGRP. Currently, the programme focusses on three themes (agriculture and growth; finance sector development and growth; and innovation and productivity growth in low-income countries), but the remit of the team may be expanded as required. The team should include justified administrative support staff and may also include justified research assistance.

The full specification document and other relevant documents can be found below. Please read all these documents carefully before submitting your proposal.

The deadline for applications is 16.00 (UK time) 5 September 2013. Shortlisted candidate teams will be interviewed in London during the week of 30 September 2013. The appointment will commence in November 2013, or as soon as practicable thereafter.

Important reminder: Any UK and non-UK Co-applicant(s) and their institutions intending to apply to this call must ensure they are registered with the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). It is essential to allow sufficient time to secure Je-S registration - we strongly recommend that applicants register with Je-S at least four weeks before the call deadline, as no exceptions can be made for late submission of proposals.

If you and your research organisation are already registered for Je-S, electronic proposals can be accessed via the central Je-S web site

To assist you in linking up with others interested in applying for the role, we are providing a contact sharing facility. If you would like to share your contact details, please send us a ‘virtual business card’ with

your email addresswebpage link (if available)one paragraph about your institutional affiliation, research interests and expertise

Your ‘virtual business card’ will then be deposited in a secure online folder which can be accessed by others who have also shared their business cards. Please note that sharing of contact details will be on an entirely voluntary basis. Beyond the provision of this contact sharing facility, the ESRC cannot take any responsibility for facilitating or negotiating partnerships between potential applicants.

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The UK in a Changing Europe - Research Co-ordinator

The UK in a Changing Europe - Research Co-ordinator | ESRC | The Economic and Social Research Councilwindow.jQuery || document.write(' This website uses cookies. By continuing, you consent to the placement of cookies on your computer. Privacy Don't show this message again. skip to Home page [accesskey = 1]skip to News page [accesskey = 2]skip to Site map [accesskey = 3]skip to Search facility [accesskey = 4]skip to Help [accesskey = 6]skip to Contacts [accesskey = 7]skip to Disclaimer [accesskey = 8]skip to main content [accesskey = 9]skip to Key details [accesskey = 0]Economic and Social Research Council Shaping Society Search Advanced search Funding and guidance Funding opportunities Postgraduates Guidance for applicants Guidance for grant holders Guidance for large initiatives Peer review Impact toolkit Impacts and findings Our research Research topics Research catalogue Evaluation and impact Collaboration Business Public sector Civil society Academia Public engagement Knowledge exchange Collaborative research International research News, events and publications News Events Publications Features and case studies Videos Audio Social media About us What we do Governance and structure Strategy and priorities Policies and standards Visual identity and logos What is social science? Contact us Home Contact usRegisterLogin You are here: Home Funding and guidance Funding opportunities The UK in a Changing Europe - Research Co-ordinator The UK in a Changing Europe - Research Co-ordinator

We are pleased to announce that we will take forward a new programme of work exploring the challenges facing the UK in a changing Europe.

The following themes have been identified as potential priorities, but could be revised over time:

The future of the European Single Market and the implications for trade, labour market dynamics, and internal migration (within Europe) Financial markets, monetary union and the future of the Eurozone European institutions, democracy, governance, regulation, justice, and human rights Social cohesion, national and European identity Europe’s external relations, foreign-, defence and security policy Environment, energy and sustainability Anti and pro-EU political parties and local level community cohesion, including the area of culture and everyday life.

In October 2013 we sent a letter to the leaders of all UK political parties, Government Departments, First Ministers and UK Members of the European Parliament informing them of our plans.

Letter from ESRC informing of our planned activities (PDF, 113Kb)

The initiative will be overseen by an Advisory Group chaired by Professor Stuart Croft, University of Warwick and ESRC Council member. Membership will include experts in broad areas addressed by the initiative from both the UK and internationally.

Further information

We are appointing a co-ordinator for the initiative

The UK in a changing Europe initiative - Research Co-ordinator

We will also hold a town meeting in April 2014 - details will be announced early 2014.

Contact

If you would like to find out more about the initiative, please contact:

Kristine Doronenkova
Email: esrceuropeInitiative@esrc.ac.uk

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My ESRCThis page:BookmarkPrint SitemapCookiesRSSTerms of usePrivacyAccessibilityVacanciesTwitterESRC on YouTubeCymraeg Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1UJ Tel: 01793 413000 Fax: 01793 413001 © ESRC 2013. All rights reserved. 

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Business and Local Government Data Research Centres - Big Data Network Phase 2

In April 2013 the ESRC announced new funding of £64 million to be invested in Big Data, which forms part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement of capital funding for the eight ‘great British technologies’ in his Autumn Statement. The ESRC's Big Data Network will support the development of a network of innovative investments which will strengthen the UK's competitive advantage in Big Data. The core aim of this network is to facilitate access to different types of data, thereby stimulating innovative research and the development of new methods to undertake that research.

This network has been divided into three phases. In Phase 1 of the Big Data Network the ESRC has invested in the development of the Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN), which will provide access to de-identified administrative data collected by government departments for research use. Phase 2 will focus primarily on business data and local government data, and Phase 3, will focus on Third Sector data and social media data.

We are now inviting proposals for Phase 2, which will commission a series of Business and Local Government Data Research Centres which will deliver the infrastructure to support access to business or local government data or both, for the mutual benefit of researchers and data owners. The primary aim of these Centres is to contribute to the development of data infrastructure around business and local government data through collaboration with data owners, and to provide a service to enable access to that data for the wider research community. All the commissioned Centres will be expected to provide safe and secure access to a range of extremely rich datasets.

For a five-year period, the budget for each Centre application will be a maximum of £7 million. It is expected that the value of proposals will vary depending on the scale and scope of the Centre and how much it is built around existing resources. Costs should be calculated on a full economic costs (fEC) basis. As per standard funding rules, the ESRC will contribute 80 per cent of the total budget.

Proposals must be led by a single UK academic institution approved by the Research Councils. We expect that there will be only one proposal per applying host institution. However, the ESRC will also accept more than one proposals per applying host institution, where it can be clearly demonstrated that the proposed centres within the same host institution will be for distinct and non-overlapping substantive areas – for example a different sector, or area of focus. Institutions can, also, be involved in more than one bid as a collaborative partner.

Full proposals must be submitted via the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S) by 16.00, 8 October 2013.

Enquiries relating to technical aspects of the Je-S form should be addressed to:

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Pre-announcement of two pending calls for an Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN)

Following the publication of the Administrative Data Taskforce report Improving Access for Research and Policy (PDF, 1.1Mb), the ESRC will be inviting proposals for a major investment in the new Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN).

There will be two forthcoming calls; one for the Administrative Data Research Centres (ADRCs) in each of the four countries in the UK, and one for the Administrative Data Service (AD Service) for ADRCs. Applications will be invited from research organisations eligible for Research Council Funding.

Applicants should be aware that the ESRC is currently in discussion with the statistical authorities in the UK to confirm their role in the new Network – with anticipation that they may become commissioning partners with the ESRC.

Full details on both calls will become available on 11 June 2013, as soon as final versions of the specifications are confirmed. The deadline for submission of the Je-S form was 16.00 4 July 2013.

Potential applicants might be interested in registering to attend a Bidders’ Information Event that will be held in the Royal Society, London, 13 June 2013. Those interested in attending this event should pre-register their details:

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NAEDI - Third call for research proposals and applicant workshop

The National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) is a UK-wide initiative to promote earlier diagnosis of cancer and thereby improve survival rates and reduce cancer mortality. NAEDI is pleased to announce a third call for research funding.

The funders are inviting full project grant applications by 13 September 2013. Please see the flyer (PDF, 559Kb) for more information.

A workshop for potential applicants with guidance and networking opportunities will be held in London on 28 June 2013. 

For further details please contact:

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ESRC-DFID Development Frontiers research fund

ESRC and DFID are pleased to announce a third phase of the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research.

In this third phase, we are launching a call for Development Frontiers Research.

Development Frontiers research can be broadly defined as involving pioneering theoretical and methodological innovation, and/or research based on the engagement of a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives including new links across disciplines that do not usually work together and across non-traditional partnerships. The expectation is that this research will provide a major stimulus to new and novel streams of enquiry or practice.

Characteristics of Development Frontiers research will include the following:

Results that will radically change accepted thinkingThe outcome may be uncertain and the research could lead to unexpected insightsThe research is potentially higher-risk/higher-rewardThe research will produce a broad base of knowledge and new thinking/insights likely to contribute towards the solution of recognised or expected current or future problems or possibilitiesThe research is not incremental

Development Frontiers research might also include:

Radical ways of giving voices to the poorNovel forms of South-South partnershipEarly entrant research on emerging issues.

Applications which are not deemed to have the characteristics outlined in the scope of the call will be rejected. Projects with developing country leads and developing country partners are strongly encouraged.

There will be a stage-gating process for the Development Frontiers Research Fund. Projects will initially be funded for 18 months with a stage one budget of up to £100,000. At the end of year one, projects will be invited to bid for a further 18 months of funding up to £200,000 to continue their research.

Initial applications are invited for projects with a FEC value of up to £100,000 and a duration of 18 months.

Deadline for applications: 16.00 UK time on 29 November 2012 

Any applicant(s) and their institutions intending to apply to this call must ensure they are registered with the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). It is essential to allow sufficient time to secure Je-S registration – we strongly recommend that applicants register with Je-S at least four weeks prior to the call deadline, as no exceptions can be made for late submission of applications.

If you and your research organisation are already registered for Je-S, electronic applications can be accessed via the Je-S website.

See the application instructions for call guidance and details on how to apply.

Please send email queries to dfid@esrc.ac.uk or telephone:

Mary Day +44 (0)1793 413078Lyndy Griffin +44 (0)1793 413135or +44 (0)1793 413125

We also have a call for outline research grants of between £100,000 to £500,000.

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Evaluation of Digital Social Research

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is seeking to commission an evaluation of the Digital Social Research (DSR) Programme.

The DSR Programme, directed by the National Strategic Director for e-Social Science, Professor David De Roure, aimed to maximise the benefit from the existing digital social research investment through a programme of small strategic investments in the period 2010-2012. These investments were designed to broaden practice in order to boost research impact, and to lay the ground for future world-class social research. These investments included a round of demonstrator and sustainability projects, the development, administration and coordination of a community funding programme and a programme of workshops and events.

The Evaluation will provide: 

accountability to the ESRC, for its investment in DSRfeedback for those supported under DSRthrough publication of the executive summary, information and guidance for those in academic, policy and practitioner communitiesguidance on future priorities for ESRC and other funders (where appropriate).

The deadline for the submission of tenders is 11.00, 4 October. To find out more information about the evaluation and to receive a copy of the Evaluation Brief, please contact:

View the original article here

Enterprise Research Centre

The ESRC, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the British Bankers Association and the Technology Strategy Board are inviting proposals for an Enterprise Research Centre. Applications may be made for up to £3.637 million (at 100 per cent fEC) for a period of up to three years. The scheme is open to all staff at research institutions eligible for Research Council Funding.

Proposals are invited that offer high-quality research and related activities on enterprise which will develop our theoretical and empirical understanding of the factors affecting business investment, performance and growth.

The research centre will include the following core themes:

Understanding the drivers of Business Development and GrowthUnderstanding the barriers of Business Development and GrowthSME Growth and Development- SMEs in the emerging economyExploitation of data

Work under these themes will include evidence from existing work and new research on identified gaps.

The centre will exploit and develop the existing knowledge base and data resources, and strengthen the links between evidence and practice and our understanding of the factors affecting SME growth and development. It will make major advances for the body of knowledge in this area and communicate this knowledge to policy, practice and SMEs.

For full details please see the call specification.

The deadline for submission of outline proposals is 16.00 on 4 September 2012.

Applications should be made via the Research Council Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). All applications must be costed and approved by the relevant institutional authority at the Research Organisation.

Supporting documents

Enquiries relating to the funding rules and proposal procedures should be addressed to the Enterprise Centre project team at:

Enquiries relating to the Je-S application procedure should be addressed to the Je-S Helpdesk at:

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European JPI Climate Joint Call for Transnational Collaborative Research Projects- topic 1

The ESRC is participating in the Joint Programming Initiative Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe (JPI Climate) under topic 1 "Societal Transformation in the Face of Climate Change."

JPI Climate seeks to facilitate integrated climate knowledge and decision support services for societal innovation towards a climate-friendly and climate-proof Europe. A total of approximately €8.5 million will be provided by 11 national funding agencies across Europe for transnational collaborative research projects.

The call is administered to successful research consortia via each countries respective national funding organisations (ESRC in the UK) according to their standard terms and conditions for project funding. JPI Climate is seeking consortia which bring together different scientific disciplines and include partners from at least three of the participating European countries. Involvement of partners from civil society, policy makers, public administration or industry for co-designing research questions and co-production of knowledge is also encouraged. Projects should be genuinely collaborative, and should display clear links to decision-makers and users of climate knowledge as well as potential change agents in society.

Topic 1 is comprised of five thematic areas:

The normative and social justice dimensions of climate changeThe role of knowledge and risk perception in climate related policiesThe societal capacity and governance to respond to climate changeThe role of economy and finance in societal transformationIntegrative studies on societal transformation, visions and pathways under climate change.

One of the purposes of Joint Programming Initiatives is to facilitate the alignment of national research programmes at the European level. ESRC's intention through this call therefore, is to encourage applicants to build up on current or previous RCUK-funded social science research, working with a broader set of international partners. Applicants will need to clearly justify how their proposal builds upon previous RCUK-funded social science research, and their consortia should include members who were in receipt of the RCUK-funding that is referenced.

All UK applicants requesting funding from the ESRC must be associated with an eligible Research Organisation. Applicants are encouraged to consult the ESRC Research Funding Guide for eligibility information.

Applicants will be required to submit a pre-proposal via the official portal.

Call opens - 30 September, 2013Pre-proposal deadline - 29 November 2013 12.00 CET

ESRC's national agency contact:

For further information and how to apply, please visit the JPI Climate website.

Further guidance on costing of applications will be provided to applicants invited to submit full proposals. However, once final decisions have been agreed, all successful UK applicants will need to submit their application through Je-S, therefore all UK applicants and co-investigators will need to be Je-S registered.

Funding decisions will be made in the summer of 2014Invitation to submit full proposals 3 February 2014Full proposal deadline: 28 March 2014 12.00 CETFunding decision announced Summer 2014Start of projects Autumn 2014

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ESRC-DFID joint fund for poverty alleviation research - phase 3 full proposals

A call for outline proposals was issued in October 2012. The call is now open for those who have been invited to submit a full proposal.

Grants will be for a maximum of three years and up to £500,000 at 100 per cent Full Economic Cost (fEC).

The full specification document and other relevant documents can be found below.

Deadline for applications: 16.00 (UK time) on 2 May 2013.

Important reminder: Any UK and non-UK applicant(s) and their institutions intending to apply to this call must ensure they are registered with the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). It is essential to allow sufficient time to secure Je-S registration – we strongly recommend that applicants register with Je-S at least four weeks prior to the call deadline, as no exceptions can be made for late submission of applications.

If you and your research organisation are already registered for Je-S, electronic applications can be submitted via the Je-S website.

Please send email queries to dfid@esrc.ac.uk or telephone:

Lauren Watters: +44 (0) 1793 413047Lyndy Griffin: +44 (0) 1793 413135

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Health systems research initiative call 1: Providing evidence to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes

Health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face the challenges of substantial socioeconomic and health inequalities, rapid globalisation and evolving disease burdens. A robust evidence base is required to underpin health systems strengthening and delivery of health interventions in the context of those challenges.

The current debate on strengthening social and health systems highlights the urgent need to foster genuine interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, suggesting that the greatest potential impact on efforts to improve health in LMICs, can be achieved through context-sensitive, integrated programmes that include a wide range of social science (eg economics, anthropology, health policy research) and biomedical disciplines.

This call for proposals is the first of three annual Health Systems Research Initiative calls, jointly supported by the Department for International Development (DFID), ESRC, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust. The aim is to fund:

Rigorous, high quality research that will generate evidence for how to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes in LMICsResearch which should inform the delivery of evidence-based interventions or structural changesResearch which will provide evidence that is of direct relevance to decision makers and users in the field

The call is administered by MRC. Please refer to the MRC website for more information on what is included, eligibility criteria and the application process.

Deadline 16.00 GMT, 14 January 2014

Applicants who wish to discuss their proposal informally can do so by contacting

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ESRC-DFID joint fund for poverty alleviation research - phase 3, outline applications

ESRC and DFID are pleased to announce funding for a third phase of the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research.

Outline applications are invited for projects with a Full Economic Cost (FEC) value of between £100,000 and £500,000. The duration of projects should range from a minimum of one year up to a maximum of three years. UK based researchers will be funded at 80 per cent FEC, whilst non-UK researchers will receive 100 per cent of the direct costs of the research, plus a variable overhead. The total budget for this call will be £5.3 million. Two further calls are planned in 2013 and 2014.

Research under this call should address one or more of three overarching questions:

What approaches are most effective in enabling the poorest to exit and stay out of poverty, and under what conditions can such approaches be replicated elsewhere and at scale?What political and institutional conditions are associated with effective poverty reduction and  development, and what can domestic and external actors do to promote these conditions?What measures can be taken to reduce the risks and impact of violence and instability on the poorest and increase the effectiveness of peacebuilding, statebuilding and wider development interventions in fragile and conflict-affected situations?

Applications which are not deemed to be within the scope of the call will be rejected.

Two key cross-cutting issues are relevant to all of these overarching questions:

Structural inequalities including those based on gender, age, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, class, educational status and spatial factorsMeasurement and metrics

The full specification and other documents can be found on the application instructions page.

Deadline for applications: 16.00 UK time on 29 November 2012

Any applicant(s) and their institutions intending to apply to this call must ensure they are registered with the Joint Electronic Submission System (Je-S). It is essential to allow sufficient time to secure Je-S registration - we strongly recommend that applicants register with Je-S at least four weeks prior to the call deadline, as no exceptions can be made for late submission of applications.

If you and your research organisation are already registered for Je-S, electronic applications can be submitted via the Je-S website.

The application instructions give more guidance for the call and details on how to apply.

Please send email queries to dfid@esrc.ac.uk or telephone:

Mary Day +44 (0)1793 413078Lyndy Griffin +44 (0)1793 413135or +44 (0)1793 413125

We are also launching a Development Frontiers research fund which will fund high-risk/high-reward research involving ideas, discoveries or tools that radically change our understanding of important existing development concepts or practices, or which lead to completely new thinking.

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