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Research Support Newsletter
Welcome to issue 9 of the Research Support Newsletter
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the July edition of the Research Support Newsletter. Over the past year, the Science and Technology Enhancement Platform (STEP) has been developing mechanisms to improve management and support for research on campus. The two areas of focus are (1) administration of funded projects, and (2) maintenance and access procedures for specialist facilities and equipment. Significant progress has been achieved, in particular through the delivery of professional support structures in both areas, under the leadership of Jennifer Egan and Robbie Sinnott, respectively. Through aggregation and reorganization of existing resources, in parallel with additional investment by RIS, team-based services have been developed and offered in support of funded projects across the campus.
The STEP admin support team is located on the top floor of the ‘S’ block (previously the NCSR admin area) and is open for business, offering a dedicated support service to assist project leaders with project co-ordination and management, budget maintenance, reporting to funding agencies (EI, SFI, HRB, EPA, H2020), organization of project partner meetings, organization of workshops and symposia and all associated key project functionality of procurement, financial reporting’s, timesheet maintenance, staffing, etc. The facilities and equipment team has formed a broad support group drawn from technical staff in the larger research centres and schools that have significant equipment suites. A key goal is to implement tools for managing and tracking access/use of major facilities/equipment. Central to this has been a major effort to produce an inventory of existing facilities/ equipment and a web-based system for booking access, along with an integrated charging mechanism. Discussions with major funders are at an advanced stage to gain approval for dedicated budget lines in grant proposals that will provide, for the first time, external ring-fenced resourcing to support research facilities and equipment.
Through STEP, we aim to enhance the overall impact of research at DCU, through improved quality of administrative support, and through improved quality of data and results generated by well-maintained equipment and facilities. For general information about STEP, please visit the research support page here. For further information about the equipment and facilities access process please visit the infrastructure page here.
Prof Dermot Diamond, Director of STEP
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July Updates
Prof Apryll Stalcup of the School of Chemical Sciences has won the 2015 American Microchemical Society Benedetti Pichler Award.
Education Matters: Readings in Pastoral Care for school chaplains, guidance counsellors and teachers (Veritas: Dublin), edited by DCU’s Dr James O'Higgins Norman has been launched at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
The Health Research Board provides their tips to improve grant application success here.
The European IPR Helpdesk have written a fact sheet to help H2020 applicants outline their plans to disseminate and exploit results. You can find it here.
Michael Courtney of the School of Law and Government on the research that won him an IRC Post Doctoral Fellowship.
DCU researchers Maura Conway, Kieran Moran, Liam Barry and Jane Suiter have been popping up in the news this month. Find out why here.
New InterTradeIreland Guide to Horizon 2020 is a useful desktop resource with up to date information on the Horizon 2020 programme and outlines the benefits of all-island co-operation.
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Upcoming Events
2015 EPA National Information Day on Horizon 2020 SC5 (Climate Action) will be held on the 21st October 2015 at the Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin 4. Register here (Please note that places are free, but are limited). View more information on EPA website.
Biggest Horizon 2020 ICT event of the year coming up in Lisbon on 20-22 October. Launchpad for all things ICT related in 2016-2017 WPs. Lots of networking sessions and an exhibition of ongoing projects. Between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees expected.
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Funding Opportunities
SFI Research Infrastructure call Category C applications - REMINDER of the DCU selection process for cat.C Large Research Infrastructure. DCU requires interested individuals to pitch their request to academic staff in an open house style meeting, followed by a written expression of interest to the Research Office. If you intend to make a pitch you must notify RIS by 17 August 2015. All details of the internal deadlines and process can be found on our website.
Irish Research Council's Research for Policy & Society 2015 Call 2 is now open. Applications are invited in the areas of: Strand 4 Tulsa, Strand 5 Dept. of Children and Youth Affairs, and Stand 6.2 Higher Education Authority (Graduate mobility and employment). Application deadline 29 September 2015. Full details on each strand can be found under IRC's Terms and Conditions. RIS contact: Helen Burke, ext 8003.
Science Foundation Ireland- Royal Society University Research Fellowships 2016- call now open. Support for researchers with 3-–8 years post-doctoral experience to transition to independence. Further details can be found on DCU’s Research Landing page here where potential applicants may register their interest. Deadline 03 September 2015.
REMINDER Science Foundation Ireland SIRG & CDA 2015 calls are now open - these calls support early- and mid-career researchers. DCU is only allowed to submit 12 proposals against each category (SIRG and CDA) and therefore there will be an institutional selection process. Interested individuals who meet the call eligibility criteria are requested to complete this Expression of Interest and return by email to annelouise.holloway@dcu.ie by Friday 14 August 2015.
EU funding opportunities - join our Horizon 2020 mailing lists to keep informed. As the updated H2020 draft work programmes for 2016/17 emerge, we want to keep researchers informed of opportunities in their areas of interest. Early indications suggest call deadlines in Spring 2016 so time to get planning! For updates join our H2020 thematic mailing lists or contact any Research Officer in RIS.
For further funding opportunities please log on to Research Professional.
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Stay informed - Jo