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      eNews - September 2008

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      Funding opportunities

      Large Grants Scheme 2008/09

      Closing date for applications: 14 October 2008

      BanknotesThe Council's Research Grants Board is pleased to invite applications under the fourth round of the Large Grant Scheme. The Scheme is designed to provide for experienced researchers requiring longer term or extended support for research groups, inter-institutional research networks, linked-project programmes, medium-to-large surveys, other infrastructure or methodological developments, or any related larger scale projects where funding above the standard research grant of £1.5 million, and up to £5 million at 100% in full economic costs is required.

      Research Seminars Competition 2008/09

      The Seminars competition will be held again for 2008/9. Seminar Groups are multi-institutional groups of academic researchers, postgraduate students and non-academic users who meet regularly to exchange information and ideas with the aim of advancing research within their fields. Where appropriate, Seminar Group members should be drawn from industry, government departments and other relevant organisations as well as from academic institutions.

      ESRC-NSF research collaboration on ecology of infectious diseases

      The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC-UK) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) will jointly support collaborative research on Ecology of Infectious Diseases involving UK-USA research teams. Projects must include a substantial focus on the roles of socio-ecological factors and processes on disease transmission dynamics.

      Follow-on Funding Scheme

      Closing date for first call: 8 January 2009

      The Scheme provides follow-on funding for social scientists in the UK to undertake additional knowledge transfer and impact generation activities that can demonstrate the potential for significant economic, social, policy and/or practice benefit(s). Applications that seek to commercialise research and those from resources and methods research investments will also be eligible to apply. The scheme offers awards of up to £100k (at 80% fEC) for a maximum of 12 months through three closed calls over the next year using the Je-S electronic application. Awards above the ESRC maximum are possible where additional external funding is guaranteed. Applications may also be made for smaller packages of engagement activity up to £30k.

      ESRC Mid Career Development Fellowships

      Closing date for applications: 4pm 25 September 2008

      Applications are now available for the new ESRC Mid-Career Fellowship scheme, which is intended to enable outstanding researchers to develop their careers by taking their research in a new direction or to a new level. The scheme is targeted at individuals with between five and fifteen years' active postdoctoral or equivalent professional experience who can demonstrate the potential to progress to leading positions within UK social science. The scheme is open to all social science disciplines; interdisciplinary research is particularly encouraged.

      CASE Business-Related Seminars - funding call

      The ESRC is running a seminar opportunity for all final year (3rd/4th year) CASE studentships with a business focus (private sector and social enterprise included). A claim of up to £2,000 can be made to host a seminar/workshop with business and non-academic organisations as the key audience. Preference will be given to applications where partnership support (in cash or kind) is committed and to seminars that relate to our business priority sectors; Financial Services, Energy, Creative Industries, Health Technologies, Retail, Sport, Leisure and Tourism and Consultancies/Intermediaries. For more information contact Kirsty Johnson on the Knowledge Transfer Team at kirsty.johnson@esrc.ac.uk.

      ESRC/IRCHSS (Ireland) Bilateral Agreement

      Deadline for proposal: 4pm 7 November 2008

      The ESRC and the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences will shortly be finalising the terms of the 2008 call for proposals under their bilateral agreement. Full details will be published on the ESRC web site at the end of September for a call closing on 7 November 2008.

      ESRC/FWF (Austria) Bilateral Agreement

      The ESRC and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)are pleased to announce that under the terms of their bilateral agreement, they will be accepting proposals on an open call basis from 1 October 2008. Proposals may be submitted at any time after that date. Full details will be published on the ESRC web site at the end of September.

      CO-REACH Social Science Programme: mobility and small projects

      The CO-REACH Social Science Programme aims to bring together Chinese and European researchers, working in the social sciences and in part of the humanities, to collaborate on a joint topic of mutual interest, and to explore the possibilities of future co-operation in these areas. It is open both to European and Chinese scholars experienced at collaborating together and to those with little or no previous experience of China-Europe collaboration.

      Overseas Co-investigators

      We would like to remind you that overseas Co-Investigators from anywhere in the world can be included in the majority of ESRC research schemes. Any academic researcher (PhD or equivalent) from an established overseas Research Organisation of comparable standing to a UK Research Organisation will be eligible.

      China Exchange Scheme

      Jointly with the ESRC, the British Academy operates agreements with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences. Grants are available for individual research visits to the partner Academy, and for Joint Projects.

      UK-China Summer School awards

      The UK-China Summer School Award aims to strengthen the capacity of UK and Chinese institutions to undertake joint research-related activity, and to enable early-career researchers and research students to benefit from interaction with experts and researchers from the other country.

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      Corporate news

      ESRC Open Meeting

      NewspapersAs part of the Strategic Plan 2009 to 2014 development, the ESRC will be holding an open meeting on 7 October in London as part of the consultation process. The meeting is scheduled for 6 pm to 8 pm at 76 Portland Place. Registration for this event is on-line at www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk on the General Public page.

      ESRC's Festival of Social Science 2009 - event organising

      Applications are now welcome to hold an event in the 2009 Festival (6 - 15 March 2009). The deadline for sponsorship requests of up to £2000 is 9 October 2008, and notification of intent to hold an event (non sponsored) is 23 October.

      Debating Matters - judges needed

      As part of its Young People's Programme, the ESRC are pleased to sponsor Debating Matters. This national competition places the students as the debaters and the experts as the judges. ESRC researchers are welcomed and encouraged to act as judges for these evening events. If you are interested, please contact Melanie.knetsch@esrc.ac.uk.

      Strategic Advisor for the Undergraduate Teaching of Quantitative Methods

      The ESRC and the Funding Councils wish to appoint a Strategic Advisor who will lead in the development of a £2m programme aimed at enhancing undergraduate teaching in quantitative methods across the UK social science community. It is envisaged that the post will be a senior half time appointment based at a UK Higher Education Institution, and will last for a period of twelve months. Applications for the post should be submitted to the ESRC Office by 4pm on 29th September 2008.

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      Community news

      Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy - launch 1 October

      Two cogsThe Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy will be launched 1 October by the Minister for the Third Sector Phil Hope MP at Cass Business School, City University, London. The Centre will be funded with a total joint investment of £2.2 million over 5 years. It will support research aimed at influencing policy and practice decisions in the UK as well as developing the necessary evidence base to better understand charitable giving and philanthropy issues.

      Launch of Understanding Society - launch 13 October

      Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, will be launched on 13 October at Church House Conference Centre in Westminster. Baroness Delyth Morgan, Minister for Intellectual property and Quality, will attend the launch, with an introduction by ESRC Chief Executive Ian Diamond and Patricia Broadfoot CBE. Understanding Society, funded with an initial £15.5 million investment and led by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, will be the largest household panel survey in the world, following 40,000 UK households and examining the impact of demographic changes on society.

      RCUK Office in India - launch 20 October

      The Research Councils UK (RCUK) Office in India will be launched by Ian Pearson, Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills, on 20 October. The opening of this office follows the successful launch of offices in Washington and Beijing. A programme of events to celebrate the launch will run from 19 to 21 October at a variety of locations throughout New Delhi. For further information on the RCUK Office in India contact: rcuk.india@rcuk.ac.uk

      Third Sector Research Centre - launch 23 October

      The Third Sector Research Centre will be launched 23 October at an event in Birmingham. The Centre is co-funded by the ESRC, alongside the Office for the Third Sector (OTS) and the Barrow Cadbury Trust, with a joint investment of £10.25 million over the next five years. The Centre will conduct research and analysis to strengthen the evidence base for the entire third sector, including charities, social enterprises, cooperatives, mutuals and voluntary and community organisations.

      Energy deals at the Festival - and on BBC

      The Centre for Competition Policy followed up their Festival of Social Science event 'Choosing the best energy deal for you' with a further event in Norwich 28 August, where members of the public were helped to find out if they could save money by switching tariff or supplier. This time a BBC Money Programme crew was present, and will be featuring the CCP initiative in an episode on price comparison sites in September.

      Call for papers for CARR conference March 2009

      ESRC Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation: 'Close Calls Organizations, near misses, alarms, and early warnings', 26 - 27 March 2009 [more details shortly]

      Registering interest for SCARR international conference in China April 2009

      ESRC SCARR Network (Social Contexts and Responses to Risk): 'Managing the Social Impacts of Change from a Risk Perspective' conference at Beijing Normal University, 15 - 17 April 2009

      ISCC World Social Science Forum May 2009

      The International Social Science Council (ISSC) has undertaken to regularly organize a World Social Science Forum (WSSF). These events will bring together major stakeholders in international social science co-operation to discuss substantive topics of world relevance and priorities for the future of international social science. The first WSSF will be held in Bergen, Norway, on 10-12 May 2009, under the theme "One Planet - Worlds Apart".

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      Students and early-career researchers

      Battles in Print - essay competition deadline

      Woman in libraryBattles in Print is an ESRC and Times Online sponsored essay competition for social science PhD students. Winning essays will be published on the Times Online. Winners will also receive 2 VIP weekend tickets to the Battle of Ideas (1-2 November). Further information on the website, or email esrcessay@instituteofideas.com.

      British Library - National social science training day for PhD students

      In collaboration with ESRC the British Library is inviting social science PhD students from across the UK to a day of talks, workshops and networking opportunities. The day will include a general introduction to relevant material and sources, as well as special sessions about the BL sound archive, law, official publications and BL newspaper collections, maps of the social, and business, management and the intellectual. For more information or to book a place email Highereducation@bl.uk.

      Networking website for early career researchers

      The networking website The Graduate Junction has recently been launched to help early career researchers (Masters, Doctoral and Postdoctoral) make contact with others with similar research interests - regardless of which department, institution or country they work in. The aim is to establish an on-line worldwide graduate research community.

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      People

      Chair of the ESRC stepping down

      Lord Adair Turner will be stepping down from his post as Chair of the ESRC from 19 September 2008, taking up a new appointment as Chair of the Financial Services Authority. The ESRC would like to thank Lord Turner for his contribution over the past four years and wishes him every success with his new challenge at the FSA.

      New Research Grants Board members

      Two new grant board members for the Research Grants Board have been appointed. Professor Karen Rowlingson from the University of Birmingham is replacing Robert Walker for Social Policy, and professor Sara Arber from the University of Surrey is replacing Bernie Hayes for Quantitative Sociology.

      Director for LWEC appointed

      Professor Andrew Watkinson, currently Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, has been appointed as Director of the 'Living With Environmental Change' (LWEC) research programme. LWEC will be studying ways for society and individual people to adapt to the environmental changes that we face now and in the future. Professor Watkinson will take up the post during September.

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      Forthcoming events

      CalendarA sample of forthcoming ESRC-related events. For more events listings please see the ESRC Society Today events page.

      Corporate Governance and Globalisation: Sarbanes-Oxley Seven Years on

      17-18 September, Queens University Belfast

      Scientific Researchers and Web 2.0: Social NotWorking?

      24 September 6pm, British Library, London

      Introductory workshop: 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS) and 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)

      25 September, Institute of Education, University of London

      2nd ALSPAC Social Science User Group Workshop

      1 October 10.30 am - 4.30 pm, Work Based Learning Centre, Institute of Education, London

      UK Age Research Forum - Shaping the future: Showcasing UK age research

      2 October, Royal College of Physicians, London

      Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance: Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

      19-22 October, Dusit Tbani Hotel, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines

      International Conference on Models of Interaction in Bilinguals

      24-26 October, Bangor

      ESRC Genomics Network conference - Genomics and society: reinventing life?

      27 - 28 October, London

      Battle of Ideas

      1-2 November, Royal College of Art, London

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      Contact us

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