Website
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/funded/programmes/espa/news/ao-2014/
Sponsor
Research Councils UK (RCUK)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) – United Kingdom
Amount
Upper £150,000GBP Lower £50,000GBP
Applications are invited for funding in the range of between £50,000 and £150,000 Full Economic Cost (FEC). This call has been allocated a total available budget of up to £1·5m, which may be revised at the discretion of the Programme Executive Board (PEB). Projects will be funded for a maximum duration of 12 months, with an expected start date between December 1, 2014, and February 1, 2015.
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Requirements
Academic Institution
New Faculty/New Investigator
Ph.D./M.D./Other Professional
Citizenship or Residency
Unrestricted
Activity location
Unrestricted
Abstract
The ESPA-2014 Grants call is for ‘blue skies’ research projects designed to significantly advance global understanding on the way that ecosystem services contribute to poverty alleviation, with specific emphasis on generating new understanding that can benefit poor people in low-income countries (LICs). Research funded under ESPA-2014 is expected to inform thinking and practice over, at least, the next decade, representing a step-change in the knowledge and evidence that will underpin future activities in ESPA’s sphere of activity. The Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) research programme is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). ESPA is an international programme funding cutting-edge interdisciplinary research generating new knowledge to enhance global understanding of how ecosystems function and provide services that contribute to human well-being, poverty alleviation and sustainable growth that benefits the poor. ESPA was launched in 2007 and will run until March 2017. The ESPA-2014 Research Theme: Blue Skies Research: Developing the next generation of thinking for ESPA ESPA-2014 will support the development of innovative, forward-looking science on the way that ecosystem services contribute to sustainable pathways out of poverty for poor people in developing countries. Using ESPA’s current Knowledge Strategy and associated Research Framework, and the growing body of research evidence generated by ESPA projects to frame their studies (i.e. as a starting point), ESPA-2014 projects are expected to challenge and extend current thinking through the implementation of highly innovative, transformative, “blue skies” types of research activity. Applicants for ESPA-2014 are encouraged to think creatively and to consider more risky research approaches where it can be shown that the potential returns are significant, and have transformative potential. ESPA-2014 projects will be expected to develop scientific advances that will be essential to underpin the next generation of research and development activities in ESPA’s area of activity, supporting sustainable approaches linking ecosystem services with poverty alleviation. For ESPA-2014, applicants will need to demonstrate their potential to undertake “blue skies” research that can change the way that the world views how poor people in developing countries benefit from sustainable Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation. Research funded under ESPA-2014 is expected to inform thinking and practice over, at least, the next decade, representing a step-change in the knowledge and evidence that will underpin future activities in ESPA’s sphere of activity. ESPA-2014 projects are expected to produce academic outcomes of very significant importance. As such all applications must demonstrate their aspiration to publish results in the highest ranked international journals and the case for support should describe the realistic prospects for achieving this. As ESPA-2014 is encouraging the development of “blue skies” thinking, there are very few restrictions to the types of research that could be supported. Successful applications, will, however, be required to: – Demonstrate multi/ interdisciplinary approaches/ thinking linking ecosystem services for poverty alleviation in a way consistent with the socio-ecological systems thinking outlined in the ESPA Knowledge Strategy. – Utilise the current ESPA Knowledge Strategy and ESPA research portfolio as a starting point to frame the study and then adopt highly innovative and forward-looking approaches to significantly extend understanding in ESPA’s area of activity. Projects are encouraged to take risks and go beyond, and if appropriate, to challenge, the ways of thinking currently adopted by the ESPA programme. – Demonstrate how the new thinking or evidence generated by the project has the potential to lead to very significant improvements in the lives of poor people in low-income countries.
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Eligibility
There are no restrictions on where researchers are located or their nationality. Similarly, there are no geographic restrictions on where research institutions are based, as long as they meet the administrative eligibility requirements for funding (for further information or to check eligibility, please contact the ESPA Secretariat directly).
The level of funding and time available for ESPA-2014 projects means that some funded projects are likely to be from single institutions and it is recognised that this may restrict opportunities for the types and scale of international partnerships seen in earlier calls.
The ESPA programme believes that the experience and expertise of talented developing country researchers will significantly enhance the outcomes expected from ESPA-2014 projects. Project teams should, wherever possible, include developing country researchers and the track record (part one of the case for support) should demonstrate their expected intellectual contribution to the project.
Non-UK organisations (and other UK organisations not currently eligible1 to receive Research Council funding) that are interested in applying will only be eligible to directly receive ESPA funding (i.e. be named as PI) if they satisfy all of the following conditions:
1) The organisation must be a legal entity.
2) The organisation must be able to demonstrate an independent in-house capability to undertake and lead research and training in the field or discipline in which it wishes to be funded. This would normally involve employment of at least three permanent or long-term staff, each of whom have 4-6 years postdoctoral research experience or equivalent and recognised research publications at national and at international level; they must also be capable of leading innovative research projects, directing post-doctoral researchers, and providing necessary supervision at this level. Note that it is not essential to have post-doctoral experience, equivalent research experience, such as demonstrated long term professional and specialist experience will also be recognised.
3) The organisation must meet the accountability and audit requirements of the ESPA funders. This requires the organisation to provide, on request, full documentation to give assurance of the:
– Institutional governance and accountability structures;
– Audit and accountability procedures;
– Sources of core funding and other funding.
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Keywords
- Poverty and the Poor
- Sustainable Development
Upcoming Deadlines
Date
What’s Due
Notes
14 May 2014
Confirmed
Full Proposal
Sponsor deadline – required
Closes at 16:00 GMT+1/UTC+1.
