2018 General and ECR and Tender Research Calls

Applications are now open for the following calls.

Delivering a Digital Built Britain General Research Call - deadline for submissions 23:59 hrs 8 September 2018

CDBB is searching for multiple projects covering different disciplines to support the breadth of the Centre’s mission. There will be opportunities for collaboration between the projects during the funding period. The call is for applications ranging from £50,000 to £250,000 (to include VAT if relevant) for a period of nine months. The funding period is from the 10th of October 2018 to the 10th of July 2019.

Delivering a Digital Built Britain Early Career Researchers Call - deadline for submissions 23.59 hrs 8 September 2018

CDBB is searching for multiple projects covering different disciplines to support the breadth of the Centre’s mission. There will be opportunities for collaboration between the projects during the funding period. The call is for applications ranging from £50,000 to £100,000 (to include VAT if relevant) for a period of nine months. The awarded researchers are required to invest at least the 50% of their working time in the development of the CDBB research project during the 9 months funding. The funding period is from the 10th of October 2018 to the 10th of July 2019.

Call for Tenders: CDBB Research Agenda and Landscape 

CDBB also invites proposals to draft reports which describe the capabilities the UK will need to create, exploit and enjoy digital built Britain over the next several decades, the research agenda needed to deliver these capabilities and the landscape of research competence available today to act as a starting point. 

This is a continuation of the work started with the Research Scoping workshop earlier in the year and the current Research Networks to develop the Centre’s ‘Research Landscape’. This call is open to industry and academia.

CDBB invites proposals to draft reports that answers to three key questions, for each the various topic areas that comprise the digitalised service and built infrastructure landscape of the future:

1. What new capabilities the UK will need (and when)

2. What research, development and demonstrations are necessary to build, deploy and disseminate such capabilities

3. Where there is, today, the basis for such development and demonstration

Each Tender will be competed separately. Deadline for submissions 23.59 hrs 9 September 2018.

Interim reports are due on the 12th of November 2018, and final reports on the 20th of December 2018. CDBB will integrate the results from these Tenders and from the work of the current Research Network to create a single report during the first quarter of 2019.  During that time, CDBB will invite comment and contribution as appropriate on emerging drafts either by email or by participation at workshops and seminars. 

FAQ's

What is an ‘early career researcher’?

We have deliberately not included a definition of an ECR, as it varies considerably across disciplines. CDBB wants to be as inclusive as possible. An established academic would not be appropriate. However, a newly appointed lecturer with no other funding might, as might someone holding a recently awarded PhD. Someone with vast experience in another field (e.g. industry) who has recently transferred to academia might also be appropriate. Age is not a criterion – an ECR could be 20 or 120. Students are not considered ECRs.

Can commercial organisations put in a proposal for the research call?

Proposals for the research call (and ECR call) must be led by a UK HEI (higher education institution) eligible to receive UKRI/RCUK funding. However, commercial organisations could be involved in a proposal. The ‘work’ of the projects must be research, in the academic sense.

What security considerations should I include in my proposal’s risk register?

Proposals should provide the following information as part of their risk register where appropriate:

1. Personnel and physical security arrangements that are, or will be, in place to promote and maintain an appropriate security culture in relation to the proposed research;
2. The measures that are, or will be, in place to prevent unauthorised access, modification or destruction of data and/or information created, collected, processed and stored as part of the research;
3. Where the proposed research involves design, development or deployment of products, systems or services, how a Secure by Design approach will be addressed.

For further information on security-minded practice, see British Standards PAS 1192-5:2015 and the CPNI website.

What type of organisations should bid for the tenders?

We envisage both commercial and academic institutions bidding in to the tenders. The tenders are specific in nature and are commercial contracts with fixed deliverables and timeframe, rather than research projects.

Are the tenders follow on pieces of work?

The tenders are not follow-on pieces of work, although they will fit with previous and current work outputs to expand the knowledge base.

Does an organisation need to have already engaged with CDBB in order to be eligible to bid?

There is no pre-requisite for a bidder to have been previously involved with CDBB.

May the ECR work for less than 50% of his/her time, if other researchers working on the project make up the balance of the time?

The ECR must commit at least 50% of his/her time to the project. Any additional researchers do not count towards this 50% figure. 

May projects be shorter than 9 months’ duration?

Projects could be shorter than 9 months. Value for money is a criterion, and we would expect the budget to reflect the shorter duration

What format should we use when expressing intentions to bid for the tender?

A simple email, to research@cdbb.cam.ac.uk, letting us know which Tender you intend to address.

Is there a limit to how many ECR applications a PI can support?

No. Please follow the supervision limits of your host institution. 

The call document states that : Proposals must be costed for direct costs only, at 100% fEC. Overheads will be paid at the rate of 20% of total staff employment costs. This seems to be different from RCUK funding rules. Does it mean we can only include staff costs at 100% fEC but no indirect and estate costs? Instead 20% of staff costs will be paid towards indirect and estate costs?"

Our funding scheme is different from the RCUK one indeed. This is due to the fact that we follow the Innovate UK rules (our main funder). Therefore, we fund a 100% of direct costs of staff and additionally we just fund a 20% of the staff overheads (indirect costs). Please see the table provided in the 'Funding Requirement' section of Annex II for further guidance.

If an industrial partner seconded an employee to the University, can I include their costs as a Research Assistant?

If an industrial partner seconded an employee to the University, so that the University will pay a salary directly to the employee, the corresponding cost can be reflected in the section "staff directly incurred costs (RA)" of the Funding Requirements table of the application form (Annex II). However, if it is contracted so that the University pays for its service to the industrial partner, the corresponding cost should be reflected in the section "other directly incurred costs" of the table.

We are having two industry partners in our proposal. Will it be possible for our industry partners to get any funds? If so, what would be possible?

It is possible to include costs for the sub-contract of a specific package of work if it is essential for the success of the research and will have a direct impact on its outcome. The funding is awarded to the principal investigator (PI) institution. If the PI decides to destine part of the budget to fund external services/advice, the PI institution is able to contract the corresponding services to a specific stakeholder (industry/business). This cost should be reflected in the section "other directly incurred costs" of the Funding Requirements table of the application form (Annex II).

Any queries about research funding at CDBB please contact research@cdbb.cam.ac.uk