Funding opportunities | Faculty of History University of Cambridge (2024)

Several grants, studentships and prizes are made available through Trust Funds at the Faculty of History.

For queries about Trust Funds, please emailtrustfunds@hist.cam.ac.uk.

The Research Operations Office requires at minimum 4 weeks notice of your intention to submit a funding applications. Please emailresearchgrants@hist.cam.ac.uk as early as possible to obtain specific advice on administrative issues and to set a submission schedule.

For standard grant applications to external sponsors, the Research Director requires at least 14-working days before ROO’s internal submission deadline for application review and preparation of Faculty Statements of Support (if applicable).

The University sets internal deadlines in advance of national deadlines for processing external funding applications. Depending on the funding scheme application, pre-award processing requireseither 2- or 5-working days before the national deadline.

Thedocument linked below provides a general outline of the funding application process through the Faculty of History. All applications are different with regard to size, scope and duration, and thus the time needed to prepare a quality application will vary. Some applications are straightforward and simple, while others are complex, collaborative and require much more time and effort to develop, process and submit.

Applying for a Research Grant Checklist and Procedures

All applications are accompanied by a detailed costing. This is done in X5, the University's costing and pricing programme. when planning for costs, you should consider the following questions (please first check eligible and ineligible costs in the sponsor guidance):

• What is the name of the funder and scheme?
• What is the duration, start date and title your your project?
• What is your role on the project (PI, Co-I, Researcher)?
• Is it a collaborative project? If yes, please provide information about the other partners involved.
• If you are the Co-I in this project, please provide information about the PI and the Lead institution or University Department.
• How many hours per week or FTE% are you planning to spend on this grant? Consider you other commitments (including teaching).
• Will you need research assistance?
• What level of research assistance will you need: a postdoctoral assistant or less qualified assistance? The status of the post has an effect on the level of salary that may be offered by the University. Contact your RGA for advice regarding research starting salaries.
• Will you require a project administrator (usually for large or EU funded grants)?
• Have you considered whether your plans for personnel recruitment are legal and/or within recruitment rules laid down by the University's Human Resources (HR) Division?
• Do you plan research expenses (travel and subsistence, conference fees, costs for organizing workshops, website design and maintenance, etc.)?
• Will you need to be replaced in your teaching duties? NB: teaching replacement is NOT offered by all sponsors (e.g. the AHRC and ESRC). In these instances, any teaching replacement must be negotiated with the HoD.
• What is yourstatus at the University (UTO, CTO, Research Associate, Junior Research Fellow, Research Assistant, External Application)?

Applications for research funding that are expected to exceed £1,000,000 fEC must be authorised by the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences before the completed application is submitted for approval by the Research Operations Office.

The School office will review submissions every Tuesday. The School recommends that six weeks is allowed for the School to properly review and communicate decisions to applicants. This must be factored in to your timetable for making an application. Both applicants and the Faculty will need to work together to complete the required submission form for the School. Please contactresearchgrants@hist.cam.ac.ukat your earliest convenience.

The role of the mentor is crucial for postdoctoral funding applications, and mentorship of this sort is the one of the best ways we can support early career researchers and attract the best young scholars to the Faculty.

Mentors should encourage early career scholars and advanced PhD students to consider applying for fellowships at Cambridge, offer support and feedback on their applications, and provide a draft of the letter of support to the Faculty Research Director, who will prepare the letter for the Chair’s signature. For some fellowships, mentors are also asked to write a separate mentor statement.

Applications with a value of £500k+ at fEC are strongly encouraged to undergo peer review by the AHSS Peer Review Panel.

The peer review is not discipline specific. Reviewers are likely to be asked to review proposals outside of their disciplinary remit and research interest. They will be looking for evidence that:

• The research questions are important

• The project design is clearly explained and feasible

• The research team and the PI are ideally placed to conduct the research because of their skills and experience

The Global Mobility function is in place to provide support and advice to employees and their Departments, to ensure that anyone who undertakes an International Working arrangement is doing so safely and in accordance with legislation.

TheInternational Engagement Hubis a SharePoint site for employees to bring together information and signpost them to further sources of information.

Please contact the Global Mobility HR Team for further support and queries atglobalmobility@admin.cam.ac.uk.

All members of the Department conducting research must consider the ethical implications of that research.

Ethical Approval Procedure

If your research involves human participation or personal data ethical approval should be obtained. In such cases please contact the Research Director. If it appears to be low risk research, complete the Faculty's Research Ethics Review form as ethical review can be provided at the Faculty level. Cases that are particularly complex or sensitive, or those presenting a potential conflict of interest, should be referred to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee. The Committee aims to deliver a decision in approximately three weeks after you complete the Committee’sapplication formand provide details of your research proposal and participant information.

Further details on Research Ethics

Dr Allison Ksiazkiewicz

Faculty’s Research Grants Administrator offers help and advice in the application process and the costing of research grants. The RGA works closely with the pre-award team at the Research Operations Office to ensure a smooth submission process.

Professor David Maxwell

As Research Director for Projects and Impact, Professor David Maxwellis responsible for supporting your applications for internal and external funding, as well as advising on your strategies for research impact. She provides academic advice on project proposals, reviews all proposalsprior to submission to ensure strong funding applications, and seeks to maximise the impact of the Faculty’s research among the widest possible range of audiences and communities.

Professor Ulinka Rublack

Professor Ulinka Rublack is responsible for facilitating your Individual Researchgoals, including both your broader research trajectory and the specific research on which you are engaged now. At the same time she will advise on the forms and timing of your publication strategy in order to optimise your individual research profile and your submission to the REF in terms of outputs.

Dr Anna Cieslik

Dr Elizabeth Penner

Additional help is also available from the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences for those wishing to clarify their options and obtain support in writing academic proposals. The Schools Research Facilitator will review applications and provide feedback and comment. For larger applications, the Research Facilitator can organize a blind peer-review.