Royal Society of Edinburgh Launches Five New Research Awards

A new research awards programme has been launched by RSE to provide different funding opportunities for all academic disciplines and career stages. The aim is to ensure that RSE provides for the needs of Scotland’s academic communities and society.

Established in 1783 and registered in Scotland as an educational charity, the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) seeks to address the global challenges facing humanity through research and enlightenment in a number of academic disciplines.

RSE has launched five new research awards covering all academic disciplines and career stages. The aim is to support Scotland’s academic researchers, nurture promising talent, stimulate research in Scotland and promote international collaboration, which will be of lasting benefit to the individuals and communities concerned and to wider society. The five new funding schemes are:

Small Grants

Support is given to researchers from all academic disciplines/subject areas and all career stages who are carrying out high-quality and personally conducted defined research projects.

The scheme is open to applications from Principal Investigators who are: full or part-time academics in any academic discipline and tenured and/or salaried staff of a higher education institution, research institute or cultural institution in Scotland; retired academics in any academic field who retain demonstrable links with a Scottish higher education or cultural institution; full or part-time practitioners or research-active members of staff in any academic field employed by a Scottish cultural institution.

Financial support of £500 to £5,000 is available for up to one year. The award will cover eligible costs arising from a defined research project.

Research Workshop Grants

Grants are offered to researchers from all academic disciplines/subject areas and all career stages who are carrying out collaborative investigation into a research proposition at an early stage of development. The award seeks to encourage and support a range of colloquia to advance exploration of a specific topic.

Joint applications are accepted for the Research Workshop Grants. Collaborations may be between Scottish or overseas higher education institutions and/or practitioners, policymakers and cultural institutions as long as the lead applicant is based in Scotland and the application is interdisciplinary.

Financial support of up to £10,000 is available for up to one year. The award will cover eligible costs arising from a defined research project.

Research Network Grants

Funding is available to researchers from all academic disciplines/subject areas and all career stages who are seeking to create and/or consolidate collaborative partnerships over a two-year period.

Joint applications are accepted for the Research Network Grants. Collaborations may be between Scottish or overseas higher education institutions and/or practitioners, policymakers and cultural institutions as long as the lead applicant is based in Scotland and the application is interdisciplinary.

Financial support of up to £20,000 is available for up to two years. The award will cover eligible costs arising from a defined research project.

Joint Projects Grants

This scheme seeks to facilitate international collaboration between researchers based in Scotland and researchers overseas. Research projects can be held in all academic disciplines. Grants are available when carrying out research with those institutions (sister academies) where a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been established:

Ministry of Science and Technology Taiwan (MOST)
National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

RSE also welcomes applications outside of these formal agreements, especially in other countries that RSE has identified as strategic priorities.

Applications will only be considered for bilateral (not multilateral) projects. The collaboration should be based on a single project, with two teams or individuals based in Scotland and in the partner institution. Visits must take place in both directions. There are an unrestricted number of participants per team.

For Scottish-based researchers, the Principal Investigator (PI) must be of at least postdoctoral status or equivalent. The PI and Scottish-based collaborators must be employed by a Scottish higher education institution. For international researchers, the PI must hold a postdoctoral or equivalent degree. If the application is governed by a MoU, the PI must be hosted by organisations that can apply to the relevant sister academy.

Financial support of up to £6,000 per year is available for up to two years. The collaborating institution is expected to provide the equivalent level of funding per two-year joint project. The grant is provided for researchers to cover travel, subsistence and research expenses.

Personal Research Fellowships

RSE support through this scheme enables researchers to take a period of study leave to focus on a research project of their choice. The research can be in any academic discipline.

The award provides funding to appoint a temporary replacement to enable the awardee to take study leave, either in their own institution or elsewhere, while remaining in continuous employment with their present employer.

The fellowships are open to early and mid-career researchers who are existing members of academic staff on open-ended or continuing contracts in higher education institutions in Scotland. Applicants can pursue their research in a higher education institution or research institute in Scotland. This may be different to the current place of employment.

Salary support of £55,000 is available for a period of 3-12 months. In addition, research costs of £10,000 will be provided.

The application deadline (applicable to all five schemes) is 1 July 2021.

Royal Society of Edinburgh Launches Five New Research Awards

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