BBSRC new investigator award: applicant-led mode

What the assessor looks for

• is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
• has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
• is timely given current trends, context, and needs
• impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
• is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
• uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable)
• summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)
• will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
• describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage)
• the right balance of skills and expertise
• the appropriate leadership and management skills and your approach to develop others
• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
• contributions to the wider research and innovation community
• contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• how your expertise fits within the wider interest and strategies of the research organisation and department
• development and training opportunities to be provided and how they form a cohesive career development package tailored to you
• mentoring and support arrangements proposed and how they are appropriate to you, include the name of any current or future mentors
• financial support to be provided, including the contribution to your salary, and how this improves the application

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• you are eligible if you have already been a project co-lead on a successful grant application
• you must not have received, or currently be in receipt of, competitively obtained research or support funding from any source as a project lead where such funding includes or included research and innovation associate staff support costs. This includes grants associated with fellowships
• you must notify BBSRC of grant funding requests where the results are not known at the time of submission, but which are subsequently successful
• you may submit only one new investigator application to this BBSRC funding opportunity at a time. You must wait until a decision has been provided on an already submitted new investigator application, before applying with another application as a project lead

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• long-term career goals and chosen career route
• plans to develop your own research profile
• independence, as the sole intellectual leader of the proposed work
• plans to secure further grant support during or after this award
• plans to establish and lead a research team

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
• clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
• describe any additional value that they bring to the project

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• project staff
• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
• any equipment that will cost more than £25,000
• any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
• all facilities and infrastructure costs
• all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
• are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
• represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
• maximise potential outcomes and impacts

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 42KB)
• proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
• confirmation you have their agreement where required

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• the relevant ethical and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project
• the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, while minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm
• how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project
• any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing and storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data)
• formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with
• human participants
• genetically modified organisms

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.