Restricted Call: MRC New Units (internal deadline: 01 December 2022)
This email is a follow-up to our pre-announcement circulation from the 13th October (attached), to provide more details on the University’s internal selection process for this call.
MRC will soon open their new call for units. The call is now expected to open on 21 November 2022, which is when full details will be made available. We do not anticipate major changes from what is outlined below, however.
The new award will be an annual opportunity with identified themes, with two awards made each year. This first round’s themes are as follows:
The full scope of these themes will be announced when the opportunity opens.
This new challenge-led approach will focus on distinct, disruptive, or interdisciplinary activity with the potential to prove transformative to the field within 14 years. These major investments should be outward facing, promote collaborative research, and foster the right conditions to train the next generation of researchers and technologists.
Applications can be from a single research organisation or in partnership and may include industry collaboration. International co-investigators can be included if they provide expertise that is not available in the UK.
The opportunity will provide budgets of up to £3 million per annum at 80% full Economic Cost (fEC) for up to 14 years. Funding will be allocated over two periods of seven years with a review in year six. The full economic cost of a unit can be around £25 million for the first seven years.
Each proposal will require clearly defined institutional support, including: provision and maintenance of lab space, access to existing facilities, HR services, and underpinning of key staff positions.
For more details, please see the pre-announcement website, which should be updated by the MRC once the call opens on the 21st November.
University Internal selection:
Organisations are encouraged to prioritise their involvement in applications and to realistically restrict the number submitted. Therefore, this call will be managed according to the University’s restricted calls procedure.
To take part in the internal selection process please complete our online submission form (if asked to log-in, please use Raven details) by 01 December 2022.
Please find attached an example of the questions asked in the online form, to ease preparation.
Funder deadline: 21 February 2023, 4pm UK time
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact us at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Posted on 15/11/2022
