Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory & Practice
There are no calls for applications at the moment.
The research development fund is a small fund established in order to provide pump-priming for new collaborative projects that will help extend the current research programme of the Bilingualism Centre and attract larger grants from research councils. Applications are invited for sums of between £1,000 and £5,000 per project, and each award should lead directly to a major research grant application approximately 100 times the value (FEC). This means that a grant of £1,000 should lead to a research grant application of approximately £100,000 while one of £5,000 should lead to an application for £500,000, and so on.
The Centre Executive is responsible for assessing and taking decisions on applications. This brief introduction provides information about the procedure to follow in order to apply for funding, the requirements for an application, and some guidelines regarding the kinds of funding applications that we hope to receive.
1. The first step in the application process involves meeting the broad aims of the Centre. With respect to research content, funds will be targeted at research that is relevant to bilingualism focussing on health and wellbeing, social diversity and understanding individual behaviour. The general information on the Centre website provides a good overview of the remit of the Centre.
The Executive will normally make decisions on applications every 6 months. Applications must be received by the advertised date. No late submissions will be considered. The application form is available via the website. The main points are enlarged upon below.
An application for funding will normally come from a member of the Centre or from a Research Associate. We will also consider applications from others, but, if such an application is successful, the applicant will be expected to become a Research Associate of the Centre (application forms are available on the Centre website). Any application must involve collaboration with a member of the Centre who has a permanent academic post at the University. The Centre Executive is especially keen to support new collaborations which will cut across current research themes, or which include cross-disciplinary perspectives.
2. A second key criterion is a statement of outcomes in the form of a future grant application. As indicated above, this should be a major grant application approximately 100 times the value of the pump-priming grant. The Executive will monitor the progress of major grant applications by recipients of pump-priming grants.
While these two criteria – added value and research outcomes - are highlighted here, the Executive will also assess proposals with respect to the quality of the science, the cost effectiveness of the proposal, and third mission considerations. The terms and conditions of an applicant’s current employment may be taken into consideration, in so far as this may influence their ability to carry out the research. We expect that applications will often involve collection of data from a sample of participants or from relevant sources and/or provide sufficient data to comprise a pilot study or feasibility study for subsequent applications for funding from external bodies. For example, a pump-priming grant could fund part-time or short-time employment of an RA or could pay for replacement teaching costs.
Allowable costs include participant payment and expenses, travel and subsistence, equipment hire or use, RA costs and teaching replacement. There is no provision for equipment purchase via the Centre. The Centre Executive may, however, be in a position to advise applicants about opportunities such as sharing resources across different collaborative projects in order to use resources to best effect.
We wish to be as flexible and as helpful as possible within the constraints imposed by the budget and the long-term goals of the Centre. We encourage potential applicants to discuss bids with committee members at the earliest opportunity in the development of a project, in order to determine how best to apply for Centre funding and to maximise the success rate of the application and of the project as a whole.
Click here for application form...
Successful 2008 applications - Click here
Successful 2009 applications - Click here
Successful 2010 applications -