Research Council and Government Funding

Together, the research and development procurement programmes of the research councils and government departments are estimated to have an annual value of some 1 billion. The research councils' UK Web site (www.research-councils.ac.uk) is the portal for information about the opportunities and types of funding available from these organizations. Each has its set of application procedures and information requirements, supported by detailed guidance information for applicants: the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, for example, produces a checklist of common application faults to accompany its research grant application form, while the Natural Environment Research Council's grants handbook covers every aspect of its research grants schemes and funding activities.

Most government departments and agencies fund research projects, which are normally subject to open competitive tendering procedures and may form components of research programmes or appear as discrete pieces of work. Web sites include news about calls for tenders and proposals, links to overviews of research strategies, summaries of research programmes, funding arrangements, application requirements and contact points.

Bidders normally receive a guidance package about the research requirement. A typical package contains the following information:

• topic details: a description of the work to be funded;

• competition guidance and criteria: instructions or preferences about the information to be included in the bid, how it is to be structured, how the information should be presented to give the best chance of success and the criteria that will be used in assessing the bid;

• contractual terms and conditions: these are not normally negotiable;

• an application form, together with forms for CVs and cost information;

• production and submission details: the number of copies needed by the department; instructions about presentation of an 'original' signed copy; envelope marking and packaging requirements; electronic submission and so forth (Chapter 21);

• contact details: for the purpose of clarifying the formal bid requirements.

Bids are expected to include detailed information about at least the following aspects of the research:

• Purpose: a statement of the problem to be addressed by the research and its technical context.

• Objectives: the aims to which the research is meant to contribute, expressed so far as possible in verifiable and quantitative terms.

• Approach, implementation plan and methodology: the structural logic of the research and plan of action, with an analysis of options.

• Milestones related to the achievement of research objectives, against which to monitor performance and measure the progress of the work.

• Staff inputs, with bar chart information showing who will be involved in the research, what their responsibilities will be and how much time they will spend on the work. Support this information with CVs of key personnel.

• Total estimated costs, specified exactly as defined in the guidance or application form.

• Management arrangements: explaining how participants will coordinate their inputs and activities, how day-to-day work will be managed, how responsibilities will be assigned within the research team and what the proposals are for team communication, quality control and related procedures. You will need to convince the funding body that your programme of work can be delivered within the required timescale.

• Outputs and results expected from the research and the deliverables to be produced, including progress and management reports (Chapter 15).

• Plans for communicating the results of the research, including for example an outreach strategy focused on key sectors, groups and organizations.

• Names and contact details of external referees, if these are required.

Application forms may include a section on small business information. In April 2001 the UK government's Small Business Service launched an initiative to help smaller firms as well as charities and other independent organizations to gain more research and development contracts from government departments and research councils. This is a counterpart to the small business scheme for public sector contracts noted in Chapter 2. The target is to source at least 2.5 per cent of government research work, worth about 50 million, from smaller firms.

The evaluation of research proposals is discussed in Chapter 22. For the research councils, the prime criteria are scientific merit and the presence of a strong and convincing research partnership. Government departments also seek best value for money and direct relevance to their policies and programmes.