1. The College of Humanities and Social Science has made available a new investment – via the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities – to support a number of international and interdisciplinary research groups. This new initiative is part of an active realignment of IASH to engage directly with the research strategies of the College and the Schools.
2. The funds available will support two or three groups with up to £50k for an initial year (2014-2015) with the expectation of renewal for one or two further years, depending upon budgets and plans.
3. The groups will contribute to the achievement of a number of College strategic aims and objectives, in the area of international partnerships, interdisciplinary research, and internationalisation more generally, helping us to reach targets which will contribute to the international standing of CHSS and of the University more generally (e.g. research funding from international sources, citations of publications, development of the international PG student cohort, strategic partnerships with highly ranked or newly emerging institutions).
4. The final selection of the groups to be supported will be undertaken on a collaborative ‘pitch to peers’ basis, by a group comprising the Director and Academic Director of IASH, the Dean and Associate Deans of Research, supported by College Directors of Research (or nominees from individual subject areas, as appropriate) and representatives of the UoE Global Academies. The membership of the selection group will be finalised once the list of nominated IRGs to be discussed is known. The selection will be take place on 25 June at 2.30pm at IASH (Hope Park Square). The group will discuss the merits of all nominated research groups (see below for the process of nomination) on the basis of the following criteria:
a. CHSS interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs) bring together groups of academics (at all levels) within the University of Edinburgh (leadership must be within a CHSS School, but contributions from academics or groups outside CHSS are also very welcome especially if this strengthens the interdisciplinary element of the proposal), along with strategic partners in other HEIs or cognate institutes outside the UK (partners within the UK are not precluded, but do not strengthen the case for the group as an international partnership).
b. Selected IRGs will have a set of interdisciplinary research objectives which will be at the forefront of their respective disciplines/interdisciplinary fields, with a track record within the group of producing internationally top ranked publications.
c. It is expected that most selected IRGs will contain a mix of existing partnerships or links, and new links which are still under development. The feasibility of the partnership plan will be an important criterion for selection.
d. IRGs will engage in some or all of the following representative work activities (this is not an exhaustive list):
i. Visits (of at least two months) by internationally recognised scholars who will be based during their visit at IASH, but who will contribute to UoE programmes and activities (including mentoring and engagement with early career scholars), and which are expected to result in internationally co-authored outputs or co-produced activities
ii. Exchanges of postgraduate research students
iii. Workshops and visits to international partner institutes by UoE staff and PGRs, leading to internationally co-authored publications
iv. Engagement with practitioners (e.g. writers, creative industries or other professions) with a view to bringing about international practitioner residencies
v. Preparation of joint applications for international external funding to undertake further research
vi. Exchanges of data, or joint fieldwork activities
e. The aim of the deliberation is to distinguish between good and bad reasons for supporting specific IRGs and to ensure a maximal buy-in across the College for a potentially important investment of our time and reputational capital. It is expected that the deliberation will identify areas where proposed IRGs could be enhanced by new synergies in areas of College research which have previously not been exploited.
f. An IRG may overlap with a CHSS Challenge Investment Fund supported project, but should contribute additional elements to, and not be identical to, the intellectual project expressed in that funding application.
5. After the discussion, the group will aim to reach a consensus decision on two or three groups to receive funding for the academic year 2014-2015 in the first instance, although in the absence of a consensus, the Director of IASH and the Dean of Research may consult the Head of College before taking a decision, guided by the deliberations of the group. The group will endeavour to ensure that the groups represent a full spread across CHSS Schools and subject areas, reflecting the diversity of research strengths as demonstrated in our REF2014 submissions.
6. The selection group will consider the nominated IRGs from across CHSS. These nominations will come from Schools, channelled if appropriate, via individual subject areas, after an internal nomination process within and across Schools which will mirror the deliberative character of the College-level process (i.e. decisions on which groups to nominate should not be taken simply by Directors of Research and Heads of School, without replicating some form of deliberation on the merits of the competing suggestions). It is expected that most IRGs proposed will cut across School and subject area boundaries, and support may come from either one or several of the Schools involved. Up to fifteen nominations will be put before the selection group, but a prior shortlisting process has been built into the process.
7. Timetable:
a. 24 April 2014: call sent to Schools
b. May 2014: nomination process within Schools
c. 2 June 2014: Schools send nominations packages to IASH (iash@ed.ac.uk) and CRO (hss.cro@ed.ac.uk).
Nomination packages consist of:
i. List of proposed IRGs (highlighting where multiple Schools may be involved)
ii. Names of up to three participants from the School proposed to be involved in the selection group (Directors of Research, Research Advisors, etc.)
iii. Two page specification for each nominated IRG comprising:
1. Aims and objectives
2. Names and contributions of those involved (a nominated PI must be a UoE academic staff member Grade 8 or above with a contract lasting beyond the time duration of the proposed IRG)
3. Names of international partners
4. Details of representative work activities
5. Outline budget (permitted items are – travel and visit costs; workshop costs; modest administrative support; teaching buy-out if needed – must be justified)
d. Director and Academic Director of IASH and Dean of Research shortlist 15 proposed IRGs for discussion by the selection group
e. 16 June 2014: notification of shortlisted IRGs and invited members of selection group.
f. 25 June 2014: selection group meets and takes decisions by consensus
g. 30 June 2014: selected IRGS are informed
h. 1 August 2014: IRG activities begin
8. Enquiries about this initiative and about the selection process should be directed to iash@ed.ac.uk in the first instance.
Jo Shaw
Director of IASH
Jolyon Mitchell
Academic Director of IASH
Alvin Jackson
Dean of Research
April 2014