Call to apply for research funding
Researchers are invited to apply to the latest round of a highly successful funding scheme.
Dr Fiona Gill’s outreach engagement at the Yorkshire Fossil Festival in Scarborough in September
Operated by the White Rose University Consortium (WRUC), the Collaboration Fund aims to support and encourage emerging partnerships across the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York, in particular to support projects that have the potential to lead to larger, more strategic initiatives.
Applications for up to £11,000 per project are encouraged in areas where there are no existing collaborations between the universities. However, this does not exclude existing areas of collaboration where support might lead to enhanced activity and significant funding opportunities.
Applications are particularly encouraged from projects that include Early Career Researchers.
Grains of Future Past is one of the projects that has successfully bid to the White Rose University Consortium Collaboration Fund
Many Leeds colleagues have won grants to lead projects with partners from York and Sheffield. Recent examples include:
- CLCI: Climate-Leaf Chemistry Interactions – investigating how climate impacts plant chemistry, as a key component in addressing the challenge of ensuring global access to secure and resilient food systems, led by Dr Fiona Gill (School of Earth and Environment) and Dr Karen Bacon (School of Geography)
- Oasis in a Desert? – the importance of ecological refugia for long-term peatland resilience, led by Dr Graeme Swindles (School of Geography)
- Grains of Future Past – using ancient wheat genetic variation to improve crop yields, led by Dr Tom Bennett (School of Biology); and
- Mechanisms and Evolution of Ribosome Specialisation, led by Dr Julie Aspden (School of Molecular and Cellular Biology), which has the potential to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases caused by mutations to ribosomal proteins.
Speaking about the importance of the Collaboration Fund grant to her research, Dr Gill said: “The Fund has allowed us to build a team from the three universities, and now across the UK, to help us address a multidisciplinary question – How climate impacts plant chemistry?”
Dr Bacon added: “Applying for the funding allowed us to pursue an interesting blue skies question, generate pilot data and expand our pool of collaborators, allowing us to now target much larger funding opportunities.”
Of her research project, Dr Aspden said: “It has enabled us to build a network, making new connections and drawing people into the group with a range of interests in addressing the same questions.
“It has been particularly great for strengthening interactions between new academics across the White Rose network, leading to a range of connected activities. The funds have pump-primed the projects and helped us to apply for larger collaborative grants in the coming year.”
Leeds academic Dr Graeme Swindles (School of Geography) is leading a research project entitled Oasis in a Desert?, examining the importance of ecological refugia for long-term peatland resilience
And Dr Swindles added: “White Rose funding allows academics to build a constructive collaboration in Yorkshire – an opportunity not to be missed.”
Visit the WRUC website for details of how to apply to the Fund. The deadline for applications in this latest round is 5pm on Wednesday 27 November 2019.
WRUC has also produced a report about the outcomes from the Fund, outlining many other success stories. And contact Karen Tsui if you would like a presentation about the Fund in your department or research group.
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