| Message from the Research Staff Office |
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Hello Everyone
Welcome to this very full issue of the Sussex Researcher. We are very pleased to be launching our new 'Spotlight' initiative in this issue. This will be a regular new feature in the newsletter and is an opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of researchers across the University.
We are looking forward to our International Researcher Lunch on 23rd November and we hope to see many of you there; all international researchers welcome. It will be an informal event and a great opportunity to meet other researchers from across the University, book your place here.
Finally, thank you to those of you that completed our recent research staff appraisal/review survey. We are still analysing the results, but you can see the initial headline results in the article below.
Best wishes,
Natalie James (Research Staff Officer) and Kirsty Bridger (Researcher Development Coordinator)
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| Research Integrity, Ethics and the 'Open Researcher' Agenda. What's in it for my research? |
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Thursday 17th November - 10.00-12.30 Book a place
Academic journals and funders of research are just two of the variety of stakeholders that expect researchers to engage fully with the 'open research' agenda. Understanding research integrity and having a good working understanding of research ethics are key to achieving this.
In this session you will not only gain an understanding of how the University reviews research for compliance with ethical standards, but also have the opportunity to discuss and explore matters within the wider research integrity landscape such as:
- Codes of professional conduct
- The ethics of authorship
- Leadership and embedding a culture of research integrity
- You will consider a variety of case studies and have the opportunity to ask questions about matters that arise from discussions.
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| Spotlight profiles of Research Fellows provide insight into Sussex research |
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To celebrate research across the University undertaken by our 350 research staff, the Research Staff Office is pleased to launch "Spotlight".
This new initiative profiles the research achievements and ambitions of Research Fellows from across the University. The initial set of profiles are available via the new Spotlight webpages and we will be featuring a different profile in the Sussex Researcher each month, starting with Dr Mohammed Maniruzzaman (see below).
The Spotlight profiles have been developed by Kirsty Bridger, Researcher Development Coordinator, who conducted informal interviews over the summer with Research Fellows from disciplines ranging from pharmaceutical manufacturing and quantum computing to nuclear policy, astronomy, antibiotic resistance and vocal modulation.
Professor Michael Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) said 'Research Fellows are critical to the research success of the University and their knowledge and expertise are highly valued. These Spotlight profiles offer a glimpse into the extraordinary and highly varied research undertaken at Sussex.'
New profiles will be added to the site on a rolling basis, so if you would like your work profiled, or would like to suggest a Research Fellow for Spotlight please email researchstaffoffice@sussex.ac.uk
View Spotlight profiles here
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| Spotlight on...Dr Mohammed Maniruzzaman |
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 Research Fellow in Pharmaceutical Formulations
I always thought I'd like to be part of creating innovations whilst helping human beings.
Dealing with medicines ticks both of these boxes.
I conduct, innovative research to fill in the gap between the market need and whatever is available. Drugs are like poisons, that's where someone like me comes in, to translate them into a controlled form, a commercial product, so that they can help people.
Read Mohammed's Spotlight Profile here.
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| News |
| Research Staff Appraisal/Review Survey - Initial headlines |
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A big thank you to the 25% of you that took the time to participate in our recent survey relating to research staff appraisal/review. It was a great response and your considered and constructive contributions are extremely useful.
We are still in the process of analysing the results, which will be made available in a report later in the year, however some initial key findings are:
- 63% increase in respondent participation in appraisal compared to the results of the 2013 Careers in research online survey (CROS) (76.7% appraisal participation in 2016 compared to 47.1% in 2013)
- Satisfaction with the appraisal process has increased significantly with 80% of the 2016 respondents rating the process as 'useful/very useful' overall, compared to just 36.5% in CROS 2013 and 57% in CROS 2015.
- Overall satisfaction with the appraisal process was 26% higher for the 2016 respondents who had participated in appraisal since the introduction of the new research staff appraisal forms and supporting information (88% rated 'useful/very useful' overall), compared to those appraised prior to the new documentation (70% rated 'useful/very useful)
- There remain concerns over specific follow up and action after the appraisal meeting. Also some respondents indicated that the forms can be repetitive or too prescriptive and can be time consuming to complete.
Overall the results are positive and indicate that some significant progress has been made with regards to research staff appraisal; however there will still be plenty to work on in future to continue to build upon this progress . A full report of the survey will be available later in the year and will include specific recommendations for further improvements to the appraisal process for research staff.
Winners of the Amazon voucher prize draw were: Nick Farina, Cecilia Lanata Briones, Laura Bailey, Samira Bouyagoub, Frederique Lang
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| New Professional Development Guidance for Researchers |
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The Research Staff Office has introduced some new Professional Development Guidance for research staff.
This new document outlines:
- The University's expectations relating to research staff professional development
- Examples of professional development activities
- Links to University support for professional development
- Information about using the Vitae Researcher Development Framework for reflecting on professional development requirements
The document is intended as a guide for researchers and their managers to assist in discussion and planning of professional development activities. A minimum of 5 working days per year for professional development is recommended for research staff.
The new guidance has been disseminated to Heads of School and Directors of Research and Knowledge Exchange to cascade to all research staff managers
View the Research Staff Professional Development Guidance here
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| Call for Abstracts: Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher |
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Post-REF 2014, there is an opportunity to rethink research impact and, in particular, to question what impact means for the new or early-career researcher and how to support the development of research capability in this area.
A new collection of essays being edited by Dr Kiaran Fenby-Hulse from Coventry University, "Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher", aims to bring together a series of reflective narratives and think-pieces on research impact written by new and early career researchers to capture the diverse experiences, concerns, challenges, and opportunities research impact presents. Additionally, it will include a series of critical and research-informed essays from all those working in the area that interrogate, question, and discuss research impact in connection to new and/or early career researchers.
If you would be interested in submitting an essay or a new/early-career researcher narrative or reflection for this publication, you will need to submit an abstract of 200-300 words by 28th November.
See the full list of chapter topics and information about submitting an abstract.
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| Post-Referendum Information from UK Research Office (UKRO) |
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 The UK Research Office (UKRO) has created a new page for researchers setting out the current situation with regard to Brexit and EU funding programmes, emphasising that the main message for now is 'business as usual'. It also includes links to the main statements made by the UK Government and the European Commission, as well as to relevant UKRO resources.
View UKRO post referendum information here (You will need to register with UKRO to access the page)
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| Opportunities |
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If applying for funding, remember to check funders' eligibility criteria carefully and discuss the opportunity with your host institution/department prior to preparing any applications.
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| British Academy Rising Star Engagement Awards (BARSEAs) |
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 The British Academy is inviting applications from early career researchers employed in a UK institution for the British Academy Rising Star Engagement Awards (BARSEAs).
This scheme is designed primarily to enable established early career academics to actively engage in the work of the British Academy and to enhance their own skills and career development through the organisation of events, training, and mentoring activities for a wide range of other early career researchers.
More information
Application deadline: 30 November 2016
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| Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships |
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The Academy of Medical Sciences, with the support of the Royal College of Physicians, the Wellcome Trust and the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust, invites applications for the Daniel Turnberg travel fellowships. These enable early-career biomedical researchers to undertake short-term visits to the UK or the Middle East to further their research experience and learn new techniques in a research institution of their choice.
More information
Application deadline: 12th December 2016
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| NIHR Fellowship Programme |
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The National Institute of Health Research invites applications for its fellowship programme. This enables individuals to become health research leaders by buying out their salary costs, meeting their training and development costs, and by contributing to the research costs needed to complete an identified research project. Proposed research projects must be compatible with the NIHR remit.
Applications are invited from individuals working in any sector or scientific discipline who propose to undertake people or patient-based clinical and applied health research at an institution based in England.
More information
Application deadline: 20th December 2016
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| New Investigator Scheme |
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 The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its new investigator scheme. This assists early-career researchers in securing their first major element of research funding.
More information
Application deadline: 24 January 2017
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| ESRC-DFID Development Frontiers Research Fund 2016-17 |
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The Development Frontiers Research Fund aims to fund innovative, strategic and catalytic research with the potential to radically impact on sustainable development concepts or practices, or lead to new thinking and action on poverty reduction. Proposals are invited for projects with a full economic cost value between £200,000 and £300,000. Projects can be between 12 and 18 months long, but must finish no later than 31 March 2019.
More information
Application deadline: 26th January 2017
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