Innovation,Impact and Knowledge Exchange (IIKE)

Collaborative R&D Awards

Rolling Call

  1. Background

The University of Sheffield defines its mission as “the goal of changing the world for better through the power and application of ideas and knowledge”. This process involves partnerships with people and organisations beyond our walls; these partnerships are not one-way, and the insights that we gain from our partners stimulate and enrich the research we do, fuelling innovation and keeping our researchers in touch with the real questions and challenges faced by modern society. Knowledge Exchange (KE) is more than a funding mechanism. It is a key priority and strategic need for our University, and we place it at the heart of our activities.

The IIKE strategy has 4 key objectives

  • To create and maintain deeper partnerships with external organizations
  • To make the most of our intellectual property
  • To engage with our city region
  • To embed Innovation, Impact and Knowledge Exchange within our organization
  • One of the ways TUOS will fulfill this mission is to fund collaborative research and development with forward plans for collaboration.
  • We are looking to seed and develop relationships with external partners.The purpose of the Collaborative R&D Award scheme is to provide match funding to support short term commercially focused projects or to look for additional opportunities to build our capacity to engage effectively with external partners.
  • All Collaborative R&D Awards must have an external partner. External partners could include national and international businesses, public and third sector organisations, or community bodies. However this fund will not support academic-academic collaboration.
  • Projects could include a range of activities (or mix of different activities),
  • Collaborative R&D Awards can be used to support existing staff employed by the University or to recruit new members of staff if necessary to meet the skill requirements of the role, providing this can be achieved in an appropriate timescale for the implementation of the project.
  • Projects can be carried out on a full-time or part-time basis, depending on the nature of the work. Projects may involve one or more researchers. Researchers are expected to get the benefit of working with the external partner on an industry led or societal problem.
  • The award should be used to leverage further funding, or initiate, a longer term project with an external partner.
  • External partners are required to contributeto the project costs in the form of cash or a realistically valued in-kind contribution,using thein kind calculator. As part of the letter of support, an authorized person in the external partner organization will also be asked to agree to the IIKE Funding Terms & Conditions.
  • It is expected that the majority of projects will be undertaken at the end of a researcher’s current project. However, they may also be taken part way through a project where there is a clear case for this. In such cases, it is critical for the PI to ensure that there will be no impact on the delivery of the researcher’s existing project, and that any impact is appropriately managed between all involved parties.

1.10 Projects with external partners outside the UK are eligible, however all partners should have a significant presence in the UK, e.g. manufacturing and/or R&D base, and the activity should be able to deliver benefit to the UK.

  1. EligibilityCriteria
  2. Applications for IAA Collaborative R&D Awards must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Eligibility Criteria / Comments
Research and Development /
  • Projects must be research and development not consultancy.

External partners / This support is particularly aimed at getting new/early relationships started or developing existing relationships where:
  • The external partner has not worked with UoS before
  • The academic PI is new to working with external partners, or
  • The project will create a step-change in the relationship with an existing partner.Projects with external partners outside the UK are eligible providing that the project can demonstrate clear potential for delivery of a net benefit to the UK.

Applicant eligibility to lead the project / The PI must:
  • Be an academic member of staff employed by the University of Sheffield.
  • Have the skills, experience and enthusiasm to lead the project.
  • Have the necessary time and/or researcher in post to deliver the project.

Proposal fit /
  • The project must match the spirit of the call.
  • There must be a clear need for this flexible resource – e.g. a project that would be difficult to resource by other means.

Potential impact /
  • The project should have the potential to deliver economic, environmental and/or societal benefit to UK organisations or citizens outside academia.

  1. Project costs and justification of resources
  2. Eligible costs include:
  3. Directly Incurred - Staff costs can include researcher, technician or clerical/administrative positions
  4. Directly Incurred – Non staff costs can include laboratory costs, consumables, travel to related meetings, events etc, small pieces of equipment and expenses incurred during the project
  5. Internal trade/facility charges can be costed in to the project if necessary to the project scope.
  6. Ineligible costs include:

As a guide, no directly allocatedcosts will be approved and awarded unless external contributions are sought. However, please still apply full fEC costs for your URMs costing. Directly allocated costs include:

  1. Directly Allocated – Staff costs can include the academic time and pool technician
  2. Directly Allocated – fEC costs, overheads and estates costs

Other ineligible costs:

Equipment which is considered the responsibility of the department to supply such as office and IT equipment, e.g. laptops, will not be funded by IIKE.

Some costs may require justification and if you do not see a category listed or would like to check a cost from the list, please contact .

Once a project is approved, a final decision will be made as to whether the project can be classified as Research or Non-Research which will in turn decide which finance team will administer the project for you.

Once the project is set up, the finance team administering the project can provide assistance in monitoring your project budget.

  1. Application Process
  2. Deadline dates

When planning your project please submit a realistic start date bearing in mind the assessment time needed for the application, the financial set up for the project and most importantly the time required negotiating any requested changes to Terms & Conditions.

Closing dates for applications can be found and Application forms and Letter of Support Template are available on the IIKE web page

4.2.The application is in the form of a cover sheet, a two page application statement, and a Letter of Support. Please be aware that the panel may not be technical experts in your field. Successful applications will demonstrate a convincing case for their research or project in a non-technical manner.

4.3.To submit an application, please email a signed electronic copy of the completed application form and signed Letter of Support to or post to Chris Hill, 3rd Floor, New Spring House, S10 2GW

4.4.All applicants (PIs) must discuss their project with a Business Development Manager (BDM) or the Faculty contact listed in section 6, prior to submission. The BDM will be able to offer advice and guidance relating to eligibility and completion of the application documents which they must sign.

Where projects meet the eligibility criteria, the BDM will then work with you and the external partner to develop and deliver the project. This could involve:

  • Developing the project plan.
  • Checking the costing of the project in URMs.
  • Preparing and costing a proposal for the client (if this is required).
  • Liaising with the Research Partnerships and Engagement team who administer the IAA funding.

Prior tosubmitting an application thefunding Terms & Conditions must be read by the applicant before it is sent to the external partner for consideration. If the external partner agrees with the Terms & Conditions it will be included as part of their Letter of Support.

If the partner wishes to negotiate any of the Terms & Conditions associated with the fund, they must indicate this on the Letter of Support template.

Please remember that the letter of support will be used in the assessment of your application and should detail the partner’s commitment to the project and understanding of its potential benefits

All successful applications must have an agreed Terms & Conditions, before funding is released.

4.5.Applicants should provide the following information:

  • Fully signed application form
  • Project costing using the URMS system (please see eligible costs section above.) When costing your project please enter Christine Hill as an Investigator at 0%. Select University of Sheffield as the Sponsor,IIKEas program name and IIKE Collaborative R&D as the scheme.

A signed letter of support from the external partner.The letter of support must detail all partner contributions including “in kind” contributions (type and value) that the external partner intends to provide and indicate whether the external partner agrees with the TermsConditions.

5.Assessment Criteria

  1. Applications will bewill be judged and prioritised against the following assessment criteria:

Assessment Criteria / Comments / Weighting
%
1. Quality of research /
  • Is there clear evidence of the research value of this project?
/ 10
2. External partner /
  • Does this collaboration fit within the broad objectives of the University’s IIKE strategy? (
  • Is this partner new to the University?
  • Is this academic new to external collaboration?
  • If with an existing partner, does the project make a step change to this relationship?
/ 15
3. Commitment of external partner /
  • Is there a letter of support showing clear commitment to the project including a shared understanding of its potential benefits and planned program of works/deliverables?
/ 15
4. Project plan /
  • Is there a clear project plan with SMART objectives? (SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time-bound)
  • Are there clear objectives and deliverables?
  • How will the project be managed?
/ 10
  1. Follow-on Plan
/
  • Is there a realistic plan:
  • For the uptake and/or further development of the project outputs (if successful) either with or by the external partner?
  • For this collaboration/relationship to continue - in any form - after the duration of the project?
  • Have potential future funding sources been identified?
/ 15
6. Potential impact /
  • Is there a clear understanding of the potential impact that could result from this project?
  • Are there realistic and appropriate plans in place to deliver this?
  • Will the impact deliver significant benefits or reach a large number of beneficiaries, or both?
  • Is the impact identified both realistic and likely to be delivered by the activities described?
  • For non-UK partner, is there realistic potential impact and net benefit to the UK?
/ 15
7. Resources /
  • Are the resources applied for appropriate and justified?
  • Is there potential to deliver strong impact with these resources?
  • Does this represent good value for money?
/ 10
8. Added value/leverage /
  • What financial contribution will be made by the external partner?
  • What additional in-kind contribution will be made by the external partner?
  • Will this collaboration allow any other funding or in-kind support to be leveraged?
/ 10
  1. Funding and Conditions
  2. By accepting the award, the applicants agree to engage with a nominated member of theIIKE delivery team to monitorproject progress both during the life of the project and post project to allow the reporting of outcomes and capture of (potential) impact. This will include making non-confidential aspects available to assist with the development of case studies.

As impact often occurs after the project lifetime, the IIKE delivery team may also contact you appropriate intervals after the project has finished tofind out how the project has progressed and any new/additional outcomes that have been realised.

Appropriate Terms & Conditions must be agreed between collaborating partners before the project commences and funding is released.

6.2.PhD extensions will be managed in line with internal rules and external expectations, which will be dependent on the funding body, to ensure that collaborative R&D does not have a negative effect on the progress of the doctoral training.

6.3.PhD students will continue to receive a maintenance payment when they are seconded to the collaborative R&D project. This will be equivalent to their £16,000 p.a. pro rata. A contribution towards student fees to the department will also be made where necessary.

6.4.The IIKE reserves the right to recover funds where there is evidence that a project is failing to adhere to the agreed application. Similarly, funds may be recovered where these have not been spent in accordance with the application, unless a change has been agreed in writing

6.5.All awarded funds are a maximum contribution from IIKE and can only be used to support eligible costs agreed as part of the application assessment.

6.6.Applicants agree to comply with the University’s financial regulations –

  1. Contacts

Business Development Managers:
Faculty of Engineering / Emma Cooper / E: / T: 0114 22 22163
Faculty of Science / Catherine Annabell / E: / T: 0114 22 29775
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health / Sue Smith / E: / T: 0114 22 28723
Faculty of Social Science / Danielle C Leahy Laughlin / / T: 0114 22 28389
Faculty of Arts Humanities / Jane Hodson / E: / T: 0114 22 28471
General enquiries / Chris Hill, R&IS / E: / T: 0114 22 21456

Note: For all enquiries from applicants who are not attached to one of the faculties listed above, or are proposing cross-faculty projects, please contact Chris Hill for advice. (see for further information).

IIKE – Collaborative R&D Awards, October 2015

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