RIS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FUND

The International Research Fund is intended to promote connectivity between Scotland and European research partners with the aim of strengthening existing, and seeding future, research relationships and creating paths to European research funding.

Funding can be sought for the following:

1. Visits and exchanges between Scotland and a European partner(s)
2. Preparatory activities for Horizon Europe opportunities

Proposed activities and visits will be expected to take place between 16th November 2024 and 31st of March 2025.

Researchers can be from any discipline or department within a Scottish University or Research Institute.

For bilateral exchanges, funding can be used to support inbound travel for researchers from EU Member States, EEA and EFTA countries and outbound travel for researchers from Scottish Universities and Research Institutes.  

Applicants are expected to demonstrate an alignment to Horizon Europe funding and training opportunities and the development of the upcoming FP10.

You can apply for up to £5,000 for visits and exchanges and up to £2,000 for preparatory activities. Awards will cover the full cost of the visit, including travel, accommodation, subsistence, and reasonable additional costs arising from Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) considerations.

Eligibility

• The lead applicant must be actively undertaking research within a Scottish University or Research Institute i.e., postdoctorate researcher, research fellow or principal investigator
• PhD students can be part of the international visit if supported by their Principal Investigator
• Exchanges must take place between Scotland and an EU Member State, EEA or EFTA country
• Projects may build on, or be extensions to, existing activity or may be new developments
• For visits and exchanges a maximum of £5,000 can be applied for and visits can be a maximum of 3 months, we expect the amount requested to reflect the duration
• For preparatory activities a maximum of £2,000 can be applied for. We encourage multiple institutes and European partners to be involved
• We strongly recommend the lead applicant is registered on the Horizon Europe Portal
• We strongly recommend the proposal links to a defined funding call or mission
• We strongly recommend that applications include collaborators from universities or institutes external to your own, whether in Scotland, the rUK or rEurope
• Eligible costs are restricted to economy travel with subsistence and accommodation rates limited to the values detailed below*

* As a guide for justified costs for travel:

• Air travel should be limited to economy
• Accommodation should be no more than £160 per night (for extended trips rented accommodation should be sought)
• Subsistence should not exceed £60 per day

Conditions:

• The activity must take place by the 31st March 2025
• An end of project report must be submitted to Research Innovation Scotland by 30th June 2025
• Requests for further information on outputs/career progression etc. from the exchange at later dates may be requested by Research Innovation Scotland, and must be provided from the recipient
• Research Innovation Scotland reserves the right to claw back funds should the grant not be used in accordance with these T&Cs
• Any unspent funds, must be returned to Research Innovation Scotland

Exclusions:

• Funding must not be used for attendance at conferences, training seminars or similar. You may attend a conference in the country you are visiting but expenses associated with the conference (internal travel, subsistence, conference fees) cannot be claimed
• Funds cannot be used to cover salaries or research costs
• Visa costs for incoming or outgoing exchanges/placements will not be covered

Judging Criteria:
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of academics from across disciplines and final decisions made by a panel of Research Innovation Scotland partners.

Applications will be judged on the below criteria:

• Alignment to Horizon Europe funding and training opportunities
• Quality of science and potential impact of findings
• Opportunities identified to leverage further funding
• Inclusion of cross-university and international collaborators
• Feasibility of project with reasonable milestones
• Opportunity for career progression/benefit to researchers

Submitting Your Application
Please submit your application (a single PDF) to jill.inkster@glasgow.ac.uk at SULSA by Monday 21st October 2024.

Notification of Outcome
Successful applications will be notified by email before Wednesday 30th October 2024.

Payment of Funds
If successful, funds will be transferred to your Institution. Funds must be spent by 31st March 2025.

Reporting
A short report (2 pages A4) must be submitted to Research Innovation Scotland within three months of the exchange (by 30th June 2025). You must provide the Research Innovation Scotland administration with project updates and outcomes when requested for reporting purposes. If this project leads to a published article, or leverages grant funding, please contact the Research Innovation Scotland administration to make them aware.

The Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) is administering this fund on behalf of Research Innovation Scotland. Funding is available to all areas of research.

This scheme has been funded by Scottish Government via the Scottish Funding Council.

Q – If I am working with multiple collaborators within the application who and how many would I list as Co-I?

If a collaborator is travelling or they are hosting you then you would add them as a Co-I (co-collaborator), this helps us see as reviewers right from the start who is planning to work together and where they are from. You can also add others who are working with you on the activity but if multiple countries consider one collaborator named per county to keep the number of collaborators to a reasonable amount.

Q – If I am planning a preparatory activity but it includes travel inbound or outbound should I apply for preparatory activity (£2,,000) or Exchange/Visit (£5,000)

If your proposal involves international travel such as a visit or exchange then apply for Exchange/Visit (£5,000).

The preparatory activity (£2,000) is an option if travel in the time frame is not feasible but you want to organise something using hybrid methods/UK counterparts, it could include a workshop or sandpit bringing academic together to seed new or existing collaborations for Horizon Europe Funding.

Q – Should I apply for the full amount?

You do not need to apply for the full amount – reviewers will take into account the costings and whether they are reasonable so only ask for the amount you need.

Q – Can I submit an application that is focused on funding that is not Horizon Europe?

A key output we are looking for is increased engagement with Horizon Europe. We appreciate that call timelines may not be feasible and we do not know yet the shape of FP10, however we expect proposals to have a clear pathway to Horizon Europe funding (research or training), if this is via other European funding with your international team this is fine.

Q – How will the review process work?

Applications will be reviewed by a wide range of people from different backgrounds so make sure you write your application as if a non-expert is reviewing it.

Q – How will the funds be administered, do we send receipts to you?

No, the total amount of funds requested will be sent to your host institution for your finance teams to manage. You will submit your receipts to them and provide Research Innovation Scotland with a report of funds spent for the June 30th deadline. Any unspent funds will be reclaimed.

Q – What is “Research Network associated with (Research Pool, ARC or other):”

This is whether you are affiliated with any of the Research Pools or Alliance for Research Challenges. It is ok if you are not, just leave blank, this is for internal use. The list of these organisations is below.

Application Deadline: Monday 21st October 2024 at 5pm

How to Apply: E-mail your completed International Collaboration Fund Application Form (all files merged into a single PDF) to Jill.Inkster@glasgow.ac.uk by the above deadline.

Download a copy of the International Collaboration Fund Guidelines.

Eligibility and Pre-Application Enquiries: Alison.McIntosh@glasgow.ac.uk

Submitting Application and Post-Award Communication: Jill.Inkster@glasgow.co.uk