RSE Fellows and Members of Young Academy should read these terms and conditions carefully before completing and submitting their application.
Introduction
The Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh administers a Grants Fund for the award of grants to RSE Fellows and Members/Emeritus Members of the Young Academy of Scotland (YAS) in support of research, scholarship and other activities.
Grants may be made to all Fellows/Members regardless of the organisation in which they are based or whether they are employed or retired.
Selection process
Applications should be made at least two months in advance of the activity for which support is being sought. Retrospective applications will not be considered.
Applications will be assessed by the RSE’s Research Awards Committee and RSE’s assessment sub-panels.
Selection criteria
Applications are judged by open competition on the merit of the visit. The decision of the selection committee is final.
Joint applications (between YAS Members and Fellows) will be considered more favourably where it is possible to make a joint application.
Emeritus Members of YAS, who have a full annual subscription, are eligible to apply. However, if demand for these grants exceeds the funds available, current Members of YAS will be given priority.
In the event that a YAS Member receives funding from YAS for an event or any other activity, they are not eligible to apply for an RSE Grant for that activity to avoid double funding by the RSE. YAS Members should seek funding outside the RSE to top up the grants they are awarded.
Specific requirements
Support for Meetings Grants:
- Assistance may be given to organise small scale (no more than 150 participants), specialist meetings or symposia in Scotland that are outwith the RSE’s and Young Academy’s own programme of meetings.
- Such support may be provided also for meetings organised jointly by the RSE or YAS and some other organisation, or for meetings organised by individual Fellows/Members with the support of the Society.
- The actual amount awarded will depend on the size of the meeting and be subject to a maximum of £750 for any one meeting.
- Some support may be provided in the form of a loan, possibly payable in advance of the meeting but repayable as a first charge upon the income of the meeting.
- Grants and loans may be made to assist Fellows/Members in the initial stages of organising meetings although they should not be regarded simply as a contribution to the general funding of meetings. Grants will be considered for assisting specific named visitors to major meetings.
- Support for major meetings should not be made by the way of application to the RSE Research Awards Committee. If there is a case for RSE involvement in such a meeting the approach should be made at an early stage to the Chief Executive.
Travel Assistance Grants:
- Grants may be made for travel and subsistence connected with research or scholarship and are usually given for short visits not exceeding four weeks. It is expected that Fellows/Members will make a substantial contribution to meetings and conferences that they attend, and will, whenever possible, also, spend some time on research collaboration, or other associated work during their visit.
- The limit for travel within the United Kingdom is £300; for a visit to Europe £500; elsewhere, £950.
Following the award of a Travel Grant no further applications can be made until 24 months have elapsed from the date at which the
- Committee made the award. With respect to successive applications for such support over a period of time, unless there are special circumstances, consistent failure to obtain external support could adversely affect the chance of a grant.
Visitors to Scotland (lecturers or researchers) Grants:
- Awards may be made to assist visitors to Scotland from other centres in the United Kingdom or abroad to undertake collaborative research work with a Fellow/Member or to come to Scotland to deliver lecture(s) in Scottish Higher Education Institutions.
- For visiting lecturers: Awards may be made to individuals of suitable standing from elsewhere in the UK or abroad, to assist them to come to Scotland to deliver one or more lectures in Scottish institutions. The Lecturer must be nominated by a Fellow/Member who will be expected to act as Chair of the lecture which should be open to anyone interested in attending. Grants may be used as a contribution towards travel and subsistence expenses, and suitable entertainment but not for an honorarium, subject to a maximum of £350, but this amount may be increased if the Lecturer were to undertake a limited series of lectures in more than one centre.
- For research visitors: Awards may be made to assist Research visitors to Scotland from other institutions elsewhere in the UK or abroad to undertake collaborative research work with a Fellow/Member for a period normally not exceeding one month. Grants may be used as a contribution towards travel and subsistence expenses subject to a maximum of £300 for Research Visitors from within the UK, £500 for Research Visitors coming from Europe to Scotland and £950 for Research Visitors coming from outside Europe to Scotland.
Support for Publications Grants:
- Awards may be made to assist in the publication of books written by Fellows/Members. Such awards will be in the form of a guarantee against loss and not as a subsidy or grant in aid of publication.
- Applicants should arrange with the publishers to make available, in confidence, the Reader’s report on the work. An award will only be considered if there is a positive recommendation that the work be published. In addition, a copy of any agreement or draft agreement between the author and the publisher is required.
- The maximum amount of any guarantee will be £1000 for any one book but applicants may also seek support from other organisations. The RSE may consider matching such awards and details of any support already granted or applied for must be provided.
- It is a condition of any award that the author and the publisher agree to any sum paid by the RSE to the publisher as a guarantee against loss being repaid by the publisher to the RSE without interest, before a payment to the author of any fee or royalty.
University/Industry Liaison Grants:
- Assistance may be provided to a Fellow (or one of their associates) or a Member of YAS whether in a University or other academic or research institution or in industry to enable visits to be made in furtherance of collaboration or liaison between the academic or research institutions and industry where consultancy fees are not involved.
- These awards may be used, for example, to enable a researcher in a university department to visit an industrial organisation to initiate or to continue collaborative research on a project of mutual interest or alternatively to enable a researcher from an industrial laboratory to visit an academic laboratory for the same purpose. They could be used to support a visit of a few weeks or alternatively a number for shorter visits over the period of the award.
- Such awards may be made to an academic researcher visiting an industrial research centre or vice versa. Preference will be given when both co-operating organisations are located in Scotland, but awards may also be given when only one of them is so located.
- The maximum amount for nay one project in a single year will be £600 but there would be no objection to assistance also being received from either the parent or host organisation.
Funding
Conditional grant offer for simultaneous applications:
- In the event that the proposed visit and the meetings of the RSE Research Awards Committee and any other funding body concerned require simultaneous applications be made, the RSE will make a provisional grant on the understanding that the RSE will be reimbursed appropriately when the amount awarded from other sources has been decided. If a Fellow/Member is ineligible for, or has failed to obtain, a grant from other sources, they may apply for the overall costs, subject to the limits stated.
Payment:
- Payment will be made directly to the Fellow/YAS Member who is the main applicant.
A percentage of payment may be withheld from the institution if the award holder fails to meet the requirements of the award described in the terms and conditions, including the meeting and reporting requirements below. In accepting this award, the host institution is expected to have in place policies covering misconduct together with procedures that would be applied should the award holder fail to abide by them. This award may be withdrawn should the awardee be found guilty of misconduct or unacceptable behaviour (both personal and work-related).
Financial reporting:
- Any unspent balances over £30 must be returned to the RSE by bank transfer as soon as possible after presentation of report.
Contact the RSE Research Awards Team for details of the RSE’s bank account.
Changes to the project
- The RSE must be consulted on, and informed of any changes to, the proposed project following approval of the application (e.g. travel dates, visit length, institution(s) to be visited or participants). Failure to consult the RSE about proposed changes could result in funding being withdrawn.
If the visit has to be cancelled for any reason, you will be expected to reimburse any monies already issued to you by the RSE.
Changes to the project:
- The RSE must be consulted on, and informed of any changes to, the proposed project following approval of the application (e.g. travel dates, visit length, institution(s) to be visited or participants). Failure to consult the RSE about proposed changes could result in funding being withdrawn.
- If the visit has to be cancelled for any reason, you will be expected to reimburse any monies already issued to you by the RSE.
Reporting requirements from successful applicants
Successful applicants are required to produce and submit a report to the RSE Research Awards Team within one month of the activity having taken place. A report form will be provided.
The report will be checked for accuracy by officers, and then submitted to the Convener of the panel who, in consultation with relevant colleagues, will comment on the conduct, delivery and impact of the research.
Should the report not be submitted by the due date, or if it be deemed incomplete or unsatisfactory, the recipient of the award will be invited either to submit it within two weeks or to revise the report in line with the assessors’ comments.
If the report is still not forthcoming, or if the Convener continues to be dissatisfied with the report, the peer review panel will consider what sanctions are appropriate. Sanctions may include:
- Request for refund of award
- Letter to head of institution in which the recipient of the award is based
- Penalty listing of recipient of award
- Penalty listing of institution at which the recipient is based
- Within one month of the completion of the award, the host institution must submit a final statement of expenditure to the RSE, detailing the total amount received, actual spend and any outstanding balance to be returned to the RSE. The statement must be signed off by a senior member of the award finance team at the host institution.
Additional terms and conditions
The support of the Society should be acknowledged in advertising of the event/meeting/produced presentations, papers, etc. The acknowledgment of funding should take the form of a sentence presented below and include a logo where possible. Please contact the RSE to receive a high-resolution logo.
‘’This work was supported by The Royal Society of Edinburgh’’
Fellows/Members are normally expected to seek funds from other United Kingdom grant giving sources e.g. Royal Society, British Academy, British Council, Arts Council, or employing institutions. Fellows are also encouraged to seek support from sources outwith the United Kingdom.
Misconduct
In accepting this award, the host institution is expected to have in place policies covering research misconduct together with procedures that would be applied were the awardee(s) to fail to abide by them. This award may be withdrawn should the awardee be found guilty of misconduct or unacceptable behaviour (both personal and work-related).
The RSE adopts the UK Research Integrity Office (www.ukrio.org) Code of Practice and definitions of good conduct and misconduct are available on our website: https://www.rse.org.uk/codes-of-conduct/
Acceptance of regulations
By signing the application form and accepting the grant offer letter both the Host Institution and the applicant for the award agree to be bound by the guidelines and terms and conditions upon acceptance of the award by the Host Institution. Each of the Funder and the RSE shall be entitled to enforce these Regulations. Any additional financial reporting terms and conditions are specified for each Call in separate documentation.
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