Frontiers Champions Guidance Notes | 1 |

Frontiers Champions

Deadline: 15 November 2021

1pm (UK time)

Application Guidance Notes

All questions to be sent to frontiers@raeng.org.uk

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Contents

Contents ........................................................................................................................... 2

About Royal Academy of Engineering .................................................................. 3

About the Frontiers programme ............................................................................ 4

Frontiers Champions Overview ............................................................................... 5

Overview continued… .................................................................................................6

Expectation of Frontiers Champions ..................................................................... 7

Eligibility criteria and costs ...................................................................................... 8

How to apply ...................................................................................................................9

Application Questions ............................................................................................... 10

1. Applicant and Institution Details .................................................................. 10

2. Project Details ...................................................................................................... 12

3. Challenge details ................................................................................................ 13

4. Goals, activities, outputs, outcomes, impact ........................................... 14

5. Funding requested ............................................................................................. 16

Eligible costs and funding guidelines ............................................................. 16

6. Support and declarations ................................................................................ 18

Assessment of applications .................................................................................... 19

Monitoring .................................................................................................................... 20

Frequently Asked Questions .................................................................................. 21

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About Royal Academy of Engineering

The UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with its Fellows and partners, the Academy is growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together they are working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

Talent & Diversity The Academy is growing talent by training, supporting, mentoring and funding the most relented and creative researchers, innovators and leaders from across the engineering profession. It is developing skills for the future by identifying the challenges of an everchanging world and developing the skills and approaches needed to build a resilient and diverse engineering profession.

Innovation The Academy is driving innovation by investing in some of the country’s most creative and exciting engineering ideas and businesses. It is building global partnerships that bring the world’s best engineers from industry, entrepreneurship and academia together to collaborate on creative innovations that address the greatest global challenges of our age.

Policy & Engagement The Academy is influencing policy through the National Engineering Policy Centre – providing independent expert support to policymakers on issues of importance. It is engaging the public by opening their eyes to the wonders of engineering and inspiring young people to become the next generation of engineers.

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About the Frontiers programme

The Frontiers Programmes are a suite of activities that address global development challenges using an interdisciplinary and innovative approach. The programmes establish a global community of early- and mid-career researchers, innovators and practitioners, with different perspectives from the forefronts of their disciplines.

Frontiers – Symposia These highly interactive and curated symposia look at international development themes through an interdisciplinary lens, encouraging collaboration and knowledge transfer between a range of participants. The events tackle global development challenges from a range of perspectives, encouraging participants to think across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries.

Frontiers – Seed funding After each Frontiers symposium, grants of up to £30,000 are offered to take forward collaborations resulting from the event. The seed funding is awarded quickly after the event and can be used for up to one year, allowing awardees to keep up the momentum and try out something new.

Frontiers – Follow on funding These mid-sized grants, worth up to £300,000 over three years, build on previously funded projects, helping them to scale up previous activities into fully formed research projects that tackle global challenges.

Frontiers – Champions Previous Frontiers programme participants are offered small grants of up to £10,000 for one year to undertake activities that expand on the Frontiers networks. Awardees convene their peers through regional or thematic events, building communities of people with the right networks to tackle global challenges. Examples of previously funded projects can be browsed here.

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Frontiers Champions Overview

Frontiers Champions will:

These grants are for former participants in the Frontiers symposia who want to build on the networks they formed at the event. Frontiers Champions will convene their peers through regional or thematic events, providing focal points for an international community of researchers, innovators and practitioners. The right networks, partnerships and interdisciplinary thinking are crucial to tackling global challenges that are complex and cross borders. The Academy’s Frontiers symposia offer a first step in bringing people together to tackle these challenges. The Frontiers Champions will take these networks forward, putting agency into the hands of the Frontiers community members themselves. Frontiers Champions will undertake community building activities such as networking events, webinars, meet-ups, and workshops. Not only will this benefit the communities, but it is also an excellent opportunity for professional development. For example, a Frontiers Champions award may be used as evidence for anyone hoping to progress through the accreditation systems of professional bodies. Each Frontiers Champion will arrange at least one event and participate in quarterly calls with Academy staff to help coordinate activities. Events could include a combination of in-person and online/remote meetings, to make them as inclusive as possible. The Academy actively encourages the use of innovative technology or methods to engage people in the events and can provide members of the Academy Fellowship and/or Academy staff to attend events where appropriate. Click here to browse the first cohort of Frontiers Champions

Bring together global and regional networks of researchers, practitioners and innovators

Convene a community of peers who are tackling the global goals Become leaders of their community and inspire engagement in international development challenges

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Overview continued…

Diversity

The Royal Academy of Engineering is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all underrepresented groups across engineering. It is the Academy’s policy to ensure that no applicant is disadvantaged or receives less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender and sexual orientation. ww.raeng.org.uk/publications/other/academy-diversity-policy

Award value: Up to £10,000

Deadline for submissions: 15 November 2021, 1.00pm (UK time)

Projects must begin on or before 13 December 2021

Frontiers Champions will be ambassadors for their communities, brining together networks around

Sustainable Development Goals

Projects must be up to 12 months and finish on/before 13 December 2022. Final reports will be due in January 2023.

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Expectation of Frontiers Champions

Frontiers Champions will commit to: • Arrange at least one event, online or in person. • Participate in quarterly calls with the Academy to update on project and

connect with your fellow Champions • Engage with other Frontiers Champions through a cohort Telegram group • Stay in regular contract with the Academy, strive to be a role model to

others, and engage with peers around the world.

The Academy will provide support to the Frontiers Champions, including:

• Help to build your profile, including development of a Frontiers Champions profile and promotion via social media. We will actively put you forward for other opportunities offered by the Academy and our partners.

• You will have the opportunity to input into the Frontiers newsletters to promote your activities, ask for input, and access the 1000+ strong Frontier’s network of innovators, researchers, and practitioners in more than 60 countries around the world

• We will connect you directly with specific members of the Frontiers community, wider Academy international networks and Academy Fellowship, on request.

• When Frontiers Champions have exciting news to share, related to their community building activities, the Academy can share it through social media channels, helping to build their profile.

• We hope that being a Frontiers Champion will be seen as prestigious and an indicator of excellence. If there are other ways we can support our network of Champions, we will remain open to suggestions!

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Eligibility criteria and costs

1. The Frontiers Champion must have attended a Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers Symposium (including Frontiers of Engineering for Development and Frontiers of Development events) since November 2016.

2. A Frontiers Champion may be based anywhere in the world. If they are based outside of the UK, they should have at least one named collaborator based within the UK. If you need help to find a collaborator, please get in touch.

3. They should be affiliated with an organisation, institution or University that can help administer the funding (this funding will not usually be paid to an individual). Please note that, on award offer, applicants may be required to undertake due diligence checks before the award is confirmed.

4. The proposed activities must be designed to convene a community of researchers, innovators and practitioners who are working to tackle one or more Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Events should be demonstrably interdisciplinary and inclusive in nature.

5. Events must not be closed and exclusive to a specific, invite-only group – they should be open to as many previous Frontiers event participants as possible, appropriate, or practical.

6. Individuals are limited to one application. 7. There is no requirement for applications to focus on engineering, or for the

Frontiers Champions to be engineers. However, applicants should consider how they will innovatively use technology to engage people in their activities.

Please note – this is still a new programme, so we may not have considered every set of circumstances. Please contact us if you would like to discuss.

Eligible costs include:

Up to 100% of travel and events costs including: • Travel for attendees, speakers or event staff • Venue hire and catering

• Staff costs directly related to event logistics or translation services.

Up to 100% of marketing/website costs including:

• Social media, advertising and marketing • Webinar or website hosting, online services for virtual events • Any design related costs

The following costs are NOT eligible: • Indirect costs, including overheads. • Purchasing of equipment or research costs.

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How to apply

1. Applicant and institution details 2. Project details 3. Challenge details 4. Goals, objectives and outcomes 5. Budget 6. Support and declaration

The application form has six main sections and should take around one hour to complete, assuming you have written your answers to the questions offline and merely need to enter the information, rather than compose it.

All applications must be submitted via the Academy’s online application system at https://grants.raeng.org.uk. Please note the system does not support Microsoft Internet Explorer or older versions of Microsoft Edge and Safari. The applicant must first register with the system and provide some basic log-in details to create a profile.

You will need to provide a letter from the appropriate Grants Office (or equivalent) confirming the application is approved – details of this letter can be found in the section about support and declarations. We recommend that you approach all necessary personnel as soon as possible.

After logging in to the online system and selecting ‘Frontiers – Champions’ you should be presented with the ‘Instructions’ screen. Here you will see some general instructions on how to use the system as well as the following list of the five sections of the application form (see left).

At any stage in the application process, you can save your progress and return to the application later. You can answer the questions in any order you like so it is possible to skip some sections and return later.

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Application Questions

1. Applicant and Institution Details

Question Information

1. Contact details This should autofill – but you should ensure that this is the contact information of the lead applicant, who is the prospective Frontiers Champion.

2. Institution or Organisation details

This should autofill – this should be information related to the organisaiton that will administer the grant on your behalf – for example, if you are a UK-based academic this will usually be your university.

3. Institution/organisation website

Input a link to the website of the institution or organisation that will administer the grant on your behalf.

4. Please submit your CV Your CV must be no longer than three pages. You do not need to include your contact details.

5. Have you received any other grant funding from the Academy?

Provide a list of any other grant funding that you are a named lead applicant or collaborator on, given by the Royal Academy of Engineering. If none, please leave this blank. You may also include any funding from the other UK National Academies (The Royal Society, The British Academy, or the Academy of Medical Sciences).

6. Which Frontiers symposium did you attend?

Select which Frontiers event you attended, from the list. You may select more than one.

7. Why do you want to be a Frontiers Champion?

Tell us why you are the right person for the role. Outline the aspects of your expertise that will make you a good Frontiers Champion and tell us what you believe you will get out of the programme. (Guide: 300 words)

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8. Are you based in the UK (i.e. is the orgaisation that will administer the grant in the UK)?

Select “yes – I am based in the UK” or “no – I am not based in the UK” from the dropdown list. If yes, move on to the next page. If no, additional questions will appear.

The following questions are only for applicants based outside of the UK

8a. Which country are you based in?

This refers to the country where the organisation that will administer the grant on your behalf is based.

8b. Who is your UK-based partner?

Provide the titles, name and institution of your UK-based partner. For example: Ms Alice Marks, Royal Academy of Engineering. Please note, we may carry out spot-checks by contacting some of the people named in this question. Please be ready to provide their contact information if requested. Your UK contact should contribute to the project in a meaningful way.

8c. What will be the nature of their involvement?

Briefly describe the nature of involvement of the UK partner in your project. For example, this could include contributing their UK-based networks, contributing to logistics related to an event that will take place in the UK, or providing mentorship. (Guide: 100 words)

8d. I confirm that my UK partner has consented to being a part of this project, in the role described above, and that they have consented to me sharing their information with the Academy. I am aware that the Academy may spot check their involvement prior to award, and if requested I will provide their contact details.

This is a check box – please ensure that the UK partner is aware before you check this box. Failure to provide contact information, if requested, will eliminate you from this scheme.

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2. Project Details

Question Information

1. Project Title Name your project – this should be no more than 10 words

2. Abstract Descibe your project in language understandable to a lay-person. This should be no more than 300 words.

3. Total grant sought from the Academy

This should be the total value of the grant (in British Pounds GBP) that you are requesting from the Academy under this grant. This can be up to £10,000.

4. Project start date Projects must start on, or before, 13 December 2021

5. Project end date Projects can be up to 12 months long and must finish on, or before, 13 December 2022

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3. Challenge details

Question Information

1. Please select the primary Sustainable Development Goal that your project will address from the list below.

You must select one SDG – this should be the SDG that your project will primarily address. There is also an option to select up to two additional SDGs that your project will impact.

2. Indicate the country or region that your project will primarily focus on

You should write only one country or region, that your project will primarily focus on. Some projects may be truly global – if you believe that this is the case, you may write “global” here. There is an option to list any other countries or regions that your project will directly impact – this should take the form of a list, not an explanation. We recommend that you are as specific as possible as to which countries the project will directly benefit. Remember, being specific will count in your favour. (maximum 15 words).

3. How will your project address this SDG(s)?

Explain how your project will address the Sustainable Development Goal(s) that you have selected, and why it is needed to address this goal(s), in the country, countries, or region(s) indicated above. (maximum 400 words)

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4. Goals, activities, outputs, outcomes, impact This section of the application outlines the logic of planned activities to achieve the aimed impact. We expect some change throughout the lifetime of the project; however, a robust framework is helpful for reviewers to fully assess the proposal. You can read more on the definition of activities, outputs, outcomes and impact here. 1. Complete the table in the application form. It is expected that you will

have at least three clear objectives, as follows:

Question Information

2. Timeline of activities Indicate when each activity will be taking place

3. Pictures and diagrams (optional)

Upload any pictures and/or diagrams related to your project. These should be formatted as a single document where possible.

4. Expected impact of the network

Use this section to explain the expected impact or your networking activities more broadly, including who will benefit from the project. (Guide 300 words)

5. How will the project achieve an interdisciplinary approach?

Detail how you will focus on and achieve interdisciplinarity throughout the project. Successful interdisciplinary networks comprise of two or more disciplines or bodies of specialised knowledge to advance fundamental understanding of to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single area of research practice. Please show how your project will include perspectives and use methods from other disciplines. (Guide: 200 words)

Objective Activities Outputs Outcome Impact

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6. How will you ensure that your activities are inclusive and embody best practise for equitable partnerships?

More information on best practice for equitable partnerships can be found here. (Guide: 250-300 words)

7. Measuring success Describe how you will monitor the project and measure success (Guide: 300 words)

8. Risks and mitigation Outline any significant risks that the project may face and how you will take action to mitigate them. In particular, you must address the potential for COVID-19 to cause disruption or delays to your project, and how you will mitigate such impacts. Please note that this will be an important consideration for reviewers, especially if you plan any in-person activities, so ensure you pay it particular attention.

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5. Funding requested

Question Information

1. Cost breakdown Provide a breakdown of the funding requested using the table in the application form. Allowable costs and funding guidelines are detailed below. The amount requested must be an accurate and reasonable reflection of what you expect to spend on each category, from this grant.

2. Other funding or in-kind contributions

Optional: if you have other funding, an offer of funding, or any in-kind contributions that will supplement the funding from this grant and contribute to the success of the project, please detail them here.

3. Justification of costs Please provide a narrative description of what resources are being requested and why. This should be a narrative description and justify each budget line. (Guide: 300 words)

Eligible costs and funding guidelines Please note that the funding provided by this scheme is not calculated on the basis of full economic costs. There is no set limit on how much you can claim between the directly incurred cost headings. We expect that changes may happen between cost headings during the life of a project, but a robust framework helps the reviewers assess the application.

Travel costs • This should include local or international travel costs for the project lead,

and any attendees, speakers or event staff. • This line can include accomodation, subsistence and visas. • Subsistence costs should reflect the normal rates applied at the host

institution/s. All costs should be based on the best value option available. • For COVID-19 and travelling, covid tests and quarantine accomodation

costs are eligible. However, these costs should be kept to a minimum and reflect necessity/best value for money.

Event costs • This should include venue hire and catering, and should reflect normal

rates applied by the host organisation or institution. All costs should be based on value for money.

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• This budget line can include staff costs directly related to event logistics or translation services.

Marketing costs • This cost line should include any cost related to social media, marketing or

advertising. This can include consultancy (based on best value for money options).

Website and design costs • This includes webinar and website hosting, including membership to

online services and costs for hosting an online event. • This line can also include design costs related to your project.

Other Costs • This may include costs realted to printing, distribution, or disemination of

project outputs. • Competition prizes • This line can also include a range of other relevant costs – details should be

given in the “justification of costs section.” • If you are not sure if a cost is eligible, please speak to the team.

The following costs are NOT eligible:

• Indirect costs, including overheads. • Where staff costs are claimed, only the direct staff costs are allowed. • Purchasing of equipment or research costs.

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6. Support and declarations 1. Institution declaration The purpose of the declaration is to confirm that the application is acceptable in principle to the organisation, institution or University that will administer the funding on behalf of the Applicant, and that it has received all necessary internal authorisations. These must be obtained in plenty of time, as failure to provide them at the time of submission will, unfortunately, disqualify an otherwise eligible application. Extensions will not be granted in order to obtain the letters. The declaration terms must be on headed paper and be signed by an appropriate officer from the Research Grants Office or Finance department (i.e. the person or people that will administer the grant funding) of the applicant’s institution, university, or organisation. Digital signatures are acceptable. A scanned copy or PDF of the letter should be uploaded onto the online form. The terms that the declaration must contain are as follows – it is important that the exact phrasing is used. Please copy this table directly into the declaration:

2. Applicant declaration The applicant is required to make the following declaration: “I understand that should this application be successful I will be required to sign a contract based upon the terms and conditions published on the website. I confirm that all the information submitted herein is wholly accurate at the time of

submission. I will update the Academy of any changes that may affect the project. I confirm that I have the permission of any person or persons I have included contact details for, to share their details with the Royal Academy of Engineering for the purposes of administering this application. I acknowledge that the Royal Academy of Engineering will disclose the information contained within this application to external parties for the purpose of assessing the application.”

The applicant will have an appropriate relationship with the institution/university/organisation that will allow administration of the award for its duration.

The applicant will be given full access to the facilities, equipment, personnel and funding as required by the application.

The costs submitted in the application are correct and sufficient to complete the award as envisaged. Any shortfall in funding will be met by the institution/university/organisation.

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Assessment of applications

Please be assured that the Academy requires that anyone involved in reviewing applications must treat them with strict confidence. The Academy does not contact any third parties listed in the application (with the exception of named UK collaborators, where spot-checks are undertaken), and all details are handled with confidence. Stage 1: Eligibility checking Applications will first be checked for eligibility by Academy staff. The application will be checked against the criteria on page 8. Stage 2: Panel review All applications will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. Usually, one will have relevant expert knowledge of the sector and/or discipline, and another will provide a generalist review. Reviewers provide comments against the overall quality of the application and the following assessment criteria:

• Quality of the project, including potential to build networks, interdisciplinarity and embodying best practise in equitable partnering.

• Whether the project will build networks that will promote progress towards one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Quality of the proposed network building activities, including inclusivity and novelty of the idea.

• Whether the vision and requested resources are appropriately targeted and scaled.

Stage 3: Sift Panel meeting Once all applications have been reviewed they will be considered side-by-side and ranked by a cross-Academy panel of fellows. Following the panel meeting, decisions will be communicated to the applicant.

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Monitoring

Awardees will submit reports as outlined below. All reports will be submitted via the Academy’s Grant Management System. You will receive more information regarding the reports in your funding pack should your application be successful.

*The progress report will demonstrate that: Significant activity has been undertaken in the first three months of your project. This can include kick-off meetings, more detailed project scoping and planning, achieving further sign-off from collaborators (if needed), etc. It does not need to be data collection or significant steps towards the project objectives but should demonstrate that you have laid the groundwork for the rest of the project. A drafted version of the grant contract is available. Please note that non-UK organisations will be required to complete due diligence checks before we disperse any funding. Any changes to the timeline of the project will need to be submitted before March 2022.

Initiation report – by 13 December 2021

• Progress report – 28 February 2022*

Follow-up report – 24 January 2024

• Final report – 25 January 2023

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I am based outside of the UK. Do I need a UK collaborator? Why? A: Yes, if you are based outside of the UK you will need to add a named collaborator who is based within the UK. This is a requirement of our funding. The UK-based collaborator should be involved with the project in a meaningful way, but will not receive any funding directly (it will be up to you to disperse the funds, if that is a necesscity of your project to do so). Q: Does my UK collaborator need to have attended a Frontiers event? A: no, they do not need to have attended a Frontiers event. Q: Do I have to be employed by, or affiliated to, a university? A: No, you do not. You just need to be affiliated with an organisation who can administer the grant on your behalf, and will be able to supply financial records on request. The organisation must be happy to sign the declaration exactly as listed in section 6. Support and declarations of the guidance notes. Q: I am based within the UK. Do I have to have a named collaborator outside of the UK? A: No, you do not. However, since this programme aims to build international networks, you will be expected to demonstrate how you plan to do so. Q: Does my institution have to be a university? A: No, it just needs to have the capacity to process and manage the grant on your behalf. Research insititues, professional bodies, NGOs, businesses and public sector organisations are all examples of potentially eligible institutions. Please get in touch with the Frontiers team to discuss your particular circumstances. Q: Can Frontiers Champions from previous rounds apply? A: Yes, people who were previously recipients of a Frontiers Champions grant are eligible for this round. Q: I have a question not listed here – where can I get help? A: email frontiers@raeng.org.uk