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Opportunities to apply for match funding for external applications

PIs and Departments are reminded that the John Fell Fund offers match funding to support external funding applications.

John Fell Fund (JFF) Category E applications can request match funding of up to 25% of the total project cost as a contribution towards an external funding application. The JFF award would be dependent on the success of the external bid. The 50% institutional match for equipment on Research Council grants is not eligible for JFF support. Cat E applications should be submitted to the normal JFF funding round deadlines. Ideally the JFF award should be confirmed in advance of the external scheme’s deadline; however JFF Cat E applications will also be accepted after the external deadline if the external funder required a commitment of match funding from the University. Cat E applications will be considered alongside the other categories of Main Award applications for each JFF round.

John Fell Fund (JFF) Category F applications can request a minimum of £100k towards the cost of research equipment or other assets (such as datasets) as part of a major strategic application to an external funding body that assesses bids by peer review. It is expected that the external funder will cover at least 70% of the total project cost (including the asset and any associated installation, training or staffing costs). Of the remaining 30% of the total project cost, PIs can apply for a Cat F award for up to 75% of this, with the other 25% to be covered by the Department. The JFF award would be dependent on the success of the external bid. Cat F applications can be accepted outside of the normal JFF application rounds, but PIs and Departments that are considering applying for a Cat F award must contact jff@medsci.ox.ac.uk to discuss the strategic case and financial package for their application at an early stage of development. Cat F applications must include the Cat F Business Case document in place of the standard JFF Case for Support template.

Further guidance on these categories is available from the John Fell Fund Notes for Applicants Types of Award

John Fell Fund – Update on need for Departmental Prioritisation of applications

Following Prof Heidi Johansen-Berg’s recent appointment as the Associate Head of Division (Research), MSD have taken the opportunity to reconsider the Divisional review process for John Fell Fund (JFF) applications.

When Departments review JFF applications in IRAMS and decide whether to give Departmental Approval, reviewers are asked to enter a Departmental Priority for each application which is a mandatory field in IRAMS. Going forward, MSD Departments are now asked to make only a go/no-go decision and Departmental prioritisation of applications is no longer required. If an application is given Departmental Approval in IRAMS this will be taken as confirmation of support for the application. Applications that the Department does not support for any reason should not be approved and should be returned to the PI.

Departmental Priority is a mandatory field in IRAMS for all applications and may continue to be used by the other Divisions. Please can Departmental Approvers rank all applications that they support as priority 1 in order to give Departmental Approval.