Selection Process
Initial review
In the first instance applications will be reviewed by the MSD Fund Managers to check the eligibility of the applicant, the costs and their future funding plans.
Prioritisation
Applicants will be prioritised for funding if they have taken a period of any type of leave for caring responsibilities where they have been away from work for at least 6 calendar months and have returned to work within 12 months of the bridging application deadline (‘Returning Carers’).
In cases of shared parental leave there may be gaps in the period of caring leave where the applicant was back at work, provided that the applicant has taken a cumulative period of at least 6 months’ of caring leave, ending within 12 months of the bridging application deadline. For more information and rationale about the prioritisation of Returning Carers, see the FAQs.
The Fund Manager will refer to colleagues (e.g. Head of Research Strategy & Funding, Athena SWAN Facilitator, Research Culture Facilitator, Associate Head of Division for Research) as needed in identifying Returning Carers. Additional priority groups may be added in future.
Following initial review for eligibility and identification of Returning Carers, applications will then be sent to a review panel of at least three senior leaders within the Medical Sciences Division. Reviewers will be asked to score each application based on:
- Research track record of the candidate (for their role type and career stage)
- Strength of the strategic case for bridging funding
The reviewers’ scores will be averaged and applicants will be grouped by mean score.
SELECTION FOR FUNDING
Once any Returning Carers have been funded, the high-scoring candidates will be funded up to the budget available for the round, with budget from Talent & Research Stabilisation Fund (TRSF) ringfenced for candidates who have applied for independent funding.
If more high-scoring candidates have been identified than can be funded from the round’s budget, funding will be allocated to the high-scoring applicants through a randomised selection process (see below) up to the budget available for the round. Budget from TRSF will be ringfenced for candidates who have applied for independent funding.
If budget remains once the high-scoring candidates have been funded, mid-scoring candidates will be selected through a randomised selection process until the term’s budget is fully allocated. If budget remains available once the high- and mid-scoring candidates have been funded, unallocated budget will be rolled over to the next term’s call.
randomised Selection process
If more high- or mid-scoring candidates apply than can be funded from the round’s budget, funding will be allocated through a randomised selection process. The random selection will be done using Microsoft Excel which uses the Mersenne Twister algorithm (MT19937) to generate random numbers. Each application will be assigned an integer number and then the formula =INT(RAND()*(b-a)+a) will return a random integer number between a and b, where a is 1 and b is the number of applications +1.
This randomised selection process will be completed and witnessed by members of the MSD Research Strategy and Funding Team, and the process and results for each round will be documented.