Eligibility
Eligible applicants must:
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Be early career researchers who are looking to establish their own research niche, but who are not yet driving their own independent research. Applicants can hold the job title of Post-doctoral Researcher, Clinical Research Fellow, Research Scientist, or equivalent.
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Hold a contract of employment with one of the departments within the Medical Sciences Division
- Have completed their DPhil/PhD. If you have completed your doctoral project but not yet graduated, you must have been granted leave to supplicate at the time of submitting a funding application.
You are not eligible to apply if you are:
- A student
- An honorary or visiting member of a department
- A Principal Investigator/Group Leader, or if you hold an equivalent 'independent' research position that includes responsibility for developing and leading your own research agenda. Independent researchers should consider the John Fell Fund as a source of internal funding.
Eligible costs
As of Michaelmas Term 2023 the maximum permitted application value has increased to £12,000 to reflect inflation. Applicants should obtain an X5 costing from their Department where appropriate, and all costs must be well-justified in meeting the project objectives.
Any directly incurred non-staff research costs, including equipment, are eligible for funding. Travel and subsistence may be funded where they are essential for achieving the project's objectives.
Travel to conferences or costs for hosting meetings (eg. room hire and catering) are unlikely to be funded. Staff costs to conduct the project, bridging salary and article processing charges (APCs)/Open Access fees are NOT eligible costs.
Staff costs may only be requested to buy time from staff providing a specialist service, for example, Research Nurses, Pharmacists, Animal Technicians, etc. It is expected that any staff costs requested will represent a percentage of the staff member’s working hours for the period of the project and be for a specific purpose (for example one day per week of Research Nurse time for three months to collect blood samples). Salary for a research assistant to conduct the research project is NOT an eligible cost.
If you are not sure if the costs you want to request are eligible, please contact mrf@medsci.ox.ac.uk before submitting your application.
Letters of Support
All postdoctoral researchers applying to the scheme must have a letter of support attached from their line manager confirming that the applicant has time to complete the project on top of their normal responsibilities.
Additional letters of support, particularly that detail department support, facilities, and/or the environment underpinning the project, are recommended.