The Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) has just invited institutions to begin their internal triage processes for the Academy’s competitive Springboard Awards – Round 9. Most of the documents listed on the Academy’s website are still for Round 8 – but the Academy has informed us that these should be updated soon. The only two differences between the current Round 9 and previous Round 8 are:
- The level of funding has increased to £125,000 over two years.
- All candidates will need to provide a 300-word statement on the outputs management plan when submitting their application to the funder.
Aim of the award:
Springboard offers a bespoke package of support to biomedical researchers at the start of their first independent post to help launch their research careers.
Scope of the scheme:
This scheme is targeted at those who are in the early stages of their first independent research position and have not yet obtained substantial research funding support from other sources, such as large research grants or large fellowships. The lack of funding to spring the candidate’s research career is crucial here – and those who have already secured substantial funding would not be deemed in the spirit of this scheme as they will be regarded as ones whose career has already ‘sprung’.
Remit:
Proposals are accepted across the breadth of biomedical research as long as the research aims to improve human health.
Funding and duration:
As mentioned above, the award for Round 9 will provide funding of up to £125,000 over two years from March 2024 to support research costs (excluding applicant salary) and professional development. The award also gives access to the Academy’s mentoring and career development programme.
Eligibility criteria:
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Hold a salaried academic position that incorporates research
- Have sufficient time remaining on their contract to complete the proposed Springboard project
- Be in their first independent position (i.e. group-leader level, line managed not supervised)
- Have been appointed within the last 5 years (FTE; exceptions made for career breaks) to this position
Candidates MUST NOT:
- Hold a clinical contract
- Be in receipt of substantial research funding as the Principal or Co- Investigator exceeding £150,000 for the two-year Springboard award (excluding your personal salary, overhead and indirect costs)
- Have already secured a significant fellowship – please see the internal application form for a full list
- Be a postdoctoral researcher employed on a grant awarded in the name of another Principal Investigator
- Hold a Research Associate position where they are under someone’s supervision
- Have already secured a promotion onto a second independent post
Interested applicants are strongly advised to contact the Research Strategy Office at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk in case of uncertainly around eligibility.
University Internal selection:
The University can make up to four nominations for Round 9. Therefore, this call is managed according to the University’s restricted calls policy.
To take part in the internal selection process, please complete the online AMS Springboard Round 9 form at https://forms.office.com/e/CwYSK2Y1uv by close of play 04 April 2023. For your convenience, the attached document outlines the questions asked in the form.
NB1: If asked to log-in, please use your Raven details. Please note that the online form cannot be saved and/or returned to for future editing.
NB2: The form can be completed only by current members of staff/PhD students. External applicants are welcome to contact the Research Strategy Office at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk to discuss alternative ways of submitting an application.
Assessment criteria that will be used in the internal selection process:
- applicant’s track record
- potential benefit to applicant’s career
- career aspirations
- importance and relevance of the research
- quality and appropriateness of research methodology
- degree of innovation
Funder deadlines:
- 02 May 2023: deadline for the University to notify the Academy of the outcome of the University’s triage process
- 15 June 2023: deadline for submission to the funder
If you have any questions, please contact us at researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk.