Newton International Fellowships 2020 guidance notes

Applicant eligibility

• Applicants must have a PhD or be in the final stage of their PhD provided that it will be completed (including viva) before the start date of the fellowship. Confirmation of award of the PhD will be required before any fellowship award is confirmed.
• Applicants should have no more than seven years active full-time postdoctoral experience at the time of application, including teaching experience, time spent in industry on research, honorary positions and/or visiting researcher positions. Career breaks must be clearly detailed and explained in the application, for example “Start and end dates - career break – maternity/paternity leave”.
• Applicants should be working outside the UK and should not hold UK citizenship at the time of application.
• Applicants who are not currently employed are still eligible but will need to provide details of their previous supervisor.
• Individuals already living, working or undertaking research in the UK are not eligible to apply.
• Individuals who have lived, worked or undertaken research in the UK in the 12 months prior to the application deadline are not eligible to apply.
• Individuals working outside the UK but employed by a UK organisation are also not eligible to apply.
• Applications from individuals who have not studied or worked in the UK previously are encouraged as the scheme aims to establish new links between the applicant and the UK.
• Applicants who completed their PhD at a UK organisation must have been working and based outside the UK for at least one year at the deadline for the application. 
• Applicants proposing to return to their UK-based PhD organisation and/or PhD supervisor or to their Post-doctoral supervisor will normally be considered to be ineligible and so applicants must have exceptional reasons for proposing to do so.
• Proposed Fellowships must be carried out in the UK at the UK host organisation for the duration of the Fellowship.
• Applicants must be competent in oral and written English. The applicant must confirm their competency on the application form and the UK Co-applicant needs to include the applicant’s competency in their supporting statement.
• Individuals who have previously been in receipt of a Newton International Fellowship are not permitted to apply again.
• Applicants who have been unsuccessful in a previous round of the competition may make another application in this round.

The Academy recognises there are diverse research career paths, as well as the challenges of managing a research career alongside other personal commitments. When reviewing applicants’ eligibility and research experience, The Academy will take into consideration time spent outside the research environment (e.g. time away due to personal reasons such as maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoptive leave or other caring responsibilities; ill-health or working in a non-research environment/role such as industry). Furthermore, where applicants have taken formal periods of maternity, paternity shared parental and adoptive leave as the primary carer (either the mother, father, partner or adopter), or extended sick leave, the Academy will allow on top of each period of leave an additional amount of time when assessing eligibility. Each case will be considered individually as per guidelines below:

• Maternity, paternity, shared parental leave and adoptive leave: On top of the actual time taken off work, an additional amount of time equivalent to the 100% taken will be added on top, for up to 6 months.

Example 1: If an applicant took 4 months leave, additional 4 months would be added and a total of 8 months would be deducted.

Example 2: If an applicant took 18 months leave, additional 6 months would be added (maximum additional time allowed) and a total of 24 months would be deducted.

• Extended sick leave (defined as more than four weeks off work, as per UK Government’s definition): On top of the actual time taken off work, an additional amount of time equivalent to the 100% taken will be added on top, for up to 6 months.

Each case will be considered individually, and the host institution may need to confirm that the applicant qualifies for this provision. Supporting documents may be requested for individual cases at the Academy’s discretion. The Academy reserves the right to consider individual requests outside of the outlined policy in exceptional circumstances.

UK Co-applicant eligibility

• The UK Co-applicant must be an established independent researcher of at least postdoctoral (or equivalent) status and must make all the necessary practical and administrative arrangements for the duration of the Fellowship.
• The UK Co-applicant must hold a permanent or fixed term contract in a publicly funded research organisation. In the case of fixed term contracts, employment must continue for at least the duration of the project.

Host organisation eligibility

• The host organisation is the UK institution, which employs the UK Co-applicant.
  • Ineligible organisations include industrial, private and commercial organisations, university spin-out companies, and governmental bodies.
• The UK Co-applicant must be based in the UK at the UK host organisation.

Prior contact with the UK Co-applicant

• Contact between the UK Co-applicant and Applicant prior to the application is essential. This contact should lead to a clearly defined and mutually beneficial research project proposal.
• Please note that the British Academy will not be able to assist in locating a UK Co-applicant.
• Applicants may only submit one application in a round. The application must be with only one Co-applicant at a UK host organisation.

Eligible fieldwork

• Applicants cannot conduct their research outside the UK but short fieldwork trips abroad may be possible where appropriate.
• Short fieldwork trips abroad must not normally total more than one month per annum. Please note that fieldwork is defined as “(practical) gathering of material or data specifically for the Newton International Fellowship project”.

Eligible costs:

Subsistence

The annual subsistence rate is fixed at £24,000. Payments to Newton International Fellowship holders are paid as a stipend (tax exempt) and do not constitute a salary. The subsistence can be spent on any living cost at the discretion of the Fellow.

Consumables

Newton International Fellows are entitled to apply for up to £8,000 per annum which can be spent on: equipment, consumables or travel within the UK or internationally (if related to conducting fieldwork or attending conferences). Please be aware that only the amount requested will be allocated, e.g. if you request £5,000 under consumables, this is the amount you will receive. It is not possible to retrospectively increase the award amount. Costs of attending or organising conferences, workshops or seminars for the purposes of disseminating your research must be limited to £3,000 per year; in exceptional circumstances we will consider requests to exceed this limit on a case by case basis. In the case of organising conferences, workshops or seminars, only the cost of venue hire, materials and website and printed publications are eligible for support.

Relocation expenses

Newton International Fellows are entitled to apply for up to £3,000 relocation expenses in the first year of their Fellowship (up to £2,000 for EEA Nationals). This can be used to cover the costs incurred from moving from the current institution to the UK host organisation and can include transportation costs and visa charges. From 1 April 2015, a new health surcharge was introduced under the 2014 Immigration Act for non-exempt persons. As of 1 January 2020, the surcharge is now £400 per year; this also applies to dependents. This expense can be covered under the relocation expenses costs of the Fellowship for non-exempt grant holders. Additional funding is available to cover the cost of dependants’ visas. More information is available post award.

Ineligible costs

The following costs will not be covered by the scheme:

• Consumables may not be used to pay for: publication costs; any personal costs including that of dependents; the cost of travel, subsistence and visas for participants and speakers at conferences and workshops or seminars you organise; and salary costs or other costs of research staff/assistants.

Payments

All payments will be made quarterly in arrears in instalments directly to the UK host organisation. Regardless of your start date, payments will be made at the end of March (Q1), June (Q2), September (Q3) and December (Q4).

References

Five reference statements are required for the application. These statements must be submitted before the application deadline. The following individuals need to be listed in the application for a reference:

• Departmental support

1. Head of Department at the UK host organisation
2. UK Co-applicant
3. Lead Applicant's current supervisor overseas (if the applicant is an independent researcher or in industry please use your direct manager or the most recent academic supervisor, if the applicant is currently unemployed please use your most recent academic supervisor)

• Nominated references
  The guidelines for choosing 2 nominated referee are as follows:

1. The primary consideration is that they are able to comment independently and authoritatively on your application (i.e. someone in your field, who is as independent a researcher as possible from the applicant/co-applicant).   You do not need to know them personally, but you should make sure they are able to provide a reference before adding them to your application.
2. It is requested that one referee be nominated by the Applicant and one by the UK Co-applicant.
3. At least one nominated referee must be based in the UK. A UK-based researcher is defined as someone who holds a permanent or fixed term contract at a UK research organisation.
4. Nominated referees from the same institution as the Applicant or Co-applicant will not be accepted.
5. Nominated references from the Applicant’s former/current supervisor (including PhD supervisor) will not be accepted.
6. The referee must not be a member on the assessment panel for this programme or a member of the British Academy’s Council.
7. References must be submitted in English. If a reference is not submitted in English, it will not be accepted and may render the application ineligible.

No two references can be from the same person. If this is the case the application will be made ineligible.

Please note that due to the very large number of applications we receive for this scheme, we will not be able to provide feedback.

Assessment Criteria

The primary considerations are listed below. Successful applications should be strong in all respects:

Applicant

The suitability of the individual for the fellowship and their potential to develop an independent research career. Track record commensurate with actual research experience to date including past achievements, research career to date, publication record, awards, datasets held in repositories, software, keynote lectures and current and previous grants; how the candidate intends to use the fellowship to further their research career.

Research Proposal

The importance and scientific merit of the proposed research and the clarity, quality and originality of the proposed project and likely contribution to the research field.  If the research plan is clearly defined and feasible.

Host organisation/Co-applicant

The suitability and strength of the UK Co-applicant including their track record in the area of proposed research as well as in supervising and mentoring early career researchers.

The suitability and strength of the host department and/or institution for the proposed research i.e. access to appropriate expertise/equipment/facilities/resources and space during the award period as well as the suitability of the host organisation for the applicant's career development e.g. appropriate level of support and training opportunities.

Review process

• All applications to the Newton International Fellowships are reviewed and assessed by two members of the selection panel who have the most appropriate scientific expertise using the criteria detailed above. 
• It is expected that applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by email.

Please be assured that the British Academy specifically requests anyone involved in reviewing applications to consider them in confidence. More information on the review process can be found in Appendix 1.

Enquires about this scheme can be made using the contact details below. Before contacting us, please check whether your question is answered by these scheme notes. If not, please ensure that you quote your application reference number in all correspondence to the British Academy.

For British Academy enquiries, please email: [email protected] or Telephone + 44 (0)20 7969 5217.

For Royal Society enquiries, please read the Royal Society scheme notes or email: [email protected].

For Academy of Medical Sciences enquiries, please read the Academy of Medical Sciences scheme notes or email: [email protected].

Please note that information regarding your application for the Newton International Fellowship may be shared with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), for data monitoring and scheme evaluation purposes. You may also be contacted by selected third parties such as independent evaluators, consultancy groups, and career development organisations. If successful, the British Academy will contact you regarding the administration of your award throughout the course of your funding and after its completion. You may also be contacted by the Royal Society, BEIS, Academy of Medical Sciences, or an agent acting on their behalf, for reporting and evaluation purposes throughout the course of your funding and after its completion.

Please read these guidance notes carefully as you complete the form.

Using Flexi-Grant®

Applications can only be submitted online using the British Academy’s Grants and Awards management system Flexi-Grant®. Further information is available about the Grants and Awards Management system. If you have not previously used Flexi-Grant®, please follow the registration process from the Flexi-Grant® homepage. Paper-based applications will not be accepted.

Before completing the online form, all applicants should check that they comply with the eligibility requirements and ensure all necessary information is presented in the application. These requirements are strictly adhered to and applications without all the necessary information, or evidence to show the assessment criteria are met, will be rejected.

All applications must be approved by the UK host organisation and the Applicant’s departmental support must be completed before you can submit via Flexi-Grant®. Late applications will not be accepted.

Completing the application form

The application can be completed by using the navigation tabs on the application summary page, with each page categorised as follows:

Summary
Eligibility Criteria
Contact Details
Lead Applicant Career Summary
UK Co-applicant Career Summary
Research Proposal
Financial Details
Applicant Declaration
Nominated Referees Support
Head of Department Support (of the UK Co-applicant)
Lead applicant’s Supervisor Support

A full list of question fields to be completed as part of the application can be found in the Question guidance section in the Application guidance notes.

To complete and submit the application form, the lead applicant is required to provide supporting statements from five individuals (including the UK Co-applicant’s Head of Department, two nominated referees, the Lead Applicant’s supervisor and the UK Co-applicant).

These individuals can be invited through the ‘participants’ tab displayed on the application form summary page, where you will find each of the required participants as described above.

Please select ‘invite’ and enter the email address of the person you wish to invite to provide the relevant statements and send the invitation.

The recipient will need to accept your invitation before they can participate in the application.

You can monitor the progress of your participant’s activity through this section of the application form, and issue reminders as required. Once the recipient has accepted your invitation, their status will be displayed as ‘active’. Upon completion of their section of the application form, their status will be displayed as ‘complete’.

You will not be able to submit your application form until the status of all participants’ shows ‘complete’.

Once participants have completed all their sections of the application form, please remind them to select ‘Save & Submit’ on the application form page or select ‘Submit your contribution’ on the summary page.

It is recommended that participants fulfil their requirements at least 5 working days before the submission deadline (Thursday 26 March 2020) to ensure there is sufficient time for organisational approval. The UK host organisation approver must approve the completed application by the submission deadline.

Participant types

Departmental support

• The UK host organisation Approver must approve the completed application by the submission deadline.
• The following individuals must be listed under the participants tab:
  • Head of Department at the UK host institution
  • Lead Applicant’s current supervisor overseas (if the applicant is an independent researcher or in industry please use your direct manager or most recent academic supervisor; if the applicant is currently unemployed please use your most recent academic supervisor)

Nominated references

• Under the participants tab displayed on the application form summary page, please enter the email address of the Nominated Referees who you wish to invite to provide the relevant statements.
• The following individuals must be listed under the participants tab
  • The Applicant’s Nominated Reference
  • The Co-applicant’s Nominated Reference

It is the applicant’s responsibility to liaise with the UK host organisation’s Approver, Co-Applicant, departmental supports, and the Nominated Referees to ensure that the required tasks are completed by the deadline.  Please contact the British Academy before the deadline if there is any issue.  Alternatively, the UK host organisation’s Approver, Co-Applicant, departmental supports, and the Nominated Referees can contact us directly.  The British Academy will not be held responsible for emails that are not received due to address errors or spam filters and no provision is made for non-receipt of emails sent by the British Academy.

Re-opening the application form to participants

On the occasion that an invited participant accidentally submits their section of the application form prematurely, the lead applicant has the ability to re-open the application form for the participant. To do this, the lead applicant should return to the participants tab on the application form summary page. You will find a ‘re-open’ button alongside the name of any participant who has completed their section of the form. Once you click this button, the form is reactivated and available for participants to amend.

Application approvals

It is the Applicant’s responsibility to ensure that approval of the application by the UK host organisation is completed before the closing date. 

The person responsible for approving your application will be the delegated authority at the UK host organisation where you are applying to hold your Fellowship. This may be someone within the research office, faculty administration, Vice-Chancellor, or other administrative or management role.

The Approver will be someone with the authority to approve the potential Newton International Fellowship to be hosted within their organisation. They will have the capacity to approve that the proposed research and assure the proposed budget is appropriate and eligible for the Newton International Fellowship.

You will only be able to submit your application for approval by the UK Institutional Approver once all sections of the application form have been marked as complete, and the Co-applicant, Head of Department, Nominated Referees and Supervisor have marked their work as complete and have submitted their section (the Applicant must check the status of the Co-applicant, Head of Department, Nominated Referees and Supervisor under the participants tab on the summary page of the application form). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

Question guidance

Please read these guidance notes carefully as you complete the form and note that questions with an asterisk (*) are mandatory fields.

In the following table, each box represents a page of the application form; the left-hand column contains the questions within each of these pages as set out in the form; the right-hand column contains useful guidance on its completion.

The British Academy supports research as an open enterprise and are committed to ensuring that data outputs from awards supported by the Academy are made publicly available in a managed and responsible manner, with as few restrictions as possible. Data outputs should be deposited in an appropriate, recognised, publicly available repository, so that others can verify and build upon the data, which is of public interest.  

The British Academy does not dictate a set format for data management and sharing plans. Where they are required, applicants should structure their plan in a manner most appropriate to the proposed research. The information submitted in plans should focus specifically on how the data outputs will be managed and shared, detailing the repositories where data will be deposited. In considering your approach for data management and sharing, applicants should consider the following: 

• What data outputs will be generated by the research that are of value to the public? 
• Where and when will you make the data available? 
• How will others be able to access the data? 
• If the data is of high public interest, how will it be made accessible not only for those in the same or linked field, but also to a wider public audience? 
• Specify whether any limits will be placed on the data to be shared, for example, for the purposes of safeguarding commercial interests, personal information, safety or security of the data. 
• How will datasets be preserved to ensure they are of long-term benefit? 

Please declare that:

You have read the Terms and Conditions of Award under which British Academy grants are awarded and, if a grant offer is made, you agree to abide by them.

• You have access to the necessary facilities to enable you to deliver the research proposed and will continue to have access to the facilities for the duration of the project.
• You have agreed with your Head(s) of Department that you will be afforded sufficient time and resources to deliver the research project as described in this application.

You should invite two referees who can provide confidential references for your application, by following the instructions under the participants tab on the application form summary page. Please check with them that they are happy to provide the references and inform them that they will be contacted by email and asked to provide references via the Flexi-Grant® system by 8th April 2020 (3pm UK time).

• The primary consideration is that they are able to comment independently and authoritatively on your application (i.e. someone in your field, who is as independent a researcher as possible from the applicant/co-applicant).   You do not need to know them personally, but you should make sure they are able to provide a reference before adding them to your application.
• It is requested that one referee be nominated by the Applicant and one by the UK Co-applicant
• At least one nominated referee must be based in the UK. A UK-based researcher is defined as someone who holds a permanent or fixed term contract at a UK research organisation.
• Nominated referees from the same institution as the Applicant or UK Co-applicant will not be accepted.
• Nominated references from the Applicant’s former/current supervisor (including PhD supervisor) will not be accepted.
• The referee must not be a member on the assessment panel for this Scheme or a member of any of the British Academy’s Councils.
• References must be submitted in English. If a reference is not submitted in English, it will not be accepted and may render the application ineligible.

You should invite the Head of Department from the UK organisation to provide a statement of support by following the instructions under the participants tab on the application form summary page. Please check that they are able to supply their statement by 8th April 2020 (3pm UK time).

Please check which email address your Head of Department would like to use, as they may already be registered on Flexi-Grant® and mistakes may lead to a delay in processing your application.

The Head of Department is expected to detail your suitability for the department and the intentions for your career development, as well as confirmation that you will be provided with adequate space and access to resources at the host organisation.

If the UK Co-applicant is also the Head of Department at the UK organisation, an alternative referee is required to supply the reference, e.g. Deputy Head or Head of School.

You should invite your current supervisor overseas to provide a statement of support by following the instructions under the participants tab on the application form summary page. Please check that they are able to supply their statement by 8th April 2020 (3pm UK time).

Please check which email address they would like to use, as they may already be registered on Flexi-Grant ® and mistakes may lead to a delay in processing your application.

No two references provided can be from the same person. If this is the case, then it may make the application ineligible. Therefore, alternative referees must be provided in accordance to the guidelines.