Research Grant
BMS Research Grants aim to fund fungal biology research-related activities at different levels. Awards are competitive. The maximum grant that can be awarded is £10,000; a range of activities can be supported.
Eligibility
Grants are available to current Full Members and Honorary Members employed at a university or research institute within the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland, who have held BMS membership for a minimum of one year (i.e. two consecutive membership subscription payments) and who have not received a Research Grant in the previous two calendar years.
What is covered by the grant?
The maximum award is £10,000. A range of activities may be supported, for example:
- Small contribution (up to £2000): Laboratory consumables and small equipment; Travel and subsistence related to the development of the project activities; Registration at conferences to present the results of the proposed research.
- Large contribution (over £2000): Pump-prime new research direction or idea; New-investigator start-up projects; Student placements.
Reasonable travel costs will be supported.
Funding is not available: for items of equipment costing more than £2,000; for the purchase of computers or other IT equipment; for overheads; to supplement the salary of the applicant; to cover replacement costs of the applicant. BMS Research Grants are not intended to top-up funds for existing projects.
All costs must be clearly justified within the application and the type of project (small contribution, large contribution) must be described.
How to apply
Applications should be submitted via the online application form. The following will be required:
- A completed and signed Terms & Conditions form (see Conditions of the award, below).
- The CV of the academic applicant - maximum two pages, including a list of publications. If the application has more than one named researcher, please supply a single file containing all CVs.
All required supplementary material must be uploaded via the online form at the point of application.
Award criteria
Awards are competetive. Applications will be reviewed by at least two independent referees. Applications will be ranked based on the scores provided by the referees.
Applications will be reviewed under the following criteria:
- Excellence of the proposed activity in further developing fungal biology research.
- Quality of the academic applicant’s recent scientific output and the required expertise to support the project through to successful completion (viz. scientific publications, track record on student supervision).
- Clarity and technical feasibility of the proposed activity. For “large contribution” projects enough evidence must be provided to demonstrate feasibility of the proposed. activity.
- Appropriateness of the proposed time frame.
- Value for money.
The funding decision will be made by an Award Selection Committee at a meeting in May each year. Membership of the Award Selection Committee will consist of:
- The BMS President, Treasurer, General Secretary, and Chair of the Fungal Biology Research Committee, or their specifically designated representative.
- Two senior academic members of the BMS (any type of membership) who will be appointed each year.
The final decision on how many grants are awarded will take into account the maximum total budget.
Where there is a conflict of interest, and the Applicant is one of the above named individuals or belongs to the same institution, the Applicant will leave the meeting while the project is being evaluated, the ranking is considered and the feedback is drafted and will not influence in any way on any matter related to that specific project.
Conditions of the award
It is a condition of all grants that the BMS's contribution is acknowledged in any publication or publicity that may arise from the research or activity. Details of grants awarded will be published on the BMS webpage and social media channels, and in the BMS Newsletter.
Download the full Terms and Conditions (opens in a new window). A signed copy of this document is required at point of application.
Administration of awards
Applicants will receive notification of the outcome of their application within three months of the closing date. The result of the award selection will be communicated to the applicant by email. If the application is successful, the grant will be paid to the institution in advance. The institution is expected to administer the grant.