The Bid Preparation Fund supports collaborative research applications by providing funding for bid development activity.
Who can apply
Project leads and co-leads of collaborative research grant applications involving at least one internal or external partner can request funding from this Fund.
The fund is aimed primarily at supporting applications led by Cambridge. In certain circumstances the Fund may also support applications led by other institutions, where Cambridge is a major partner (e.g., at least 40% of funding returning to Cambridge).
Applications from Departments, Institutes, Centres and Non-School Institutions are all welcome.
Bids primarily for equipment/capital costs are not applicable to this fund.
What you can apply for
Requests for support from this fund are based on the needs of individual proposals. A typical award of up to £10k, may be made to individual applications, although the sum available will depend on the value and nature of the bid.
Funding can be requested for:
- Expenses related to convening collaborators, holding workshops, and creating bid materials
- Short-term support for bid facilitation, consultancy fees, project management or administration
- Website creation or development
The following costs are not eligible:
- PI and CoI time buyout
- Funding for other core university posts such as a Research Facilitator
- Equipment
How to apply
Interested applicants should first contact the Research Strategy Office to discuss the eligibility of their proposal by emailing Researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk. Please provide key information about your application – funder, submission deadline, application value, likely level of financial support you wish to request and how the funds will be used.
The application template is available for information. Although a detailed costing is not required as part of the application, we recommend that you follow all appropriate departmental processes to ensure that the resources you request enable you to deliver the project outlined. Please make your Departmental Administrator (or equivalent) aware of your application to the Bid Preparation Fund and copy to them when submitting your finalised application. Once your application is submitted, we aim to review and communicate the decision within two weeks.
Additional information
The Fund has been established under the stewardship of the Research Policy Committee (RPC) to maximise the University’s outward facing impact. Application review and funding decisions are overseen by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research.
Successful applicants to this fund will be asked to provide a report on the use of funding support, after their bid has been submitted to the funder.
If you have any questions or wish to express an interest in submitting an application to this Fund, please contact us at Researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk