Frequently asked questions

I am a researcher looking to develop my career by undertaking further research, can I apply for money from Vitae innovate?  Will Vitae innovate fund research?
The funding we are offering is not a personal/professional development fund for individual researchers.  The only research we can fund through this scheme is research in the subject area of careers and personal/professional development of researchers; it is outside of our remit to fund specific research or publications in other discipline areas. 

How will the £100,000 be divided?  Will smaller bids stand a better chance than larger ones?  Can I really apply for the full £100,000 fund?
There is not any pre-planned division in the allocation of the fund as this will depend entirely on the strength of the proposals.

We are inviting bids up to the value of the full fund at £100,000.  However, any bid for the full £100,000 will need to be exceptionally strong as funding this would prevent us funding any other projects.  Although the panel will make its own decisions, it is unlikely that they will allocate all £100,000 to one project. 

How innovative does the project need to be?  What counts as innovative?
It is up to you to justify that your project is innovative, and it is difficult to anticipate the view our independent panel will take on this.  However, in deciding whether bids are eligible we are taking quite a broad view of what might be ‘innovative'.  This will include things that are not necessarily new but are being used or approached differently, extended to a new group of beneficiaries or taken to a new level.  Although we have a broad view of the level of innovation required to be eligible for the fund, it will be our independent panel that decides how innovative a project must be to win the funding. 

What level of risk will the panel be willing to take?  Will they fund projects that might not succeed?
Until the panel meets it will be very difficult to anticipate how it might respond to proposals.  However, Vitae innovate has been created to ensure new and innovative approaches are put into practice when they might otherwise never be tried.  We are open to funding projects with a higher than normal chance of failure, so long as the potential benefits if successful are great enough. 

How broad does the scope of the project need to be?  Do I have to involve other institutions?  Can I propose a project of benefit to researchers in my specific discipline?
Vitae innovate is not restrictive in terms of the scope on any project, and we will be willing to fund projects that directly benefit a small focused group of researchers as well as those that directly benefit a broader group.

Through Vitae innovate we are looking to make as large an impact as possible but this does not have to be through direct impacts of the projects.  If your project is very focused (e.g. directly benefiting researchers in one discipline at one HEI) the panel will be looking for the potential for generalising the outputs or learning generated by the project to ensure maximum impact.

Will collaborative or single organisation bids be more highly regarded?
We are interested in projects being given the best possible chances of success by including the most appropriate individuals/organisations from the very start.  You should ensure that you have the right individuals and organisations involved to maximise the likelihood of success of the specific project proposed.  Whether this is one individual, a single organisation or a consortium is not as important as whether the match between project implementers and the project itself is right. 

Will you fund staff costs?
We will be happy to fund anything that reasonably contributes to the success of the project, including staff time.  Oncosts and overhead/infrastructure costs are also valid expenditure for a project.

If you anticipate using staff time or infrastructure for the benefit of the project but not requesting funding for this from Vitae innovate you can show this in your bid as a financial contribution from the host organisation. 

Will you fund Full Economic Costing (FEC)?
You can apply Full Economic Costing to your project but you are not required to do so under our regulations.  You will have to make it clear how much money you are asking from the fund in total, and value for money calculations will be based on comparing the outcomes/outputs of the project to the amount requested.

If you are requesting only the direct project costs from Vitae innovate, you have the option of showing institutional/infrastructure costs in the budget as a contribution from the host organisation towards overheads.

Can we suggest a different start date?  How late can we start a project using this Vitae innovate 2009 funding?
Yes, you can suggest a different start date as applicable to your project.

Vitae is keen that we see the first outputs from this investment within a year of closing the first round of bids, i.e. by the end of July 2010 and this aspiration will be communicated to the independent panel, although it will then be up to the panel to decide whether this should influence their decisions.

As we intend to offer Vitae innovate funding again in 2010, we will not accept proposals this year with a start date of later than 30 June 2010. 

Can you review our draft proposal and tell us whether you think it is right/good/addressing all areas?
Vitae staff with direct involvement in the Vitae innovate scheme will not be able to review draft proposals.  Specifically these are Duncan Mann and Ellen Pearce.  Other Vitae staff and associates, both from the Vitae national team and Vitae regional Hubs will be free to review, comment on and advise on bids.  These individuals will have no more information than is available on these web pages or through direct questions sent to innovate@vitae.ac.uk

Please note that no-one is able to offer definitive advice on how proposals will be viewed by the independent panel which will award the funding.

What if my question is not answered here?
If you need further guidance please contact Duncan Mann with your specific questions via innovate@vitae.ac.uk or on 01223 448511