The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has launched its Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme for 2024; these year-long Fellowships (two years if part-time) aim to provide a development opportunity for those at the immediate postdoctoral stage of their career. Giving applicants the opportunity to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, expanding their networks, as well as their research and professional skills.
ESRC Fellowships are only available to universities that are part of a Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). UWE Bristol is a member of the South West DTP (SWDPT), which allows us to submit two applications for consideration by the SWDTP. The SWDTP will assess around 21 applications from its partners and select four candidates for approval by the ESRC: SWDTP ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships process.
This is a great opportunity to have an ESRC-funded postdoc fellowship at UWE Bristol and we will offer full support in the application development process to the two candidates successful at EOI stage.
Eligibility
The Postdoctoral Fellowship is open to all who:
- Undertook or are undertaking their PhD at a UK university or research organisation,
- have been awarded their PhD; or have at least submitted their thesis and passed their viva voce, or passed subject to minor corrections, by the call closing date (16 May 2024). Please note this is the final deadline. The UWE Bristol EOI deadline is prior to this – see below.
- All those who have been awarded their PhD and are on a fixed-term contract are also eligible to apply provided they have no more than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience, measured from their viva pass date to the closing date for the competition.
Activity
The fellowship will start on 01 October 2024 and last for one year if full-time, or two years if part-time. Funding will cover the salary, indirect and estate costs, and up to £10,000 for all other costs.
Fellowships undertaken at UWE Bristol must be in 1 of the 6 Pathways hosted at UWE Bristol:
- Climate Change, Sustainability and Society
- Health, Wellbeing and Society
- Sociotechnical Futures & Digital Methods
- Education
- Management and Business
- Social Policy
Application timeline
- 13 March – ESRC online information event for applicants – please sign up via the link, if interested
- 21 March – UWE Bristol EOI deadline at midday
- Easter – outcomes to applicants
- 10 May – UWE Bristol deadline for the two selected Full Stage applications
- 16 May – ESRC Full Stage applications to be submitted to SWDTP
After submitting the applications to SWDTP, they review all the partner’s applications to select four. These applications are then sent to ESRC for further processing. The ESRC does not conduct a full review of the applications, but they do perform some checks, such as verifying eligibility and page length requirements. Once the Full Stage application passes these checks, the ESRC will award the funding to the host institution.
July 2024 – anticipated outcome from ESRC
Next steps for applicants
- Consider if your project compliments the 6 Pathways held by UWE Bristol.
- Do you have a mentor? Applicants need to have a mentor as part of the Fellowship to support them in developing the Full Stage application. If you do not already have a mentor, please consider who is working in the Pathway at UWE Bristol and may be appropriate to support you.
The SWDTP also provides a supervisor database if needed.
If you need help finding an appropriate mentor, please contact research@uwe.ac.uk at the earliest opportunity so you can discuss your potential project with them.
- Time is tight, and therefore we suggest that you only apply if you can work on the Full Stage application between Easter and 10 May 2024.
Application form and attachments required
UWE Bristol EOI Application Form link:
We recommend that you work your responses on a Word version before completing the online form.
You can save your responses on the online form and continue to work on it by clicking on the “Save my response to edit” button. This is only available once you get to the end of the form and click ‘Submit’.
To see your saved application and continue to work on it, you’ll need to sign in to your Microsoft account.
Attachments required:
- 2-page CV, including a list of your publications, minimum font size 11
- Workplan – include a simple GANTT or excel spreadsheet outlining the timescale for key activities and milestones
- Reference list for any citations in the Case for Support (optional).
Please send your attachments to Research@uwe.ac.uk. In the email subject please use the protocol “ESRC SWDTP Fellowship FIRST NAME & SURNAME” before the deadline on Thursday 21 March 2024, midday.
Documents and links
Appreciating this is a very tight deadline, we recommend you familiarise yourself with familiarise with the ESRC Full Stage application form in advance:
Contact Research@uwe.ac.uk if you have any further questions.