Research workshops
The IAS funds up to 15 research/discussion workshops or workshop series each year, held in IAS and designed to stimulate new ideas, themes, and interdisciplinary synergy. The University Research Committee regards IAS workshops as a natural starting point for anyone interested in first-phase research incubation and networking. Workshops and other funded IAS events are expected to be interdisciplinary in nature and primarily internal to the University, to build new areas of interest and expertise.
Types of workshop
There is no set format for workshops, and no set number. They are open to postgraduate students and post-doctoral researchers as well as pathway 1 & 2 academic staff.
- Postgraduate/postdoctoral events can take the form of a series of seminars or one-off events, possibly involving academic staff at Bristol and occasional external speakers; funds of up to £1,000 are available.
- Amongst academic staff, a typical workshop series will involve 2 - 3 seminars or sandpits, so that the topic and collaboration in focus can realise some cumulative development within the series. For this reason, and because of the primary focus on internal theme-building, we do not generally fund bids for academic mini-conferences as such. The workshops can fit anywhere along a spectrum from the purely exploratory, to something more organized and planned by an already (recently) established network. The exploratory type of meeting would be expected to involve very modest sums from IAS (for example, on-the-day refreshments and minor photocopying and related expenses); whilst the already partly networked teams might request travel and accommodation costs for external participants, and more substantial preparatory expenses.
- Finally, we set aside resources for joint IAS/WUN workshops, where the collaborations envisaged are not only amongst Bristol colleague and some external participants, but specifically involve colleagues from a range of WUN member institutions.
The maximum award available for any single research event is £1,000; a workshop series is £2,500, and £5,000 for the joint IAS/WUN workshops. They are expected to be completed within the academic year in which they are awarded and feedback must be provided by the submission of a research workshop report form. In certain cases, it may be possible to fund workshops that tangibly build on successful previous IAS workshops.
How to apply
Applications should be submitted on the research workshop application form. They should comprise the intellectual rationale for the proposed events, the format envisaged, a list of core participants, a detailed and carefully justified budget, and intended or potential outcomes (e.g. publications, subsequent grant bids, conferences, networks). Applications are evaluated by the Director and Research Development Manager of IAS, together with members of the IAS Advisory Board.
Applications should be sent through to the IAS Administrator, Laura Dean (ias-admin@bris.ac.uk), by Thursday 1 November 2012 for workshops commencing before Christmas 2012 and by Friday 1 February 2013 for workshops that commence later on in the academic year.
Anyone considering applying for workshop funding should feel free to discuss their plans with the Director, Professor Ralph Pite (Ralph.Pite@bristol.ac.uk), and Dr Susan Jim (Susan.Jim@bristol.ac.uk), the IAS Research Development Manager.