Grant Balances 2010 - University of Bath

The University of Bath proposes to utilise its Unspent Balance funding to undertake 3 strands of activity

1) Bridge funding to retain early career researchers and PDRAs - Talented research staff who have gained valuable experience and skills through EPSRC-funded projects are frequently lost to the University because of the lack of salary funds to bridge the gap between grants. This small fund should enable the retention of a small number of key research staff, to the benefit of the University, the researchers themselves and the UK research pool.

2) Funds for research dissemination activities - Potential uses of this funding will be to support conference attendance to disseminate outputs from EPSRC funded projects, attend collaborative meetings to generate future proposals and public engagement.

3) Follow-on studies to determine commercial viability - The final strand of activity will be to utilize part of the funding to enable follow-on projects with industrial partners to develop the outcomes of EPSRC funded projects.

There will be a number of beneficiaries from the strands proposed under the Unspent balance funding

Academic - As stated within the academic beneficiaries section, researchers who are retained by the funding will benefit from the opportunity to continue building their reputations and continuing the development of their research. In addition they will benefit from developing further experience in writing and supporting the development of research proposals. The researchers will also benefit from additional training and development opportunities available through the University. The related PIs and research teams will also benefit from the opportunity to maintain the breadth of skills within teams to ensure seamless maintenance and development of high profile research areas.

Industry - Industrial partners, particularly those participating within the commercial viability projects but also those who may become involved in guiding / supporting the research of retained staff will also be impacted by the research. The partners in the commercial viability projects will benefit from significant interaction with University research teams, the potential development of new tools and techniques which will improve their businesses and have the potential for wealth and job creation. More widely, industry within the sectors within which projects are carried out will benefit from research results through journal papers, conference presentations and articles in the industry press.

General public - Part of the funding under this grant proposal is available to researchers who may seek to undertake public engagement activities and making the outputs from high profile EPSRC research more understandable and accessible to wider public. This will demonstrate the breadth of ongoing research at the University with the intention of inspiring the public, particularly the next generation to take a more active role in science and engineering and to study STEM subjects. Examples of this approach include the Bath Taps into Science annual event and through articles in local press.

Government - Policymakers may be impacted by the research undertaken in this grant. Knowledge is vital in informing the development of policy and through the better dissemination of research outputs through conferences or workshops which target policymakers, research from EPSRC funded projects can better inform policymakers in developing policy and guiding future strategy.