Standards of service - AHRC

During your time as a peer review college member, you will be required to abide by the AHRC standards of service. These standards of service describe what we expect of you as a college member and what you can expect of AHRC.

AHRC expects you to:

  1. attend an AHRC induction event for college members
  2. keep your contact details in your Je-S account up to date at all times, including your primary email address, where we’ll send review requests. This is in accordance with the Je-S reviewer protocols that you as a reviewer must accept before completing your first review for AHRC
  3. add and maintain details of your research expertise by selecting research classifications and entering free text keywords, to enable AHRC to match you with grant applications submitted via Je-S
  4. provide AHRC, when requested, with a review by the due date specified and in accordance with the reviewer guidance in the Je-S help text
  5. review up to eight proposals during a 12-month period (normally no more than four in any quarter). In exceptional circumstances, you may be asked to review more proposals
  6. notify AHRC when you are unable to meet a review request by declining via Je-S within five working days of the request, so that an alternative reviewer can be sought without delay
  7. be aware that to ensure the efficient running of the college we may withdraw your college membership if you decline two review requests in succession because you are too busy
  8. record any periods when you are unavailable to accept review requests in your Je-S account. This will ensure that you won’t be sent review requests while you are on leave, working as a panel member or busy with other commitments. If the period is for longer than six months, contact peerreviewcollege@ahrc.ukri.org
  9. keep up to date with developments that may affect your role as a college member, for example, by referring to the peer review handbook and reading the peer review college e-newsletters. You are also encouraged to attend AHRC organised events and to visit the AHRC website regularly for updates that may impact your role
  10. agree to membership for a period of up to four years. Continuation beyond this period or earlier withdrawals of membership are at AHRC’s discretion. You may also resign your college membership at any time
  11. adhere to and uphold UKRI’s policies, standards and guidance in support of good research practices.

AHRC will:

  1. ask you to review up to eight proposals to its funding schemes or programmes during each 12-month period (normally no more than four in any quarter), although exceptionally you may be asked to review more
  2. reimburse your travel and subsistence expenses if you take part in a panel meeting, in accordance with the AHRC’s non-employee travel and subsistence policy
  3. email you the e-newsletter four times a year to update you on developments that may affect your role and responsibilities as a member, including generic feedback from panel meetings
  4. invite you, if selected, to serve on its panels, which make grading and ranking decisions on grant proposals submitted to AHRC
  5. on occasion, forward your contact and subject expertise details to bodies with which AHRC has a formal funding agreement or collaborative arrangement, for example the UK research councils, or with which it has a formal agreement that has been drawn up as part of its international strategy so that they may contact you to request a review
  6. publish your name, research or other organisation (where appropriate) and college groups on the AHRC website, including any panel meetings you attend
  7. monitor the performance of all of its college members. AHRC reserves the right to discontinue the membership of members who fail to observe these standards of service.

Last updated: 28 February 2022

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