Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system
You must apply using the Je-S system. To be able to do this, your organisation must be registered for Je-S.
UK higher education institutions and some other independent UK research organisations (including public sector research establishments) are already recognised institutions on Je-S. Find out about eligible research institutes.
Je-S accounts for applicants
All applicants must hold a fellowship ‘applicant’ Je-S account. If you already have a Je-S account, you can ask the Je-S helpdesk to upgrade it to a fellowship account.
Please refer to the Je-S help text for help with setting up a new account.
Creating your proposal
To create your proposal:
- Log into Je-S.
- From the home screen, select ‘documents’, then select ‘new document’.
- On the ‘add new document’ screen, select ‘call search’ (highlighted at the top of the screen). When prompted, type in the funding opportunity title (DigitalFootprints: Senior Strategic Fellowship) and select it from the list created. The remaining three selection fields will be automatically populated.
- Select the ‘create document’ button.
Please ensure that your proposal is created and submitted against the correct funding opportunity.
We will not accept proposals that are not submitted using this process.
Completing your proposal
The initial Je-S ‘document instructions’ page will give you general guidance on the navigation of the site, including icon descriptions.
The left-hand column ‘document menu’ lists all the sections associated with this funding opportunity. It clearly identifies which ones are mandatory. This is shown by a red cross that turns to a green tick when completed.
You may return to edit saved documents at any time.
Please note that the details below are not exhaustive step-by-step guidance. We recommend that you refer to the Je-S help text for additional information.
Project details
From the drop-down lists, select your organisation and department. This will be the research organisation where your fellowship will be held.
‘Your reference’ should be supplied by your research organisation (consult your research office). If your research office does not have a system for referencing grant proposals, you may use a suitable reference of your own choice.
Use ‘your reference’ to help distinguish easily between proposals in your ‘current documents’ list. The reference is a unique identifier for the proposal.
Enter the project title: ‘DigitalFootprints: Senior Strategic Fellowship’.
For ‘proposal call’, select ‘DigitalFootprints: Senior Strategic Fellowship’. Please note that this option will only be available once the funding opportunity is live. It may already have been pre-populated into the form.
Your start date should not be before 1 May 2022. Your fellowship should have a proposed duration of no more than 24 months.
Once you have completed and saved this initial section, check the submission path (via the ‘document actions’ tab) to see if the proposal has to be signed off by submitters and approvers. If it does, please make sure they will be available to process the document on the day you intend to submit it to ESRC.
Organisation internal submission structure
We recommend that you forward your proposal to your organisation’s submitter pool in good time before the funding opportunity deadline, to allow sufficient time for the approval and final submission process.
The proposal must be submitted to ESRC through the Je-S system by your institution’s nominated contacts. Once you have completed and submitted the proposal, a notification is sent to your organisation’s ‘submitter’ to action. The ‘submitter’ is the person in that organisation authorised to approve the proposal and carry out the final stage of submission.
You will receive an email confirming that the proposal has been submitted to the submitter pool. This means that the proposal is still with the organisation and has not yet been submitted to ESRC.
The final submission process is the responsibility of your host institution, and we cannot accept responsibility for any delay which may occur at this stage. We strongly advise you to check that you receive an email confirmation from the Je-S system confirming that your proposal has been submitted to UKRI.
Use of your personal information
UKRI captures and processes personal information in line with current data protection legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and any amendments by the UK Data Protection Bill or relevant acts of parliament.
COVID-19 guidance for applicants
Accounting for the unknown impacts of COVID-19
UKRI acknowledges that it is a challenge for applicants to determine the future impacts of COVID-19 while the pandemic continues to evolve. Applications should be based on the information available at the point of submission and, if applicable, the known application-specific impacts of COVID-19 should be accounted for.
Where known impacts have occurred, these should be highlighted in the application, including the assumptions and information available at the point of submission. There is no need to include contingency plans for the potential impacts of COVID-19.
Requests for travel, both domestically and internationally, can be included in accordance with the relevant scheme guidelines, noting the above advice.
Reviewers will receive instructions to assume that changes that arise from the COVID-19 pandemic, post-submission, will be resolved and complications related to COVID-19 should not affect their scores. Where an application is successful, any changes in circumstances that affect the proposal will be managed as a post-award issue.
