Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Expression of interest: UK Gut-Immunology-Brain Axis Network+: Stage 1, leadership team

Apply to express an interest to either lead or be part of the leadership team of a network+ to support an interdisciplinary gut-immunology-brain axis (GIBA) research and innovation community in the UK.

As a member of the network leadership team, you are expected to:

  • submit a network proposal to Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in consultation with the wider GIBA research community
  • take responsibility for setting direction, maintaining focus and momentum of the network
  • have the appropriate leadership and management skills (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the network, drive interdisciplinary inclusion and develop others

Who can apply

BBSRC will fund one interdisciplinary GIBA research and innovation Network+ and is seeking to establish a leadership team to lead this network.

The leadership team will consist of a maximum of five people and will include:

  • one UK project lead, who will act as the network director
  • maximum of four UK-based project co-leads, one of whom will act as co-director to assist the network director in the leadership of the network, and at least one of whom should be an early-career researcher

Before submitting an expression of interest for the GIBA network leadership team, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

Who is eligible to apply

To be eligible to apply to lead or co-lead this network you must:

  • be UK based and be a researcher employed by an eligible research organisation
  • submit an expression of interest to be involved in the network leadership team (see ‘How to apply’ section below)
  • demonstrate that they will direct and manage the network effectively and be actively engaged in the work

Early career researchers, researcher co-leads, facility managers and research technical professionals who will play a significant role in technical or intellectual direction of the network are encouraged to apply to be project co-leads as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

Early career researchers

For the purposes of this funding opportunity, an academic early career researcher is an individual who has yet to achieve independence, having not established their own research group. Non-academic early career researchers are those who consider themselves early career and occupy a non-senior role.

There are no eligibility rules based on years of postdoctoral experience. Early career researchers can hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship, or be in another research staff position.

Email bfh@bbsrc.ukri.org for eligibility queries.

Who is not eligible to apply

  • project co-leads (international)
  • project co-leads from business or the third sector

Applicants who are not based at eligible UK institutions are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity but can be project partners in the network.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

What we're looking for

Aim

The aim of this funding opportunity is to establish a single interdisciplinary network to bring the UK research and innovation community together to:

  • advance the understanding of the mechanisms of the gut-immunology-brain axis (GIBA) across the life course
  • convene and create networking and other collaborative opportunities and facilitate a range of activities in support of this goal

This funding opportunity will be a two-stage process:

  • stage one aims to establish a leadership team to lead the GIBA network+
  • stage two aims to provide funding to the GIBA leadership team to develop and lead the GIBA network+ and associated activities

Background

The gut-immunology-brain axis (GIBA) is a complex network of direct and indirect bidirectional communication routes involving multiple biological systems and signalling pathways such as neural, endocrine, metabolic and immune pathways.

The GIBA is an emerging area of research with potential to improve physical, cognitive and mental health across the life course. However, many of the biological mechanisms underpinning the GIBA, and how it is modulated by lifestyle and other factors, are not well understood.

In March 2023, BBSRC held a community building workshop to explore the opportunities, challenges and the research and innovation needs to advance understanding of the GIBA and to inform future activities. The recommendations from this workshop have helped to inform this network opportunity. Read the workshop report (PDF, 2MB).

Through this network+ investment we expect the network to:

  • facilitate networking, new collaborations and knowledge exchange across disciplines and sectors
  • generate mechanistic understanding of the bi-directional communication pathways within the GIBA to improve health across the life course
  • build research capacity and interdisciplinary capability
  • deliver tangible outputs (for example, publications synthesising existing evidence, framework for future activity, mapping the UK landscape in GIBA, research and innovation gap analysis, stakeholder engagement plan and novel research proposals)
  • have a diverse and inclusive membership across disciplines, sectors and career stages and be geographically distributed across the UK

What we will fund

Leadership team

We are seeking to establish a leadership team for the network to:

  • submit a network proposal to BBSRC in consultation with the wider GIBA research community
  • take responsibility for setting direction, maintaining focus and momentum of the network
  • have the appropriate leadership and management skills (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the network and to drive interdisciplinary inclusion and develop others
  • contribute to developing a positive research environment and wider community
  • develop a baseline understanding of the relevant GIBA research base in the UK
  • take the lead in generating and identifying opportunities for coordination of GIBA activities and outputs to ensure overall delivery of the network vision and dissemination of emerging knowledge and best practice
  • ensure maximum impact of the network through developing a clear and effective proactive framework for engagement with stakeholders, other networks and strategic investments
  • be fully accountable for effective use of own time and network resources
  • ensure that targets and objectives are met and the outputs are communicated to BBSRC, key stakeholders, committees, advisory groups and researchers
  • be responsible for monitoring and evaluating network activities including annual and mid-term reporting to BBSRC

The leadership team will consist of a maximum of five people and will include:

  • one UK project lead, who will act as the network director
  • maximum of four UK-based project co-leads, one of whom will act as co-director to assist the network director in the leadership of the network, and at least one of whom should be an early-career researcher

The network leadership team will be supported by a network manager (full or part-time) who will be responsible for activities such as:

  • the day-to-day network management
  • event coordination
  • website development for the network

Network events

Costs for supporting and facilitating network meetings and events, mobility funding and pump priming activities can be requested. Further details will be provided when the full network application funding opportunity opens.

Duration

The duration of the network is four years.

Eligible Costs

Salaries and support costs

The project lead (director of the network) and project co-leads will be able to request funds to cover their salary costs at 80% of full economic cost (FEC) for the time spent directing and managing the network. However, it is envisaged that staff costs will not form the majority of costs of the proposal and be reasonable.

Salary costs for a network manager (full or part-time) will also be supported.

Further details will be provided when the full network application funding opportunity opens.

How to apply

The expression of interest to either lead the network or be part of the leadership team is mandatory. Only the successful leadership team will be invited to develop the Network+ bid.

You must submit an expression of interest to BBSRC via the UK Research and Innovation Engagement Hub.

The closing date is 14 May 2024 at 4.00pm

You will not be able to apply after this time.

To ask any questions you may have about the role, email bfh@bbsrc.ukri.org

The expression of interest form for the network leadership team contains the following sections:

  • personal information (for example, name, organisation and contact details)
  • free text sections, including:
    •  personal statement: why you wish to be on the network leadership team, what you bring to the network (maximum 500 words)
  • for the project lead only:
    •  vision for the GIBA network+ and approach for successful delivery including what qualities you anticipate in your leadership team (experts and experience)
    • (maximum 750 words)
  • for the co-leads only:
    • how you will work in the co-lead role to support the network director’s vision and successful delivery of the network
    • what you would want this network to achieve
  • in addition, the following information is requested from all applicants:
    • short description of your research expertise and how this knowledge applies to GIBA research (maximum 300 words)
    • knowledge or experience of working at the interface between academia, industry, government and other relevant BBSRC stakeholders (maximum 300 words)
    • knowledge or experience of improving equality, diversity and inclusion outcomes (maximum 250 words)
    • level of commitment to the network and potential in-kind contributions (maximum 250 words)

If you have any queries or additional needs to enable you to complete the application form, email bfh@bbsrc.ukri.org

Full network application stage (invitation only)

Following successful completion of the leadership application process, the project lead (network director) will be invited to submit a full network application. Full details on how to apply will be published when the full application funding opportunity opens. We will run this funding opportunity on the new UKRI Funding Service. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

Personal data

Processing personal data

BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

The funding opportunity is a two-stage process:

Stage one: expression of interest for the GIBA network+ leadership team

  • this is aimed to identify the network lead (director) and co-leads

Stage two: GIBA network+ full proposal (invite only)

  • this will be a closed opportunity, only the successful lead (director) will be eligible to apply to develop and lead the GIBA network+ with the leadership team. The application deadline will be 17 September 2024. If successful, the network grant will start in January 2025

Expression of interests for the network leadership team will be assessed via panel only assessment.

Panel

We will invite an interdisciplinary panel of experts to use the evidence provided to assess the quality of your expression of interest for the network leadership team and score it against the specified scoring criteria for this opportunity. The panel will also:

  • shortlist and conduct interviews for the project lead (network director) applicants only (we anticipate interviews to be held the weeks commencing 24 June 2024)
  • following the interview stage for the network director, make a leadership team recommendation to BBSRC

BBSRC will make the final decision on the network leadership team appointments in consultation with the successful network director and the chair of the panel. Where appropriate, BBSRC expects multiple research organisations and regional diversity will be represented within the network leadership team, as well as diversity across skills, expertise and career stage to deliver a successful network.

Applications that do not clearly address the assessment criteria will be rejected.

BBSRC reserves the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • project lead (director) applicants only: demonstrate a clear vision, leadership qualities and approach for the network and how it will help to advance understanding and grow interdisciplinary capability in GIBA research in the UK
  • co-lead applicants only: demonstrate clear aims and ambitions for the network and evidence of collaboratively working to support the network director and the delivery the network to advance understanding and grow interdisciplinary capability in GIBA research in the UK

For all applicants:

  • relevant experience in leading or being involved in a network, networking activities or interdisciplinary research consortia
  • understanding or experience of working at the interface between academia, industry and other relevant BBSRC stakeholders, as well as awareness of end user and developer perspectives
  • knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion activities being undertaken in research and innovation across the UK and internationally, and a demonstrated commitment to making progress on equality, diversity and inclusion issues, with experience of improving outcomes
  • be able to commit the necessary time and attention to the network and to have the full support or the necessary permission of your employer

Contact details

Get help with your application

Contact Details

For help and advice on writing your expression of interest for the GIBA network+ leadership team please contact bfh@bbsrc.ukri.org

Sensitive information

If you need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, please include information in the email to: bfh@bbsrc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [GIBA network expression of interest; sensitive information]

Typical examples of confidential information include:

  • individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
  • declaration of interest
  • additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the expression of interest form
  • conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Additional info

Supporting documents

Report of BBSRC GIBA Workshop March 2023 (PDF, 2MB)

Webinar for potential applicants

We held a webinar on 2 May 2024 at 10:30am UK time. This provided more information about the opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

Watch a recording of the webinar via Zoom.

Passcode: #P8%bv7F

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