UKRI Talent Peer Review College: member vacancies

• Closing date: Open ended
• Length of term: Ongoing
• Time commitment: Up to eight reviews per year
• Outcomes communicated: Periodically

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Talent Peer Review College (PRC) will support the Future Leaders Fellowships, Innovation Scholars and future UKRI collective talent initiatives.

You will carry out PRC training and undertake reviews, providing you with in-depth knowledge of UKRI’s peer review processes and principles. This will help you to further increase your knowledge of reviewing funding applications and proposal writing.

We welcome applications from those with both academic and non-academic backgrounds. We also welcome applications based internationally, as well as the specific areas outlined in this advert.

Who we’re looking for

UKRI Talent PRC membership reflects the breadth of disciplines and subjects across UKRI.

We are now inviting applications to join the Talent PRC, with a key objective to address the following remit expertise gaps:

• agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
• biological sciences
• biomedical and clinical sciences
• commerce, management, tourism and services
• creative arts and writing
• Earth sciences
• education
• engineering
• environmental sciences
• health sciences
• human society
• language, communication and culture
• physical sciences

We invite applications from eligible individuals at all career stages, including from early career researchers, who believe that they meet the essential criteria for PRC membership. Before applying, you should self-assess against the eligibility criteria in the ‘How we’ll assess your application’ section.

We also encourage applications from researchers and innovators based internationally, providing valuable assessments of how the research or innovation proposed contributes to the international landscape.

Nominations from colleagues or organisations are not possible, though research organisations, learned societies, industry organisations and other key stakeholder groups should share this opportunity and encourage and support eligible colleagues to apply.

Underrepresented groups

We strongly encourage applications across our disciplinary remit from persons within groups that are currently underrepresented.

We define underrepresented groups as including those who have been identified within the government diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics inquiry and our diversity data. This includes those who are:

• disabled or have a long-term condition as defined by the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010
• from certain minority ethnic backgrounds such as:
  • Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese or any other Asian background
  • African, Caribbean or any other Black background
  • White and Asian, White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean or any other mixed ethnic background
  • Gypsy, Irish Traveller, Traveller or Roma
  • other ethnic backgrounds such as Arab or Arab British
• from a disadvantaged socio-economic background
• lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer or questioning or identify with another gender identity (LGBTQ+)
• a woman

This data will be periodically compared to the wider academic population with benchmarks constructed from Higher Education Statistics Agency data to inform future rounds of recruitment.

What you’ll be doing

By joining, PRC members take on a fundamental role in the peer review process, ensuring that the highest quality research applications receive funding in accordance with robust and transparent decision-making processes.

PRC members may be asked to review up to eight applications per year.

Our talent schemes have a wide remit. Therefore, it is possible that we will not receive a high number of applications within a particular subject area and so the number of review requests received may vary per year.

Ahead of completing a review, we ask that PRC members complete a short online induction course and familiarise themselves with the scheme-specific reviewers’ guidance.

Reviewers assess each application on its own merits, providing an expert, objective and evidence-based assessment of its quality.

PRC members are not penalised for declining reviews. However, declines for being too busy across multiple rounds and schemes may result in you being asked to step down from the PRC.

If members require any reasonable adjustments to review applications, this can be requested following an invitation to provide a review.

PRC members are appointed on a rolling basis, with the option to opt-out at any time.

How to apply

Submit your application via the application form on the UKRI Engagement Hub.

Your application will be submitted upon seeing the final screen ‘Thank you for completing our survey’.

Deadline

This call is open ended and may close at any time, however applications will be assessed and the PRC updated periodically.

This call may be closed at any time without notice.

Late applications will not be accepted.

All successful applicants will be appointed as UKRI Talent PRC members.

If successful in your application, you may be called upon for any expertise identified from your application form, so please do not include anything you would not be comfortable reviewing on.

How we’ll assess your application

This is an open recruitment call and outcomes will be assessed periodically.

You should self-assess against the eligibility criteria before applying.

Step one

Applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria based on the evidence provided within application forms.

Individual equality, diversity and inclusion data will not be provided to assessors.

Assessment will be completed by UKRI operational and programme staff.

Eligibility criteria

Essential criteria

The essential criteria are:

• professional experience and expertise that is currently underrepresented in the PRC from one of the following categories:
  • agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
  • biological sciences
  • biomedical and clinical sciences
  • commerce, management, tourism and services
  • creative arts and writing
  • Earth sciences
  • education
  • engineering
  • environmental sciences
  • health sciences
  • human society
  • language, communication and culture
  • physical sciences
• experience as a researcher or innovator or experience collaborating with researchers or innovators or using the results of research or innovation in a professional setting. This could include: advancing knowledge, delivering impact, stakeholder engagement, community leadership or meeting the needs of industry or society
• experience in project management, in a research setting or in a relevant industry or non-academic setting, that can be applied in assessment of the management of research or innovation proposals
• professional expertise relevant to UKRI’s subject coverage
• ability to apply expertise to objectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of a proposal, understanding the context and issues within your subject discipline or area

Desirable criteria

The desirable criteria are:

• knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities being undertaken in the UK and internationally, and a demonstrated commitment to making progress on EDI, with experience of improving outcomes
• experience of formal or informal peer review activities to assess research or innovation

Step two

Assessment outcomes will be reviewed considering the balance across college membership.

Step three

Successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified of UKRI’s decision periodically and added to the Peer Review College.

Please note, individual feedback on applications will not be provided.

Further information

Ask a question about the Talent PRC

Email: fellows@ukri.org

Last updated: 31 May 2024