Call for The Royal Society Career Development Fellowship 2024 is open now!!!
The Career Development Fellowship (CDF) is a four-year, postdoctoral research fellowship that aims to support the retention in STEM of researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. The scheme will initially run as a pilot with researchers from Black heritage. If successful, the pilot may be broadened to researchers from other underrepresented groups.
The scheme has been developed following cross-sector roundtables and Royal Society-commissioned reports which looked at trends across 11 years of Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) data and benchmarked the Society’s early career fellowships against the eligible applicant pool.
This process identified a need for interventions across the academic pipeline to support researchers from Black or Mixed Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black heritage backgrounds, particularly researchers making the transition from postgraduate to early postdoctoral stages.
Fellowships will provide funding to conduct high-quality research and a comprehensive program of mentoring, training, and networking opportunities to support award holders in establishing a successful research career in the UK.
The Royal Society’s fundamental purpose, reflected in its founding Charters of the 1660s, is to recognize, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.
The Society has played a part in some of the most fundamental, significant, and life-changing discoveries in scientific history, and Royal Society scientists continue to make outstanding contributions to science in many research areas.
The very first ‘learned society’ meeting on 28 November 1660 followed a lecture at Gresham College by Christopher Wren. Joined by other leading polymaths including Robert Boyle and John Wilkins, the group soon received royal approval, and from 1663 it would be known as ‘The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge’.
The Royal Society’s motto ‘Nullius in verba’ is taken to mean ‘take nobody’s word for it’. It is an expression of the determination of Fellows to withstand the domination of authority and to verify all statements by an appeal to facts determined by experiment.
Location:
United KingdomBenefits
- Up to £690,000 over four years to cover the Research Fellow’s salary and associated on-costs (at 80%), directly allocated costs (at 80%), and research expenses;
- A high-quality program of training, mentoring, and engagement to support career development;
- Flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances including part-time work. There is also provision for maternity, paternity, adoption, or extended sick leave.
- Applicants can request relocation and visa costs for themselves and their dependants (partners and children). These costs can be requested in addition to the total grant cap of £690,000 over four years.
Eligibilities
- Research must be within the Royal Society’s remit of natural sciences, which includes but is not limited to biological research, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics. For a full list, please see the breakdown of subject groups and areas supported by the Royal Society.
- The applicant can apply for the pilot scheme if they:
- Self-identify as being from a Black heritage including mixed Black background;
and - Have a Ph.D. or will have one by the time the funding starts; but have less than 24 months of post-doctoral experience;
- Self-identify as being from a Black heritage including mixed Black background;
- Both UK and non-UK-domiciled researchers who wish to conduct their research in the UK are eligible.
Application Process
- Before the scheme opens to applications on 7 November, the applicant should:
- Read the scheme notes and FAQs thoroughly
- Check the applicant’s eligibility against the scheme notes
- Identify and confirm support from the applicant’s sponsor, and check they are based at an eligible host organization
- Flag the applicant’s intention to apply to the research office at their host organization
- When the scheme opens to applications on 7 November, the applicant should:
- Begin their application. The form can be accessed through the Society’s grant management system Flexi-Grant®. It doesn’t need to be completed in one session, the applicant can save their application in draft and return it
- Allow enough time for the application to be reviewed and approved by the applicant’s research office
- Ensure the applicant submits their application by 24 January 2024; they can only do this once all participants (e.g. Head of Department, nominated referee, etc) have completed their sections of the application form and clicked ‘save and submit’
- What happens when the scheme deadline has passed:
- Following eligibility checks, the application will be assessed by a Panel of scientists with broad scientific expertise
- Panel members will review and score applications; and subsequently shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by the Panel to find out more about their proposed research
Application Deadline: January 24, 2024
Application ClosedOfficial link
