NEWSLETTER

 

THE RESEARCH FUNDING WORKING GROUP IS UP AND RUNNING

 

 

 

The Research Funding Working Group has been operational since the end of 2018. It counts 12 members with expertise in research funding acquisition and management. 

“The Board decided that we needed a Working Group to facilitate our presence within EU research projects,” explains Gabor.

 

A TOP PRIORITY

 

When it comes to research activities, universities and institutions are importantly relying on external funding. Even for leading institutions, the amount of external research funding can be often higher than base funding. 

“External funding is very competitive, therefore acquiring funds is an important element of a researcher’s CV and component of research excellence,” says Gabor. 

“Through top-down research funding, researchers can connect to investigations around important and timely societal issues, which can significantly increase the impact and the visibility of their work,” he adds.

He also mentions the case of Early Career Researchers who often require complementary funding to complete their three or four-year project. 

 

OBJECTIVES

The Research Funding Working Group has three main objectives:

• Facilitating the participation of MCAA in European research funding proposals 
• Providing information for MCAA members on research funding
• Influencing European policies on research funding.

 

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

The Working Group plans to represent the MCAA at important events like ESOF 2020 ensure MCAA’s presence in research funding proposals (especially regarding Innovative Training Networks).

MCAA’s presence in research funding proposals (especially regarding Innovative Training Networks).

What’s more, the Working Group will set up a website for both research proposal management and research projects. 

 

COOPERATION WITH OTHER WORKING GROUPS 

One priority is to tap the potential synergies with other MCAA Working Groups. 

“We are currently working on the methods to facilitate the information flow between the Research Funding Working Group and other MCAA groups and chapters,” explains Gabor. “As a start, the Policy Working Group is represented within our Working Group to see how we can exploit synergies. If this relationship works well, we can extend this type of cooperation to other Working Groups.

 

“We recently created a survey for research funding needs, that was circulated within all Chapters in order to see what they expect from the Research Funding Working Group,” he adds. “We currently evaluate the feedback and will come up with a strategy accordingly.”

 GET INVOLVED!

This new Working Group aims to contribute to an open and transparent European research funding policy. According to Gabor, members should never hesitate to contact the Working Group: “If MCAA members identify problems, issues with regards to funding policy, I’d invite them to contact us, so we can move important cases for our community to a higher level of discussion”.