Postgraduate Research Funds

Guidelines

Grants of up to £500 are available to postgraduate BSG members registered for a higher research degree (i.e. MPhil/PhD), to provide support for students who do not receive full funding or where an opportunity to add value to an existing funded MPhil/PhD programme has arisen. Awards will be considered for costs of activities that "add value" to the basic research programme e.g. attendance on training courses, specialist one-off field visits that are seen as add-ons to the research programme, invitations to visit overseas laboratories, and applications for dating costs. In the case of dating costs, other bodies such as NERC should be approached first, unless the date is needed urgently or is for a single sample and therefore unlikely to attract NERC support. Grants are not normally awarded to cover basic costs of research programmes (i.e. travel, subsistence, monitoring costs, field/laboratory equipment) as these are seen as the responsibility of the institution within which the student is registered (even for self-supporting students) or of the funding body providing the studentship.

Applications are treated differently according to levels of support: (i) postgraduates supported externally (i.e. by a Research Council or equivalent) are only eligible for support in exceptional circumstances for their MPhil/PhD work (e.g. partial funding for a field assistant where safety issues require this and where the funding body will not fund such assistance) but are eligible for funds to pursue an opportunity which is additional to the MPhil/PhD programme. (ii) postgraduates supported internally (by a University) or self-funded would be eligible to apply for support of fieldwork/laboratory costs, as well as added-value research. Applications will be judged primarily on their scientific merit, costings and the supporting references/supervisor statement. Procedures for application are set out below.

Forms

• Microsoft Word Format
• Adobe Acrobat Format

Application and Monitoring Procedures for BSG Postgraduate Research Funds

1. Deadlines are: 30 September, 31 March.
   
2. Applicants should submit the following in a single package to arrive prior to the deadline:
   
1. 5 copies of the application form and supporting case (which should be no more than 1 side of A4 in 12 point font and should include details of the project, a brief scientific justification for the application and, if Research Council funded, the relationship to the funded studentship research);
   
2. A statement detailing their level and source of funding, which should be signed by their Head of Department (or equivalent);
   
3. 2 referees statements (one of which should normally be from the research supervisor) in support of the application, supplied in sealed envelopes, signed across the seal by the referee. Applicants are advised to seek references well in advance of the application deadline.
   
3. Applications should be sent to: BSG Administrative Assistant, RGS-IBG, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR.
   
4. On the first working day after the deadline, a copy of all complete applications will be forwarded to each of the members of the Research Sub-Committee and to the Honorary Secretary.
   
5. The Chair of the Research Sub-Committee will send notification to each applicant of the verdict on their application no more than 5 weeks after the deadline. The Chair will also notify the Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of the amounts awarded and the recipients.
   
6. Successful applicants should then write to the Honorary Treasurer requesting the allocated funds.
   
7. On completion of expenditure of the award, and normally within six months of its receipt, the applicant should supply an account of expenditure of the funds awarded. This should be supported by receipts (copies acceptable in the case of funding shared with another agency). This account should be sent to the address in para. 3 above.
   
8. On completion of the supported work, and normally within one year of the award, the applicant should supply a report on the outcome of the project. This should not normally exceed 2 pages of A4 in 12 point font, and should refer to any intended public domain outcomes, e.g. conference presentation, submission of paper to journal. This report should be sent in hard copy to the address in para. 3 above and in electronic form to bsg@rgs.org.
   
9. Reports will be forwarded with a copy of the initial application to members of Research Sub-Committee and to the Honorary Secretary. If the reports are approved, then the Honorary Secretary will forward to the Geophemera editor and BSG webmaster for publication. If the reports are deemed unsatisfactory, the Chair of Research Sub-Committee will write to the author with comments.
   
10. The Report of the Chair of Research Sub-Committee to the AGM will include an overview of the success of BSG-sponsored research projects.