Funding
The definition of words in italics can be found in the glossary.
To access the funding opportunities database, click on the “Funding” button located in the navigation bar.
In the Funding section, you will find highlighted funding opportunities hand-picked by our funding editors.
You have two options when searching for funding opportunities:
Simple Search: This allows you to type in search terms freely. Suggested disciplines, funders, award types and free text will appear as you type. Just hit Return to search the description of funding opportunities for the words you've entered. For more information on using the Simple Search, take a look at these simple search tips.
Advanced Search: This allows you to navigate the database with a combination of various criteria to build complex searches and fine-tune your results. The six most frequently used search criteria are displayed as buttons at the top of the page. You can find additional search criteria listed under the “More options” drop-down menu. Click here for a full list of the search criteria available in the Advanced Search, and for information on how each option works.
Below the search builder (see above), there are two buttons labelled “Match all criteria” and “Match any criteria”, with “Match all criteria” selected by default. When “Match all criteria” is selected, funding opportunities will only be displayed if they meet all of the criteria specified in your search. With “Match any” selected, opportunities will be displayed if they match any of the criteria in your search.
Sorting your results
Using the toolbar shown below, you can re-order your results and change how many opportunities are displayed per page.
Viewing your results
The results generated from your opportunities search will display a summary of each item. This will include information to do with the closing date, award type, funder and maximum award amount (where available).
To view the full listing for the opportunity, click on the title of the item. You will see a more in-depth description as well as contact details for the funder, a link to view the item on the funder's website, as well as a link to an online application form (where available). Use the Back button in your browser to return to the search builder.
Saving your results
Search results can be saved in a couple of ways:
Save a search: Above the search box, you will see the “Save” button (see below). Click on this to save your search criteria.
Bookmark funding opportunities: Above the search results, you will also see the “Bookmark” button. Select individual funding opportunities from your list of results and then click on this option to bookmark the opportunities.
Saved searches and bookmarks can be accessed from the right-hand side of the Advanced Search.
Updating or deleting a search
You can return to a previously created search to edit your search criteria. To do this, from the Advanced Search, click on the title of the search you wish to edit (it will appear on the right-hand side of the page, under the 'Saved Searches' heading).
The “Save” button detailed above will now have changed to an “Update” button.
After changing the search criteria, click “Update” and the search will now be saved with the new criteria.
Creating an email alert
You can choose to receive a weekly email containing new opportunities added during the week that match any of your saved searches. Email alerts will be sent out on Friday, and by default you will receive a single email containing the results of all of your opportunities alerts.
To set up a new email alert, create a search and choose to save it following the instructions detailed in the “Saving your results” section, above. In the pop-up window, after entering a name for the search, click on the “Save and alert” option.
To manage your email alerts, click on the “Email alerts” button in the top right-hand corner of the page. You will see a page listing all of your saved searches. Check and uncheck the boxes next to the titles you wish to contribute to your weekly alerts.
Downloading your results
In addition to browsing the *Research Professional database for funding opportunities, you also have the option to download these results and view them offline. To do this, select the opportunities you wish to download from your search results and then click on the “Actions” drop-down menu located next to the “Bookmarks” button. By selecting “Download”, you will have three further options:
Full Text: This selection will enable you to view and download all of the information to do with the funding opportunity as presented on the live *Research Professional webpage. This document will be downloaded as a plain text (.txt) file.
Summary: This selection contains only a brief summary of the opportunity. Again, this will be downloaded as a plain text (.txt) file.
Institutions subscribing to our Networked service will also have an additional option from this drop-down menu:
Calendar: This selection will download the chosen items as an .ics file which can be imported into your own calendar programme (such as Outlook or iCal). See below for more information about the use of calendars in *Research Professional.
Calendars
If your institution is subscribed to the Networked service, you have the opportunity to view your opportunities in a calendar format.
You can export funding opportunities into your desktop programme (for example iCal/Outlook) or subscribe to a web version and store online.
Next to both the “Save” and “Bookmark” options is the “Actions” menu. Selecting “Calendar” in the menu above the search box will allow you to view all of the results from a saved search in a calendar format. Selecting “Calendar” in the menu above the list of results will allow you to view any individually selected results in a calendar format.
Your calendar will open in a new tab. You can click on an opportunity’s title to see a pop-up containing a summary of that opportunity, as well as a link to view the item’s full information in the main *Research Professional interface.
If you’ve saved the search or folder of bookmarks used to generate your calendar, you can save the URL of your calendar to your desktop and come back to view it again in the future. If your calendar was originally generated from a saved search, it will be automatically updated with new opportunities that match the searches criteria when you return to it. If your calendar was generated from saved bookmarks then it will show these bookmarks.
You can also import the calendar into your own calendar programme (Outlook, iCal, etc.) using the “Download” and “Subscribe” options.
Download: This will download the calendar to your desktop as an iCal file. This is a standard calendar format, which you can import into most calendar programmes (please see your own calendar programme’s documentation for details on how to do this). Opportunities will appear in your own calendar as a full day event.
Subscribe: This option uses a WebCal subscription to import all of the currently displayed items into your own calendar programme. Further, if new opportunities are added to the database that match the search your calendar was based on, those items will also be automatically added to your own calendar programme. Please note, not all calendar programmes support WebCal subscriptions. Please consult your own programme’s documentation.
Funding Insight
If your institution subscribes to our Funding Insight content, you will have access to a wealth of additional content available in the Funding section of *Research Professional. This content focuses on helping you to decide which opportunities to apply for and enables you to make better applications based on insider information about the funding bodies.
The Funding Insight content is accessible from the home page of the Funding section. If your institution has access to Funding Insight, your Funding page will look similar to this:
The key elements on this page are:
The Hubs
Along the top of the page, you will see headings for the four major research areas (Bio/Medical, Engineering & Physical, Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities). Each of these sections act as a Hub and possess their own dedicated page providing relevant news, funding opportunities and insight content.
On each channel page, you will find links to detailed pages on major funders in that area, and on the right-hand side, a selection of pre-made searches for funding opportunities and deadline calendars curated by our Funding Editors.
Know How topics
On the Funding home page, you will also find the Know How section. Content in the Know How section is divided into a number of topic areas and under each you will find authoritative advice and guidance written by established experts aimed at helping you win proposals.
Email me updates
When you are viewing a Hub, Know How topic or dedicated funder page, you will see the “Email me updates” button in the top-right corner of the page.
Clicking on this button will set you up to receive an email alert containing any news articles, insight or know-how associated with that Hub, topic or funder.
Bookmarking, Downloading and Emailing Funding Insight Content
When viewing an Insight or Know How article, you will see the “Bookmark”, “Download” and “Email” buttons at the top of the page.
Bookmark: By selecting “Bookmark”, this will open up a pop-up window allowing you to save the article into one of your article bookmark folders (or create a new one). Bookmarked Funding Insight articles will also be saved with your saved article searches and bookmarks.
Download: Choosing this option will allow you to download the article as a plain text (.txt) file.
Email: Selecting this option will allow you to email a link of the article from *Research Professional, to a colleague.