Terms and Conditions: University Enterprise Fellowship

Conditions of award​ 

  • The Fellow will concentrate their activity on enterprise, implementing the plans set out in their proposal. 
  • Fellows should agree in advance with their Head of School what duties they can be released from, in conjunction with the funding provided to support this, to free up sufficient time for their fellowship activities.
  • Fellows are expected to engage with events and publicity to share their work with the intention of building a multidisciplinary community of enterprise-engaged academics.
  • Respecting any necessary confidentiality, Fellows’ project titles and summary findings may be shared by Bristol Innovations to help publicise the University’s successes with a broad internal and external audience.
  • It is expected that other on-going research commitments such as research council grants and PhD students during the award year will be continued.
  • Any changes of circumstance or topic must be reported to Manda Baynes as soon as possible.
  • UEF resources must rebound to DREI and are not be used by schools/departments for other purposes if the stated work cannot be undertaken as envisaged and agreed at time of award.
  • A UEF Report Form‌ must be submitted by the deadline specified by Manda Baynes. 

Criteria for award 

The selection process is governed by criteria that include: 

  • originality and feasibility of the proposed substantive project 
  • quality and coherence of the proposal
  • balance of disciplinarity/interdisciplinarity across the range of successful awards
  • importance of the award relative to the applicant's career stage
  • possibility of applicants gaining alternative sources of funding
  • sustainability of proposed application of research 

Given these criteria, unsuccessful nominations should not be interpreted by nominees as a negative judgment on the part of the selection panel. Many excellent proposals have to be turned down given the competition and the need to fund a range of projects and applicants. 

Application and Award process 

  1. Applicants should fill in sections 1 – 5 of the form and pass to their Head of School/Department for completion of section 6. The form should then be forwarded to Manda Baynes in DREI by deadline stated on application form.
  2. A panel chaired by Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Michele Barbour will review applications and make awards. Note that this panel will be the only assessing body. Unlike the URF scheme, schools and faculties are not required to rank applications, although the Head of School’s statement will be taken into account in decision making and applications will not be advanced without Head of School confirmation of support.
  3. Applicants will be informed of decisions by email. Heads of School/Department and University Enterprise and Innovation Committee will also be notified.
  4. Any enquiries relating to the scheme should be addressed to Manda Baynes.
  5. A report on the outcomes of your Fellowship will be requested via a webform after your Fellowship ends. You will be contacted periodically afterwards to help us track longer-term impact. 

Regulations 

University Enterprise Fellowships (UEFs) are open to current members of staff on Pathway 1 and 3. UEFs enable the Fellows appointed to dedicate time to a specific enterprise project with clear deliverables for a period of 3-12 months. The awards have two components: 

  1. Up to £10,000 paid to the Department/School to protect time to allow the Fellow to focus on their fellowship. This could for instance buy out time spent for teaching, assessment or other duties. The Head of School should state the amount requested and very briefly outline the reasons for this. It is anticipated that the amount requested will relate at least in part to the duration of the fellowship. 
  2. Up to £5,000 for related costs such as travel, event attendance, external consultants, materials etc. 

Proposals should consist of a statement on the enterprise activity you will undertake and the expected outputs from the Fellowship. Proposals must be accompanied by a Statement of Support from the Head of Department/School. 

Responsibilities of the School 

The format of this scheme, and the associated responsibilities of the school, are similar to those for University Research Fellowships. The School agrees to release the Fellow from sufficient responsibilities to permit them the required time to carry out the Fellowship. It is expected that on-going research commitments will be continued. 

Responsibilities of the Fellow 

The Fellow will concentrate their activity on enterprise, implementing the plans set out in their proposal.  Fellows are expected to engage with events and publicity to share their work with other Fellows with the intention of building a multidisciplinary community of enterprise-engaged academics. Respecting any necessary confidentiality, Fellows’ project titles and summary findings may be shared by Bristol Innovations to help publicise the University’s successes with a broad internal and external audience. Fellows are required to submit a detailed end-of-year report to Manda Baynes. 

Panel Assessment Criteria 

  • originality and feasibility of the proposed work
  • quality and coherence of the proposal
  • balance of disciplinarity/interdisciplinarity across the range of successful awards
  • importance of the award relative to the applicant's career stage
  • possibility of applicants gaining alternative sources of funding
  • sustainability of proposed application of research 

Given these criteria, unsuccessful applications should not be interpreted as a negative judgment on the part of the selection panel. We expect that many excellent proposals will have to be turned down given the competition and the need to fund a range of projects and types/levels of applicants.