College of Science & Engineering

STFC IAA projects are no longer required to cite underpinning STFC funded research to be eligible for funding, however all projects must be within the STFC remit. STFC fund research into astronomy, solar and planetary science, particle physics, particle astrophysics, nuclear physics, accelerator science, computational science. Please follow the following link for details on STFC research areas to check if you are unsure.

The scheme will not fund new research projects, but rather the translation of research towards impact. Applicants must explain how their project fits within the remit of EPSRC and provide a short overview of the underpinning research upon which the project builds. This should be work undertaken at the University of Glasgow or work that the applicant has had some involvement with at a previous institution. The PI for an IAA application does not necessarily need to be (or have been) the PI or collaborator on the underpinning research. PhD projects are also eligible as underpinning research.

Typically, eligible partners are companies in the UK or elsewhere in the world, trade bodies, local or regional or national government bodies, other public sector organisations including the NHS, charities, NGO's and other third sector organisations. Note that you will be required to put in place a formal collaboration agreement with external partners before commencing your project. It is recommended that you discuss this with your partner at an early stage of the proposal development.

Proposals must:

• describe the area of knowledge, capability or technology to be developed;
• have a single, named PI who is responsible for the project, who must be a member of staff at the University of Glasgow;
• provide a title by which the project will be known;
• state the proposed start date and duration of the proposed project;
• briefly outline the research base on which it builds;
• describe the current stage of development and how it will be moved forward by the proposed IAA project;
• provide details on the opportunity that will be addressed by this project, backed up by evidence of demand from the market and / or stakeholders and any other impact drivers;
• outline the current barriers to exploitation/application;
• fully justify the nature and cost of all resources requested;
• provide details of anticipated project outcomes and impacts, including how they will be achieved, within what timescales, what mechanisms might be adopted to realise them, and how they will be measured;
• address projects risks and outline mitigation strategies;
• demonstrate that an appropriate IP strategy is being adopted;
• outline how Responsible Innovation, sustainability and ED&I principals will be incorporated into your project.

Proposals which obviously do not address these criteria will be deemed ineligible and be rejected without going to the review panel. It is strongly recommended that you discuss your proposal with the IAA Manager Keith Dingwall (email: keith.dingwall@glasgow.ac.uk) prior to submitting a proposal.

Research Associates and research fellows can apply for IAA funding as the principal investigator of a project proposal. In this case applicants should ensure that they have the approval of their line manager. In addition, RA applicants should provide a statement outlining how leading an IAA project will enhance their career.

For secondment projects, all secondees must comply with visa and immigration requirements. Please check with your local HR team.

All projects must be complete before 31 March 2025.

The next IAA standard proposal submission deadline will be announced in the future. Please note the following criteria for this call:

• Projects are expected to commence promptly once awarded and must be complete by 31 March 2025.
• Research Associates, Research Fellows as well as all other staff are welcome to apply to this call.

STFC IAA Fast Track proposals can be submitted at any time.

Applications should be submitted by emailing cose-iaa@glasgow.ac.uk.

It is preferable that collaborative partners will contribute cash to the project, although “tangible” material contributions from industrial collaborators may also be considered. Acceptable equivalent value partner in-kind contributions could be in the form of specific staff time undertaking part of the project, access to equipment, provision of materials, consumables, or other items. These commitments should be backed up by a letter of support which should be submitted along with your proposal.

IAA projects must specify a proposed start date and project duration. The duration can be anything from a few weeks to 12 months or more. The average project duration is around 6 months. If you think that your project is going to overrun and would like to request a no-cost extension, please contact Keith Dingwall (email keith.dingwall@glasgow.ac.uk).

IAA funding is only awarded internally to University of Glasgow staff. External organisations cannot be a recipient of IAA funding, although they can be paid for services provided and goods supplied. While collaborators at other institutions can be involved in IAA projects, their time cannot be funded by the University of Glasgow EPSRC IAA.

All projects must be completed by 31 March 2025. Extensions beyond this date are not possible.

Ownership and use of any new intellectual property developed during an IAA project will be negotiated by the University in consultation with the applicants. If an external partner organisation is involved a signed Collaboration Agreement will need to be in place prior to the project starting - please contact the University contracts team for advice and assistance.

All commercialisation projects should be developed in consultation with the University IP and Commercialisation team.

For standard STFC IAA projects you can apply for a grant of up to £20,000, with the value of the award dependent on the scope, stage and scale of the project. Fast track projects can be up to £5,000 in value. While IAA funding does not include FEC, it is designed to be flexible and can cover items such as:

• University staff to undertake the project (Researchers and other staff, but not PI or Co-I time);
• consumables, travel and subsistence;
• cost associated with secondments between academia and industry;
• small capital equipment items. Any single item purchased using an IAA award must be less than £10,000 in value (inc. VAT). IAA funds cannot be used to make a contribution to the cost of an individual item of equipment which costs £10,000 or more (inc. VAT);
• cost for the use of and access to specialist facilities at Glasgow and elsewhere;
• sub-contracting costs;
• training costs (for training directly related to impact generation activities only);
• commissioning expert consultants to undertake specialist tasks such as market research / analysis, product design, industry engagement or a commercial champion to support the development of impact.

The following items are not eligible for IAA funding:

• PI and Co-I salary costs;
• academic research or the development of tools exclusively for use in further research;
• academic publication costs;
• IP and patent costs;
• projects designed to bridge the gap between research projects;
• projects with the sole aim of retaining a PDRA;
• PhD's and costs directly associated with studentships;
• standard desktop, laptop and tablet computers and associated IT equipment;
• single items of equipment with a value of £10,000 or more (inc. VAT);
• contributions to equipment with a value greater than £10,000 (inc. VAT).

In line with the sustainability goals of the University and STFC, all travel undertaken using IAA funds must be fully justified and done using the most appropriate mode available, taking into account cost, circumstances and sustainability.

All resources purchased for IAA projects must done in line with university policy, in particular, taking account of purchasing thresholds. See the Procurement Office webpages for details.

Please contact Jaclyn McCann (email: jaclyn.mccann@glasgow.ac.uk) or Keith Dingwall (Email: keith.dingwall@glasgow.ac.uk) for advice on preparing your IAA project costing.

The STFC IAA can support both outgoing and incoming secondments of staff with external partner organisations. It can also be used to enable placements, internships, and co-location of partner organisations on-campus. Secondments are flexible - they can be short and focused or can be a component of a larger project. Secondments can also be part time. The IAA will cover the salary costs for university staff seconded to external organisations for the time spent with the host. IAA funds can also be used to fund travel and subsistence costs, as well as any other resources required by the secondment project.

Enterprise secondments can enable a member of staff to take up a post with a university spinout company, and can be delivered in tandem with an Enterprise Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Please note that there are institutional rules and processes relating to formal staff secondments which must be adhered with. In particular, the visa and immigration status of the proposed secondee must be considered. If you are unsure, please contact your local HR Advisor for advice.

If you have a project that you think would be suitable for any of these types of activity, please contact Keith Dingwall (email: keith.dingwall@glasgow.ac.uk) to discuss further.

Project applications will be assessed by the IAA Review Panel, a multi-disciplinary group comprising of both academics and experienced industrialists. Applicants should write their proposal for a non-specialist audience and avoid using discipline-specific terminology and acronyms.

Application assessment will take into account (not listed in any priority order):

• The link to the research base to be exploited, its quality, and the potential scope and likelihood for impact to be realised (i.e., new products or processes, jobs created or safeguarded, cost savings, increased profits, new policies, improved healthcare, etc.);
• A clear explanation of how funding will be used to achieve impact from research output;
• Strength of involvement of external partners;
• Potential benefits to the University of Glasgow, project partners, external stakeholders and end users;
• Quality of the business case for the project, including:
  • evidence of demand from companies, stakeholders or end-users;
  • a definition of the requirement or need;
  • a plan of activities, outcomes and project milestones explaining how they will contribute to meeting that requirement or need;
  • a clear plan for follow-on activities and details on how they may be funded;
  • a defined vision for the products, processes or services being developed or technology to be created
• Proposed project implementation including project plan, tasks / activities, outputs, milestones and how their achievement will be measured;
• Potential for securing or leveraging additional funding or investment. A particular priority for the STFC IAA is projects that are designed to deliver outputs that will form the basis for STFC Innovation Partnership Scheme or Follow-on Fund applications.
• Risks involved in the project and how they are mitigated - a high level of risk is not necessarily a bad thing if the potential impact is high;
• Value for money including justification of resources requested and contributions in cash or in kind from partners;
• Implementation of good practice in Responsible Innovation, Sustainability and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

This table provides examples of the types of outputs, outcomes and impacts on which the success of the Impact Acceleration Account will be assessed. You will be asked to report against these after your project has completed. Please consider these when completing your IAA application form.

• Outputs, outcomes & impact table (PDF)

As the success of an IAA project will be based on the quality of the impact of the activities funded, the IAA Project Manager and the KE Associate Team will work closely with all projects to ensure objectives are achieved, monitoring progress against pre-defined milestones. Upon completion, a completed IAA final reporting form, agreed and signed by all partners, will be required. In addition, you may also be asked to help develop a on your project in consultation with the IAA team which will focusing on the outcomes and benefits of the work undertaken.

In addition to the final project report you should also record project outcomes in the University's Enlighten KE and Impact repository.

You are advised to contact the STFC IAA Manager or a KE Associate from the CoSE IAA Team for advice and guidance prior to submitting your application. Electronic submissions are acceptable for proposal review purposes. Completed applications should be emailed to cose-iaa@glasgow.ac.uk.

• Download the ‌‌‌STFC IAA 2022 Standard Application Form for projects up to £10,000
• Download the STFC IAA 2022 Fast Track Application Form for projects up to £5,000