Education and Careers

The Fermor Seed Corn fund is open to individuals who belong to the following groups:

• Early Career Researchers (<10 years from completing a PhD), technical staff, or research assistants who are ineligible as lead investigators on standard UKRI grant applications.
• Researchers who are returning to work following a career break or long-term illness.
• Early-career researchers working in India, or with plans to foster collaboration with Indian research organisations as part of this funded project (please note a letter of support from the in-country participant(s) will be required).

The scheme is open to all fellows regardless of geographic location. All applicants must have a PhD by the time that the funded period starts. Applicants who have not yet completed their PhD at the time of application should submit a supporting letter from the host institution where they intend to conduct the relevant research, confirming a contract and position for the duration of the project period.

The Fermor Seed Corn Fund is intended to support individuals who cannot easily apply for funding by other means. This is likely to be an individual on a fixed-term academic contract, or a non-academic contract with research capacity, to complete a period of novel academic research. The fund is not intended as additional funding to support an applicant who is otherwise employed to conduct an ongoing research project, i.e. research fellows or permanent academic appointments where there have been no interruptions to careers.

All applicants are required to be Fellows at the time that funding is awarded. Any queries regarding eligibility should be directed to [email protected] ahead of the closing date.

To apply, please submit an application form.

The form asks applicants to provide a range of information. In addition to a project rationale, awardees will be asked to:

• Consider the desired impact of their research within their academic field
• Consider the project plan and cost breakdown of their proposed research
• Consider the sustainability and environmental impact of the project
• Make equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility considerations
• Discuss outputs in terms of open access publications and data management
• Consider training/development – have you identified any training opportunities within the scope of this project?

In addition to the form, applicants are asked to submit a detailed budgetary breakdown using this budget template.

This should be accompanied by a Justification of Resources (up to two A4 pages), explaining why the various items are necessary for the project.

Whilst we intend to fund two to three projects in the first round, the Society reserves the right to not make an award in the event that no suitable applications are received.

It is a condition of award funding that the awardee produces a yearly report of the activities undertaken, as well as at the end of the period of funded work. Awardees will also be asked to attend quarterly meetings to discuss research progress with their peers.

Interim reports should include a summary of geological findings and an assessment of how the funding has supported the awardee in achieving their research aims.

Quarterly financial statements detailing how awarded funds have been spent will also be required for funds to be paid (in arrears) to the host institution.

Any published or unpublished report resulting from the grant funding should acknowledge the financial support.

Enquiries

For any enquiries about the Fermor Seed Corn Fund that are not explained in the guidance document linked above, please email [email protected]

Disability support

We welcome applications from disabled applicants and will accommodate adjustments to the procedures to ensure that these applicants are able to participate fully in the selection process. Adjustments to the application procedure could include:

• Extension of the application deadline
• Additional support to complete the application form
• Technical support during interviews for candidates with hearing or visual impairments
• Support during interviews for neurodiverse candidates and candidates with mental health conditions

If you have any queries about accessing the support described in this section, please use the contact details above.

The information that you submit in your form will be processed by the Geological Society for the purposes of administering your grant application. It will only be shared with external referees from the relevant committees as part of the review process. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Notice.

1.The bequest states 'fundamental research into the origins of [Precambrian] rocks'. Does my research have to be on Precambrian rocks only?

and

2. If my research fits within the Society's five science themes, does my proposal also have to fit within the bequest?

Proposed research does not need to focus on Precambrian rocks. If the proposed research is aligned with any of the Society's five science themes, then it is an eligible research topic for the Fermor Seed Corn Fund.

3. Can I request salary costs in my application?

The Fermor Fund is primarily intended to fund a research project (and the hidden costs within it) by otherwise employed researchers who are not able to access other forms of research support, rather than to form the basis for, and support the salary of, a new position entirely. This is a seed corn research grant, rather than a fellowship.

Should an extension to an existing fixed-term contract be requested, we would expect no more than 50% of the related salary costs (not including overheads) to be requested in any application for the panel to review, with appropriate justification made. The exception to this is where an assistant might be requested to support the researcher already employed, to help where disability or chronic health issues necessitate additional support, or assist with caring responsibilities.

4. Is there any limit on the length (word/character count) of sections in the application form?

There is currently no word/character limit for the sections of the application form. Different projects may require different levels of detail in the various sections. We would encourage applicants to consider the workload of the panel in assessing multiple applications while writing applications.