How to apply
We will hold a sift – an open selection process – to identify up to four individuals to support in applying to the FLF call. Interested candidates must submit a sift outline application, which will be shared with the relevant department and a panel of senior academic staff to consider.
Candidates should email the following documents to ukriflf@essex.ac.uk by 5.00pm on Wednesday 12th March 2025 (full guidance is provided in the “University of Essex Sift Outline Guidance” document):
- Four-page sift outline (see Sift Outline Guidance document for requirements)
- Completed ‘FTE Declaration’ (see Appendix 1)
- Completed resubmission declaration (see Appendix 2)
- Completed ‘Equal Opportunities and Discipline Monitoring’ template* (see Appendix 3 {a and b})
Links to the “University of Essex Sift Outline Guidance” document and Appendices 1-3 can be found in the ‘Guidance and Appendices’ section, below.
*Equal Opportunities and Discipline Monitoring
UKRI require the collection of EDI data, specifically the number of prospective applicants by sex and gender, ethnicity, disability, and broad disciplinary groupings, from all candidates submitting to this opportunity, including all those submitting to the institutional sift. This will be collected anonymously in conjunction with the Finance, Planning and Data Insight Section (FPDI); therefore, it is important that all applicants’ profiles are up to date. Please see Appendix 3 for details.
Please note that your information is held within People and Culture in line with GDPR regulations, and is included as part of the anonymised statutory return to HESA. Our privacy policy, and a statement about data collection for HESA can be found here.
UKRI also require information about subject discipline diversity, which FPDI do not hold. Candidates applying to the sift will, therefore, be required to submit a short ‘Discipline Monitoring Template’ as part of their sift application.
The selection process
Selection will be made on the basis of candidates’ sift application materials. All complete applications will be considered by an internal sift panel, chaired by Chris Greer, the Pro Vice Chancellor Research, that will select which candidates will be put forward to submit a full application. The panel will evaluate applications against the scheme assessment criteria, and be guided by the quality of the proposed research project and the potential of the candidate to become a future research and innovation leader.
Candidates will be informed whether their applications will be supported by the University no later than Friday 21st March 2025. Candidates successful in obtaining support from the University will be given extensive assistance in refining their full applications to UKRI. The completed full application must be submitted to UKRI by Wednesday 18th June 2025, 16:00 UK time.