The 23rd June 2016 will for many be regarded as a day that divided not just the nation, but the K from the rest of Europe.  Only time will tell how the referendum will affect the country in the long term though, and in particular from a university perspective our access to European funding for research.

With so much uncertainty in the year leading up to the referendum and the current post Brexit maelstrom still enveloping the UK it is however refreshing to see that there are some positive indications of interest and support still coming from across the channel.  One recent win that reinforces the idea that the UK has not been completely removed from future European funding streams was the success of the Institute for Industrial Research‘s  (IIR)application for a feasibility study of Regional Digital Manufacturing Innovation (RDMI) hubs to the I4MS (ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs) funding call.

This call looked for proposals to assess the feasibility of establishing Digital Innovation Hubs in European regions not currently participating in the I4MS initiative, and focused on the development of a solid plan to assess and prepare the initiation of a hub in those regions by a consortium of relevant organizations.

Professor David Brown’s application for the University of Portsmouth to become a south coast centre of excellence for digital manufacturing innovation, aligning itself with previously established units such as the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, to provide a cohesive support network for industrial innovation operating from the Institute of Industrial Research was chosen as one of the successful European feasibility projects two weeks after the referendum decision.

This is hopefully indicative of a period of continued support from the EU for well argued, well written, sound and balanced applications to funding calls, during the post Brexit negotiation period .  The application that was written and developed by Project Manager, Ann Swift from the IIR scored highly in the call specifications, with proof reading, honing and support from the Collaboration Managers in the Business Engagement Team, as part of the free services offered by the Research & Innovation Services team to faculties.

If you are looking at developing a funding call application and need support, then the Collaboration Managers may be able to aid and assist your application development, by reviewing, critiquing and advising on structure and content to ensure the application meets the stringent requirements of the funding call specifications.  The application itself continues to rest with the academic and faculty for final submission, although we can look to assist in the pre-submission stages to ensure that some of the more onerous aspects and tasks associated with application development are removed or reduced to free up your time for other activities.

To find out more, contact the Collaboration Managers through the Business Engagement Team at  business-engagement@port.ac.uk