Notice

Announcement of Opportunity 2023 Mars Exploration Science: Call for Proposals

Updated 27 April 2023

Call for Standard Mode proposals

Funding type : Research, innovation, and development

Who can apply : Academics working at UK Research Organisations

Total fund : £1,600,000 (indicative)

Closing date : - Wednesday 14th June 2023, 16:00

1. Scope of Call

The UK has made a major investment into ESA’s Exploration Programme and the UK Space Agency wishes to secure the benefits from this investment. Exploration covers the regions where humans do, or may, in the near future, live and work, namely Low Earth Orbit, the Moon, and Mars.

In this call, the UK Space Agency is making funding available for science research that utilises data from current Mars exploration missions to enhance the UK’s capabilities and cross-disciplinary approach to planetary science.

We therefore welcome applications which focus on utilising and exploiting data from:

• The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission
• The InSight mission.

This scheme is open to academics and individual scientists from the UK or overseas, working at UK Research Organisations, for proposals to fund:

• Fellowships to develop promising early career researchers or allow existing academics to change disciplines
• Post Doctoral Research Associates
• Extensions to current fellowships

The UK Space Agency will prioritise proposals related to TGO and InSight. Proposals in other Mars-related research areas may also be considered for funding through this call, depending on demand.

Out of scope

There will be a separate Exploration Science call for studentships and working groups.

There will be a separate Exploration technology call for instrument feasibility studies and TRL raising activities. Research and development in this remit should not be applied for through this opportunity.

Lunar science and the exploitation of data from Lunar missions is within the remit of STFC and is not within the scope of this call.

Exploitation of data collected on the International Space Station and other ESA SciSpace facilities where the experiment is focussed on work that is within the remit of UKRI is not within the scope of this call.

Prospective applicants may discuss with the Agency prior to submission if they are uncertain about whether their proposal fits this call.

Guidance on working with Russia

We will not fund any new collaborative projects with Russia.

This includes any project with a Russian dimension, e.g., projects building on existing work with Russian collaborators (as Co-Is, project partners, lab facilities, or co-authors) or which use Russian data sources (where the data cannot be sourced through other means). If you require any further clarity on this, please contact Alma at SpaceExploration@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

The UK Space Agency follow policy set by the department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS, now called the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology; DSIT) in accordance with guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

As of March 2022, BEIS have set a firm policy on Russian collaboration which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/research-and-innovation-sanctions-on-russia-and-support-for-ukraine.

2. Award Duration and value

Awards for Post Doctoral Research Associates will be offered for no more than 36 months.

Fellowships will be offered for no more than 36 months in total but could be held part-time for up to six years.

Awards will be made in line with the standard UKRI-STFC criteria. Funding is provided by the UK Space Agency but administered by UKRI-STFC. Awards will therefore be made in line with standard STFC criteria in accordance with their financial rules (including the standard FEC application and for the length of the grant – please make sure you and your institution are fully aware of these rules prior to application. More information can be found here: https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/before-you-apply/your-responsibilities-if-you-get-funding/meeting-ukri-terms-and-conditions-for-funding/#contents-list

Reasonable costs will be permitted, but it should be noted that all costs must be justified and that the appropriateness and justification of sums requested will form part of the assessment criteria.

3. Grant payment

Payments will be made to the research organisation quarterly and the first payment will be made once the formal offer letter has been accepted by the research organisation.

The final payment will be made after the submission of the final reconciliation report at the end of the grant. There processes are administered by STFC, but please note that the UK Space Agency remains the funder. More information on receiving your funding can be found here: https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/manage-your-funding-award/receiving-your-funding-award/

4. Call timeline

AO published	AO closes	Panel meeting	Award letters	Grants to start
6th April 2023	14th June 2023 16:00	August 2023	September 2023	No later than March 2024

Please note: It may take up to 6 months for the UK Space Agency to complete the evaluation process.

5. Grant terms and conditions

All awards will be subject to UKRI standard grant terms and conditions, with the addition of the following specific clauses from the UK Space Agency as grant funder:

• The UK Space Agency also reserves the right to cancel or reduce the award in the event of the project being cancelled or descoped.

• The UK Space Agency reserves the right to terminate the grant within a 6 month notice period should it be deemed programmatically or strategically advisable to do so.
• The Grant holder agrees that as a condition of receiving any Funds they shall provide the UK Space Agency with all information, reports, statistics, study results and data reasonably requested by the UK Space Agency to track and assess progress and performance of the Project.
• The Grant Recipient shall not publish any material referring to the Funds or this agreement without the prior written agreement of the UK Space Agency.
• The Grant Recipient shall acknowledge the role of the UK Space Agency as grant funder in any materials that refer to the Project and in any written or spoken public presentations about the Project as it relates to this agreement.  Such acknowledgements (where appropriate and with UK Space Agency’s written consent shall include the UK Space Agency’s name and logo (or any future name or logo adopted by the Grant Funder).
• In using the UK Space Agency’s name and logo, the Grant Recipient shall comply with all reasonable branding guidelines issued by the UK Space Agency from time to time.

6. Monitoring, evaluation, and Reporting

All grants awarded will require the awardee to report on impacts and outcomes annually through the ResearchFish process as per UKRI grant terms and conditions, both during the grant period and for 5 years afterwards.

In addition, during the grant period, quarterly written reports will be required to be provided to the UK Space Agency detailing the activity carried out within the scope of the grant. Regular progress meetings will also be held between the grant holder and the UK Space Agency to monitor and evaluate progress for the length of the grant.

7. Proposal Assessment

In assessing your proposal, the UK Space Agency will seek comment from at least two additional referees, to which you will be able to respond. This will be a formal peer review process where relevant academic leaders will be asked to comment on your proposal. You will be given opportunity to respond to reviewer comments before the formal Review Panel takes place.

Please note: It may take up to 6 months for the UK Space Agency to complete the evaluation process. A final assessment and ranking of proposals will be made by a Review Panel which will draw experience across a broad range of science disciplines and representatives of UK Space Agency.

In considering the proposal, the panel will use the following criteria:

Science excellence of the proposal (40%)

• This score will be based on the scores awarded during the Panel discussion board process.

Relevance to and priority within the UK Space Agency Exploration programme (15%)

• Contributions of the selected research and the expected outcomes to the UK science and exploration activities as related to the National Space Strategy and the global exploration endeavour outlined in the Global Exploration Roadmap.

Necessity and timeliness of requested funding (15%)

• Criticality of the proposal to the area of research.

Value for money (10%)

• Requested costs are justified, appropriate, and reasonable.
• Value of any leveraged funding (including in-kind and financial)

Research Environment and Team membership (15%)

• Suitability of the proposed research team to successful undertake the work covered by this proposal.

• (for fellowships) the potential of the individual including the capability to perform the wider responsibilities of an academic career.

• (for PDRAs) the degree to with a PDRA would enhance the project.

Impact and outreach plan (5%)

• Use of the research and activities to inspire others.
• Plans to communicate the results of the project.

The review panel will be made up of independent academic reviewers across a broad range of science disciplines with programmatic support from the UK Space Agency, who will consider all proposals against the evaluation criteria outlined above. The panel will recommend a final assessment and ranking of proposals to the UK Space Agency. The panel, in finalising the awards to be made, may take account of the distribution of awards in terms of subject, type of award and institution.

8. How to apply

Please read all of the guidance carefully. Contact the UK Space Agency (SpaceExploration@ukspaceagency.gov.uk) if you have any questions regarding your application.

NOTE:

The UK Space Agency is the funder of this grant and we use the UKRI grant application system through STFC to administer grants.

You will need to create, but not submit, an application on the Je-S system through the following steps:

Please fill in a Je-S form via https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/ for a STFC:

• Standard Proposal as the document type
• Standard as the scheme
• Urgency Grants – Open Call as the Call/Type/Mode

and produce a .pdf of the completed form.  To do this, follow document actions –> print document –> select print format as ‘pdf’ –> download the print.

Send this .pdf file, along with the relevant annexes (as listed below as a single PDF document is preferred), to SpaceExploration@ukspaceagency.gov.uk, to arrive before the closing date.

For full details in using the JeS application system, please refer to the JeS Handbook

Please note: it is the responsibility of the proposal Principal Investigator to clear their submission with the relevant finance and research offices of their institution. Such clearance must be obtained prior to submission.

Applications must be received no later than 16:00 on 14th June 2023. Applications received after this will not be considered.

Points to note:

• All the information boxes on the JeS form must be filled in including Objectives; Summary and Academic Beneficiaries. The Summary must not be the same as the Objectives as the Agency may use the Summary for the public in futures press releases or Agency news stories.
• Any additional documentation that are included in the .pdf, but are not stated in the guidance (e.g. covering letters or additional letters of support) will not be considered. It will not be seen by reviewers or the review panel and will not count towards the proposal.
• If any part of the proposal extends over the stated page limit, the additional pages will be removed, not be considered and will not count towards the proposal.

Annexes to applications through JeS:

All annexes MUST be:

• A4 paper size with minimum of 2cm margins

• Font size of no smaller than 11pt

Applications for fellowships and fellowship extensions should have the following annexes:

Case for Support: This should be no more than six sides in 11pt text (A4 paper, with minimum 2cm margins) (excluding references). Containing the following information:

a) Description of the Project

b) Monitoring of Progress - This should explain the monitoring process that will be used and the type of remedial actions that could be put in place if required.  Does the institute have an approved code of practice covering monitoring procedures?

c) Research Environment - Provide some contextual information of the research environment, including the number of PhD students.

d) Impact and outreach statement/plan

e) Justification of Resources Requested

Curriculum Vitae: two sides of A4 paper

Publications List

Data Management Plan (Maximum length of two sides of A4. If it is felt not relevant then upload a document stating why to pass validation).

A statement from the Head of Department at the host institution in support of the application (maximum one side of A4)

Two references in support of your application. One, and only one, must be from the host institution. The reference from the host institution must provide an explicit statement outlining the advantages gained from hosting the fellowship.

Current Funding List for the PI: This should include title, funder, value, duration and level of applicants time spent on the project. If the title is not self-explanatory include a sentence to explain what the project is about.

Applications for Post Doctorate Research Assistants should have the following annexes:

Case for Support: This should be no more than six sides of A4 (excluding references). Containing the following information:

a) Description of the Project

b) Management plan: Proposed management of both the project and resources, identifying the training and career development opportunities for personnel working on the project.

c) The relationship to any earlier or current work of the applicant(s) and/or collaborating organisation(s) and any relevant work elsewhere.

d) Impact and outreach statement/plan

e) Justification of Resources Requested

Curriculum Vitae: two sides of A4

Publications List

Current Funding List for the PI: This should include title, funder, value, duration and level of applicants time spent on the project. If the title is not self-explanatory include a sentence to explain what the project is about.

Please note: If the proposal is for a named PDRA, please also include their CV and publication list.

9. Confidentiality

UK Space Agency is subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It may therefore become necessary for UK Space Agency to release information in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

For those bids not recommended for funding, documentation will be retained by the UK Space Agency for reference. The proposals will not be visible to any others, and the names of any unsuccessful applicants will not be published.

Information submitted for those projects selected for funding will be retained by the UK Space Agency but remain confidential.

Summary information about the proposals selected for funding may be published on the UK Space Agency website and/or UK Space Agency social media accounts.

The contact details you provide will only be used for the purposes of this funding call. The UK Space Agency will not share your information with anyone else.

The UK Space Agency complies with the GDPR and its Privacy Notice can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-space-agency-gdpr-privacy-notice/uk-space-agency-uk-gdpr-privacy-notice