Publication of the call

This is a rolling call. Applications are accepted at any time. Selection panel meetings are planned as and when applications are received.

Applications for a Visiting Fellowship are usually expected to stay with a budget of up to £5,000, plus international airfares for applicants outside Europe.

All requested funds must be fully justified and in accordance with the financial regulations of the University of Leicester. Applicants will be required to cover most of the costs upfront and will be reimbursed based on an expenses claim and receipts.

All expenditure must be claimed from the University of Leicester before the end of June in order to allow processing before the end of the financial year on 31 July. It is the responsibility of the visiting fellow to provide receipts for all claimed expenses and submit truthful and timely expenses claims. The academic host is responsible for guiding the fellow through this process and checking the expenses forms before they are submitted.

Eligible costs are restricted to

• Travel: Return travel between the Fellow’s home or usual workplace and Leicester, with environmentally friendly mode of transport if available. Flights should be booked through the University of Leicester via Clarity
• Accommodation: (self-catering accommodation or Bed and Breakfast) to be booked through the University of Leicester for the period of the visit
• Visa costs: For non-UK applicants where feasible (on provision of payment receipt)
• Subsistence: cost of food and local travel, based on itemised receipts for the fellow only, up to £35 per calendar day

The applicant must provide a letter of support from an academic member of the Institute for Environmental Futures at the University of Leicester as the host. Email ief@le.ac.uk if you need help finding the best academic supervisor for your chosen research topic.

The host will be at the University for the duration of the Fellowship, and will:

• Liaise with the Fellow in the stages prior to submission of the application
• Help organise the Fellow’s workshops and events
• Ensure adequate administrative support within the host School to support delivery of the proposed programme
• Advise the Fellow on financial regulations and check expenses claims before submission

As a Visiting Fellow, you will:

• Deliver the activities outlined in your application within the allocated time and budget, with the support of the host
• Write a short blog post for our website towards the end of your visit

The Institute for Environmental Futures will:

• Arrange the appropriate invitation to support visa applications for non-UK Fellows
• Provide a University ID card to access the allocated office space, provide a desk and access to a desktop computer
• Arrange access to University Library resources and a university email account
• Help the Fellow to get your expenses reimbursed from the Institute budget, as stated in your award letter
• Books accommodation and flights
• Work with the Fellow and host to implement the activities and engagement plan
• Provide linkages across University of Leicester schools and where relevant with University senior leadership
• Provide opportunities for the Fellow to work in a transdisciplinary environment together with other disciplines
• Support the promotion of the visit on social media and our website

Track record (40%)

Excellent research achievements or potential (for researchers) or excellent professional experience (for practitioners).

Innovation (20%)

Creativity and innovation of the research proposal.

Relevance (20%)

Relevance of the proposed activities to the Institute's priorities and research challenges.

Outputs (20%)

Strength of the planned outputs from the Visiting Fellowship, for example grant applications, publications, stakeholder engagements, methods workshops or innovation activities.

Please provide:

1. Your fellowship proposal (maximum 4 pages of A4, Arial font, 11pt size, 2cm margins):

• Outline the research activities that you will undertake and describe how they contribute to the Institute. Describe explicitly what the innovative and creative methods or elements of your proposed activities are. Suggested headings: 'Background', 'Research questions' or 'Aims and objectives', 'Material and methods', 'Work plan' with specific outputs.
• Include a sentence to confirm that your employer agrees for you to undertake this fellowship, should you be successful with your application.
• Download research ethics self-assessment form (docx, 16kb). Discuss it with your academic host.

2. Your justification of the requested budget:

• See section ‘Funding’ above for detailed guidance. For each requested expenditure item, provide a reasonable estimate of the likely cost based on prices at the time of writing the application. Maximum one page of A4.

3. Your Curriculum Vitae (CV):

• Provide your short CV with the most relevant information (maximum 2 pages of A4).
• Include contact details of 2 referees that you give permission for us to contact to seek a reference

4. Letter from academic host:

• Describing the value of the visit to the Institute and the University of Leicester
• Confirmation that the Host is able and willing to act as first point of contact of the Visiting Fellow, and that they will advise the fellow on financial regulations and check expenses claims before submission

5. Cover letter (optional)

• You may include a cover letter (one page of A4, Arial font, 11 pt size, 2 cm margins) to provide any other information you feel will help us in assessing your application.

Please submit all application documents to ief@le.ac.uk with the subject line “Visiting Fellowship Application”. If you have any queries, you can email us at the same address.