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Planning a cross-disciplinary project? Find out about relevant funding opportunities

12 September 2018

There is a continuing buzz around UCL about the power and potential of cross-disciplinary working, forming as it does a major theme of the UCL 2034 strategy, and providing the driving force behind the UCL Research Domains.

Cancer Institute

Strategic forums have emerged in particular research areas in response, such as the UCL Health Strategy Forum (HSF), which enables a coordinated, strategic pan-UCL cross-disciplinary approach to global challenges in health.

If you are considering a project that will bring researchers from diverse disciplines together, or if you are already on the road to establishing one, you will already be aware that a number of funding opportunities, both internal and external, call explicitly for cross-disciplinary approaches.

Several UCL Schools have a team dedicated to facilitating new research and promoting funding opportunities. The School of Life and Medical Sciences Research Coordination Office (RCO), which is the integrated team of research facilitators and coordinators within Office of Vice-Provost (Health), who encourage cross-disciplinary work, and frequently publish information about such opportunities - including internally managed calls such as the UCL Rosetrees Stoneygate Prize (Deadline: 24 September), and managing the regular distribution of funding such as the Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF) award from the Wellcome Trust (Cross-disciplinary award deadline: 5 October).  The RCO team will actively work to support researchers in increasing the success of research funding applications that develop UCL's health-related research strategy.

The BEAMS Research Coordination Office have a regular newsletter dedicated to funding opportunities, and also publish the contents of the bulletin on their webpages, as do the SLASH and IOE Research Facilitation Office.

Visit the Grand Challenges site to find out more about the wider institutional focus on developing a cross-disciplinary research culture, as well as information about available grants. Some of the Research Domains, like Collaborative Social Science and eResearch, have pages flagging opportunities relevant to that area.

Remember - the solutions to the greatest challenges rarely come from one field alone.