Research funding support

Research Funding Development

For academics at the University of Sunderland, we offer support at every stage of the process from identifying potential funders, responding to research calls, and submitting proposals that are persuasive and accurately costed.

Please note: All external research funding applications need to have appropriate institutional approval before submission and need to be costed using the required TRAC (Transparent Approach to Costing) methodology that includes a calculation for university overheads associated with research.

Please contact the research funding development team as early as possible so they can support you through the costings and approvals processes in plenty of time before your application deadline.  

How we support your applications for funding

• ‘Smart filtering’ of external research calls, with the use of Pivot-RP in order to identify those opportunities that best align with the University of Sunderland’s strategic priorities
• Fast response to internal research initiatives, with identification of potential funders
• Costing of research projects via using TRAC (Transparent Approach to Costing) methodology, considering the Full Economic Cost (FEC)
• Provision of information that is often requested, such as institutional policies, VAT position and charitable status
• Advice on submission of grant applications and University authorisation for submission
• Assistance with electronic submission systems such as Je-S, E-Gap, EU participant portal and other online systems
• Project management of the application process, ensuring that applications are timely and fully supported by the relevant documentation in line with funder guidance
• Research impact on funding applications
• Post-funding support with university processes if your application is successful.

Additional support for Early Career Researchers

For those who are relatively new to funding applications, we offer additional support in co-ordinating inputs, editing the draft, reviewing against assessment criteria, and sourcing additional information as necessary.

We also provide enhanced support for larger projects that are strategically important for the University.

Contact details:

Charlotte Emmerson
Strategic Projects and Funding Manager (Research)
charlotte.emmerson@sunderland.ac.uk

Nicky Hall
Strategic Projects and Funding Officer (Research)
n.hall@sunderland.ac.uk

Nicola Robertson
Post Award Support Co-ordinator (Enterprise and Innovation)
nicola.robertson@sunderland.ac.uk