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NB there is an internal EOI deadline for this call 23 September. Please contact Louisa Hopkins

The 2019 ALERT call aims to enhance the capability of the UK research base in areas of science in UKRI-BBSRC's remit. Applications are invited for mid-range equipment costing over £200k including VAT. Applications will typically be from groups of researchers in one or more eligible institution(s) for instrumentation to be deployed collaboratively on a multi-project and multi-use basis.
Background

Advanced research equipment and the development of capability is a key component in maintaining the competitiveness of the UK research base. The BBSRC Delivery Plan highlights the importance of developing tools, technologies and approaches that enable researchers to push the boundaries of discovery and stimulate innovation. The capital equipment budget for this call is approximately £10M.
Scope

Our Delivery Plan recognises that ‘new technologies, tools and approaches, often spanning several disciplines, are revolutionising biology, providing unprecedented opportunities to advance understanding of the complex, dynamic processes that govern life and to apply that knowledge for the benefit of society and the economy’. To support this, in the 2019 ALERT call for mid-range equipment we encourage:

equipment that is widely used and underpins capability across all scientific areas within the BBSRC remit. Relevance to the priority areas in BBSRC's Delivery Plan is particularly encouraged
applications that seek to pioneer the use of emerging advanced research technology
applications that seek to utilise equipment in novel applications.

Collaboration and wide access to the instrumentation for users within industry, public sector and other research organisation is highly encouraged. To encourage sharing, the arrangements for managing access to the equipment and the prioritisation of its use should be fully described. Award holders will be expected to put arrangements in place for providing advice and support to others wishing to assess the potential of the technology for their own research.

Value for money will be an important factor in assessment. Consequently, contributions from the host institution(s) and/or other external sources are strongly encouraged. Contributions from external sources can be in kind (such as commitments to staff posts for the running and maintenance of the equipment, or the training of users) and/or financial (such as partial financing of the equipment). Institutional commitments directed towards staff posts to fulfil aspects such as running and maintenance of the equipment, as well as training of users, are encouraged, as BBSRC is unable to support them through this call.

Elastic disordered interfaces in physics and biology:

from ferroelectric domain walls to wound healing