Career Development Grant

Purpose

The Career Development Grant supports the career development of talented early-career researchers in palaeontology who have recently completed their PhD or are nearing the end of a fixed-term contract. The scheme is designed to strengthen applicants’ CVs and support progression into a palaeontological career.

Grants of up to £2,500 GBP are available to fund activities that result in a clear, measurable output contributing to career development.

Funding is awarded after submission of the PhD thesis and cessation of funding, or following the end of a fixed-term contract.

Eligible Activities

Funding may be used for activities that demonstrably enhance career prospects. Examples include (but are not limited to):

• Living costs while preparing a PhD chapter for publication
• Living costs while writing a fellowship or grant application
• Additional data collection to support publication
• Training courses to develop new skills
• Research or training internships in another group

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

• Be members of the Association.
• Meet one of the following conditions:
  • Be close to submitting their PhD (submission must occur before funds are taken up, i.e. before April following the deadline).
  • Have submitted their PhD within one year of the application deadline.
• Demonstrate a lack of financial support following the end of their PhD funding or employment.

Applicants are not eligible if:

• They have already secured a postdoctoral position, fellowship, or permanent role following their PhD or current contract.
• They have previously received a Career Development Grant
• They receive supplementary funding from other sources

Additional conditions:

• One award per round will be reserved for applicants nearing the end of fixed-term employment, provided that eligible applications are received.

Funding Conditions

• Funds must normally be taken up by April of the year following the application deadline.
• Funded activities must align with the Association’s charitable aims and comply with research ethics standards.
• Recipients will also be strongly encouraged to enrol in the Association's Mentor Scheme, with a mentor assigned by agreement.
• The grant cannot be used to pay overheads, open access or page charges, and cannot be used to support employment of another e.g. a student research assistant.
• Please see also the Palaeontological Association Grant Ethics and Conditions. 

Assessment Criteria

• Applications will be evaluated based on:
• Demonstrated need for funding
• Clarity and quality of the realistic proposed career plan
• The extent to which the proposed activity strengthens the applicant’s CV
• Feasibility of the proposed work
• Value for money and cost-effectiveness

The rubric for this grant is available here: The Palaeontological Association Career Development Grant Rubric. 

Reporting Requirements

Upon completion of the funded activity, recipients must submit a short report. This may be published in the Association’s newsletter.

Notification

Successful applicants will be notified after the AGM (typically December–January).

You will need to provide the following information to complete the submission web form, which is linked below.

1. Provide the proposed (or known, if already submitted) date of PhD submission.
2. Explain why you need this grant, in terms of your current financial circumstances (100 words).
3. Please outline a year-by-year plan for the next five years of your career in palaeontology and how you aim to achieve it (500 words).
4. What are you going to use this funding for? (100 words).
5. Explain how this funding will help you to strengthen your CV to achieve your career goals, linking explicitly to your five-year plan (500 words).
6. Please provide a budget with justification (upload max 1 page word document).
7. Please provide a timeline for the activity for which you are applying (200 words).

7th October 23.59 GMT each year.