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Fellowships

• Eligibility Criteria
• How to apply
• Application process
• Research project
• Retraining programme
• Guidelines for Candidates
• Extraordinary expenses
• Special discretionary fund
• Guildelines for referees
• Distribution Map
• Case Study

Application Process for a Daphne Jackson Fellowship

Eligibility Check
If the Trust Office believes you may be eligible to apply for a fellowship, your curriculum vitae and related information are passed to a fellowship advisor to conduct an eligibility check. This eligibility check takes the form of a telephone interview and covers your curriculum vitae, career break, field of interest and future employment prospects.

Preliminary Phase
If your eligibility is confirmed,  you will be asked to write a draft proposal and will be given guidelines on how to write and present your proposal, comprising of a research project and retraining programme. You may take as long as required to produce the first draft. Once you have submitted the first draft, it will be assessed for both merit and likelihood of obtaining funding. Personal references are requested at this time.

If successful, you will receive an ‘invitation to apply’ letter from the Trust Office. This letter is accompanied by additional material, which should be given to your potential supervisor.

Your Proposal
Your fellowship advisor will be able to provide feedback and suggestions about your proposal. It is normal for the creation of the  proposal to be an iterative process. You will have been advised on wording, layout and length of your proposal and deadline for submission of your pre-interview proposal. At the end of this period, a reference will be requested from your supervisor and you will asked to attend a first interview.

The Interview
The Trust holds interviews four times a year at a venue convenient to the majority of candidates. The interview is individual to each candidate and includes the candidate’s fellowship advisor and another observer from the Trust Office.

The interview is an opportunity for you and the Trust to discuss your background, proposal and future employment prospects in detail.

You will have been advised on wording, layout and length of your proposal and timetable in readiness for your interview. You should take notes during the interview as you will be given advice about any changes required to your proposal. 
Remember - The interview is in place to help you. Be prepared to ask and answer questions about issues directly related to your return to a STEM career.

Finalising the Proposal
You may be asked to revise your proposal following your interview, taking into account the comments made at the time. You should ask your fellowship advisor for a final review of your proposal before finally submission.

Technical Reference
Trust staff identify and approach an independent technical referee for each application, once the final proposal has been submitted. Technical referees are experts in their field and eminently suitable to comment on the scientific / engineering soundness of the proposal. On occasion, candidates are required to respond to the technical referee’s comments, clarifying or justifying certain aspects of their proposal.

Awards Committee
Once the Technical reference has been obtained, the paperwork is  sent to the awards committee. The committee has 30 days to make its decision. Occasionally the committee may request a final interview before making a decision. You will be informed if a final interview is required. The committee will approve fellowships in principle subject to funding being obtained within a set timescale.

Timescales
Deadlines are set at various points during the process to ensure that the procedure is completed within the set timescale. If the deadlines are followed, the application process takes 6 months from the point that you are invited to apply. Extensions may be given  for valid, compelling reasons.
In some cases securing suitable sponsorship can lead to a delay between the approval in principle and the actual commencement of the fellowship.