Research Computing generates valuable findings and new insight, but the associated costs can be prohibitive for non-grant funded research.

The University is committed to support non-funded computational research activities such as:

• initial proof-of-concept studies
  
• feasibility tests and seed corn projects
  
• short research projects, including PhD student projects

Departmental research computing budgets
Your department has a budget to support computational research. If funds are available, they should be used as a first point of call to cover the cost of your research.

Speak to your Research Computing Champion to discuss your computational needs and funding opportunities.

Accelerator Awards
If your department can't cover the cost of your research, you can apply for a University Research Computing Accelerator Award.

Extensive use of computing resources
If your research project requires extensive use of computational resources the costs of this should be covered by external grants.

The RIS Research Development team and the Research Computing group can help you secure the funding you need for your research.

The Research Computing Accelerator Award is a University level funding mechanism which covers the cost of important non-grant funded computational research which departmental budgets can't fund.

The award and application process is managed by the Research Computing Resource Allocation Committee.

Eligibility criteria

Your research is eligible for funding if it meets one of these criteria:

• initial proof-of-concept study, feasibility test or seed corn project
• short project critical for a grant preparation or fellowship application
  
• project linking consecutive grant applications or which have bridging requirement, e.g. between submitted and awarded grants (max three months)
  
• short PhD student project where the student has computational research experience and will be supported by their supervisor
  

Multiple Accelerator Award applications from the same person is permitted in any given funding round.

Only University of Bath staff members and PhD students can apply for funding.

If you are not a permanent contract, your employment must not end earlier than the expected end date of your proposed research project.

First, complete the application form to let us know:

• About your research project and expected outcomes
• The compute and storage resources you need
  
• Your research software requirements
  
• Why your research can't be covered by your department's Research Computing allocation

Then, upload and submit your completed application form.

Application from PhD students have to be approved and submitted by their supervisor.

Deadline

The next Accelerator Award application deadline is Wednesday 31 August at 5.00pm.

What to do if you need help

Please speak to your Research Computing Champion if you need help assessing the suitability of supercomputing for your research project.

For technical advice contact:
High Performance Computing, email: hpc-support@bath.ac.uk, or
Research Software Support, email: rse-support@bath.ac.uk.

One funding round per semester

You can apply for a Research Computing Accelerator Award once per academic semester.

The Research Computing Resource Allocation Committee will review all applications and decide which projects to fund.

The committee consists of representatives from each of the University Faculties, the School of Management and Digital Data and Technology.

The Research Computing group will review the technical aspects of your application, and contact you if anything needs to be clarified.

Assessment criteria

Applications eligible for support, it will be assed against four criteria:

• Achievability of research goals
• Significance of research problem and expected outcomes
• Value for money
• Applicant's research track record from previous award applications

Funding outcome

The research projects granted Accelerator Award funding will be announced at the Research Computing Symposium on 22 September.

We will also email all applicants individually to let them know the outcome of their application.