Invitation to Bid for Research Funding

August 2016
Background
A primary mission of the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (DIIE)
is to stimulate and support research in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship.
To date the Institute has made grants totalling 850k to 72 research projects across
seven Subject Areas.
We are now inviting proposals for our 8th round of funding with a deadline of Friday,
16th September 2016. The DIIE Review Panel1 will consider proposals in early
October with funds made available for successful proposals immediately thereafter.
This document provides guidance to faculty who would like to apply for research
funding from the Institute, particularly with regard to the following:
The scope of research covered under the themes, innovation and
entrepreneurship;
The types of research activities that will be funded;
The application process.
The Panel has asked me to emphasise that although the process is deliberately,
light touch it does need to see applications that address all the criteria set out in
this document. If you are in doubt then talk to me and I can even show you examples
of proposals that the Panel considered exemplary.
The scope of research that will be funded
The Institute wants to increase the number of publications on the topic of innovation
and entrepreneurship in the Schools list of A-journals, and those S-journals which
are considered equivalent in quality and reputation to A-journals in the relevant
subject area.
There are no definitive boundaries around the scope of studies that we will fund. The
DIIE welcomes proposals from all areas of the School recognising that innovation
and entrepreneurship can be examined through the lens of any functional area or
discipline.
So we leave it to those applying for support to argue the relevance and impact of
their work to innovation and/or entrepreneurship. Applicants can expect that the
Review Panel will be open-minded in its interpretation of these terms. This definition
from the Entrepreneurship and Innovation department of Management Science might
1

(This panel comprises Kamalini Ramdas (chair), Francesca Cornelli, Sendil Ethiraj, Jrmie Gallien, Anja
Lambrecht,)

assist applicants with framing, especially as Management Science draws on many

different disciplinary domains.
Editorial Mission, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department, Management
Science:
[] Entrepreneurship includes new business creation as well as entrepreneurial
activities undertaken within existing businesses or through new market mechanisms.
Innovation includes novel and creative ways to create value through new products or
services, new business models, or new processes.

The type of research activity that we will favour

We welcome proposals from incoming and established; pre-tenure and tenured
faculty. We will support research in any stage of its lifecycle.
Historically our funding has been sought to:
Purchase datasets it being desirable (but not a requirement) that the applicants
are willing to open up such datasets for use by other faculty.
Pay for direct research costs including essential travel and other expenses
incurred in the course of conducting the research or processing data. Occasional
RA costs can be supported.
Cover essential travel expenses where these are essential for field work or to
consult with co-authors.
This is not a closed set of activities. Applications for funding of other activities that are
a part of research projects will also be warmly welcomed where these are congruent
with the overarching objectives of the DIIE2. However, there are some activities that
we do not support:
Research buyouts (the sums available are simply insufficient)
Conference costs
Journal submissions costs
We have a supplementary process for funding Revise and Resubmits requests.
These tend to be urgent and typically need much smaller sums (~2500) perhaps for
further data collection or a little RA time.
Application process and criteria
Applicants should provide a brief written application (usually this is 2-4 pages) that
sets out:
A summary of the research (~100 words) in a form that can be used to announce
the award and describe the research publicly (descriptions of existing projects
can be taken as a guide)
Relevant background and context that will help inform the Review Panel.
The fit with the Institutes research agenda and how the research is novel.
How funding will be used including indicative headline budget lines3
Description of the research methodology, design, data collection and anticipated
timelines

2
3

DIIE Research Grants do not support travel to conferences or conference expenses.

The larger the sum sought the longer this breakdown will be think in terms of 2500 aliquots.

Your publication strategy - the name of target A Journal(s)4, an indication of how

the work contributes to the existing literature and why it fits with the named
Journal(s).
The wider funding strategy whether the project has already received some
funding (RCUK, RAMD etc) and whether our funding may unlock additional
sources of support.

Applicants should confirm that, in consideration of the support, they are happy:
To help the Institute to create written and video content, both at the outset of
the project and later when results and working papers are available. In
common with other of the Schools publications, Faculty have editorial rights.
To provide a short bi-annual update to be used for the Institutes submission
to the Schools Research Centre Review Committee (RCRC).
To make us aware of any presentations, working papers and publicity arising
from the research.
To acknowledge DIIE support in publications (We are grateful to London
Business Schools Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for
supporting this research).
To share their insights by delivering a talk as part of the DIIE Academic
Seminar Series
To provide one briefing to an audience of Deloitte Senior Managers/clients at
a mutually agreed time and venue.
Where the funds will be used to purchase a database, to state the extent to
which that database could be made available to other faculty at the School.
We will award grants of a few thousand pounds (which is often all thats needed) up
to 25k for more ambitious and ground-breaking proposals. It is possible to apply for
more than one research project.
The deadline for this round of proposals is Friday 16th September. These should be
sent to the Secretary to the Review Panel (jskinner@london.edu). Proposals will be
considered by the Review Panel in mid-October with awards announced later that
month. For small sums (up to 2500) we transfer funds direct into your IFB. For
larger sums we ask that a dedicated Account Code is created (we can help with this).
If you have any questions or would like to discuss a potential project then please
email or call Jeff Skinner.

Or S-journal publication, where the journal is considered to be of equivalent quality and

reputation to A-journals in the relevant subject area