UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group Research Studentship
This studentship is currently closed
UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group Research Studentship 2007
The UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group (formerly the PHHSC) is a coalition of pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations, laboratory animal breeders and animal welfare organisations, formed by UFAW in 1998. Their aim being to fund research that is likely to lead to practical solutions that advance the welfare of laboratory animals.
The UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group is seeking applications for a promising graduate based at a research institution in the British Isles to undertake a three year programme of research leading to a degree at the doctorate level in any aspect of the Replacement, Reduction or Refinement of laboratory animal use, to be awarded in October 2007. The award will be for a maximum of £25,000 p.a. for up to three years.
Procedure
Application for this award will be a two-stage process. Initially, supervisors are required to submit a brief Concept Note by 11th November 2006 using this form.
Following assessment of these concept notes, selected applicants will be invited (by the end of December 2006) to submit more detailed proposals prepared jointly by the supervisor and the PhD candidate (by 23rd February 2007). This two-stage process will allow the panel to make judgements about which projects are suitable for further consideration and which are unacceptable without the need for detailed submissions to be prepared at the outset. The panel may call short-listed candidates for interview before making an award. (NB an invitation to submit a detailed proposal is not a guarantee that the project will be funded).
Deadline for receipt of Concept Notes
One copy of the Concept Note should be submitted to UFAW, The Old School, Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire AL4 8AN, to arrive no later than 11th November 2006.
Conditions
Use of funds
1. Projects and procedures funded by the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group grants may not be altered from those specified on the application form and in the grant authorisation from the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group without prior written permission of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group, and no additional funds will be provided unless the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group so decides in its absolute discretion.
2. Where funds are granted to an institution for the employment of staff at that institution or for work to be carried out by a private individual, neither UFAW nor the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group is the employer. It is the responsibility of the host institution to issue a contract of employment in accordance with the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 or equivalent legislation in other countries and with any other employment legislation. Full details of all employment costs should be provided in the application. Where the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group provides funds for the employment of staff to undertake research, the employer is expected to protect these staff from the burdens of undertaking administrative and teaching responsibilities unless agreed otherwise by the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group.
3. The period of the grant is strictly limited and the tenure of appointment of any persons employed by the host institution for the work must be confined strictly to the period of the grant. If staff are retained beyond this it is for the host institution’s own purposes and at their own expense.
4. The host institution is entirely responsible for increments in salaries or stipends during the term of the grant and these should be budgeted for in the application. The UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group may consider applications for additional sums following national pay increments. Applications should be made promptly after these occur and full details of the circumstances explained.
5. All grants are made on the condition that the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group and UFAW are in no way responsible for claims under any statute or at common law and it does not indemnify the host institution against any claim for compensation or against any other claims for which the host institution may be liable as an employer, owner-occupier or user of premises or as the provider of services or facilities or in relation to the work carried out under the grant.
6. Any equipment purchased from a UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group grant will become the property of UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group and should be used only for the activities approved. At the end of the project the ownership and future use of the equipment will be reviewed by the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group.
Legal and ethical
7. It is the responsibility of the applicant to be aware of all laws and codes under which the work is to be carried out and to abide by these and to obtain all necessary permissions and licences.
Use of animals
8. If the proposed work involves the use of animals, it is the responsibility of the principal applicant to check with the appropriate national or regional authority (eg Home Office in the UK) regarding the need for licences or other specific authorisation required in the country concerned and to obtain these where necessary. It is also the responsibility of the principal applicant to obtain the necessary approvals from the institution’s ethics committee where there is one.
9. UFAW and the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group require rigorous implementation of the 3Rs. Where animals are used in research they must be afforded high standards of welfare compatible with the aims of the research. At all times, conditions for husbandry and experimentation should be of high standard conducive to good welfare and to minimising stress. Enclosures should meet the physiological and behavioural needs of the animals and appropriate enrichment should be provided. The health of the animals should be maintained and monitored, and any deterioration attended to immediately. All staff involved in animal research, both at a scientific and research support level, and those involved in the breeding, handling and care of animals, must be appropriately trained and possess relevant qualifications.
10. In order that UFAW and the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group can be satisfied fully that projects involving the use of animals take the fullest possible account of their welfare, applications should include details of the following (as appropriate) in the description of the methods:
animals - species, strain, weight, sex, age, source, transport, health status, conservation status, fate at end of project;
housing/feeding/measures to improve welfare - cage/enclosure type, size, floor, furnishings, bedding, cleaning, thermal environment, number of animals per cage, diet, feeding regime;
experimental design - experimental design, details of how numbers in test and control groups have been determined (eg by power analysis prior to the experiment), statistical methods to be used in analysis of the results;
experimental procedures - experimental procedures, any risks to animal welfare (nature and duration), measures to improve the animals’ welfare, analgesia, methods of euthanasia.
Applicants (especially those submitting applications for behavioural research) may find useful, and are recommended to familiarise themselves with, the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour’s Guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioural research and teaching updated in each January issue of the journal Animal Behaviour and available on the Journal website http://asab.nottingham.ac.uk/ethics/guidelines.php
Financial arrangements
11. Claims, certified to be correct by the private individual or the finance officer of the host institution, should normally be submitted at intervals of three months (in arrears) but other arrangements, which must be specified in this application, may be considered by UFAW on behalf of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group.
Limitation of liability
12. UFAW and the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group are in no way responsible, financially or otherwise, for the expenditure or liabilities arising out of the work other than those specifically listed and defined in the project proposal or approved in further correspondence.
Copyright
13. UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group may, in some cases (but unusually), require the copyright of all data collected during, and of any publications arising from, a project for which it is providing support. In these cases, this will be made a condition of the award.
Termination of grants
14. UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group has the right to revoke or suspend any grant upon failure to observe any of the conditions listed above or specified by the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group in the offer of a grant or on consideration of the progress of the work. In such a case, UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group may require repayment or, depending on the circumstances, may reimburse the host institution for expenses incurred to the date of termination but will not be responsible for, nor will indemnify the host institution against, any claims (relating to employment or anything else - see conditions above) arising as a result of the termination.
Reports
15. Annual progress reports are required within one month of the anniversary of the start date each year and within 3 months of the completion date a final report must be submitted, summarising the aims, methods, results and conclusions, discussing any difficulties encountered in achieving the objectives, and including a brief final financial statement. In addition, Scholars are required to provide, on a separate sheet, a brief (200–300 word) account of their project written in an easily-accessible style suitable for inclusion in the UFAW Annual Report or News-Sheet. This should explain the background of the project and its animal welfare benefits. Appropriate photographs of the project should also be made available to UFAW and the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group for publications. The UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group’s financial support should be acknowledged in all publications arising from the work and copies of publications arising from the work should be forwarded to UFAW on their publication. Please note that failure to comply with these conditions and to submit reports on schedule may result in the disqualification of the applicant or of his/her organisation from obtaining grants from UFAW or the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group in future.
Intellectual property and commercial activities
16. UFAW and the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group are committed to advancing animal welfare through support for research and other animal welfare projects. As a charity, UFAW is under an obligation to ensure that its funds are applied effectively in pursuit of its objectives. UFAW therefore wishes to encourage and, together with researchers funded through its various initiatives and their host institutions, ensure the protection and exploitation of the intellectual property arising out of the work that it funds.
Specifically, UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group requires the institution to:
(a) develop and implement strategies and procedures for the identification, protection and exploitation of all intellectual property created or acquired in connection with a UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group-funded activity (intellectual property includes all inventions, technologies, products, data and know-how);
(b) notify UFAW promptly when intellectual property that may or may be of animal welfare or commercial value is created, and ensure that such intellectual property is protected and not published or otherwise publicly disclosed prior to protection (whilst at the same time ensuring that potential delays in publication are minimised);
(c) permit UFAW and the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group to have reasonable access to personnel, facilities and information utilised in, or created or acquired pursuant to, a UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group-funded activity or the exploitation envisaged under this paragraph 12;
(d) ensure that all persons in receipt of UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group-funding or working on a UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group-funded activity are employed or retained on terms that vest in the institution all intellectual property which is created or acquired by any such person in connection with a UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group-funded activity.
17. No intellectual property created or acquired in connection with a UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group-funded activity may be exploited in any way without the prior written consent of UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. Exploitation includes use for any commercial purpose or any license, sale, assignment, materials transfer or other transfer rights. As a condition of granting such consent, UFAW on behalf of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group may require the institution to agree to terms of exploitation including the sharing of the benefits (such as revenues and equity) arising from the exploitation.
18. If the institution does not protect or exploit any such intellectual property in accordance with the jointly agreed strategies and procedures or otherwise to UFAW’s satisfaction, UFAW as administrator of the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group shall have the right, but not a duty, to protect and exploit such intellectual property in furtherance of the aims of the Charity. Such right shall only be exercised 6 months after UFAW has given the institution notice in writing requiring the institution to protect and exploit such intellectual property, unless UFAW reasonably considers that such intellectual property rights could be lost and more immediate action is required. The institution agrees to do, and will ensure that its employees and students do, all acts required to assist UFAW in such protection and exploitation.
Further information
If further information is required, contact UFAW, The Old School, Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire AL4 8AN, UK. Email: ufaw@ufaw.org.uk. Tel: 01582 831818 Fax 01582 831414. Website: http://www.ufaw.org.uk.
