We are recruiting two types of members for the new Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Assessor College: academic members with expertise within ESRC’s remit, and non-academic advisor members with expertise in how excellent social and economic research can contribute to society and the economy. All applicants should be based in the UK.
Academic members
We are seeking applications from individuals with research expertise in the areas ESRC funds. See remit, portfolio and priorities for more information on the areas and disciplines ESRC funds.
We encourage early career researchers to apply, along with more established academics. We encourage individuals from a wide range of methodological perspectives to apply, and welcome applications from those with experience in using or creating data collections and services.
All academic members will be expected to have the following skills and experience:
- strong research track record in their field appropriate to their career stage
- an appreciation for the value of different social science disciplines, areas of research and methodological approaches
- ability to reach an evaluative assessment based on evidence and their own knowledge or expertise
- excellent verbal and written communication skills
- an accountable and open working style
Within the overall academic membership we will also be looking for additional skills and experience, including:
- previous involvement in some form of expert review for UK Research and Innovation, which may include commissioning panel expertise
- experience of working across boundaries within and between social science disciplines and between social sciences and other academic disciplines
- experience of international collaborative research and agendas
- expertise and experience of knowledge exchange and research impact
- experience and interest in qualitative and quantitative data resources
Advisor members
For many of our funding opportunities, impact beyond academia is of particular importance.
Non-academic panel members, known as advisors, will provide input that supports ESRC to fund social science that creates impacts and improves outcomes.
Advisor panel members will be asked to pay particular attention to the relevance, timeliness and added value of proposed activity for relevant stakeholders such as policymakers, practitioners, or the public.
All advisor members will be expected to have the following skills and experience:
- an appreciation for research and research-related issues and the ways in which excellent research can inform policy and practice
- an understanding of effective knowledge exchange between research and the policy, business and civil society sectors
- an in-depth understanding of the sector in which they operate
- ability to reach an evaluative assessment based on evidence and their own knowledge or expertise
- excellent verbal and written communication skills
- an accountable and open working style
Within the overall advisor membership, we will also be looking for additional skills and experience, including:
- an understanding of the activities that ESRC funds and previous engagement with these
- experience of reviewing research funding applications
- a background in research or knowledge exchange
- experience of using research findings to inform policy and practice
- experience or interest in qualitative and quantitative data resources
Panel chairs
Both academic and advisor members will also be able to indicate if they wish to be considered for roles as a panel chair. Panel chairs do not formally assess applications but play a crucial role in assimilating and summarising the views of panel members and supporting them to agree an overall score for each application under consideration.
In addition to the skills and experience described, panel chairs will also be expected to have a proven ability to effectively chair research funding panels to reach clear outcomes and recommendations.
See more information about the role of ESRC.
