Dear colleagues

This research announcement aims to inform members of the research community at the University of Cape Town about:

1. Research funding calls

For an up-to-date list of open funding calls, including deadlines and contact details, visit the UCT research support hub. You can also subscribe to the research funding listserv, administered by the Research Office, which shares funding opportunities with UCT researchers via email.

• See the current funding opportunities.
• Subscribe to the research funding listserv.

2. Major change in NRF application process

The National Research Foundation (NRF) recently informed us and other institutions that it will be implementing a new one-call process for applications in 2019. Instead of multiple calls for applications, there will be one call per programme category, such as travel grants. Researchers and postgraduates will be allowed to submit one application to more than one programme.

The main purpose of the new system is to streamline application review processes, reduce reviewer fatigue and finalise application outcomes efficiently.

We have limited information as the process is still in development. The NRF’s formal communique with the final details will be circulated to the UCT research community as soon as we receive it.

3. ORCID identifier support

ORCID provides an identifier that uniquely identifies researchers. An ORCID identifier is increasingly being required by funders and publishers, and it is already a requirement of the National Research Foundation.

UCT offers support for ORCID and registering with the service: Contact Awot Kiflu Gebregziabher on 021 650 4399. You can also get support for other researcher identifiers, such as the Google Scholar Citations Profile, Scopus Author Identifier, ResearcherID for Web of Science and Microsoft Academic Search profiles.

• Find out more about ORCID and how to set it up.
• Read about other researcher idenfitiers.

4. Research data management policy and open science

A global movement towards greater openness in science – including the open publication of both traditional research outputs and the data supporting those outputs – has prompted an increasing number of funders such as the NRF to require open data publication. In response to this, UCT has implemented a data management policy that mandates the open publication of data at UCT, from master’s level upwards.

Read the first of a number of articles and how-to guides addressing fears and concerns around data publication and the limits of openness, and outlining the software and support UCT offers our research community.

• Read the article.

5. Linking portal profiles to departmental websites

You can now link your profile on the eRA portal to existing departmental websites. This means that researchers’ public profiles on eRA can have their information automatically populate their departmental websites. Update your profile on the eRA system, then ask your page manager to link it to your departmental website so you can increase your research visibility on both platforms.

Our colleagues from Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research (CIDER) were the first to showcase their researcher profiles from the eRA portal on their website – ensuring it’s automatically up to date.

• Find out how to implement this.

6. Umthombo: UCT’s research magazine

This year, UCT released the first and second issues of its new research magazine Umthombo, featuring stories from across the university that illustrate the diversity and quality of our research.

The latest issue features a multi-part story on the African Centre for Cities: a laboratory for urban thinking that has gained a global reputation as one of the leading knowledge centres for urban crises, particularly on the African continent. The relationship between UCT and CERN also features, as well as the Weddell Sea expedition.

• Read Umthombo.

7. Research equipment sharing

UCT is home to a myriad research facilities and instruments used by a range of researchers. These resources are expensive to buy and maintain, and to ensure sustainability, they need to be used and paid for by as wide a community as possible.

The facilities management project aims to implement a centralised booking and billing system to enable the sharing of facilities. To ensure the success of the project, the input of the research community is vital, and a university-wide survey will be distributed to understand the requirements.

The project is being led by Dr Dale Peters, director of UCT eResearch.

8. Researcher wrinkles: excellent tips for Excel

We found a great article that lists the top 10 Excel functions everyone should know (winnowed down from an initial list of 500) that are especially easy to learn. For instance:

There are two especially satisfying ways to use F4 in Excel. The first is when creating an Absolute Reference: F4 toggles you through the various options. The second is one that few people know about, but could seriously improve your Excel productivity. F4 repeats your last action, where available. For example, if you’ve just applied a border to one cell, use F4 to apply it to others.

Check out the article for the other tips, including flash fill and how to combine INDEX and MATCH to unleash their true power. Each tip indicates how long it will take to learn.

• Read all the tips.

The Research Announcement is produced by the Research Office, University of Cape Town.