Hi guys, I'm looking at applying for postdoc research funding through the British Academy Fellowship scheme. I've been mainly looking at universities and research instiutions within an hour radius of where I live, but I wondered if this is common practice or whether people look at doing postdocs elsewhere? I suppose it would depend upon how much time the postdoc would be required to spend physically at the institution per week/if teaching was involved etc.
Moving is not an option for me as I've recently bought a house, but I would be happy to commute anywhere in England if say, I was only required in on certain days, or I worked flexible hours. I assumed that such posts are primarily independent research based, e.g. you can work from home most of the time. Does anyone have any experience of this? Can any postdocs shed some light on how much time they spend at their institution?

The BA postdocs are about the institution providing you with training and experience to make it more likely you could get a lectureship at the end. They look for fit on this between you and the host department / mentor and so I don't think the kind of p/t association you suggest would fly, as it would limit the case for support to an non-viable extent. The host institution also has to agree to sponsor your application as it has costs for them, so they will want something from you in return (so again p/t residency isn't likely to make them keen). Have you made contact with any depts yet? Some are only allowed to put one candidate per year to an internal competition and then only the best overall candidates can apply so you really need an academic on board, who is going to push for you. There's only 45 nationally per year so rationing applications internally is a strategy that's increasingly used.

Thanks for your reply!
I see....to be honest I don't really know anything about what's expected of you/the requirements of being a postdoc. I'm just testing the water as I'm coming up to the final stages of my PhD and starting to look at my options.
It would make sense then that an institution within easy commuting distance would be most appropriate for that kind of fellowship. I didn't realise it was heavily focussed on teaching rather than research. I had looked at other schemes, and jobs listed directly through universities, that were primarily research based and I thought this was similar.
Thanks for your help!

No it's not heavily based on teaching. The host institution though will need to be able to provide career development for you e.g. courses or other training, involvement in the activities of a research group and if they are investing in you, the BA will want you to be an active member of the department, rather than someone who will put in occasional appearances. You need to think of it really as a full-time job with occasional work at home possibilities - it is a bit different in terms of expectations to the PhD if you've been used to doing as you please more or less. Have you talked to your supervisor about what institutions might be a good fit?

I have applied to a University 2 hours away from home to start a part-time PhD and been told that I need only be on site for 12 days in the first year.

It's not only the travel to the Uni which will be involved in my research but also to a specialist library to access materials not available on the web - the library is 4 hours drive from home!

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