We are delighted to announce the first call for the ESRC IAA Postdoctoral Impact Fellowship, an opportunity for students at the conclusion of the doctoral studies to translate their PhD research into real-world impact.

The Fellowship:

As part of its activities, the Warwick ESRC IAA is funding up to six postdoctoral fellowships to support students at the conclusion of their PhD to explore how their research could be applied to the needs and challenges of organisations across different sectors, and to develop plans and programmes of activity to put this into practice.

Examples of fundable activities which fellows might undertake could include (but are not restricted to):

• The creation of resources to engage specific stakeholders with research and/or to improve their capacity to effectively utilise research in a specific area
• Collaborative activities for or with key stakeholders such as workshops, training programmes, or behaviour-change interventions
• Knowledge exchange events with non-academic stakeholders
• Activities to inform policy or to engage policymakers with research findings
• Activities to improve or strengthen research-user engagement
• Proof of concept and commercialisation activities

Applicants are encouraged to consider how the fellowship would enable them to utilise their PhD research to respond to clearly identified needs of specific, non-academic stakeholders. Non-academic partners or stakeholders might include (but are not limited to): policymakers; businesses and social enterprises; third sector organisations; schools, teachers, their students and communities; service providers and practitioners; community groups; creative practitioners; NGOs and advocacy groups.

Projects concerned with innovating or creating change in the following areas are particularly encouraged:

• Policy engagement - particularly that which aligns with University and UKRI/ESRC priorities
• Work looking to support regional growth and development or ‘levelling-up’

Further Information:

For more information about this scheme – including award details and eligibility criteria - please visit the webpage. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Social Sciences Impact Team to discuss their proposals. Email us on ESRCImpactAccount@warwick.ac.uk with any questions or to arrange a meeting.

Furthermore, the team will be holding information webinars on the following dates:

• Tuesday 30 January, 10:00-11:00
• Thursday 1 February, 14:00-15:00

These webinars are for applicants and their supervisors/prospective mentors. Please click on the links to register your attendance.

The deadline for applications for the 2024/25 cohort of fellows (September 2024 start) is 22 March 2024.

We look forward to hearing from you!

With very best wishes,

The Social Sciences Impact Team

esrcimpactaccount@warwick.ac.uk