ESRC Impact Acceleration Account 2023-28:

Year One Celebration Event

Your Research Impact team are delighted to invite you to celebrate the successes and developments from the first year of our ESRC Impact Acceleration Account:

 Details:

• Weds 9 October
• 10:00 - 15:00
• Scarman Conference Centre
• REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL – click here for event webpage, schedule, and registration form

Join us on Wednesday, 9 October to hear from some of the projects facilitated by the IAA and to explore the broader programme of events and initiatives that have been launched to enhance skills and culture around knowledge exchange within Warwick's Social Science community. We will also be formally launching the ESRC IAA Policy Hub, and hearing from the ESRC about UKRI Policy Fellowship opportunities.

We look forward to seeing you!

Please get in touch on esrcimpactaccount@warwick.ac.uk with any questions or for further information.

On Saturday 26 October, the Warwick Institute of Engagement will be heading to the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa for a collaborative event to celebrate Social Science. As part of a collaboration with the ESRC Festival of Social Science, staff and students are invited to deliver a range of drop-in activities linked to any Social Science discipline or related activity. Examples could include a hands-on tabletop activity, a workshop, a video, a read a-long for children in the library, or even a creative way to engage with the exhibitions at the venue. We can help you create your activity (for an audience of all ages, with many aged 5-11 years), rehearse and source any kit you might need. If you have a piece of research or knowledge you’d like to share, get in touch and we’ll help with the rest! Express your interest here.

The University expects to receive an allocation of funding from Research England for its 2024-25 Policy Support Fund. Subject to confirmation of this allocation, awards of up to £50,000 are available for research and impact projects delivered in conjunction with external partners that can fully spend by 30 June 2025, with bids on a short application form invited by 17:00 on Monday 16 September 2024 to research_impact@warwick.ac.uk.This call is open to all faculties/departments.

Eligible projects should focus on contributing to policy change - whether this is at the local, regional, national, or international level - and might encompass work with parliament, central government, devolved administrations, local government, health and education bodies, the justice system, service providers or specific industry sectors, and a wide range of regulatory organisations.

There will be three streams of funding to apply to, depending on how developed the project is and the nature of the policy activity. PIs can select the stream they wish to apply to, or they can put in an open application and the committee will place them in the most appropriate stream.

Emerging/early-stage policy engagement, awards up to £25,000

This stream supports projects at an earlier stage in their policy engagement journey. Examples of fundable research and activity could include, but are not restricted to:

• New research activity working in partnership with policymakers - particularly to better understand local, regional or national challenges
• Policy engagement and networking events designed to build policy networks
• Primary data collection and/or analysis to inform policy

Follow-on policy funding, awards up to £50,000

This stream supports projects at a more developed stage in their policy engagement journey. The expectation is that these projects will have established partnerships in place and well-developed policy plans with clear impact outcomes. Applications from projects which have received previous Policy Support Funding, and which are ready to develop further, are encouraged.

Policy capacity building, awards up to £50,000

• Facilitating the use of existing research and the exchange of knowledge between universities and policymakers
• Activity and training to better equip academics - including postgraduate and early career researchers - to communicate effectively with policymakers
• The creation of resources to engage policy stakeholders with research and/or to improve their capacity to effectively utilise research

We recommend that prospective applicants reach out to their respective Research Impact Manager to discuss their proposals in advance of submission:

• Dr Rob Hollingworth - Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine (School of Life Sciences; Mathematical Sciences and Statistics; Psychology, and Warwick Medical School)
• Grace Prewett - Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine (Chemistry; Computer Science; Engineering; Physics, and WMG)
• Emma Roberts - Faculty of Arts
• Dr Helen Ackers - Faculty of Social Sciences (School of Education, Language and Communication Science; the Department of Sociology; the Institute for Employment Research, and Warwick Business School)
• Dr Kathryn van de Wiel - Faculty of Social Sciences (Economics; School of Law; Politics and International Studies; Philosophy)

Further information about the fund – including the application form – can be found on the webpage.