The Opportunity:

We are running a fellowship call - open to all disciplines and institutions within our cluster - for two principal strands of work encompassing mapping, scoping, and intervention development activities, the findings and proposals of which will help us to tackle key issues and underpin our future work in this space. These strands are:

1. ‘A Connected Knowledge Exchange^† Landscape’: Mapping, enhancing, and raising awareness of existing infrastructure for Knowledge Exchange in the Midlands (this infrastructure might include, but is not limited to: Growth Hubs, Chambers of Commerce, local government, the Catapult network, Freeports, membership bodies, and third sector organisations). This strand of work will aim to examine how we as research organisations can work to better support the existing KE landscape.

Key Questions:

• • What sorts of organisations, outside of universities, are involved in KE and how do they work?
  • How - and how well - do universities currently work with these organisations? What are the typical barriers to collaboration and implementation?

2. ‘Hyperlocal Community Empowerment’: Developing a model and best practice framework for hyperlocal working, consulting with communities, and participatory action research/community organising. This strand will look at operationalising existing work at the hyperlocal level, with a view to building longer-term, more authentic collaborations with local communities and supporting their infrastructure and readiness for KE, as well as upskilling researchers to devise and deliver impact at this level.

Key Questions:

• • What does effective and authentic collaboration with our local communities look like? How can we ensure this work is sustained and avoids being ad hoc or cursory?
  • How can we ensure communities play a key role in this work without feeling over-consulted? What does best practice in this space look like?
  • What could be the future of this type work?

^† ‘Knowledge Exchange’ is what we call the wide range of activities Higher Education Institutions undertake with partners - from businesses to community groups - for the benefit of the economy and society. For further information, please visit:https://kef.ac.uk/.

Application Process:

Application Form:

As part of the application process, prospective fellows are required to pitch an approach to the strand of work they wish to undertake, including: the type/s of evidence they will need to gather and respond to; the different stakeholders and communities they will need to engage; and the kinds of long-term resources, tools, outputs and interventions they think could come out of this work.

The ultimate focus of the work should be on identifying and developing/proposing solution-led interventions and/or informing policy. It should include collaboration with relevant communities and/or prospective regional beneficiaries where possible and appropriate. Fellows will be expected to respond to evidence of local or regional needs. This includes drawing on existing data, evidence from lived experience, scoping activities, and co-creation with end-users and stakeholders. Fellows should aim to take a beneficiary-informed and actionable insights approach to their projects.

Interview:

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to 30-minute online interview to present their ‘pitch’ to the panel.

Assessment Criteria:

When devising their proposal, fellows should consider:

• A clear identification of the challenge(s) to be addressed (this can be developed as an early milestone of the project rather than being a pre-requisite of being awarded the fellowship).
• Identification of the beneficiaries that the proposed intervention(s) or policy(ies) would ultimately affect.
• Leveraging strong, existing networks and/or partnerships OR clear plans to forge new networks/partnerships that amplify the potential for successful interventions and solutions.
• A clear plan for working with and bringing together partners and end-users/stakeholders to help advise and/or inform relevant local/regional innovations, solutions, or policies.

Fellows are encouraged to avoid proposing:

• Undefined or general ‘engagement’ activity.
• Standalone scoping/mapping activities without clear pathways to developing innovations, solutions, or policies.
• Insufficient plans to ensure the best use of evidence available.

Fellowship Package:

• Salary at £ 34,866 - 45,163 for 12 months at 1.0 FTE
  • Undertaking the fellowship on a part-time basis will be considered at panel discretion – please contact us with any questions.
  • In exceptional cases and where demonstrable experience or expertise can be evidenced, salary above this level may be negotiated.
• Access to a budget of up to £10,000 for delivering activities (such as workshops, interviews, and roadshows), travel, hosting partners at meetings (e.g., room hire, refreshments, participant travel costs, etc.), showcasing materials (e.g., printing).
• Fellows will be supervised by academics at two universities from the cluster (from two different institutions) and have the wider support of a Strategic Advisory Board comprising expert mentors from all four institutions and key local external stakeholders.
• Fellowships must commence by 1 March 2025.

Eligibility and Person Specification:

This opportunity would be ideally suited an early career researcher, including someone who has recently completed a PhD (or will have done so by the start of the fellowship).

Prospective fellows can come from any disciplinary background (including those typically covered by ESRC, AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC, and STFC).

This work may appeal to those with experience of or an interest in: technology transfer, regional engagement, research commercialisation, business innovation, collaboration between academia and industry, community engagement, participatory research and citizen science.