C-DICE Networking Grants Now Available
The Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy (C-DICE) is pleased to announce an open call for short-term (up to 4 weeks in duration) networking grants, with the aim of facilitating short placement opportunities and collaborations to benefit C-DICE postdoctoral researchers. These collaboration awards are an opportunity for Postdoctoral and Early Career Researchers to engage with the C-DICE network, which brings together 18 higher education institutions (HEIs) from across the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) and the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC).
Themes
The overarching goal of C-DICE is to accelerate progress towards a net-zero society by 2050 by building and sustaining the advanced skills base required to create a pipeline of world-class talent for the Infrastructure, Cities and Energy (IC&E) sectors. Proposals that address this challenge should include one or more of the following:
- Research in infrastructure, cities and/or energy
- Research using UKCRIC and ERA facilities
- Knowledge exchange between collaborating C-DICE HEIs
- Networking benefits for Postdoctoral and Early Career Researchers (PD&ECRs)
Call Details
This call for proposals is made possible by a grant from the Research England Development (RED) fund allied to in-kind commitments from the collaborating HEI partners. The maximum placement duration is 4 weeks at full-time or equivalent (i.e. 20 working days) and minimum placement duration is 5 working days. Funding is available to cover travel, subsistence and/or consumables costs related to a post-doctoral networking visits up to a maximum of £1,000 for UK travel (or £3,000 for international travel). The RED fund will contribute 100% of these costs. Salaries will be paid by the postdoc’s home institution as part of its commitment to fund personal and professional development of post-doctoral researchers (e.g. under UKRI or similar grants) or its pledged in-kind contribution. [In cases where this would require a no-cost extension to an EPSRC grant, EPSRC has agreed to grant this automatically on request.]
Eligibility
C-DICE target audiences are post-doctoral researchers as defined by “a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies and/or while undertaking research as a member of staff at a collaborating institution”. The proposed activities must be relevant to the overarching goal and in alignment with C-DICE themes. The post-doctoral researcher must be currently employed by a UKCRIC or ERA university, or C-DICE partner university. The host institution (i.e. where the placement takes place) may be a C-DICE partner, an ERA or UKCRIC research facility, a university, a business, a charity, a local authority, or a research institute. Please contact Amy Beierholm at a.beierholm@cdice.ac.uk to discuss options available to you.
Case Study 1 – flexible work
Over a 5-month period, a Postdoctoral or Early Career Researcher spends up to 20 days (e.g. 1 day per week) to work at a C-DICE HEI or industrial partner on a “Business Model for Net Zero” dimension to extend the scope of a current infrastructure, cities and/or energy research project.
Case Study 2 – ERA and UKCRIC cross-collaboration
An ERA Postdoctoral or Early Career Researcher spends 2 weeks at a UKCRIC facility investigating an energy-related topic for an infrastructure or cities application, or vice versa.
Case Study 3 – remote working
A Postdoctoral or Early Career Researcher from a C-DICE affiliated partner spends 16 days over 8 weeks (i.e. 2 days/week) working remotely with academics from a C-DICE HEI to engage in knowledge transfer to explore the possibilities for deeper collaboration.
This funding is not intended for permanent teaching staff / lecturers.
Timeline
Collaboration grants will be awarded in February 2025, with the date for placement completion being 31st May 2025.
- Deadline for applications:
- Wednesday 29th January 2025
- Notification of awards will be made within two weeks of deadline.
Submission Procedure
Proposals may be submitted at any time prior to the deadline.
- Sign up to Inkpath and link to C-DICE. Here’s how.
- Sign up to activity DPAB0025 to receive the link to the online form.
- Complete a short proposal form online, to include:
- Applicant details (education & employment background)
- Research proposal concept and objectives
- Alignment to themes
- Budget justification and requested funding
- Cover letter (optional, to provide context)
- Letters of support (simple acknowledgement of collaboration from home & host institutions) to be emailed to C-DICE.
- A CV (optional) to be emailed to C-DICE.
If you have difficult registering for Inkpath, please contact cdice-enquiries@lboro.ac.uk.
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated by the C-DICE Development Strand against the following criteria:
- Alignment to the C-DICE overarching goal and C-DICE themes
- C-DICE connection (either home or host institution must be in C-DICE network)
- Evidence of benefits of the collaboration
- Quality of proposed research plan
- Potential impact and ability to realise impact
- Justification of proposed budget
Applications with matched funding are welcome, but not necessary.
After the Placement
- Confirmation of expenditure
- Outcomes (e.g. publications, engagement activities) for ResearchFish
- A short final report (template provided)
C-DICE Collaborating HEIs
University of Birmingham, Cranfield University, Loughborough University – C-DICE Core partners
Aston University, University of Leicester, University of Nottingham, University of Warwick, British Geological Survey, Keele University – ERA institutions
University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt University, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, Newcastle University, University of Sheffield, University of Southampton, UCL – UKCRIC institutions
ERA Facilities
To find out more about the ERA facilities, click here.
UKCRIC Facilities
To find out more about UKCRIC Facilities, click here.