Urban Living Partnership – pilot phase
Due date: 26 November 2015 (with final applications by 21 January 2016)
Funding limit: £400,000
The Urban Living Partnership brings together all seven Research Councils and Innovate UK to promote integrated research and innovation to address the challenges faced by urban areas in the UK and to help them realise their visions for future urban living.
Through working together the partners aim to combine strengths across the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem to understand key interconnected urban challenges, to co-produce practical responses and exploit emerging market opportunities and capacity for social innovation. Taking a ‘whole city’ approach the Partnership brings together the capabilities needed to address a wide range of challenges from infrastructure and environment to crime and social inclusion, from health and wellbeing to heritage and culture, from economy and employment to smart cities and big urban data, to give just a few examples.
In this first pilot phase, the Partnership is seeking applications from consortia which bring together leading cross-disciplinary research expertise, city leaders, businesses, civic organisations and community groups, public, third sector and other urban innovators. Each of the consortia will be expected to conduct an initial pilot diagnostic phase focused on building integrated understanding of the challenges, opportunities and future visions of a specific UK city / urban area and developing agendas for future research and innovation.
Combined funding of £2 million is available from RCUK and Innovate UK for the pilot call to be distributed between up to five projects, each focused on a different city / urban areas. Funding of up to £400,000 will be awarded to support each pilot project to conduct a ‘diagnostic’ phase commencing in April 2016 and running initially for up to 18 months.
The deadline for research organisations to submit full applications via Je-S on behalf of consortia is 16:00 on 21 January 2016, with a deadline for submitting initial expressions of interest (EoI) on 26 November 2015. (Please note that the call will not be open in Je-S until 26 November 2015.) EPSRC is administering the pilot call on behalf of the partnership.
To apply to attend the Town Meeting on 20 October 2015, please fill in the EoI form available at the EPSRC website. (Please note that the call EoI form will replace this as of 20 October 2015.)