Research Development Fund

Call now open.

The WUN Research Development Fund (RDF) provides grants of up to £10,000, for one year, to foster research collaborations among academic staff at WUN member universities. Grants from the RDF are intended to help stimulate larger collaborative projects that will strengthen WUN and have impact, for example through giving rise to influential publications or making the collaborating partners competitive for major grants.

The RDF supports research projects directed at problems that lie within the network's principal research theme of sustainable development, and on which a diverse team of collaborating partners confers distinct advantage. These will often be problems where comparative analysis is important.

In line with the WUN Strategic Plan 2023-2026, proposals are encouraged that address problems in one or more of the following areas within the context of sustainable development:

  • Social justice and human rights; inequality
  • Sustainable world: cities and urbanization; energy transitions; water, and food security
  • Mental health; child and maternal health; ageing
  • Responsible and ethical applications of Artificial Intelligence

Eligibility

The RDF is open to academic staff at WUN member universities. A project must engage at least three WUN member universities across at least two regions. Projects may include non-WUN universities and external partners but must have an active core of WUN member universities. Projects led by early career researchers are especially encouraged. 

RDF 2025 submission timeline

Each member institution is limited to two submissions per call each year (as the lead university). Bristol researchers interested in applying should therefore follow the timeline below to allow for internal shortlisting.

Information on current and previous RDF projects can be found in WUN's research projects database.

Please contact Jo Brooks, the WUN Coordinator for Bristol, if you have any questions.

Opportunities to collaborate on WUN RDF projects led by other WUN member universities

Please get in touch with the listed contact should you be interested in finding out more about any of the projects.

University of Alberta

  • 'Mapping and modeling risk: a scoping review and predictive analaysis of domestic violence in the context of climate change'; contact Salima Meherali (meherali@ualberta.ca); DL 26 September 2025

Project summary:
Climate change poses an escalating global public health challenge, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations. While its effects on food security, disease burden, and natural disasters are well documented, the indirect social consequences, particularly on gender-based violence, remain underexplored. Emerging evidence suggests that climate stressors such as extreme heat, floods, droughts, and economic instability can exacerbate domestic violence, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Pakistan, where systemic gender inequality already heightens women’s vulnerability. Women and girls in reproductive age groups are especially at risk, with climate-driven displacement, poverty, and reduced access to services contributing to increased exposure to domestic violence. Despite growing recognition from global organizations such as UN Women and the UNFCCC, the empirical evidence base linking climate change and domestic violence remains limited and fragmented, particularly in LMIC contexts. This project brings together an interdisciplinary team to: (i) Conduct a scoping review to map existing evidence on the relationship between climate change and gender-based violence, with an emphasis on LMICs; (ii) Conduct a secondary analysis of national survey data to examine the relationship between climate-related environmental stressors and domestic violence against women in Pakistan, using predictive modeling as a case study; (iii) Build awareness and capacity among graduate students and early-career public health professionals on the intersections of climate change, domestic violence, and planetary health; and facilitate collaboration and priority-setting for future research and policy development. The team currently includes researchers from the following WUN partners: University of Alberta, University of Sheffield, University of Ghana, UFMG, UTS and University of Queensland.

What I am looking for in a partner:
We are happy to include any other interested WUN member institutions. We are seeking collaborators working in the areas of climate change, women’s health, and gender-based violence.

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