We wanted to listen and respond to people who have knowledge and ideas on how to progress research relating to the novel coronavirus / COVID-19. We wanted to support researchers who might have a brilliant research idea but need that extra bit of support to make it happen.
We have been astounded with the response we have received to this funding call, with over 50 applications in such a short time. This just shows the level of commitment our academics have, and are able to deliver research using their expertise at this challenging time.
Although we set an initial deadline, we are now going to keep the call open on a rolling basis as long as we can, and so please check our website for more details.
Over the next few days we will be working with an expert review panel on a quick turn around to access the applications. We hope to announce successful projects during the week of 30 March. We will be sharing details of those projects in the coming weeks so please watch this space. Although I have been hugely impressed with all of the applications, unfortunately we are unlikely to be able to fund everything. For those projects that we can’t fund we will try to find other ways to support and join them up.
We have also been overwhelmed by the offers of support we have received from researchers wanting to support COVID-19 research projects. We will be collating these offers of support and will share details about these soon. We’re aiming to help to connect researchers across our academic community, in keeping with the aims of the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute as a whole, so please do keep in touch.
The COVID-19 crisis is clearly going to have a major impact on all our research activities. In formulating an approach to this challenge, the University’s top priorities are to protect the health and wellbeing of staff and students, and to fulfil our wider social responsibilities. Where we can, our researchers want to contribute to the research efforts around COVID-19 itself. I’m honestly overwhelmed by my colleagues’ response to our funding call, and the offers of help that it has generated. Thank you to everyone who has stepped forward, our doors remain (remotely) open.
If you are University of Bristol staff, you can access guidance on conducting research during the COVID-19 crisis.