The Impact Development Team are delighted to have won a third consecutive Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) for the University, funded from 2023 to 2028. Applications for the awards below are welcome from all disciplines and Faculties in partnership with external organisations. The first round of applications will open in May 2023.
The research underlying an IAA application does not need to have been ESRC-funded but the application must demonstrate how the proposed project is rooted in and driven by social science research, and how the research leads to the impact of the proposed project, partnership and outcome(s).
Seed-funding Awards up to £3,000 can be used to test ideas, experiment, plan your impact journey, generate early stage impacts and work with external partners. Awards will be specifically linked to developing larger projects and training will be offered by the Translational Hub team.
Impact Project Awards up to £20,000 build on seed-funding awards or are at an equivalent stage of development. They should have specific deliverables and support new innovation ideas as they launch and grow. Projects are expected to produce specific deliverables such as physical or software prototypes or products, toolkits, training packages, business processes or policy recommendations.
Accelerator Awards up to £30,000 aim to grow and scale innovation and impact. Projects must demonstrate potential in at least two of the following: policy, commercialisation, business partnership, public engagement. Funds are to be used for academic staff time to undertake market research, business model development or expansion of stakeholder networks. The Translational Research Hub will support award-holders to move beyond IAA funding e.g. to a social science accelerator programme or Knowledge Transfer Partnership.
Strategic Impact Awards up to £100,000 are projects of 12-18 months intended to build capacity for impact, enterprise and innovation across more than one area of the university. They can be led by academics or professional services staff and should include some element of training, development or network building. The focus of the work must be 50% in either the ESRC or EPSRC remit.
Long-term Fellowship Awards up to £20,000 are for part-time inward or outward exchanges with non-academic partners lasting up to two years. Fellowships will enable academics and external partners to develop strong enduring relationships and create impact from existing research.
Placement Awards up to £8,000 for ECRs and PhD students will deliver co-produced impact plans with external organisations. Open across all sectors, award-holders will work closely with the University of Bristol Professional Liaison Network & the ESRC South-West Doctoral Training Partnership and will incorporate their approach to placements and training: Bristol Model Placement projects (mini-KTPs) which are led by an ECR with a PhD student.
Further information for internal colleagues can be found here.
If you are a UoB academic or an external organisation interested in these opportunities, please contact our team Alice Malhador and Jenny Hatchard, at esrc-iaa@bristol.ac.uk.
