Research report
Whole Systems Networking Fund: Working to improve equity, diversity and inclusion across energy research
Mar 2024
The call for proposals under UKERC’s Whole Systems Networking Fund (WSNF) is currently open. The fund seeks to do things differently by seeing what happens when we centre Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in research practices. As such, the appraisal process is slightly different to other academic funds, and we are looking for volunteers to help us.
Blind screening is seen as best practice in EDI because it removes assessor bias. We have therefore opted for a two-stage appraisal process for this round of the WSNF: a blind screening stage followed by a non-blind assessment stage.
During the blind screening stage, all identifying information will be removed and assessors will score proposals against criteria that relates to project design, methodology, fit to the call theme and impact. This will ensure that ideas are judged, not the applicants themselves. Proposals that pass the threshold will then progress onto the next stage, where the fund’s Steering Group (SG) will consider applications in their entirety and choose which ones to award.
We are looking for volunteers to join our pool of blind screeners. Members of our research programme (from all career stages) have volunteered to help us, but in the spirit of advancing diversity, we want to open this up to the wider community as well. We encourage people from different backgrounds – e.g. industry or the third sector – to contact us, as your diverse perspectives will be greatly appreciated.
The deadline for applications is 27 April 2022. Proposals will be sent to screeners for review wc 2 May, with a deadline to return them by Friday 20 May.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of an initiative that seeks to transform research practices for the better. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Amber Sawyer for more information and to discuss your suitability.