News

UKERC aims to improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in energy research by bringing new, diverse voices to the table. One way we are striving to achieve this is through the Whole Systems Networking Fund (WSNF), which is intended to facilitate collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, improve networking and build lasting relationships within the energy research community.

Before we launch the fund we want to hear from the wider community. How can we use the WSNF to its fullest potential and maximise opportunities for diversity?

Please click here to fill out the survey; it should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. The deadline to submit your response is 17:00 on 25 June 2021.

Please click here to register for our workshop on the 1st July and help shape UKERC’s research and EDI agenda. 

About the fund

Our aims for the fund in UKERC Phase 4 are to:

1. Improve EDI across the energy research space
2. Offer career enhancement opportunities for Early Careers Researchers (ECRs)
3. Widen participation to share experience across disciplines and the four UK nations
4. Undertake collaborative research with non-academic partners to investigate policy-relevant challenges that could be solved through a whole systems approach

We intend to run two calls for proposals, one in 2021 and the second in 2022. To help shape the first call, we will be running two consultative activities in mid-2021: an online survey and an interactive workshop.

The consultative workshop will take place on 1 July 2021 and provide an opportunity to delve deeper into points raised by the survey responses. It will include an introduction to the WSNF, examples of successful projects from the previous round and an overview of our vision for the WSNF in UKERC Phase 4.