UKERC manages a flexible research fund that will be allocated through a series of open research calls, overseen by an independent Research Committee. Around £3.3 million will be available for the flexible research fund during this phase of UKERC. Three targeted calls are envisaged during 2015 and 2016.
The flexible research fund has a number of objectives, including:
In June 2014, an initial Town Hall Meeting was held at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources in London, to discuss potential priorities for flexible funding. Around forty academics and representatives of other organisations attended the meeting. Based on the outcomes of the Town Meeting and following consultations with the UKERC Research Committee, the focus of the first round of funding was on two areas:
A second Town Meeting was held at Imperial College in December 2015 in order to determine potential priorities for the second round of the Research Fund. In this instance the discussion built on the priority areas that were identified in the first consultation round. However, there was also an opportunity to suggest additional research areas of questions. Based on the outcomes of the second Town Meeting and following consultations with the UKERC Research Committee, the focus of the second round of funding was on three areas:
A third workshop was held at Imperial College in October in order to identify potential priorities under the third round of funding of the Research Fund. The discussions focused on general research ideas, as well as topics under the wider area of the impact of non-energy policies on the energy system. Based on the outcomes of the second Town Meeting and following consultations with the UKERC Research Committee, the focus of the third round of funding was on two areas:
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