Launch of the Centre of Excellence for Resilient Infrastructure Analysis research grants

Virtual Event, 16 March  2022

Link to the funding opportunity details and application

FAQ

Is the £50k FEC for theme 1?

Yes, the £50k is maximum funds which will be provided at 80% FEC, so your full budget could be £62.5k.  This similarly applies to themes 2 and 3, so your 100% FEC budget could be up to £250k and £437.5k respectively.

The third theme, should it focus on resilience based on existing models on DAFNI or develop new models?

Do what is practical and has the greatest impact.  Projects can use existing or introduce new models on the platform. There are a limited number of models on DAFNI at the moment, and we encourage new models which will extend the opportunity to support resilience analysis.   Be realistic on new model development in the time and effort available.

In themes 2 and 3, what is the difference between a scenario and a framework?

Scenarios would be examples of systems/environments subjected to a shock event, like CReDo [which is impact of flooding on water/electricity/telecoms]. 

A framework should provide general methods, tools and metrics for studying, assessing and improving resilience applicable to different scenarios.

Could a project propose to explore aspects of resilience that are currently not well understood in the literature, such as social/people aspects?

Yes, but we need something practical on the platform.  Exploration would need to be part of a package and will only strengthen the project if societal impacts or change can be included in proposals.

Projects should engage with stakeholders - should the Centre of Excellence engage with the "infrastructure community"?

Yes, we would expect the Centre of Excellence for Resilient Infrastructure Analysis to grow and engage the wider community.  The overall aim of this funding programme is to build a community on DAFNI.  To facilitate this we will provide workshops, and opportunities to access DAFNI.  This is essential to support ongoing development of the resilience theme and build on the longevity of any future funding programmes on DAFNI.

Should projects publish? Will there be scope/funding to publish?

Yes, we would expect publications.  We also expect new projects to provide a talk at the DAFNI conference, Imperial College London, on the 12th  September presenting plans.  Also expected will be events which showcase progress and results as part of the wider community dissemination. (Travel expenses following UKRI policy and reasonable costs will be covered for speakers attending the DAFNI conference).

Following the publication of the revised UKRI policy on open access, and the decision to provide research organisations with block funding for publication costs, STFC no longer provides funding in research grants for any publication costs associated with peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Publication costs associated with research outputs other than journal articles and conference papers, such as books, monographs, critical editions, catalogues etc. may, however, continue to be included in grants as a directly incurred other cost.

Find out more about other costs.

Should projects focus on the UK or could it be international?

The wider call has an international scope, and so the topic of the proposal can be international in scope.

Are there are restrictions on the type of models that users can upload to DAFNI?

There are no restrictions if the model can function within a Docker container, but if models have licenced software, it is strongly advised that this is checked in advance with the DAFNI technical team as there may be license restrictions which make porting models onto DAFNI very difficult.

Does the data used within the project (secured from industry contacts) become open-access to DAFNI users when that is uploaded to the platform?

You have full control over which data can be accessed.  However, it is important that outputs can be accessed by the wider community following end of project.  There may be alternatives by providing synthetic data instead to enable open access of the research.

How many proposals are individual researchers/academics able to be involved in and lead?

A researcher can be involved in more than one proposal.

Is it possible to apply for more than one stream as a PI or CoI for a different research direction, and if so, what are the specific requirements or restrictions that need to be considered while applying for multiple streams?

A person can apply for more than stream and but must complete a separate Join Electronic Submission System application per submission.  It would be sensible not to have proposals depending on each other.

How do you define a “project collaborator”? Would each partner need to provide a CV? Or are they not classed as “project collaborators”?

Project Collaborators do not need to provide a CV but a letter of support from them could be included to show their commitment to the project following STFC guidelines. https://www.ukri.org/councils/stfc/guidance-for-applicants/project-partners-subcontractors-and-collaborators/

Third parties participating in the project can be:

A Project Partner is a third party person who is not employed on the grant, or a third party organisation, who provides specific contributions either in cash or in kind, to the project. Entitlement to the outputs of the project and/or Intellectual Property will be determined between the parties involved, however any access to project outputs and/or IP must be in line with any relevant Subsidy Control regulation. As a rule Project Partners are expected to provide contributions to the delivery of the project and should not therefore be seeking to claim funds from UKRI. However, where there are specific circumstances where Project Partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, this will usually be paid at 80% fEC unless otherwise stated by us; note that any applicable Subsidy Control regulation and HMRC guidance will also be taken into account which may affect the percentage of these costs that we will fund. These costs should be outlined and fully justified in the proposal and will be subject to peer review.

UKRI Head Office Staff acting in their capacity as a UKRI employee are not eligible to be Project Partners. Organisations that are applicants on the project, including non-lead applicant organisations, cannot also be a project partner.

A Subcontractor is a third party individual who is not employed as staff on the grant, or a third party organisation, who is subcontracted by the host organisation to deliver a specific piece of work. This will be subject to the procurement rules of the host organisation. All costs that support the delivery of the subcontract are eligible and will be paid at 80% fEC unless otherwise stated, these should be outlined and fully justified in the proposal and will be subject to peer review. Entitlement to the outputs of the project and/or Intellectual Property will be determined between the parties involved, however any access to project outputs and/or IP must be in line with any relevant Subsidy Control regulation.

Collaborator: Do not have an official role/descriptor of “Collaborator” as this is a word often generically used in relation to a project, therefore this could lead to confusion. Instead, the term “collaboration” should be used in the generic sense to explain that there is a project relationship or interaction, accompanied with an official project role descriptor of Project Partner, Sub-contractor, PI, Co-I etc. to explain the nature of the collaboration.

Is it possible to invite a postdoctoral researcher from another institution to collaborate with me as a co-investigator on the project?

It is perfectly fine to invite another researcher as a CoI.

There are several types of staff post that can be requested on a grant proposal including investigators, researchers, technicians and associated students.
These posts may be requested as directly incurred, directly allocated or, in some cases, exceptions. See full economic costing fund headings for information about which headings to use.

Applicants must ensure that they have obtained the permission of any other person named on the proposal form (for example, any co-investigators or project partners) for the provision of their personal information to UKRI and the processing of their data by UKRI for the purpose of assessing the application and management of any funding awarded.

Can we include international partners?

Yes, but the project must be led by an eligible UK institution and only eligible UK institutions can receive funding.  Access to the DAFNI platform can be given to international partners in a such project.

Can a project fund contractors or consultants?

Yes. Subcontractor costs should appear under other directly incurred costs and are paid at the standard 80% rate. Other costs – UKRI.

Track record, Resume or CV

Regarding track record, please keep to up to two pages and give a summary per person involved.  We will be able to glean further information from the CVs.

In relation to CVs, our advice is that each PI and CoI named in the proposal should each have a two-page CV, this will provide the track record.  All the CVs should be merged into one document, with the file name of CV and the leading organisation, and uploaded to JeS. i.e. for four Co-I an eight-page document.

The summary 2-page track record and two pages CV per named PI and CoI, will give us a good understanding of the people involved.

Regarding other collaborations, we don’t need CVs but letters of support would be helpful to outline how they are collaborating.

Do I need a data Management Plan

For JeS in the section Data Management plan, we advise that a document labelled ‘data management plan’ is uploaded with the wording “This is a placeholder document as the call does not require any data management information”. Please then save and upload it to the grant.’

Presenting at the annual DAFNI Conference and other events

We expect new projects to provide a talk presenting plans at the DAFNI conference, Imperial College London, on the 12th  September 2023.  Also, it is expected to attend events that showcase progress and results as part of the wider community dissemination. (Travel expenses following UKRI policy and reasonable costs will be covered for speakers attending the 2023 DAFNI conference).

16 March 2023 Event Agenda

14:00 Introduction to the Building a Secure and Resilient World (BSRW) – Dr Amber Vater, STFC, SPC Head of Strategic Project Delivery  ​

​14:15 Introduction to the DAFNI Centre of Excellence for Resilient Infrastructure Analysis – Dr Brian Matthews, DAFNI lead ​

14:35 How to apply to new funding opportunities to get involved in this new Centre and bring research onto DAFNI – Dr Brian Matthews​

14:55 Q&A​

15:30 Closing of the event 

Introduction to the Building a Secure and Resilient World (BSRW) – Dr Amber Vater, STFC, SPC Head of Strategic Project Delivery  

Presentation

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Building and secure a resilient world presentation

Introduction to the DAFNI Centre of Excellence for Resilient Infrastructure Analysis and how to apply for research grants – Dr Brian Matthews, DAFNI Lead

Presentation: Introduction to the Centre of Excellence for Resilient Infrastructure Analysis on DAFNI

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presentation slide

Presentation: How to apply to new funding opportunities

 

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funding opportunities slide

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