DAFNI Fellowship Programme

The DAFNI Fellowship Programme was launched in May 2026 and welcomed its first cohort of ten DAFNI Fellows. Each Fellow is an ambassador for DAFNI, actively working within sustainable research, promotion of our research within the DAFNI Centre of Excellence for Resilient Infrastructure Analysis, building networks across government, industry and academia and inputting into DAFNI’s Roadmap. 

Fellows are supported by the wider DAFNI programme to develop and promote their research. This includes opportunities to develop and present their research and innovation to the wider DAFNI network of academic, government, and business supporters. In addition, Fellows receive supportfrom the DAFNI team in the integration of their research outputs to this wider audience through use of the DAFNI platform.  

The key responsibilities of a DAFNI Fellow include: 

• Showcasing their expertise by leading and contributing to white papers and reports for the Centre of Excellence. Sharing their innovative ideas, gaining visibility within the DAFNI and infrastructure engineering communities.

• Bringing research onto the DAFNI Platform and working with the DAFNI team. The platform has a number of datasets and models in its catalogue collections. Each Fellow will be contributing to a growing body of knowledge around infrastructure research that will be promoted within the community and contribute towards our Centre of Excellence initiatives.

• Participation in outreach and community engagement. The funding provided by this Fellowship is for travel to enable dissemination of research and promotion of DAFNI.

• Collaborating with the DAFNI team to lead workshops tackling key UK Infrastructure challenges, connecting the Fellows directly with influential stakeholders in government, academia, and industry.

• Involvement and input to the DAFNI Conference. Insights and expertise from each Fellow will help to ensure that our conference is driven by domain experts. This is an opportunity for our Fellows to build new skills and network within our community whilst driving the direction of our science.

• Involvement and input to the DAFNI Conference. Insights and expertise from each Fellow will help to ensure that our conference is driven by domain experts. This is an opportunity for our Fellows to build new skills and network within our community whilst driving the direction of our science.

• Taking an active role in shaping the DAFNI Fellows Cohort by sharing their expertise and guidance. As a Fellow, each will help foster collaboration, build valuable networks, share their knowledge, and steer the development of DAFNI in the future.

Funding available 

To support the work of the DAFNI fellows, particularly with respect to research dissemination and networking, we are funding 10 DAFNI Fellowships at £10,000 per Fellow (100% FEC). The funding can be used for staff time and travel. 

To apply 

Applications for our 2026 Fellows has now closed. Further information about future applications will be posted on this page.

Applicants are selected by a panel of experts and researchers within the Centre of Excellence, alongside DAFNI Programme members, based on submissions through an online application form. Applications are scored against the DAFNI Fellowship Programme high level goals noted below.  

The applications are equally weighted across the five DAFNI Fellowship programme high level goals; Fostering collaboration (20%), Bridging the Gap between Government, Academia and Industry (20%), DAFNI Innovation (20%), Growing knowledge within the Centre of Excellence (20%) and Sustainable Research (20%). Please see below for the descriptions of each programme goal. 

DAFNI Fellowship Programme high level goals 

1. Collaboration

The DAFNI Platform is collaborative with a mission to bring researchers together and facilitate the development of modelling frameworks. With this new opportunity of DAFNI Fellows, we are looking to increase collaboration across all regions of the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). 

2. Bridging the gap between Government, Academia, and Industry 

Our goal is to support our academics in their data and evidence-based interactions with Government and Industry stakeholders. We are looking to work with the Fellows to build these relationships. 

3. DAFNI innovation 

One of our missions is to support cross-disciplinary research in infrastructure engineering. We work closely with the community to understand which developments and features we can develop on the DAFNI Platform to enable best use of research output. Working with the Fellows to expand this knowledge is of interest to the DAFNI programme. 

4. Growing knowledge within the Centre of Excellence (Building a Secure and Resilient World Programme)

DAFNI’s long term strategy are to align with the UKRI Building a Secure and Resilient World initiative, to strengthen security and resilience, from individual to national level, across a range of social and economic areas at the heart of daily life, including in the provision, operation, and evolution of National Infrastructure Systems. We are looking to gain insight within this UKRI strategic theme, and the fellowship programme should align with its goals. 

5. Sustainable research

DAFNI is a place to make research outputs available for long-term accessibility. We are looking forward to working with DAFNI Fellows to onboard their research outputs (e.g., data, analytical models, data visualisations) as contributions to this long-term body of research information. We understand the importance of sustainability for research and advocate for reliable, reproducible, accessible, and reusable research outputs being available on the DAFNI platform as a legacy of the programme. 

Duration 

The duration of this award is up to 15 months. 

Eligibility 

This process is open to all, irrespective of career stage.  

We are passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from all backgrounds. We welcome applications from those from early career researchers, women, and those from underrepresented groups to help increase their representation across infrastructure engineering.  

Who is eligible to apply? 

This funding opportunity is open to all organisations with standard UKRI eligibility and all researchers. Eligibility will be determined at the panel review stage in accordance with UKRI rules. Please check for full details on eligibility. 

Who is not eligible to apply? 

The following are not eligible to apply: 

• Researchers based within a non-UK based Institution.

• Companies, government bodies, and third-sector organisations not eligible under UKRI funding guidelines (see Organisation eligibility – UKRI).  

• Students in receipt of a studentship grant from a UKRI body.  

Fellowship Award 

DAFNI Fellows may utilise their funding in several ways. Examples include:  

• Attendance at relevant conferences to promote research and the DAFNI platform. 
• Attendance at relevant DAFNI events or specific community meetings, with the expectation being that a Fellow would be actively engaged in some form of knowledge exchange or dissemination at the event.
• Academic time spent utilising the DAFNI platform, uploading data and models, and working with the DAFNI User Liaison team if any technical support is required. 
• Time spent involved in workshop organisation alongside the DAFNI programme team, with the goal of growing the knowledge within the Centre of Excellence, exploring focused areas of research that align with the DAFNI Strategy.
• Coordinating and preparing papers and reports on topics of relevance to the DAFNI Centre of Excellence in Resilient Infrastructure Analysis and the BSRW programme. 

Each Fellow will be given a presence on the DAFNI website and visibility through STFC’s impact generation platforms such as DAFNI LinkedIn (posts/case studies) and DAFNI and UKRI/STFC social media. 

Following selection, each Fellow will be awarded a package of financial support up to the value of £10,000 over a 15-month period alongside excellent networking opportunities, professional support, and advice. This funding will be provided on demand to support each Fellow’s proposed activities and in each case will agree an output to be provided back to DAFNI. 

The end of the 15-month term does not mean the end of the Fellowship, DAFNI intends to operate a “Once a Fellow, always a Fellow” approach, building a supportive and engaging environment to encourage future growth and interaction with our Fellows and opportunities to engage and network with future cohorts. 

What we will not fund 

We will not fund research that does not intend to use the DAFNI Platform, in addition to: 

• Research and data that is commercially sensitive.

• Fellows who do not align to the DAFNI Fellowship high level goals.

• Researchers not eligible for this funding opportunity.

FAQs

Our frequently asked questions are available to download here – Frequently asked questions.