Call for Funding Autumn 2024: Agile Initiative Sprints

We are launching our latest call for applications for Agile Sprints. Sprints are fast-paced, solution-focused research projects centred on environmental change, delivered by interdisciplinary teams of researchers, policy partners and stakeholders. Successful applications to this Sprint call will be those that meet the criteria fully, with a strong emphasis on policy pull and timeliness.

• This call is only open to researchers with a research contract with an Oxford University Department/Faculty (including fixed term contracts) at Grade 7 or above.
• Applicants can apply as a team with a named lead, or as a lead intending to form an interdisciplinary team if successful. Sprints involve, on average, teams of 2-8 people depending on the project scope.
• Sprints last no longer than 12 months, and could take less time depending on the project.
• Four topics have been put forward by partners from WWF, Natural Resources Wales, Google and ARUP. Applicants can respond to these topics or submit their own research topics.
• We will commit around £2m to this call. Sprint budgets can range from £150,000 to a maximum of £400,000 at 80% FEC depending on the project scope.

We hope to receive applications from a range of departments, individuals and teams. And we aim to fund Sprints of different sizes and scopes: small Sprints might be around £150k and involve a team of 2-4; larger Sprints might require the full £400k and a team of 6-8. 12 months is the maximum timeframe for all Sprints, but we are keen to fund Sprints that can produce results even more rapidly!

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

This is a two-stage application process.

• 22^nd November 2024: Stage 1: Deadline for expression of interest applications (midnight).
• December 2024: Applicants notified whether they are being invited to the next stage.
• January-March 2025: Stage 2: Successful applicants co-create a full proposal with policy partners, submitting the full proposal as soon as it is ready.
• February-April 2025: Assessment of full proposals on a rolling basis.
• April-July 2025: Successful Sprints start.

There is a hard deadline of completion of Sprints by August 2026, including any no-cost extensions, in order for Agile to capture impact before the end of the overall funding in January 2027.

Please note that this may be our final Call for Sprints under this 5-year programme, so if you have a good idea, please submit it!

DEFINED TRACK AND OPEN TRACK

This call is different to any of our previous ones. For the Autumn 2024 call, you can respond to a question in the Defined Track or propose a project of your own in the Open Track.

Defined Track: Your application responds to one of the research topics submitted by policy partners. Full details are set out in the Defined Track Topics document which you will receive in your application pack. The topics are:

• The indirect energy impacts of AI diffusion (Google)
• Dietary change as a lever to achieve a positive tipping point in the Amazon & the Cerrado (WWF)
• Scoping and piloting a UK baseline river survey (Arup)
• Strengthening localized decision-making in Area Based Natural Resource Management (Natural Resources Wales)

Open Track: Apply with your own research topic, but this must be a policy-relevant topic co-created with one or more policy partners.

For both tracks, and in all Sprints, we define ‘policy partner’ loosely, to include government, public, private and charitable bodies in local, regional, national and international contexts.

For more information on the thought process behind this Sprint call, read Dr Pete Barbrook-Johnson’s blog.

FURTHER INFORMATION

We will be holding an information session online 12:30-13:30, 22^nd October where our Deputy Director Pete Barbrook-Johnson and Programme Manager Rachel Hayman will answer your questions. This session will also be recorded.

Register for the webinar

You can also watch the recorded webinar series we held during the previous Sprint call. The videos offer advice and learning on specific aspects of Agile Sprints: theory of change, interdisciplinarity, managing a Sprint, co-creation, and Equality Impact Assessments.

We are happy to respond to any questions or problems by email: agile@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, fill out this Microsoft form to receive the application pack. The pack includes Applicant Guidance, which we recommend you read carefully, and the Defined Track Topics in detail. It also includes application forms for each track. Researchers can submit or be involved in more than one application across the Defined and Open Tracks, but must submit separate applications for each proposed project.

If you need any of the application documents in another format, or have any accessibility needs you’d like to discuss, please get in touch. You can contact us at our general address, or get in touch directly with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Steph Perrin: steph.perrin@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

Deadline for applications is midnight (GMT) on 22^nd November 2024 (with no extensions).

RECEIVE THE APPLICATION DOCUMENTS HERE