EPSRC DecarboN8 Network Plus funding call 2:
Rapid Response Road-space Reallocation (RRRR)
We are pleased to announce our second funding call.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 4pm (GMT) on Wednesday 27 May 2020.
For this rapid response call, a total of £21,000 (£16,800 at 80% fEC) is available. We plan to fund 3 projects of up to £7,000 (£5,600 @ 80% fEC). (This funding is limited as it is sourced from within our existing budget and represents an addition to the funding calls already scheduled within DecarboN8.)
UPDATE (22 May 2020): If you are collaborating with more than one local authority you can bid for up to £7,000 per authority involved in the bid (up to a maximum of £21,000 @ 100% fEC). The assessment criteria will focus on the quality of the application and the partnership commitment rather than the scale of the bid. As in our previous call, the more ambitious a proposal in terms of finance, the higher quality it would need to be, in order for us to justify funding fewer projects. Those who would like to include additional Local Authorities but do not have time to formally arrange this in time for the EOI deadline can note this intention in their EOI and then develop the additional partnerships as part of their full proposal.
The COVID-19 lockdown has created unprecedented conditions favourable to radical experimentation with the reallocation of road-space. Across the world, local authorities have created hundreds of miles of temporary cycle paths and footpaths, to provide key workers space to safely commute and to allow all citizens to safely exercise.[1][2] Many places have now also indicated that a reallocation of road-space to cyclists and pedestrians will be a key part of their climate smart recovery plans.[3][4] The UK Government has also announced support for this approach,[5] and Sustrans’ ‘Space to move’ campaign is mapping the adoption of rapid road space reallocation across the UK.[6]
DecarboN8 is keen to encourage and support local authorities across the North of England to experiment with such measures. To ensure this historic opportunity for data collection is not missed, we have created a new rapid response fund to support the monitoring and evaluation of road-space reallocation measures in the North of England.
We invite researchers to partner with local authorities to develop proposals. DecarboN8 will fund 3 researcher-led monitoring and evaluation projects. These will provide each project’s local authority with valuable data which can be used to inform local plans for a climate smart recovery from COVID-19.
DecarboN8 welcomes expressions of interest from research organisations across the UK, and we encourage applications from Early Career Researchers. We will prioritise proposals that utilise a place-based approach: reflecting the diversity of places, people and journeys. Our focus is on developing the North of England as a learning environment for transport decarbonisation research and proposals must support this goal.
Call Documents
Guidance for Applicants (PDF: 240kb)
Expression of Interest Form (DOC: 68kb)
Key Dates
11 May 2020 Call opens
27 May 2020 4pm (GMT) closing date for Expressions of Interest
28 May 2020 Panel + invitations to full application
11 June 2020 4pm (GMT) closing date for Full Applications (may be extended)
19 June 2020 Decisions announced
18 June 2020 4pm (GMT) closing date for Full Applications (FINALISED DEADLINE)
26 June 2020 Decisions announced
Help and FAQ
If you have any questions about the call which are not answered in the call guidance, please email DecarbN8@leeds.ac.uk
We will publish (anonymised) responses to your questions below, to help other applicants.
[1] International Transport Forum. 2020. Re-spacing Our Cities For Resilience [Online, accessed 07/05/2020]. Available from: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/respacing-cities-resilience-covid-19.pdf
[2] Cycling UK. 2020. Safe space for social distancing: FAQ [Online, accessed 07/05/2020]. Available at: https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/safe-space-social-distancing-faq
[3] Sustrans. 2020. Tactical urbanism during Covid-19, and beyond [Online, accessed 07/05/2020] Available at: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/opinion/2020/april/tactical-urbanism-during-covid-19-and-beyond/
[4] Transport for Greater Manchester. 2020. Leaders progress bold active travel plans as up to £5m of emergency funding made available as part of coronavirus recovery [Online, accessed 07/05/2020] Available at: https://news.tfgm.com/news/leaders-progress-bold-active-travel-plans-as-up-to-gbp-5m-of-emergency-funding-made-available-as-part-of-coronavirus-recovery
[5] Department for Transport. 2020. Statutory guidance: Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to COVID-19 [Online, accessed 11/05/2020] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities/traffic-management-act-2004-network-management-in-response-to-covid-19
[6] Sustrans. 2020. Space to move [Online, accessed 12/05/2020] Available at: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/space-to-move/
Past calls:
DecarboN8 Seedcorn Fund: Round 1 (closing date: 27 February 2020) – read about the funded projects
EPSRC DecarboN8 Network Plus funding call 2: Rapid Response Road-space Reallocation (RRRR) (closing date: 27 May 2020)
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