Deadline: 28-Jun-2020
UK Research and Innovation, through the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are sponsoring four to six one-year COP26 Fellowships.
The Fellowships are an opportunity for early career and experienced researchers to engage with the international climate negotiations in the run up to the 26th Conference of the Parties of the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (COP26).
The overarching purpose of the Fellowships is to support the international climate negotiations through the provision, synthesis, translation or interpretation of scientific evidence.
Thematic Focus
Applications are invited from across disciplines, including social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and arts / humanities. Within this disciplinary breadth, proposed topics must be of direct practical relevance to the deliberations at COP26 and support the objectives of the COP.
The following research topics have been identified as particularly salient to the COP negotiations. However, innovative proposals on other COP-relevant topics, and proposals that cut across topics, are also welcome:
- Raising ambition (e.g., net zero targets, zero-carbon solutions);
- Climate change and health, including links to Covid-19 (e.g., compound climate and pandemic risks; co-benefits of climate and Covid responses);
- Climate finance (e.g., scaling up climate finance; the role of development finance institutions; the role of private capital);
- Adaptation, climate resilience and loss & damage (e.g., climate-smart development; nature-based solutions);
- The case for a just transition (e.g., socially inclusive decarbonisation; zero-carbon skills)
- The Paris process and wider climate initiatives (e.g. subnational / city-scale initiatives, place-based climate action, private sector initiatives).
The COP26 Fellows are expected to play an active part in the activities of the COP26 Universities Network. This will allow Fellows to share their insights with policy makers and the wider UK research community. Each Fellowship will have its own deliverables, but the universities network also plans some overarching activities, to which the COP26 Fellows will be expected to contribute (e.g. joint policy briefs, public engagement and workshops with policy makers).
Funding Information
The overall budget for the COP26 Fellowship programme is £400,000. They anticipate making four to six awards, implying an indicative budget of £65,000 – £100,000 per Fellowship. Proposals outside this range will also be considered, however budgets may be subject to revision. Standard FEC rules apply where UKRI will contribute 80% FEC and the host institution 20% FEC.
Funds may be used to cover salaries, research assistance, engagement activities, travel and other research expenses. Overheads and estate costs are eligible. COP26 Fellows are expected to commit a significant part of their time to COP26 activities.
As an illustration, Fellowship bids might look as follows:
- a Fellowship for an early career researcher might comprise of 0.8 FTE for the Fellow over 12 months plus a small research fund for travel and publications.
- a Fellowship for an established researcher might comprise of 0.2 FTE of the Fellow plus an allocation for research assistance and a small research fund.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must have an existing employment contract with a UK Higher Education institution and have the support of their institution. Applications are welcome from both early career and established researchers. All Fellows must have completed their PhDs.
- The proposed activities must be relevant to the COP26 process and timed accordingly. As such, the emphasis will likely be on research synthesis, engagement, training and knowledge co-creation, rather than primary academic research. However, they expect many of the insights from the Fellowships to be published in peer-reviewed journals in due course. The standard UKRI expectations on data management, research ethics and reporting apply.
Assessment Criteria
The programme will seek a good balance amongst the Fellows in terms of experience (including early career researchers), disciplinary background, host institutions and gender. Proposals will be assessed by an interdisciplinary panel according to the following criteria:
- Relevance: a research topic that is relevant to COP26 and related priorities in the coming 1-3 years.
- Track record: a solid track record in research and engagement, commensurate with the candidate’s level of experience.
- Excellence: an ambitious, rigorous and original project that combines research and engagement in a novel and effective way.
- Impact: a clear pathway to impact and excellent potential for impact within the timescales of the project.
For more information, visit https://pcancities.org.uk/cop26-fellowships-%E2%80%93-call-proposals