All communities are listed below in alphabetical order, and can be searched using key words or fund type.
Our “Featured Communities” are from the most recent round of Generator funding.
Our Communities
Our communities
The GW4 Building Communities Programme aims to build research and innovation communities of scale and capability, delivering a step change in world-class research that could not be achieved by one of the institutions alone. The Programme has two funding schemes:
- The annual Generator Fund which awards GW4 communities up to £20K for 6 month projects (launched in 2020). This replaced the Initiator (up to £20K for 5 months) and Accelerator (up to £75K for 8 months) funding schemes, which ran from 2014 – 2019.
- The Development Awards which support new, and advance existing, collaborations across GW4 by funding single activities or resources with up to £5K. This is a rolling scheme, with no closing date.
More details of both schemes, and how to apply, can be found below.
Building Communities funding supports both the creation of new GW4 communities and the development of the strongest ideas emerging from our existing communities, and is open to any academic area. To date, the GW4 Alliance has invested over £3.2M in 105 collaborative research communities, which have generated £63.4M in research income. This means that for every £1 GW4 spends on collaborative research communities, GW4 captures an impressive £20 in external research awards.
Research integrity
The GW4 Alliance has adopted the Russell Group Research Integrity Statement of cooperation in cross-institutional research misconduct allegations, which aims to support the efforts of researcher communities to foster research integrity (also known as good practice in research or the responsible conduct of research).
Explore our communities
Featured Communities
160 results found
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Funds
Types
GW4 R WELL (Researcher Wellbeing Evidence and Learning Lab)
Development Award
Overview
GW4 R WELL aim to build a network of academic and professional service staff across GW4, to share multi-disciplinary experience, knowledge, research, policy and good practice on researcher distress/(secondary) trauma and wellbeing.
Community lead
University of Bath: Tina Skinner (PI), Sarah Halligan, Kristine Brance, Jade Bloomfield-Utting, Rachel Arnold
University of Bristol: Natasha Mulvihill, Myles-Jay Linton
Cardiff University: Josie Henley
University of Exeter: Rachel Fenton, Ernesto Schwartz-Marin
Awarded
October 2023
South West Anthropology Network (SWAN)
Development Award
Overview
SWAN aims to bring together anthropologists across the region, to facilitate networking and discussion.
Community lead
University of Bristol: Amy Penfield
University of Exeter: Susannah Crockford (PI)
Awarded
September 2023
Management Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Conference
Development Award
Overview
This project aims to enhance the awareness and interest of academics in GW4 Universities about Management Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (mKTP).
Community lead
University of Bath: Hong Bui
University of Bristol: Xialong Shui
Cardiff University: Paul Thomas
University of Exeter: Bach Nguyen (PI)
Awarded
July 2023
Climate Justice Education Research Network (CJERN)
Development Award
Overview
This project aims to bring together current research in climate and environmental justice with work in environmental education across the GW4 institutions.
Community lead
University of Bath: Rachel Wilder, Terra Sprague
University of Bristol: Tracey Helliwell (PI), Alison Oldfield
Cardiff University: Esther Muddiman, Rhian Barrance
University of Exeter: Lindsay Hetherington, Bethan Stagg
Awarded
July 2023
GW4 MICRO-TIMS
Generator
Overview
We plan to capitalise on an exciting new technology (Micro-TIMS mass spectrometry), and use it to create scientific breakthroughs across a range of disciplines within GW4.
Community lead
University of Bath: Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern
University of Bristol: Daniela Schmidt
Cardiff University: Caroline Lear (PI), Sophie Slater-Lewis, Ed Inglis, Marc-Alban Millet, Morten Andersen
University of Exeter: Clemens Ullmann
Awarded
June 2023
GW4 Community Studying Fatigue in People with Multiple Long-term Conditions
Generator
Overview
Building a community of academics interested in studying fatigue and developing targeted physical interventions for fatigue across clinical conditions and in individuals with multiple long-term conditions.
Community lead
University of Bath: Ezio Preatoni
University of Bristol: Liz Coulthard
Cardiff University: Jennifer Davies (PI), Monica Busse Morris, Deborah Edward
University of Exeter: Helen Dawes
Awarded
June 2023
Forcibly Displaced Students in Higher Education
Generator
Overview
Our network will generate research-informed innovations that improve Forcibly Displaced Peoples’ access to Higher Education, enhance institutional practices through interdisciplinary research and disseminate best practices across GW4 institutions, the UK and internationally.
Community lead
University of Bath: Katharina Lenner
University of Bristol: Lisa Lucas
Cardiff University: Sin Yi Cheung
University of Exeter: Nick Gill (PI)
Non GW4 collaborator: Isabelle Schäfer
Awarded
June 2023
Volcanic Plumes from the Seafloor to the Edge of Space
Generator
Overview
We are interested in anything related to volcanic plumes, whether in the ocean and in the atmosphere!
Community lead
University of Bath: Neil Hindley, Corwin Wright
University of Bristol: Mark Woodhouse, Ailsa Naismith, Samuel Mitchell, Juliet Biggs, Jeremy Phillips, Matthew Watson, Peter Rowley
Cardiff University: Ricardo Ramalho, David Buchs, Katherine Daniels, George Cooper, Tiago Alves, Thomas Barker, Marc-Alban Millet, Diana Contreras Mojica
University of Exeter: Thomas Aubry (PI), Helen Webster, Jim Haywood, James Hickey
Awarded
June 2023
Brain Tissue Engineering Community
Generator
Overview
We aim to bring together and train a community of interdisciplinary GW4 researchers to build living cell models that we can use to better understand and treat diseases of the brain.
Community lead
University of Bath: Nazia Mehrban, Matthew Little
University of Bristol: James Armstrong (PI), Norah-Jane Prendergast
Cardiff University: Yasir Syed, Tianqi Wang
Awarded
June 2023
Understanding the Support Available to Refugee Children and their Families
Generator
Overview
Our goal is initiate research that can ultimately inform how refugee children can be supported effectively, with a particular focus on the opportunities provided by informal sources of support and the barriers to receiving such support.
Community lead
University of Bath: Sarah Halligan (PI)
University of Bristol: Laura Howe
Cardiff University: Nina Maxwell
University of Exeter: Anke Karl
Awarded
June 2023