Our Communities
The GW4 Building Communities Programme aims to build research communities of scale and capability that will deliver a step change in world-class research that could not be achieved by one of the institutions alone.
In 2020, we launched Generator funding which awards communities up to £20K for 6 months. 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. 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 £3.1m in 112 collaborative research communities, which have generated £62.8M 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).
Building communities generator Award (Round 3) Funding Call
CLOSED The third round of the Generator Fund closed in February 2022. Applications for the fourth round of the Generator Fund will open again in late 2022. For more information, or to be informed about when applications open again, please contact the GW4 Building Communities Manager (Harriet Mills) at communities@gw4.ac.uk.
Explore our communities
Explore our research communities by award type or activity group. (All communities are also listed below in order of award date with newest first).
HASS
STEM
GW4 Environmental Humanities
INITIATOR FundProject period: October 2014 – January 2015 GW4 community leadsUniversity of Bath: Axel Goodbody |
GW4 Imaging Network
INITIATOR FundProject period: October 2014 – January 2015 GW4 community leadsUniversity of Bath: Silvia Munoz-Descalzo, Jim Caunt Project overviewThree cross-disciplinary project proposals have been generated. The first is MRC/Wellcome Trust-facing, the second is BBSRC facing (both currently submitted as an Accelerator application) and the third is targeted towards RCUK. |
GW4 Medieval Studies
ACCELERATOR FUND
Project period: October 2014 – April 2015
GW4 community leads
University of Bristol: Carolyn Muessig (PI), Ian Wei, Beth Williamson, Helen Fulton (replacement PI)
Cardiff University: Bronach Kane
University of Exeter: James Clark
Project overview
This project has established a GW4 Medieval Studies community that is vibrant, productive and creative with a shared vision. Its aim is to lead in the field. There are various on-going shared initiatives to develop the research culture in Medieval Studies.
Large Scale Brain Networks in Health and Disease
INITIATOR Fund
Project period: October 2014 – January 2015
GW4 community leads
University of Bath: Roland Jones
University of Bristol: Matt Jones
Cardiff University: Vincenzo Crunelli
University of Exeter: Marc Goodfellow (PI)
Project overview
We aim to establish an active research community across GW4 to stimulate research collaborations that integrate experimental and clinical approaches with mathematical and computational modelling of brain networks.
MODERN BRITISH POLITICS AND HISTORY
INITIATOR FUND
Project period: October 2014 – January 2015
GW4 community leads
University of Bath: David Cutts
University of Bristol: Mark Wickham-Jones (PI), Hugh Pemberton, Sarah Childs
Cardiff University: Peter Dorey
University of Exeter: David Thackeray
Project overview
The project will bring together a varied but coherent group of historians and political scientists to explore issues of common interest in British Politics and Contemporary British History.
Nanoscale Sensors for Healthcare and the Environment [NANOSENSE]
Accelerator Fund
Project period: October 2014 – April 2015
GW4 community leads
University of Bath: Philip Shields, Duncan Allsopp
University of Bristol: Martin Cryan (PI)
Cardiff University: Peter Smowton
University of Exeter: Geoff Nash
Project overview
This community will bring together overlapping synergies in nanoscale device fabrication, design and measurement to develop a radically new set of multifunctional sensors that will make a major impact in a range of sensing applications.
Plant-Soil Responses to Environmental Extremes
INITIATOR Fund
Project period: October 2014 – January 2015
GW4 community leads
University of Bath: Kevin Briggs
University of Bristol: Claire Grierson
Cardiff University: Mike Harbottle
University of Exeter: Sarah De Baets
Southwest Quantum Technologies Group (SWQT)
INITIATOR Fund
Project period: October 2014 – January 2015
GW4 community leads
University of Bath: Peter Mosley
University of Bristol: Peter Turner
Cardiff University: Wolfgang Langbein
University of Exeter: Janet Anders (PI)
Project overview
The aim of this GW4 Initiator Fund is to initiate the creation of a Southwest Quantum Technologies group that brings together complementary expertise in quantum technologies, including integrated photonics, quantum computing theory, light -‐matter interactions and optical materials.