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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Types
Menarche, Menstruation, Menopause and Mental Health (4M) Consortium
Development Award
Overview
This community aims to facilitate collaborative interdisciplinary research into how menstruation and menopause interact with mental health.
Community lead
University of Bath: Melanie Channon
University of Bristol: Maria Fannin
Cardiff University: Arianna Di Florio
University of Exeter: Gemma Sharp (PI)
Awarded
December 2022
GW4 Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Hub (GW4 EDI Hub)
Development Award
Overview
This team aim to build a ‘community of EDI practice’ (EDI – Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity) in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine) with the goal of achieving cultural change across the GW4 institutions in this area.
Community lead
University of Bath: Ana Amelia Alvarez Serra, Sarah Bailey, Alice Hovanessian, Hannah Leese, Despina Moschou, Rajani Naidoo, Chloe Turner
University of Bristol: Bronwen Burton, Josie Briscoe, Amanda Carmichael, Neha Chandarana, Caroline McKinnon, Stephen Montgomery, Amy Mosley, Tom Oliver, Mark van der Kamp, John Wylie
Cardiff University: Cosimo Inserra (PI), Gayathri Eknath, Ian Hall, Riccardo Maddalena, Mihair McVicar, Rebecca Newsome, Wendy Sadler
University of Exeter: Claire Davies, Andrew Griffith, Sawsan Khuri, Vrinda Nayak, Orly Razgour, Andrew Pye, Maisha Reza, MD Sharma
Awarded
December 2022
A Pathway To Net Zero For Road and Rail
Generator
Overview
Pathway to Net Zero for Road and Rail multidisciplinary network vision is to build future of transport and mobility to enable the movement of people and goods through a net zero, resilient, digital, connected, accessible and inclusive system, creating opportunities, promoting innovation and sustainable development, while reducing inequalities at local, regional, and national levels.
Community lead
University of Bath: Meng Meng
University of Bristol: Theo Tryfanos
Cardiff University: Liana Cipcigan (PI), Omer Rana, Carol Featherstone, Clarice Bleil de Souza, Bettina Bockelmann-Evans
University of Exeter: Stewart Barr, Christopher Smith
Awarded
April 2022
Circular Economy of Timber Buildings
Generator
Overview
A cradle-to-cradle and multidisciplinary approach for affordable timber housing in the UK.
Community lead
University of Bath: Will Hawkins, Andrew Shea, Daniel Maskell, Pete Walker
University of Bristol: Eleni Toumpanaki (PI)
Cardiff University: Steve Coombs, Tristram Hales
University of Exeter: Anna Harper
Awarded
April 2022
GW4 Epilepsy Community
Generator
Overview
We aim to improve research models, diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.
Community lead
University of Bath: Alain Nogaret
University of Bristol: James Hodge (PI), Edgar Buhl,
Cardiff University: Dmitri Sastin
University of Exeter: Doretta Caramaschi, Jen Creaser, Benjamin Houser
and Silvia Sanchez Marco from Bristol Children’s Hospital
Awarded
April 2022
GW4 PUP Community – Performance Under Pressure
Generator
Overview
This community will bring academic experts and external partners together through this and subsequent funding to deliver a step-change in police occupational stress research; produce world-leading, interdisciplinary research; apply collaboratively for grants; and begin tackling the negative effects of stress on police officers’ performance, health, and well-being.
Community lead
University of Bath: Rachel Arnold (PI), Lee Moore
University of Bristol: Peter Turnbull,
Cardiff University: Rob Honey
University of Exeter: Sam Vine
Awarded
April 2022
GWAPES – GW4 AMR Plasmid & Epidemiology and Surveillance
Generator
Overview
The project focused on managing the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by exploring how the genes spread on plasmids between different bacterial strains, different ecological settings, and different geographical regions.
Community lead
University of Bath: Ed Feil (PI), Tiffany Taylor, Sam Sheppard, Lauren Cowley, Theresa Smith
University of Bristol: Rachel Kwiatkowska, Matthew Avison, Kristen Reyher, Sion Bayliss
Cardiff University: Eshwar Mahenthiralingum, Laura Rushton, Tom Connor
University of Exeter: Aimee Murray, Rob Beardmore, Will Gaze, Anne Leonard, Michiel Vos, Ivana Gudelj, Angus Buckling
Awarded
April 2022
Technology Enabled Circularity (TEC) – Digitalisation & Sustainability in Manufacturing
Generator
Overview
An interdisciplinary network bringing together expertise in digital manufacturing and circular economies to build more sustainable manufacturing futures
Community lead
University of Bath: Rick Lupton
University of Bristol: Jennifer Johns (PI)
Cardiff University: Aris Syntetos, Daniel Eyers
University of Exeter: Okechukwu Okorie
Awarded
April 2022
Understanding Use of Agricultural Azoles & its Impact on Quality of Waterbodies and AMR
Generator
Overview
This project aims to understand use of azole fungicide in arable farmlands in Southwest England and determine its impact on quality of waterbodies and AMR.
Community lead
University of Bath: Neil Brown
University of Bristol: Susan Conlon, Arleen Kristhel Lezcano
University of Exeter: Dhara Malavia (PI), Ray Chan, Aimee Murray, Andrew Jones
Awarded
April 2022
Family Care in ME/CFS
Generator
Overview
This project developed research on family care in ME/CFS.
Community lead
University of Bristol: Lucy Biddle
Cardiff University: Sharmila Khot
University of Exeter: Siobhan O’Dwyer (PI)
Awarded
June 2021