All communities are listed below in date order (newest first), 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 at the links above.
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 £3.4M in 125 collaborative research communities, which have generated £87M in research income. This means that for every £1 GW4 spends on collaborative research communities, GW4 captures an impressive £25 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
All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries with cellulose enhanced solid polymer electrolytes (ALLIANCE)
STEM
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Young people’s self-harm and suicidal behaviour: Developing qualitative research to understand the influence of context and culture
HASS
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Fabrication and Testbed Network for Next-Generation Optical Brain Computer Interfacing
STEM
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Physical, psychological and social factors influencing musculoskeletal injury and wellbeing in Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professional students
STEM
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178 results found
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Types
GW4 Menstrual & Mental Health Community
Generator
Overview
This research community will explore how the menstrual cycle interacts with mental health.
Community lead
University of Bath: Melanie Channon
University of Bristol: Gemma Sharp (PI) [note – Gemma has since moved to Exeter]
Cardiff University: Arianna Di Florio
University of Exeter: Anna Murray
Awarded
June 2021
New Drugs to Tackle AMR
Generator
Overview
In this project, we will develop novel antimicrobial compounds to treat Gram-positive bacterial infections combining our expertise in drug discovery, organic synthesis, microbiology and molecular microbial ecology and evolution to enhance the ability of the agents to kill bacteria and interfere with biofilm formation.
Community lead
University of Bath: Maisem Laabei
University of Bristol: Seána Duggan, Jonathan M. Tyrrell
Cardiff University: Michaela Serpi (PI)
University of Exeter: Tobias Bergmiller, Remy Chait
Awarded
June 2021
Rhetoric & Practice of Green Recovery in Cities
Generator
Overview
This collaboration investigates the rhetoric and practices of green recovery in UK cities in the time of COVID-19.
Community lead
University of Bath: Sophia Hatzisavvidou
University of Bristol: Oscar Berglund
Cardiff University: David Shackleton (PI)
University of Exeter: Jess Britton
Awarded
June 2021
Urban Humanities
Generator
Overview
Our GW4 community brings together a cross-disciplinary group of scholars to establish the research area of the Urban Humanities, which is critical, we contend, to understanding the full complexity of urban change in the twenty-first century.
Community lead
University of Bath: Christina Horvath, Bryan Clift
University of Bristol: Maria Fannin, James Duminy
Cardiff University: Julian Brigstocke, Gary Bridge
University of Exeter: Jason Baskin (PI)
Awarded
June 2021
GW4 Neurodevelopmental Neurodiversity Network
Generator
Overview
We are an interdisciplinary group – of university academics (e.g., geneticists, psychologists), neurodivergent people, and third sector organisations – working together towards a step-change in understanding and improving the lives of neurodivergent people and those with neurodevelopmental conditions.
Community lead
University of Bath: Punit Shah (PI), Esther Walton
University of Bristol: Christopher Jarrold
Cardiff University: Lucy Livingston
University of Exeter: Ginny Russell
Awarded
July 2020
GW4 Rhetoric in Society
Generator
Overview
A new research community bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines with a shared interest in rhetorical language in all its forms.
Community lead
University of Bath: Sophia Hatzisavvidou
University of Bristol: Paul Earlie (PI)
Cardiff University: Elisabeth (Lisa) El Refaie
University of Exeter: Helena Taylor and Michelle Bolduc
Awarded
July 2020
GWPore: Porous Materials for Energy, Healthcare and the Environment
Generator
Overview
We aim to create a network of researchers, GWPore, interested in all aspects of porous materials, across all four GW4 universities. This network will facilitate collaborations, applications for funding, mentoring for ECRs, networking, and equipment sharing between groups.
Community lead
University of Bath: Asel Sartbaeva (PI)
University of Bristol: Sebastian Rochat
Cardiff University: Timothy Easun
University of Exeter: Yongde Xia
Awarded
July 2020
Maternity Leave in the UK – A Gender Gap Closing Policy?
Generator
Overview
We will bring together academics from across disciplines and institutions to debate issues surrounding maternity leave provision in the UK and its effect on gender pay gap, and to establish an ambitious, policy-relevant research agenda.
Community lead
University of Bath: Joanna Clifton-Sprigg (PI), Eleonora Fichera
University of Bristol: Susan Harkness
Cardiff University: Ezgi Kaya
University of Exeter: Michelle Ryan
Awarded
July 2020
Moving Through Motherhood
Generator
Overview
The GW4 Moving Through Motherhood Community comprises researchers from different disciplines with a shared interest in supporting physical activity during pregnancy by establishing a regional multidiscipline and multisector network to steer research and resource development.
Community lead
University of Bath: Peter Rouse
University of Bristol: Charlie Foster
Cardiff University: Kelly Morgann
University of Exeter: Richard Pulsford (PI), Victoria Salmon, Lauren Rogers, Emma Cockroft
Awarded
July 2020
Plasticity & Robustness: Cellular Understanding of Plant Growth & Defence
Generator
Overview
This project will link the major developmental alterations caused by plant pathogens to the fundamental changes in cellular polarity that underpin all these responses.
Community lead
University of Bath: Kit Yates
University of Bristol: Alan Champneys
Cardiff University: Veronica Grieneisen (PI)
University of Exeter: Mike Deeks
Awarded
July 2020