Eastern Arc in numbers

Eastern Arc was established in 2013 as a tripartite consortium (UEA, Essex, Kent), initially to facilitate and enable the development of collaborative doctoral training partnerships. To catalyse these it funded 21 studentships and nine early career fellows, together with an equal number of disciplinary leads.

It expanded its remit in 2019 with the recruitment of a director, who established its structure and focus on three areas of activity (collaboration, culture and advocacy), and four primary focus areas (coast, food, heritage and sanctuary). Sussex joined the consortium in 2024. 

Since 2013, and at an accelerated pace since 2019, Eastern Arc has achieved a significant amount. What follows gives an indication of this. 

Funding

Eastern Arc has secured over £17.5m in project and equipment funding, and over £43.5m in doctoral training funding, either exclusively for the consortium (eg T-PIKE, DALE), or as the leads and drivers for wider collaborations (eg EIRA, ARISE, Golden Circle, DTPs).

Together the funding has demonstrated the convening power and leadership of the consortium, to extend the boundaries of knowledge, to facilitate knowledge exchange and engagement, and to train the next generation of researchers. 

  • Projects
    • Business and Local Government Big Data Research Centre (ESRC 2014, 2019), EARC + 1 partner: £5m (first phase) and £1.2m (second phase) to develop and provide academic expertise and a range of no-fee services in big data and analytics.
    • EIRA (Research England 2018), EARC + 4 partners: £4.7m for innovation and knowledge exchange activities.
    • ARISE (UKRI 2024), EARC + 5 partners: £3m for developing interventions to increase resilience of coastal communities and seas.
    • T-PIKE (EPSRC 2024), solely EARC: £3m (£1.5m grant from EPSRC plus £1.5m in matched funding from stakeholders), for innovation skills training for technicians.
    • Golden Circle (Research England 2024), EARC + 2 partners: £500k for coordinating tech transfer activities.
    • DALE (EDI Caucus (UKRI/British Academy 2025), solely EARC: £50k for auditing disability access to lab environments across Eastern Arc.
  • Equipment
    • The Marianas LightSheet (UKRI 2022), EARC + 3 partners: £500k, to enable advanced live imaging across Eastern Arc with dual inverted light-sheets and AI-led analysis.
  • Doctoral training partnerships and centres
    • ARIES (NERC 2013 and 2018, BBSRC-NERC 2025), EARC + 2 other partners: £5.8m (first phase, as EnvEast (2013)), £8.8m (second phase), £3m (third phase)
    • CHASE (AHRC 2014, 2018), EARC + 4 other partners £17m (first phase), ~£3m (second phase)
    • SenSS (ESRC 2017), EARC + 6 other partners: £6m (first phase)

Events

Eastern Arc has hosted ~100 events in the last 5 years, with an estimated participation of >2k delegates. These have included annual thematic conferences (average attendance 120, of whom 2/3rds were external stakeholders) and specialist events (10-100), including workshops, sandpits, webinars, information days and town hall consultations. 

Mentoring

Eastern Arc has created an innovative, light-touch mentoring scheme that has resulted in >300 mentoring partnerships involving >500 participants since 2020. Those taking part have suggested that it has ‘helped me immensely’, facilitating ‘more free-thinking and openness’, which ‘pushed me to be my best self and be bold!’

For many it was ‘useful to know that I was not alone and the feelings and concerns I had were valid’, and that there was an equitability in the experience for both mentee and mentor: ‘the learning and sharing and partly mental health support has been two-way.’

For some, the experience was life-changing:

‘The scheme definitely met my expectations and even exceeded them. My mentor was able to offer a different perspective on the issues and problems I was facing since she works at a different university – allowing me to take a step back and to see the bigger picture. She encouraged me to think about applying for my manager’s role when he left and there was a vacancy. Her wise counsel and support in this definitely played a part in me applying for and getting that promotion.’

Training

Eastern Arc has established the Reciprocal Training Programme, which brings together and opens up training programmes at each university to those at the other partners, identifying gaps and hosting bespoke cross-consortium events. By doing so, it increases opportunities for staff and students to gain skills, develop their careers and network across the consortium. It also allows training providers to avoid duplication and free up capacity to develop additional training. Since it was established in April 2026, >300 participants and 17 speakers have taken part.

Networks

Eastern Arc has created a framework of >20 networks, established and developed according to participant need and potential value. >800 internal and external stakeholders are involved in them, representing >120 non-EARC organisations, including other universities, funders, ICBs and NHS trusts, local authorities, businesses, charities and community groups, amongst many others. Some networks act as fora in areas of strategic importance and opportunity, allowing members to learn from each other and forge collaborations, whilst other networks exist to provide leadership and active direction.

Networks include Open Research, University Collections Management, Heritage and Culture, Coastal Data (Coda), Arc of Sanctuary, Ethics and Governance, and the Education Alliance, as well as informal networks for ADRs and DoRIs, research development staff, REF coordinators, research intelligence managers, advocacy officers, and engineering and physical science leads.

  • National networks: EARC initiated or was integral to the development of a national MCR Framework (with Vitae and N8), and the creation of a ‘Network of Networks’ (including N8, GW4, Midlands Innovation, White Rose, Yorkshire Universities, West Midlands Combined Universities, Universities for North East England (UNEE), Wales Innovation Network).
  • Social Research Partnership: EARC agreed a unique partnership with the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to create a structured framework for identifying, developing, and delivering high-quality and impactful social research, particularly in response to issues highlighted by government.

Equipment and technical collaboration

Eastern Arc created a forum for technicians to work together, and negotiated an agreement to share equipment across the consortium on a quid pro quo basis. 

Publications, briefings, position papers and responses to consultations

Eastern Arc has published >60 internal and external publications, papers and podcasts since 2019, including reports, position papers, briefings and formal consultation responses. These are intended to inform, to prepare, to highlight and to warn, as well as fulfilling the broader aim of advocating on behalf of the consortium.

  • Publications, including The Importance of Place (2021), social and economic inequalities of coastal communities (2022), challenges facing MCRs (the ‘RAIL Report’, 2023), the critical role of universities in devolution (2024), From the Wash to the White Cliffs (2022) and the economic value of regional heritage (2025), both of which evidenced the economic impact of heritage and the visitor economy on a local level, and OA: Key Concerns Answered (2022, 2nd edition 2023).
  • Internal briefings, intended to ensure that both university leaders, academics on the ground and professional service staff are fully aware of the ramifications and consequences of strategic developments at a national level. These have included the broader future of UK funding (following Devolution Bill, IS, Post-16 White Paper), summaries of key government and funder policies and strategies (2019 onwards), the Industrial Strategy and the implications of the UKRI Strategy 2026-31. 
  • Response to consultations and position papers, including the Industrial Strategy, Pioneer Programme, R&D Roadmap, Smith-Reid Review, and the Nurse Review.
  • Podcasts: during and following the Covid pandemic, a series of 24 podcasts were broadcast to encourage and support connection and continuing collaboration at a time of unprecedented isolation. Subjects included decolonising the curriculum, natural capital, developing resilience, recycling and household decision-making, and topics related to the virus, including the development of tests, volunteering, overcoming loneliness and returning to normality.