Call for expressions of interest in leading EARC bid to UKRI resilient coast call

Eastern Arc has been facilitating and leading a coordinated response to the needs and opportunities of its coastal communities for the past three years. A summary of our work in the area is available here.

We are now in a position to prepare external funding bids to build on this work. The first of these, the UKRI call for a project on resilient coastal communities and seas, is currently at pre-announcement stage. We are seeking either an individual or team who can work with us to take the lead on this.

Personal specification and background

Due to the nature of building a consortium across the three universities, the successful candidate or team will need to have an excellent understanding of the strengths and opportunities that each university has in addressing the needs of the coast, and a track record in developing complex collaborations.

In addition, given the information given in the pre-announcement, the candidate/team should have:

• A focus in a social science (or policy-focused) discipline. The project is being led by the ESRC, but the co-funders are Nerc, AHRC and Defra;
• An interest in coastal challenges, particularly within the EARC region;
• Experience of:
  • successful interdisciplinary working;
  • engaging with external stakeholders;
• An understanding of:
  • the wider drivers of UKRI strategy, government policy and regional need and opportunity;
  • the background work of Eastern Arc.

How to apply

Interested colleagues should email a brief summary (no more than one side of A4) to Phil Ward explaining how they meet these criteria, and an indication of an area of interest or broad focus for the bid.

The deadline for EoIs is Friday 24 March. EoIs will be assessed by the Eastern Arc Steering Committee (comprising the three PVCs/DVC and heads of R&I services). Applicants will be informed of the outcome as soon as EoIs have been assessed.

If successful, the Director of Eastern Arc will brief the candidate/team on opportunities to link with other academics or centres at the three universities, identify potential external stakeholders, help to facilitate meetings, coordinate the bid with the relevant research and innovation office, and support them in developing the proposal.

Further information

Contact Phil Ward if you have specific questions (p.ward@easternarc.ac.uk).