What Works Centre for a climate resilient UK

What the assessor looks for

• aligns with the funding opportunity objectives and outcomes
• is of excellent quality and importance, will be responsive to need and will transform current understanding, through synthesising and mobilising actionable evidence for climate resilience for different audiences
• drives progress forward towards a coherent vision, ensuring long term value
• will deliver relevant, usable and impactful benefits to UK climate resilience, demonstrating how evidence will support policy, investment and delivery decisions

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• aligns with the requirements of this funding opportunity
• delivers a programme of work that is feasible, effective, and appropriate to achieve objectives and outcomes
• includes clear and active co-creation and knowledge mobilisation throughout the centre’s lifetime, involving primary and wider intended audiences
• manages and encourages equitable partnerships with non-HEI organisations across government, industry and civil society
• embeds place-based approaches and understands place-based challenges and opportunities across the UK
• is effective and appropriate in embedding EDI throughout the programme activities
• builds on existing evidence and investments
• provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan including milestones and timelines
• a draft theory of change and appropriate monitoring framework to track and assess progress against the theory of change, including identifying an initial set of example Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), to be refined and agreed once the project begins
• clearly describe both the framework and specific analysis methods proposed and explain the reasons for their choice. You should particularly mention any innovation in this or how different methodologies or methods may be combined
• demonstrate a robust understanding of, and approach to, risk management
• set out how you will deliver the requirements for the first year of the centre, including the What Works Network membership application, scoping phase, and long-term funding plan.

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
• the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
• an in depth understanding of climate resilience policy and climate risks
• the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
• the appropriate skills and experience to deliver co production, stakeholder engagement, communication and influence decision making, appropriate to the needs of a What Works Centre
• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
• contributions to the wider research and innovation community
• contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• project staff
• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
• any equipment that will cost more than £25,000
• any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
• all facilities and infrastructure costs
• data acquisition, access or licensing costs.
• all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
• if internal funds are utilised (up to £2 million at 80% FEC), then you will need to set out a clear process for allocating this through stakeholder consultation, prioritisation and decision making
• are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
• represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
• maximise potential outcomes and impacts

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• the relevant ethical and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project
• the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, while minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm
• how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
• clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
• describe any additional value that they bring to the project
• be no more than one A4 page in length

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• plan for the research through the life cycle of the award until data is accepted for archiving by the UK Data Service (UKDS) or a responsible data repository.
• demonstrate compliance with ESRC’s Research Data Policy and ESRC Framework for Research Ethics . This should include confirmation that existing datasets have been reviewed and why currently available datasets are inadequate for the proposed research.
• cover any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data, including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical issues.
• include any challenges to data sharing (for example, copyright or data confidentiality), with possible solutions discussed to optimise data sharing.

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 43KB)
• proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
• confirmation you have their agreement where required

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

What the assessor looks for

• how your proposed team of researchers and stakeholders will be assembled to work collaboratively towards the joint vision
• how stakeholders and beneficiaries will be involved through collaboration and engagement in the co-creation of the programme and how they will benefit from the research outputs within a stakeholder engagement plan
• how you will engage new and existing stakeholders to co-create the research challenges, planned test cases and impact and translation pathways throughout the life of the programme.
• how you will embed comprehensive quality assurance measures and systematic stakeholder feedback loops to continuously refine and enhance your approach throughout the lifetime of the centre.
• how you will deliver flexibility and responsiveness to stakeholder needs as they develop over the lifetime of the centre.
• existing and potential partnerships should be described as part of the response to this section. You should also outline plans for sustaining partnerships beyond the lifetime of the award.

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.