Feasibility studies

INCLUDE+ is inviting proposals for projects that seek to enhance digital equity through collaborative forms of civic action.

We are particularly interested in projects around key themes of wellbeing, civic culture or precarity, but would consider other themes and topics fit to the call. We invite Project Proposals up to the value of £50k, to begin no later than April 2024 and lasting no more than 9 months. 

We aim to fund 3 to 5 projects in this round and will co-develop projects with investigators following an initial review process of submitted Project Proposals (i.e. Sections 1 and 2 of our application form). Proposals will be peer reviewed by a floating panel drawn from the Network+ community, and others recruited as required, to represent the scope of INCLUDE+ expertise. The panel will assess Project Proposals in accordance with our INCLUDE+ Process, INCLUDE+ Principals and fit to call.

Following the Project Proposal review, successful projects will be invited to further develop their proposal through discussions with Network+ Investigators, project partners and our advisory board. The aim of this approach is to mitigate against exclusion by enabling applications from all sectors; connect projects with relevant partner organisations and experts; ensure meaningful outcomes and work; and to connect projects to our core values and Network+ Process, which prioritises inclusive and reflexive approaches.  

Projects need to be interdisciplinary, represent a range of expertise from within and without academia, work actively with organisations outside of the Higher Education sector, and seek to generate (either as an outcome or as part of the process) digital form(s) of civic action that are co-produced with communities. Forms of civic action are digital outputs or processes that are generative and aim to do work in the world beyond the lifetime of the project. Examples of civic action from previous horizon scanning activities are: an interactive exhibition, a co-produced community chatbot, alternative wearables, form-filling bots, blueprints and guides for builds.  We are particularly keen to receive Project Proposals which focus on wellbeing, precarity or civic culture and respond to our horizon scanning work. 

Project Proposals should be emailed to Rosie Wilkinson (INCLUDE+ Co-ordinator: r.h.wilkinson@leeds.ac.uk) no later than 17^th November 2023, with the subject line ‘Application Submission’. 

Projects will start no later than April 2024 and run for no more than 9 months. 

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Background to INCLUDE+ 

INCLUDE+ is a network exploring how social and digital environments can be built, shaped and sustained to enable all people to thrive. The five-year programme of activities (2022-2027) builds a knowledge community around in/equalities in digital society that will comprise industry, academia, the public and third sectors in response to the UKRI Equitable Digital Society theme.  

We ask how wellbeing, precarity, and civic culture feed and are generated by, wider structural inequalities (bureaucratic, algorithmic, data-driven, discursive, normative). Secondly, we ask how those socio-technical structures are negotiated, lived, felt and intervened into by the communities we work with. Third, we explore and build alternatives through digital forms of civic action that intervene into the world. Our intention, together with a diverse range of collaborators, is to [co]dissect and [co]create digitally equitable futures and provide practical outputs, recommendations and methods that might get us there. 

INCLUDE + PRINCIPLES

At INCLUDE+, we value all forms of expertise (professional and lived) and aim to offer an equitable platform for this to be shared. We seek a diversity of perspectives and allow all voices to be heard, particularly those which tend to be suppressed. We aim to ground our work in the INCLUDE+ Principles – which implementation is expected to be co-shaped by the funded project.  

Learn more about INCLUDE+ Principles

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What are we looking for? 

This funding call follows three horizon scanning activities exploring civic culture, wellbeing and precarity, each of which culminated in a series of indicative questions for the future. 

We are looking for projects that: 

1. Will take up questions from the horizon scanning work 

2. Will work in community settings and value all forms of knowledge  

3. Will generate (digital) forms of civic action that will intervene in the world 

Who Can Apply? 

Ultimately, we are looking to fund collaborative and potentially cross sectoral partnerships but recognise finding a partnership might be difficult. We will support the development of Project Proposals to a full proposal and this can include connecting project partners. 

Funding Available: 

The projects will be funded for up to a maximum of 9 months with £50,000 available. This is funded at 100% of direct costs to both Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and all other organisations. 

5% overheads is payable on core staff time for non HEI organisations. All HEIs can claim appropriate FTE for DA staff time for PIs and CoIs. Please see Costing Template for further information.

How Project Proposals will be assessed: 

We will assess your application in terms of (1) your proposed project idea and its link to the themes of INCLUDE+; (2) your consideration of the research questions proposed by horizon scanning; (3) how your proposal responds to INCLUDE+ Principles. 

Resources that can be requested under this call, and subject to UKRI funding regulations, include:  

• Investigator and researcher time  
• Travel and subsistence appropriate to delivery of the project 
• Equipment  

This is not an exhaustive but rather, indicative, list of eligible resources. If you have any questions about costing eligibility, please contact Rosie Wilkinson (r.h.wilkinson@leeds.ac.uk). 

Download an Application Pack

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Applying and Submitting  

Submit the Project Proposal form not later than 17^th November 2023 by email to INCLUDE+ Coordinator Rosie Wilkinson, r.h.wilkinson@leeds.ac.uk, with the subject line ‘Application Submission’. 

Process of Application: 

• Project Proposal submitted 17^th November 2023 
• Outcome of review 8th January 2024 
• Working with INCLUDE towards full proposal 5th February 2024 
• Projects Start March/April 2024 
• Midway event/reflect Sept 2024 
• Projects end January 2025 

Additional Grant Terms and Conditions:  

Awards will be made under UKRI standard terms and conditions. Please note that this award is a contribution towards the incurred costs of a project activity from an existing UKRI award.  

Please ensure that no commercial in confidence information is provided as part of your proposal.

Download an Application Pack