Funding Opportunities for Postdocs
Supporting collaboration, mobility and knowledge exchange for postdoctoral researchers
C-DICE has a range of options for supporting postdoctoral researchers to benefit from the experience of working with different organisations. This includes collaboration with industry and with different universities, including funding visits to facilities associated with ERA and UKCRIC partnerships.
There are different funding options available to suit your needs, whether you want to undertake a fully-funded industrial secondment for up to 6-months, or a short visit to another university. The flexible options are intended to allow postdoctoral researchers to design a bespoke opportunity that fits with their needs.
Alongside these funding options, you can also apply to our caring support fund, which can provide up to £250 to support child-care costs incurred through your activity.
Why apply?
There can be many reasons for undertaking a funded collaboration with a different organisation. Successfully applying for funding is a good indication to potential employers of your proactivity and ability to work in different environments. Experiencing different organisations increases your skills, demonstrates your ability to collaborate, and expands your network. You may get the chance to apply your expertise to a new problem, make a significant contribution, publish collaboratively, or demonstrate impact in different ways. These are all great for enhancing your CV, employment prospects, and chances of obtaining future funding. A change of scene can also really boost your motivation and creativity – who knows where it will lead! You may want to collaborate on a part-time basis (alongside your current role), take a no-cost extension (subject to funder approval), or tag a funded opportunity onto the end of your current role. At C-DICE, we will support you to find an opportunity that is suitable and fits with your skills and needs.
If you are a post-doctoral researcher interested in designing and/or co-creating a networking grant, visiting fellowship/ secondment, industrial or policy internships or a partnership grant, that is bespoke to your needs please contact the C-DICE team at cdice-enquiries@lboro.ac.uk.
Overview of funding options:
| Funding Type | Purpose | Maximum Amount | What it Covers | Application Deadlines | Number Available |
| Research Proposal Development Grant | Site visits with potential research collaborators for the purposes of co-creating Research Proposal or for developing a network of research collaborators. | £1,000 (UK) or £3,000 (International) | Travel and subsistence | Twice yearly, but applications will be fast tracked if needed. | 10 (UK), 2 (Int’l) |
| Networking Grant | Knowledge exchange and collaboration between universities and/or industry | £1,000 (UK) or £3,000 (International) | Travel and subsistence | Quarterly, see webpage | 10 (UK), 2 (Int’l) |
| Visiting Fellowship / Secondment | Knowledge exchange and collaboration between universities and/or industry to undertake a collaborative project around net-zero and either infrastructure, cities or energy | £5,000 per month for up to 3 months | Salary, travel and subsistence, some consumables | Open call | 2 |
| Industrial or Policy Internships | Projects derived by industry or non-academic third parties | Variable, depending on length of project | Travel and subsistence, some consumables | Open call – potential hosts to contact C-DICE. | no limit |
| Partnership Grant | C-DICE postdocs, academics, or facilities managers to host postdocs from outside of C-DICE partners or abroad. May be used by C-DICE postdocs to host industry collaborators in exceptional circumstances. | £1,000 (UK), £3,000 (International) | Travel and subsistence | Open call – contact C-DICE to apply | 5 (UK), 1 (intl) |
| Carer Support Fund | Offset the additional costs of caring incurred outside normal work hours by taking part in a C-DICE activity. | £250 | Caring costs | Open call | no limit |
| Travel Grant | Offset the costs of transport and accommodations to an in-person C-DICE event | £150 | Travel costs | Open call | no limit |
| Research Sandpit | For C-DICE postdocs to develop a collaborative research idea to win seed-corn funding and develop the idea further. | £30,000 | Seed-corn funding to develop ideas further | Twice yearly | 1 per Sandpit |
| Dragons’ Den Style Event | For C-DICE postdocs to vie for funding to get their business ideas off the ground. | £2,000 | Business costs | see website | 1 per event |
Getting the best from your networking grant, visiting fellowship or industry internship
Networking grants are meant to allow C-DICE postdoctoral researchers to collaborate with other C-DICE universities, ERA or UKCRIC facilities, industry partners, or universities outside the C-DICE network and abroad working in net-zero, infrastructure, cities, or energy research. Likewise, Industry Internships are meant to allow C-DICE postdoctoral researchers to have a short-term (4 weeks or less) industrial experience working on a project linked to net-zero, infrastructure, cities, or energy research. A visiting fellowship or secondment (of up to 6 months) can take place in a C-DICE university, an ERA or UKCRIC facility, or in industry. In order to qualify for C-DICE funding, the project should align with net-zero research and either infrastructure, cities, or energy research. These opportunities should present new developmental opportunities for the postdoctoral researcher and not be a continuation of their current research project.
Information for businesses and other organisations looking to host a C-DICE postdoctoral researcher
As an organisation, you may wish to propose a project to host a C-DICE postdoc. If the project meets the eligibility criteria, matched funding is available from C-DICE. Contact C-DICE at a.beierholm@cdice.ac.uk to discuss options available to you.
Current C-DICE Funding Opportunities
| Title | Type | Application Deadline |
| C-DICE Carer Support Fund | Carer Grant | N/A |
| C-DICE Travel Grant | Travel Grant | N/A |
| Research Proposal Development Grant | Networking Grant | 1 May 2024 |
| C-DICE Networking Grant | Networking Grant | 1 May 2024 |
Past C-DICE Funding Opportunities
Problems applying?
If you have problems applying for any of the above opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact Amy Beierholm, email: a.beierholm@cdice.ac.uk