Flexible Funding for Feasibility Studies

Applications to the final round of Feasibility Studies to accelerate Circular Economy research, innovation and implementation are now open.

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The CE-Hub are pleased to announce that applications to the final round of Feasibility Studies to accelerate Circular Economy research, innovation and implementation are now open.

The Deadline for Submissions is Friday 28th April at 17:00, UK time.

The fund provides the wider Circular Economy community with the opportunity to undertake speculative and potentially high-impact research to accelerate innovative solutions. Proposals that consider different scales (including regional and place-based research), new collaborations between sectors and disciplines, and involve early career professionals (from academia, industry and government), are all encouraged.

Funded projects will be expected to deliver a tangible piece of work that would achieve a specific output such as early-stage concept development, decision making tools and methods or demonstrator projects. The focus of this call explores the relationship between the Circular Economy and Wider Society.

A webinar for interested applicants will be held on Monday 20th March. 13:00 – 14:00 where attendees will hear more about the Funding and have an opportunity to ask questions.

In this round of funding, we are looking for studies that are innovative, evidence based, applied and appreciate the need for a whole system approach.

Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

Public understanding of the Circular Economy and Net Zero;
The role of the Circular Economy in addressing complex societal challenges, such as healthcare, cost of living crisis, inequality;
The role of the media and public opinion in scaling Circular Economy solutions;
User behaviour and circular business models;
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion;
Analysis, measurement and demonstration of the social benefits of a Circular Economy,
Changes in behaviour and / or mindset; and
Organisational behaviour.

Two rounds of funding have already been awarded, you can find out more about the successful projects here.

The total funding available for this call is £100,000. Feasibility Studies will be funded to a maximum of £50,000 at full Economic Cost (fEC). Funding will be awarded at 80% fEC (total project value cannot exceed £50,000) Projects can be between 9 and 12 months in length and must be completed before the end of October 2024.  Applications where a portion of the project costs are met by industry funding are also welcomed.  

View our Funded Projects

Applicants are required to complete application forms Parts 1-3 plus an EDI questionnaire. All forms are available to download below.

Please email completed forms to Katie Cooke, CE Hub Project Manager at ce_hub@exeter.ac.uk by 17:00 on Friday 28th April 2023, using subject line: ‘Flex Fund Application: [PI name]’.