EPSRC Strategic Technical Platform

Funding to support strategic investments for support, training and development to promote and strengthen the research technical professional community in UK universities.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has launched this funding opportunity to support research technical professional (RTP) groups in the UK.

The fund will support strategic investments for systematic support, training and development to promote, enable and empower the RTP community in UK universities. These investments can be made in support of RTPs in both the physical and digital domains.

Proposals should have a strategic regional or national focus, and may be based around a group of institutions or a particular scientific field or technology.

The proposals should offer a combination of personal and community-based activities and investments. Applicants will need to describe how these investments will lead to the relevant RTP community gaining increased knowledge, skills and opportunities, and what the strategic benefit of this would be.

Examples of activities that could be considered include, but are not limited to:

• Training opportunities (both in terms of new techniques and career development).
• Secondments to other institutions or industries to train on new methods.
• Pump-priming access for facilities.
• Importing skills into the UK through visits to international facilities or hosting RTPs from internationally competitive institutes.
• Raising awareness of opportunities and community development.
• Conferences and workshops.
• Pilot projects and feasibility studies.
• Promotion and development of the role of RTPs in the context of universities in the UK (comparable to the ‘plus’ option of the current EPSRC Fellowship scheme).

Awards should be up to four years in duration.