University of Cambridge

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

CONTEXT In the UK, people living in less affluent circumstances consume less healthy diets. This means they also suffer from more diet-related disease. For example, adults living in households with the highest income are twice as likely to meet the 5-a-day fruit and vegetable target compared to those living in households with the lowest income. In June 2024, 14% of UK households experienced food insecurity in the last month. These dietary health inequalities (DHI) are partly due to healthier food being more expensive and less available locally. Other complex processes at national and international levels influence DHI. For example, the war in Ukraine had a significant impact on food costs worldwide and some countries mitigated this better than others. Food companies often resist regulation to support healthier diets because they worry it might reduce their profits. Less is known about local influences on DHI. THE CHALLENGE THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES These wider influences on DHI mean simply encouraging people to make healthier ‘choices’ is not enough. Wider approaches that change the social, physical and financial context in which choices are made are required. These need cross-sector collaboration. Systems thinking is one way to approach problems like DHI with many causes. Group model building (GMB) is a structured approach that uses systems thinking to achieve a shared understanding of a problem and identify potential solutions. GMB can support cross-sector collaboration. It is not yet known if GMB changes what solutions are ultimately delivered. We recently co-developed a dietary-focused GMB intervention with public health teams. We will refine and test this in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and process evaluation in English Local Authorities (LAs). RCTs are experiments which provide some of the most robust evidence on the effectiveness of interventions. Through structured observations of GMB we will explore local influences on how people think about DHI and so provide further information on local influences on DHI. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Our research questions are: What is the impact of the intervention on the number of policies with the potential to impact on, and achieve systems change in, DHI in more deprived English LAs? What is the impact of the intervention on participants’ perceptions of: understandings of DHI commitment to addressing DHI confidence in addressing DHI strength of local collaborations to address DHI? How do local stakeholders understand DHI and their potential solutions, how does this evolve during the course of the intervention? What are the costs of the intervention? POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS Key outputs from our work will be greater understanding of: the potential of a GMB intervention to reduce DHI (call Theme 2) local influences on understanding of, and potential solutions to, DHI (call Theme 1) If we find the intervention to be effective then citizens in LAs receiving the intervention are likely to benefit. External facilitators delivering the intervention to more LAs using our materials could lead to even greater benefit. LAs may also benefit from repeating the intervention in the future. Our key audiences will be those working on food in local, regional and national government, as well as other researchers. We will share findings through written and video summaries and disseminate these via direct mailing, social media, targetted conversations, presentations at relevant conferences and networks, journal articles and a dissemination workshop.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Decarbonisation is critical to addressing climate change, a pressing global challenge affecting health, livelihoods and our environment. Advancing a sustainable future for everybody is the heart of Hitachi’s mission and it provides green mobility and green energy through its core UK business in Rail and Energy. To further realise the UK government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050, Hitachi aspires to be a climate change innovator to decarbonize adjacent industries such as electric vehicle fleets and the chemical industry. The concept of capturing and recycling carbon emissions into useful products presents an attractive opportunity to aid decarbonisation efforts, complementing many other measures aimed at  reducing emissions. This is particularly relevant to the chemical sector as it simultaneously removes carbon from the atmosphere and decarbonises the chemical production process. Although a key bottleneck to carbon circularity is the high cost of CO2 capture, low-value compounds obtained such as methanol (MeOH)  can be upcycled to higher-value products, making carbon-circular chemical production more economical. Despite the advances in catalyst design  for CO2 conversion, inorganic catalysts frequently lack the necessary selectivity or are too  costly for industrial production. This has sparked interest in biocatalytic systems, ranging from whole cell to catalytic proteins. Biocatalysts usually operate at nearly ambient temperatures and pressures in an aqueous environment, producing no toxic waste, which makes them suitable for sustainable production of biochemical components. Leveraging a longstanding collaboration between the University of Cambridge and Hitachi, the EngZyme partnership capitalizes on two years of joint research to engineer enzyme cascades for converting methanol into higher value chemical products. The proposed project focuses on two key reactions utilizing three enzymes to produce formaldehyde and dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which serve as precursors for a variety of industrially important molecules including sugars, amino acids, and pharmaceuticals. Towards design of efficient and affordable enzymatic cascades for MeOH conversion, we identified three main challenges that we aim to overcome through EngZyme Prosperity Partnership: Enzyme activity: early-stage enzymes in most upcycling cascades represent a rate limiting step. We will develop more efficient enzymes through enzyme engineering and design of nanostructured enzyme mimics ; Enzymes and co-factor stability: many enzymes and co-factors degrade rapidly. We will enhance the stability and recyclability of enzymatic catalyst through immobilisation within different scaffolds, and by replacing natural cofactors with cost-effective and stable cofactor-mimics.  Integration into an industrial process: numerous convincing enzyme cascades have been demonstrated on a small lab-scale but these need to become a scalable and industrially viable upcycling process. We will design a modular flow reactor system for the on-demand production of desired compounds. If successful, EngZyme will help convince stakeholders within and around Hitachi and the UK to invest in realising large-scale industrial adoption of CO2 upcycling in the chemical industry by 2030 and beyond. Ultimately, this will put the UK and Hitachi in a better position to support the chemical industry in delivering net zero by 2050.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

The proposed EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies in an Uncertain World (Sensor CDT) will educate leaders who can effectively address the challenges of an increasingly uncertain, complex, and interconnected world. In recent years, society has faced a global pandemic, an energy crisis, and the consequences of war and the climate crisis. Sensor technologies play a vital role in addressing these challenges. They are essential tools for detecting changes in the world, protecting livelihoods, and improving well-being. Accurate sensory data are crucial for informing the public and enabling governments and policymakers to make evidence-based decisions. The new Sensor CDT is designed to train and inspire future sensor leaders with interdisciplinary and agile thinking skills to meet these challenges. Our students will learn to collaborate within and across cohorts, and co-create solutions with key stakeholders, including other scientists, industry partners, the third sector, and the public. The fully integrated 4-year Master + PhD program will be co-delivered by over 80 leading academics, over 25 industrial partners, and national research and policy agencies, and will cover the entire sensor value chain, from development over deployment and maintenance to end-of-life including middleware, and big data. Within the broader theme of uncertainty, we have identified three Focus Areas: I) Uncertainty in Sensory Data. According to the environmental sensor report published by UKRI in 2022, "data quality remains a major concern that hinders the widespread adoption of low-cost sensor technology". Through bespoke training in measurement science, statistical methods and AI, our students will learn to determine data quality and interpret imperfect, uncertain and constantly changing data. By acquiring hands-on design and prototyping skills and familiarising themselves with ubiquitous open technology platforms, they will learn how to construct more accurate and reliable sensors. II) Sensors in an Uncertain World. Environmental, economic and social uncertainties disproportionately impact low- and mid-income countries. Through collaboration with academic partners and policy agencies, the students will explore the impact of these interconnected uncertainties and pathways through which they can be mitigated by deploying low-cost sensor technologies. III) Uncertainty in Industry. UK industries deal with uncertainties in supply chains, variable process conditions and feedstocks, and they are subject to changing regulatory guidelines. Sensor data are critical to minimise the effect of such uncertainties on the quality of products and services. Through the provision of training in technical skills, systems thinking, leadership, and project management, our students will learn to innovate on rapidly changing timelines, and to work increasingly in collaboration and synergy with stakeholders in commerce and the public. Whilst prevention of future disasters is important, we recognise an increasing need to create resilience in a world facing rapid, often irreversible, change. Solutions must be co-created with society. The CDT will equip students with the confidence to collaborate across a range of fields, including arts and social sciences, skills that cannot be acquired in traditional, single student / single discipline PhD programmes. Finally, our programme will address a skills gap identified by UK industry and academia, who report a growing problem in recruiting suitably qualified candidates with the skills, disciplinary breadth and leadership qualities needed to drive innovation in the sensor field. In the UK alone, the sensor market contributes to ~£6bn in exports, underpins ~70,000 jobs, and connects to a global market estimated to reach £500bn in 2032 (Sensors KTN). Providing the skilled talent for the UK to succeed in this rapidly growing and competitive sector is a crucial goal of our programme.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

This proposal is underpinned by our recent discoveries: out of plane ferroelectricity in hetero-bilayers of atomically thin body (ATB) semiconductors (Science, 2022); and realisation of wafer scale growth of a universal dielectric in the form of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) (Nature, 2022). The ground-breaking nature of the proposed work is in realisation of ultra-low power devices - namely ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFETs) and tunnel electro-magneto-resistance (TEMR) devices - using industrially relevant complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible processes that can perform both logic and memory functions to increase the energy efficiency of electronics. The carbon footprint (3% of total CO2 emission) of modern electronics is comparable to that of aviation and is expected to rise to ~10% by 2030 because of the von Neumann bottleneck where information is shuttled between the logic and memory devices, which increases energy consumption and reduces the processing speed. One objective of the proposed work is to directly explore and therefore understand the key processes that underpin the stable operation of FeFETs based on ATB semiconductors to significantly accelerate their development. Second objective is to integrate ferroelectric hetero- bilayers as tunnel layers between two ferromagnetic contacts to realise TEMR devices with magneto-resistance of > 1000%. The advantage of TEMR devices is that the tunnelling probability can be tuned with polarisation of the ferroelectric tunnel layer so that very large MR is achievable. In applications that are of strategic importance for the UK, energy efficient electronics are fundamentally important for meeting the net zero by 2050 goal as well as developing resilient local supply chain for semiconductors. We propose to focus on hetero-bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) compounds as a novel class of ferroelectric semiconductors where probing and understanding of device operation can rapidly improve the quality and control of available devices beyond the state-of-the-art, and for which recent work has highlighted significant application potential for high performance electronics. The motivation for such new devices is to address today's most important scientific challenges, namely that of climate change through energy efficient high-performance electronics. The recently published Nation Semiconductor Strategy highlights the need to develop the UK market and local supply chains. Atomically thin semiconductors were pioneered in the UK and this proposal will leverage the local expertise to develop new technology. Specifically, we aim to: (i) Develop methodology for realising ultra-clean semiconductor/dielectric interface using our recent breakthrough in high quality wafer scale chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown h-BN (Nature, 2022) to eliminate hysteresis due to interface defects. We will also integrate our ultra-clean van der Waals (vdW) contacts on ATBs [enabled via EPSRC funded research (EP/T026200/1) and reported in Nature 2019, 2022] to eliminate defects at metal/semiconductor junctions. (ii) Establish a fundamental understanding of ferro-magnetic (FM) vdW contacts for spin injection and tunnelling behaviour through ATB TMD ferroelectric hetero-bilayers. (iii) Develop an integrated and scalable CMOS compatible fabrication process for ultra-low energy FeFETs and TEMR devices based on wafer scale CVD grown ATB hetero-bilayers using h-BN dielectrics and vdW contacts. (iv) Explore transport properties of FeFETs and TEMR devices that are capable of functioning as both logic and memory devices to establish understanding of fundamental operating mechanisms and energy footprint. Establish new design concepts exploiting the logic and memory functions of FeFETs and TEMR devices for high performance, low power electronics.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Every year, over 360,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with cancer and around 160,000 die as a result of the disease. Cancer costs the NHS over £5 billion annually, while the loss of human productivity due to cancer in the UK is estimated to be £18 billion a year. Above all, cancer impacts patients and their families in ways that are beyond measure. This makes cancer one of the most pressing societal challenges of this century. Cancer is a disease of the genome. Certain changes that are acquired over the course of life in the genomes of healthy cells in the human body (somatic genomic changes) dysregulate the fine balance between cell death and proliferation. These somatic genomic aberrations are the cornerstone of malignant cellular transformation. Targeting somatic genomic changes is fundamental to the practice of precision cancer medicine. We understand that common exposures and cancer risk factors such as ultraviolet light and smoking accelerate the acquisition of these changes. However, little is actually known about how everyday exogeneous and endogenous factors such as diet and obesity relate to, and likely drive, carcinogenic changes in the somatic genome. This is because it is difficult to measure lifelong trajectories of the factors retrospectively at cancer diagnosis and expensive to measure them prospectively in large numbers of individuals until some of them develop cancer. Such one-time "snapshot" measures, even where feasible, are prone to bias and confounding. Specific inherited or germline genetic variants have been found to be robustly associated with these exposures or factors. Since genetic variants are allocated at random at conception and fixed thereafter, they are less affected by bias and confounding. The factor-associated variants provide remarkable proxies for the lifetime levels of these factors even in patients in whom the factor itself has not been measured. These variants collected into polygenic scores serve as instruments in Mendelian randomisation (MR) studies that evaluate association between the germline genetically inferred levels of the factor and a disease outcome. MR studies of cancer have so far been limited to an appraisal of the relationship between putative risk factors and cancer risk. The crucial conceptual advances being proposed here are the application of an MR-like approach to identify somatic/tumour molecular changes that operate within the cancer and are associated with factors such as obesity and the illumination of the role of the identified changes in driving cancer initiation and progression. This novel shift in the conventional MR paradigm is challenging to accomplish but has dramatic potential for translational clinical impact. First, by testing for association between several potentially modifiable everyday exposures and specific somatic genetic mechanisms on the pathway to cancer, the proposed research will generate a rich catalogue of precise molecular targets for further preventative intervention. The availability of a target would mean that such intervention could go beyond policies aimed at influencing behaviour and take the form of primary chemoprevention for high-risk populations. Second, these molecular targets with a clear and well-reasoned link to common exposures may serve as biomarkers for early detection and in the diagnostic or prognostic classification of cancer. Third, untangling the complex interplay between extrinsic/intrinsic exposures and the somatic genome and establishing the sequence of events from exposure to pre-malignancy to cancer may inform strategies for rational anti-tumour therapeutic development. An exhaustive set of tumour and pre-cancer molecular changes will be evaluated but a particular focus will be on somatic mutational phenomena such as clonal haematopoiesis and anti-tumour immune cell infiltrates, given that these may inform cancer prevention, risk prediction, and state-of-the-art immuno-oncology treatments.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Theorists and experimenters around the world are working towards the development of quantum networks and ultimately a quantum internet, which would link quantum computers at nodes by reliable quantum communication channels, effectively creating one large quantum computer.   This is several steps away from what we presently have: small localized programmable quantum computers together with (but not linked to) long-distance secure quantum key distribution fibre optic and free space links. There are some clear applications of quantum networks for computing and cryptography.   They would allow quantum communication links between any pair of network points, whose security can be guaranteed without needing to trust the intermediate nodes.   They would also allow users to run quantum programs on remote large quantum computers made available by service providers.   Many other applications, including potentially nearer-term ones, are being proposed, but key questions are yet unresolved.    We do not generally know the most efficient ways of solving even basic problems in network communication and programming: for example, how to use a quantum network capacity efficiently, how quickly quantum states can be routed in response to incoming data, or how best to use quantum entanglement and other resources to implement given cryptographic or computing tasks.   Nor is it known how some interesting proposed applications, such as various schemes for quantum money (secure quantum tokens) and quantum position verification, can be best and most efficiently implemented. These questions raise fundamental and interesting problems that can be addressed by quantum information theory (developing quantum algorithms and quantum communications protocols and suitably secure quantum cryptographic schemes).    But they also involve important questions of quantum technology and engineering.   For any nearer-term applications, it is crucial to understand in detail what can realistically be achieved with current and foreseeable technology.    Also, it is crucial to understand current and foreseeable costs of various types of resources – for example, comparing the cost of generating different types of quantum entanglement, or of creating quantum channels with different fidelities – to understand trade-offs and hence decide what real-world solutions are or may foreseeably be most efficient.    A key part of this is comparing alternative implementations that do not require fully quantum networks, and so can be implemented sooner, albeit perhaps with trade-offs. It is crucial to understand all these issues fully to guide the development of quantum networks and to characterise the applications for which they offer truly decisive advantages. Our team includes theorists who have invented and developed several of the relevant quantum computing algorithms and cryptographic protocols, together with Thomas Jennewein, who has led the development of QEYSSat, a Canadian quantum network linking ground stations and satellites, and the roadmap for QEYSSat2.0, a proposal for a future quantum internet in space. We will collaborate closely to analyse the feasibility of network applications, and study their performance via simulations, focusing particularly on networks with satellite nodes. This will allow resource cost- benefit models based firmly on current and foreseeable quantum technologies. We aim to identify novel valuable applications of quantum networks and a future quantum internet, while also investigating and comparing possible alternative hybrid network implementations that require fewer quantum resources, and thus to characterise much better their societal value and help guide their development path. Our work will also contribute significantly to fundamental research on quantum information and quantum communication theory.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Each fellowship will last up to 18 months to cover: a 3-month inception phase for set up activity a 12-month placement with the host organisation an impact phase lasting up to 3 months Fellows will co-design projects and activities with their host and produce analysis to inform government decision-making across a range of policy priorities. Fellows will also engage across the host organisation, building effective working relationships and supporting wider knowledge exchange with researchers. This will be supported through their embedded role within the host organisation, including line management support.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

This proposal aims to ensure that the safe design of large, engineered timber structures is not compromised by inadequate understanding of the influence of increasing member size on structural capacity. In the face of the pressing need to address the infrastructure and building needs of rapidly growing urban populations whilst simultaneously and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of the built environment, there is a widespread resurgence in interest in the use of timber in construction. The development of advanced engineered timber materials formed of adhesively or mechanically bonded lamellae in a parallel or sub-parallel arrangement has prompted rapid translation of this technology into larger scale structures. In contrast to the rapid pace of implementation, little research has been conducted into the behaviour of axially loaded engineered timber members at very large sizes. A particular danger with allowing research to lag practice in this context is that the relatively high safety factors used to ensure suitably low probability of failure in civil structures mean that unrecognised or inadequately understood effects may reduce reliability by orders of magnitude before this reduction begins to become evident in practice. Since it is inevitably the case that the largest structural members required in design cannot be tested to failure, extrapolation based on properly corroborated theory is inevitable. It is therefore necessary to conduct specially designed test series across the range of sizes that can be tested to failure, in order to provide a suitable evidentiary basis for any theory or modelling used to predict behaviour at larger sizes. The research hypothesis is that the strength of large, engineered timber members is significantly affected by at least two confounding and competing phenomena: an adverse size effect relating to the quasi-brittle nature of the constituent materials; and a beneficial system effect relating to the lay-up of the engineered material. Safe design of large, engineered timber members therefore requires the influence of both phenomena to be understood and quantified. This research proposal addresses this research hypothesis in relation to large glued laminated timber members subject to axial loads. Specifically, the research objectives are to: Determine experimentally whether a size effect is present in glued laminated timber members subject to axial loads; the degree and nature of this size effect, and whether the nature of this size effect changes with size. Determine experimentally whether a system effect is present, the degree and nature of this system effect, and whether this changes with size. Determine the nature of the interaction of the two effects and the implications for the behaviour of large glued laminated timber members in compression and tension. Develop numerical models that adequately capture structural behaviour including these size and system effects and their interaction at lab scale and beyond. Evaluate the implications of the findings for the reliability of current large, engineered timber structures and produce guidance for the safe design of future structures. This research will enable structural designers to exploit the potential of glued laminated timber for the design of more sustainable large structures and infrastructure with a proper understanding of the influence of size and system effects on behaviour. This research will also open new avenues of research into size and system effects in other engineered timbers and may shed light on opportunities to further 'engineer' such materials to improve performance.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

The development of new materials and devices that are relevant towards achieving net-zero either by energy generation OR by reducing power consumption is of critical importance to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Closed shell organic semiconductors have been phenomenally successful in energy related device applications. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have become ubiquitous technology and organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) have efficiencies approaching those of conventional inorganic technologies. In order to move beyond the state-of-the-art it is necessary to overcome the fundamental issue associated with dark, low energy triplet states in these materials. We propose to create a new family of organic semiconductors and devices based on open-shell materials. The materials have the unique combination of high luminescence efficiency and absence of lower energy dark states meaning that the major loss processes in current generation optoelectronic devices can be overcome. Additionally, the presence of unpaired electrons means that these materials can also be used to optically generate high-spin states for use in quantum applications. Following on from our initial discovery that organic radicals based on (tris[2,4,6-trichlorophenyl] methyl) TTM can be made emissive through correct chemical functionalization. We propose a series of chemical systems which will achieve improved and unique optical properties. We will then use these new materials to understand and demonstrate their performance in a series of (spin)optical device applications. Specifically we will aim to design i) highly emissive, stable organic radicals with narrow FWHM for use in display technology. ii) strongly absorbing radical based polymers for use in organic photovoltaics and iii) high-spin radical systems which can be optically manipulated. Thus we propose a true paradigm shift in organic optoelectronic design and function by moving from closed-shell to open-shell systems. In doing so we believe that we open the door to a new chapter of spin and optically active materials which retain or improve upon all the benefits of traditional organic semiconductors whilst eliminating their biggest problems.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

It is widely recognised that the mathematical sciences (MS) make a crucial contribution to the UK economy and global society. The KE Hub has been established to capitalise on this and drive a step change in the scale, connectivity, and coordination of MS KE infrastructure in the UK. We are motivated by the principles that MS academics are innovative problem solvers, all areas of MS can realise impact, and that working with Business, Industry, and Government (BIG) leads to great new MS. The KE Hub is a coordinated academic response to (i) the 2018 Bond Review (The Era of Mathematics), which recommended that “A national centre in impactful mathematics for the UK should be created to work with industry and government to drive mathematical research through to commercialisation [… and] act as a national KE hub”, and (ii) the subsequent support for the 2021 community consultation document entitled A Knowledge Exchange Connected Centres Network for Mathematical Sciences (CCN). Our vision: To be an outward-facing, inclusive organisation bringing the most appropriate UK-wide well-trained mathematical sciences talent to bear on challenges arising in business, industry, and government for the mutual benefit of all parties. Our mission: The KE Hub (1) facilitates connections between MS academics and BIG, enabling our BIG partners to harness the power of cutting-edge MS, thus benefitting the UK economy, while stimulating MS academics through exposure to new and interesting challenges; (2) enhances MS KE through national coordination of activities, drawing together the diverse and geographically distributed MS academic community, accessing untapped potential, and bringing MS KE opportunities to all UK regions; (3) delivers a broad BIG partnership, enabling partner-to-partner networking and MS advocacy. We encourage engagement by all MS academics, irrespective of disciplinary area, location, or KE experience, and welcome BIG partners of all sizes, in all sectors and with all levels of MS expertise. We aspire to make KE routine for MS academics, and support them and BIG partners to make this a reality. We work in close partnership with the existing national MS infrastructure, and aspire to influence, nurture, and support all UK MS KE activity, not just those parts we organise.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

PREDICTOR aims to establish a rapid, high-throughput method to identify and develop materials for electrochemical energy storage. This method will comprise: A modelling and simulation tool for the computational screening of organic chemicals based on their potential performance in energy storage systems. Automated chemical synthesis, electrolyte production and characterization methods, so that the chemicals identified in the screening step can be rapidly produced and tested for their suitability in energy storage applications. Artificial-intelligence-based self-optimization methods that allow experimental data from material characterization to be fed back into automated experimental methods to enable self-driving laboratory laboratory platforms and for modelling and simulation tools, improving their accuracy. Data management systems to standardize and store the data generated for further use in model validation and selfoptimization procedures This approach will allow the rapid identification, synthesis and characterization of materials within a coherent development chain, replacing conventional trial-and-error developments. It will exploit the synergies between several emerging markets (digital technologies, artificial intelligence, high-throughput experimentation, renewable energy storage), providing the recruited doctoral candidates (DCs) with a valuable interdisciplinary skill set. To validate the PREDICTOR system, the case study will be active materials and electrolytes for redox-flow batteries. Within the project, three demonstrator battery cells (TRL3-4) will be assembled and tested with the newly developed materials.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

The use of narrative CVs (NCVs) to assess researchers has become a widespread practice in academia worldwide in recent years. NCVs provide space for capturing and contextualising broader contributions to the research endeavour and encourage more qualitative assessment of individuals. This has been quite a shift for a sector that for many years relied on metricised indicators of success. NCVs vary widely in their format and have been adopted or suggested for many different types of assessment by both funders and research organisations. Much faith has been placed in their potential to contribute towards an improved research culture but there remain many unanswered questions about how and why NCVs should be used. Not all researchers are convinced of the benefits, but most researchers will agree that any tool introduced in the context of research assessment reform requires evaluation to ensure it delivers the intended outcomes and that any unintended consequences can be identified and mitigated. Evaluation of NCVs can be complex, particularly when testing in situ or in a comparative study. A number of such studies have already been conducted or are in progress: these cover multiple organisations, NCV formats, uses and evaluation methodologies. The small scale of many of the studies limits the questions that can be answered within the individual data sets, but the rich variety across them means that brought together, the data could be extremely powerful, for example enabling an understanding of how disciplinary and gender differences affect an NCV's value. Meanwhile, the research community continues to ask questions about NCVs. Our team works with researchers in many different contexts and has been struck by the fact that the same questions about NCV formats arise again and again, in different countries, applications and contexts. The conversation around NCVs continues to grow, and the time is ripe to take stock of where the sector has got to, and where it will be going next in this space. We therefore propose to conduct the first-of-a-kind international meta-analysis of NCVs, specifically to answer: 1. What do we know so far about narrative CVs? 2. What do we still need to know? 3. Do the evaluations in progress answer (2) and if not, how could they? 4. What can we learn about evaluating research assessment that would be useful for others working in this space? We anticipate that the outputs of our work will inform a variety of stakeholders, including: Organisations thinking about adopting narrative CVs, to decide if it is right for them;  Policy makers and other stakeholders who are looking to improve research culture, to understand whether and how NCVs contribute to this;  Individual researchers using NCVs, to help them understand and have confidence in the format;  Reviewers of NCVs, also to help them understand and have confidence in the format;  Those who conduct meta-research on research assessment, by evaluating different methodological approaches for this use.  

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder affecting tens of millions worldwide. As we are in the nascent stages of devising diagnostic and therapeutic tools for AD, there is a critical need for early detection techniques. To this end, we are proposing to develop a biosensing platform (LUMOS-AD) based on the use of lanthanide-based luminescent nano-metal (LUMOS) organic frameworks (MOFs) for the targeted recognition of early-stage AD biomarkers. LUMOS-AD taps into the unique optical properties of lanthanide ions. These luminescent MOFs, characterized by expansive surface areas and adjustable porosities, act as nanoscale probes. Suitably functionalized, they can identify AD biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid and blood, and the inclusion of lanthanide ions in MOFs enhances their photostability, yielding prolonged luminescence lifetimes, thereby amplifying the signal-to- noise ratio in detection. Our project revolves around three main objectives: 1. MOF Design and Synthesis: Here, LUMOS-AD will generate luminescent MOFs, refining their structure for effective biomarker adsorption. Techniques like X-ray crystallography and photoluminescence spectroscopy will verify MOF functionality. 2. Biosensing Platform Development: We will build a robust platform using luminescent MOFs as the key detection elements. Surface treatments will attach specific antibodies to MOFs, enhancing their selectivity. 3. Early-stage AD Biomarker Detection: We will assess the capability of our platform to precisely identify AD biomarkers in clinical samples, with evaluations of its sensitivity and selectivity. Implementing LUMOS-AD promises to greatly facilitate quantitative and widely accessible AD diagnostics, potentially pioneering early detection and opening avenues for more tailored treatments, advancing our battle against AD.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

This research will evaluate the climatic impacts of four solar radiation management (SRM) approaches: three focused on solar or terrestrial radiation and one examining cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) for stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI). We will assess these approaches across various temperature scenarios, including the critical 1.5°C threshold and potential overshoot, analysing their effects on radiative forcing, temperature changes, and associated risks. By selecting scenarios based on future projections, our goal is to deliver a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness and risks of these SRM methods. With increasing evidence of a warming planet and its impacts on temperature and precipitation extremes, there is an urgent need to explore whether deliberate climate interventions can mitigate severe effects on human populations and ecosystems. This project utilises Earth System Models to deepen our understanding of the cooling potential of each SRM approach across the work packages. Work Package 1 will focus on reducing uncertainty in cloud thinning for cooling by integrating observational data to refine climate model simulations. Work Package 2 will analyse climate model outputs related to Marine Sky Brightening over the Mediterranean Sea, assessing its regional cooling effects and its ability to mitigate extreme warming impacts while minimising teleconnections to other areas. Work Package 3 will conduct targeted computational experiments to evaluate the impact of sea ice flooding on climate and environmental dynamics, aiming to establish how albedo modification (due to a change in ice cover) will impact the solar radiation budget. Work Package 4 will be the first to study the effects of injecting cellulose nanocrystals for solar radiation management, developing a new parameterization of their optical scattering properties within the UKESM-1 climate model. This will enable a comprehensive assessment of their global climate impacts and stratospheric ozone effects as a potential SAI material. The project will culminate in Work Package 5, which aims to integrate the findings from all previous work packages into a cohesive framework. This package will produce a comprehensive report summarising the outcomes of each work package, along with actionable recommendations on how and where to implement the SRM approaches. It will prioritise the key insights gained, assess associated risks, and highlight the potential benefits of each strategy. Additionally, Work Package 5 will include a risk-risk analysis to evaluate and compare the different risks associated with each option, helping to identify trade-offs and informing decision-making. By synthesising the data and analyses from the earlier stages, this package will provide stakeholders with a clear understanding of the implications of these SRM techniques, guiding informed choices for climate intervention efforts. We bring a wealth of multidisciplinary expertise in climate science, modelling, and environmental policy that is crucial for executing this project effectively. We have extensive experience in atmospheric science and risk assessment, ensuring a well-rounded understanding of both the technical and socio-economic aspects of SRM strategies. We have successfully collaborated on similar projects, demonstrating our ability to manage complex research initiatives and deliver impactful results. Our collective knowledge and skills will enable us to navigate the challenges of this project and foster informed decision-making in climate intervention.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

CONTEXT & CHALLENGE: Despite growing recognition that researchers and family-oriented professionals urgently need to ‘stand in the shoes’ of parents, current studies typically rely on survey methods that give parents few opportunities to express themselves in their own words. Hearing parents’ views is especially important during periods of transition, which often represent turning points for both parents and children. AIMS & OBJECTIVES: Our proposal capitalises on the availability of 2000+ transcripts from the five-minute speech sample paradigm, gathered across three studies that each focus on a distinct and important transition period: becoming a parent, adjusting to a child’s serious health condition, and supporting a child during the early school years.  Across these three datasets (corresponding to Work Packages 1-3 (WP1-3), we will explore commonalities and differences in families’ experiences of transition periods. Framed by self-determination theory - which posits that connectedness, competence and autonomy are ‘basic psychological needs’ - we will seek to identify opportunities for health-care professionals and educators to enhance support for both parents and children. WP1 draws on an ESRC-funded longitudinal study of new fathers and mothers and has the twin objectives of: (i) documenting the hopes and fears of expectant parents, especially the seldom-heard group of expectant fathers; and (ii) identifying codes and categories associated with positive and negative mental-health trajectories. WP2 draws on speech samples gathered from parents who, as part of the Next Generation study, received rapid genetic testing to identify the cause of a serious child health condition.  Here, the twin objectives are to explore codes and categories to identify: (i) similarities and contrasts between these families and families of healthy children examined within WP1; and (ii) whether within-group variability relates to clinical dimensions of diversity (e.g., in age at diagnosis, and de novo versus inherited condition). WP3 draws on a recent ESRC-funded longitudinal study of 200 families of children who started school in September 2020 (i.e., in the peak of the pandemic). Importantly, alongside five-minute speech samples, this study included direct observations of parent-child interactions at each time-point (Reception and Year 1), with a further 140 children being followed up to Year 3 to include a multi-measure index of individual differences in children’s mental resilience.  We will examine (i) age-related changes in children’s problem-solving skills; (ii) whether the narrative coherence of parents’ speech samples predicts gains in children’s higher-order thinking skills; and (iii) features of parent-child talk that might promote child resilience. APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS.  In addition to traditional academic outputs, we plan to deliver video and/or audio-file resources to give healthcare and educational professionals greater insights into the often-neglected experiences of parents during transition periods.  Through careful and sustained engagement of stake-holder groups, we will ensure that these resources address key topics of concern for parents and are made widely available to maximise their impact.  As part of our legacy, our engagement events will serve to connect organisations with shared values and interests in supporting families during key transition periods.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Poor mental health particularly affects children in vulnerable groups. For example, children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and children who have experienced forced migration, e.g., refugees, are more at risk of poor mental health outcomes in comparison with their peers. However, there is a lack of research on children’s wellbeing and its relation with linguistic abilities and the ability to successfully engage in social interactions, which are typical challenges in these vulnerable groups. Moreover, traditional methods to measure wellbeing and mental health in children, such as self-report questionnaires, have several limitations, e.g. they require reading, comprehension, and concentration skills that are particularly challenging especially for children with DLD and refugee children. The MICRO project aims to advance knowledge on how linguistic abilities and the ability to successfully engage in social interactions affect children’s wellbeing and mental health. To achieve this objective, the project will explore the use of social robots as new tools to measure children’s wellbeing and mental health in a school context. This will be done with a particular focus on vulnerable groups that are potential targets for preventative interventions, such as children with DLD and refugee children. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach combining expertise in human-robot interaction, automatic wellbeing analysis, child psychology and psychiatry, social cognition, and gender research, and through collaboration with stakeholders engaged with the targeted vulnerable groups, MICRO will conduct a cross-national investigation with vulnerable and typically developing 8-12 year-old children, at the individual and group level. This will further our understanding of what constructs are core or universal to subjective wellbeing and what are unique to particular contexts or even individuals, thus paving the way for targeted wellbeing and mental health interventions.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

  Maize is an important global food, feedstock and bioenergy crop. In the UK, maize is an increasingly popular crop for animal fodder and for use in anaerobic digesters to provide bioenergy, reflected in an acreage increase of 19% between 2017-2022. Maize was domesticated by ancient farmers in Mexico approximately 9000 years ago and is one of the most susceptible crops to chilling stress amongst those grown in temperate regions. As a result, maize yields at higher latitudes are limited by a relatively short growing season and maize is sensitive to yield losses due to early and late season cold snaps. Chilling stress in maize is most common at the start of the growing season, where it leads to poor establishment, which decreases maize ability to efficiently capture light, compete with weeds and take up nitrogen fertilizer. In addition, chilling stress decreases general plant health and enhances susceptibility to plant pathogens. While later planting dates would decrease the prevalence of chilling stress, sustainable farm management increasingly focuses on early harvest (which necessitates early sowing) to allow sufficient growing time for cover crops at the season’s end to minimize nitrogen leaching. Altogether, understanding maize chilling stress is clearly important for improving yield security and sustainability of maize cultivation. However, despite decades of research efforts, a full mechanistic understanding of chilling sensitivity in maize is still lacking. Here, we postulate that maize chilling sensitivity under field conditions results from two distinct responses. In addition to whole-plant chilling stress, which is well-studied, we propose that root-shoot temperature gradients lead to additional, potentially confounding, stress symptoms. Due to the high specific heat capacity of soil compared to leaves and surrounding air, roots respond much slower to changes in temperature. As a result, root-shoot temperature gradients are commonplace during regular diurnal cycles, as well as during chilling episodes. We recently found that root-specific chilling already creates significant damage and downregulation of photosynthesis at mild chilling temperatures at which plants can safely tolerate whole-plant chilling. These results suggest that chilling stress symptoms under field conditions could reflect both maize’ poor capacity to cope with low temperature per se, as well as with cool temperature of roots relative to shoots. This project will deconvolute the impact and underlying mechanisms of whole plant chilling and root-specific chilling using an experimental set up in which root and shoot temperature are separately controlled. Using this set up, the proposal aims to define temperature thresholds for damage and plant survival under root-chilling and whole-plant chilling treatments and corresponding root and shoot transcriptomic profiles. The work also aims to  determine the role of root versus shoot synthesis of the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), which is involved in maize chilling responses as well as root-shoot communication. Finally, the project will analyse the mechanism underpinning downregulation of photosynthesis as a result of whole-plant-chilling and root-chilling stress, using a novel genetic mutant line impaired in photoprotection. The project outcomes will enhance our understanding of maize chilling stress under field conditions, which is important for delivering the vision set out in the BBSRC Research in Agriculture and Food Security Strategic Framework, in particular for focus areas ‘Sustainable Agricultural Systems'.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

The mutualistic relationship between pollinators and plants represents one of the most important interactions between animals and plants. Floral traits of plants play pivotal roles in this interaction by serving as signals for attraction of pollinators. Structural colour generated by diffraction gratings is one of the traits that have recently been discovered in diverse angiosperm species. Studies using artificial flowers have demonstrated that optical effects generated by floral diffraction gratings are salient to the model pollinator Bombus terrestris. However, how diffraction gratings are established during development of plants and whether this trait is ecologically important to plants by attracting pollinators in natural conditions remain to be investigated. To explore development of this trait, Hibiscus trionum has been established as a novel model plant and its floral diffraction gratings have been discovered as results of nanoridges in cuticles covering petal epidermal cells. It was further proposed that during development the cuticle proper undergoes isotropic expansion whereas the underlying extracellular matrix (ECM) expands anisotropically, so that in-plane compressive stress is induced to give rise to cuticular ridges. In this study, I will alter stiffness of the cuticle proper and ECM of H.trionum petal epidermal cells by genetically manipulating relevant genes to investigate how material properties of these two layers contribute to formation of diffraction gratings. The transgenic lines to be developed are expected to have altered diffraction gratings but keep other floral traits unchanged. These lines will be analysed for effects of the diffraction gratings on pollinator behaviour. Findings from this study will not only promote understanding of development and ecological importance of diffraction gratings in H.trionum, but also lay a foundation for investigation of the convergent evolution of this trait in diverse angiosperm species.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

This FLF is driven by an overarching research question: was Ireland a laboratory for the 'ends' of the British Empire as much as it was for its creation (Ohlmeyer; Kenny)? To answer it, this project takes a global, interdisciplinary approach with a collaborative team situated across History, Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy, media, and the creative arts. This team will consider how policymakers and those who implemented policy, anti-colonial activists, Irish settlers and diasporas, and proponents of internationalism, approached the question of Ireland within the British Empire, and how the legacies of those interactions shaped the 'ends' of the Empire system. Part of this project's innovation rests on considering elites, such as colonial administrators and policymakers, alongside activists whose ideas and activities contributed to decolonisation. These groups are rarely in conversation with each other. Nor are they in discussion with public policy practitioners today, who 1) seek to use lessons from the past to adjudicate on future policy 2) manage a fractured post-Brexit British-Irish landscape, with consequences for Northern Ireland, and 3) devise policies to deal with the legacies of the Empire in different national contexts. The first major work package reconstructs a global history of policies and policymakers whose experience working on Irish affairs and drawing 'solutions' for Ireland shaped the exercise of imperial rule in Palestine, Kenya, India, and the construction of the Commonwealth. The second work package takes a global view of anti-colonial activism using the Irish as connective tissue. Black Atlantic intellectuals developing pan-African nationalism looked to Ireland to understand Irish nationalist successes, failures, and contextual differences, shaping pan-African ideas and movements such as Garveyism (Getachew). Indian and Jamaican activists adopted party names, causes and agendas based on Irish models, including 'Home Rule for India', swaraj, and the 'Our Own' movement, modelled on Irish republican party, Sinn Féin, trans. 'Ourselves Alone'(O'Malley). The third and fourth packages address aspects of the changing geopolitical environment during and after the First World War. They explore how diasporic Irish constituencies at senior levels within Ireland and the White Dominions loosened ties from London, while others in Ireland and the USA lobbied for the shaping and breaking of empire using international discourses and organisations, such as the League of Nations. The 'cultural' mechanisms of anti-colonial resistance using music, literature, poetry, and film will be explored in years 5-7. While there was no 'domino effect' of decolonisation, this project follows Darwin (2009) in his claim that the various military, economic, familial, ideological, and cultural components of empire 'ended' at different times and were responsive to dramatically evolving contexts. And my contention is that the Irish were practically, figuratively, and ideologically implicated in them all. The empirical study complements a series of co-designed knowledge exchange activities with non-academic partners, who will be consulted on the design of the academic research from the outset. The partnerships will produce transferable recommendations for other collaborative groups via a series of workshops in three areas: education, public policy, and broadcast TV. In addition, it will deliver project-specific outputs including a graphic novel and Minecraft world computer game (the Nerve Centre), public policy papers (the Bennett Institute, History and Policy, Institute for International and European Affairs), and a TV documentary series (Midas). The timely political climate, with ongoing debates over the Northern Ireland Protocol and Black Lives Matter reviving discussions on empire, is ripe for aiding knowledge exchange and understanding, as well as 'resilience' and 'reconciliation'.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) account for over 90% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalent, making them driving factors for global warming and consequently for shaping current environmental policies. To meet environmental targets, society needs to concurrently emit less and capture more greenhouse gases. Dry reforming of methane (DRM), where CO2 and CH4 are converted into H2 and CO (syngas), is a commercially attractive way to produce syngas from abundant feedstock including industrial and agricultural waste while capturing harmful greenhouse gases. However, in the case of DRM, conventional methods relying on thermally driven catalysis suffer from high energy requirements which render the reaction costly and environmentally unsustainable. Here, we propose to use a sunlight-assisted approach to drive the reaction at substantially lower temperatures. Mg has been recently discovered as a sustainable plasmonic metal with the best match to the solar spectrum. Our recent work pioneered catalytically active plasmonic nanoparticles based on cheap and earth-abundant Mg and demonstrated their excellent light-enhanced catalytic performance, making Mg an ideal candidate for application in sunlight-assisted low-temperature DRM. The objective of this proposal is to explore the pathway from ground-breaking research on Mg-based catalytically active plasmonic nanoparticles towards commercially viable innovation in low temperature gas-phase transformation of stable molecules, using DRM as the model reaction. To achieve this ambitious goal, this project will advance the technical understanding and capabilities that will underpin the target market, develop our business strategy, and forge links with industrial partners. The outcomes will set the path towards commercial scale, sustainable, low-cost and low-emission conversion of greenhouse gases into high value-added chemical building blocks.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

The influx of both structured and unstructured data has been meteoric, driven by industries like autonomous vehicles, robotics, IoT, medical technology, security, and entertainment. This wave results in an ever-growing demand for computing power, which doubles nearly every two to three months. Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands as the main catalyst for this surge, as its operations consume tremendous energy. Thus, the expansion of AI is producing impending hurdles: the current rate of scaling is unsustainable. As AI demands more computing power, energy consumption surges, especially in data centres. The future of AI hinges on developing technologies that are simultaneously more energy-efficient and more powerful computationally. As a result, data centres now account for an estimated 3% of the world's electricity use, leaving a sizeable carbon footprint. AI algorithms, such as those used in self-driving vehicles, process vast volumes of data, particularly during training phases. The path forward demands fundamental innovations, starting from the basic hardware and then moving up to the computing which controls the hardware. Beyond vastly improving on today's CMOS technology, there's potential in delving into analogue electronics or adopting neuromorphic (akin to the human brain) approaches. The UK boasts robust expertise across various facets of this overarching arena, encompassing novel materials, device development, circuitry design, and pioneering AI algorithms. Adopting non-von Neumann computer architectures, namely more brain-like machines, is a very promising way forward for more efficient computing (the brain is a million times more efficient than current computing). The shift to this new hardware mandates a collective effort spanning multiple scientific and engineering fields. To this end, a more cohesive alignment of different sectors is imperative to pioneer breakthroughs that can rival and eventually replace today's prevalent CMOS and transistor-based digital systems. This underscores the need for a concentrated UK initiative, harmonizing expertise from materials science, applied physics, device engineering, circuit design and algorithmic development. Enter NeuMat: our network designed to be a platform for experts from these various fields, with a main emphasis being on the starting point for revolutionary success: revolutionary hardware. Thus NeuMat aims to catalyse groundbreaking work in the UK on innovative neuromorphic AI hardware technologies. It will foster the exchange of ideas, offer training, facilitate researcher exchanges, share methodologies, build industrial partnerships, map out future directions, and most importantly build a strong cohort of early career researchers to carry this field forward in the UK in the future. NeuMat will cultivate a cohesive network comprising academics, industry specialists, and importantly also PhD students and postdocs. By doing so, we aim to bolster academic-industrial partnerships and catalyse the development of innovative industry products. Our early-career project leaders are poised to initiate a subsequent network project, ensuring sustained momentum. Upon the project's conclusion, we'll craft a detailed roadmap to serve as a directive for UK policymakers navigating this rapidly evolving and crucial research sector. We will also be self-sustaining and put firm plans in place for a follow-on-network on a related area which emerges as the most timely topic at the end of this network.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

The digital design and mechanical analysis of products and systems with uncertain or imperfect geometries present a significant challenge for current mathematical and computational modelling techniques. These imperfections can arise, for instance, from uncertain manufacturing conditions or wear and corrosion during operation and substantially degrade the performance of a product. This collaborative project between the University of Cambridge (UK) and Duke University (USA) aims to develop new computational and mathematical methods for products with random geometric imperfections by leveraging immersed boundary methods for simulation with probabilistic subdivision surfaces for geometry representation. The envisioned approach builds on the shifted boundary method developed by Duke University and the subdivision surfaces developed by the University of Cambridge. In addition to accelerating digital product development, the new techniques will be essential for future digital twins of products and systems, supporting their lifecycle from design, manufacturing and operation to maintenance. Currently, training digital twins in the presence of uncertain, complex geometries is laborious, slow and costly. The developed techniques will foster an ecosystem of computational methods that can efficiently interact with the meta-algorithms at the foundations of digital twins, including reduced-order modelling, machine learning, uncertainty quantification and optimisation.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Volcanic eruptions threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide and pose a multi-trillion-dollar risk to the global economy through their ability to disrupt our global systems (e.g. transport, trade, and communication). Large magnitude volcanic eruptions, with a frequency of 1 in 6 per century, could also have devastating consequences for global climate and impact food production for nearly half the global population. Despite the considerable risks we face, there is currently a lack of prioritisation for volcanic hazards for preparedness, disaster risk management, and risk governance. To bridge this gap, we propose the development of a new charity organisation Global Volcano Risk Alliance, which aims to build our global resilience to volcanic eruptions. Global Volcano Risk Alliance’s work will focus on three main areas: increasing global monitoring capacities for volcanic risk, preparing communities for future eruptions, and advocating for greater prioritisation of volcanic risk in national and international risk management. Through in-country campaigns, we hope to increase the resilience of those most at-risk by supporting the development of early warning systems, strengthening local volcano monitoring capabilities, and through bespoke community-led education programmes. We will also run engagements for a range of stakeholders including critical infrastructure and utilities companies, insurers, small nation-states, NGOs, and policymakers using scenario exercises to raise awareness of the risks, and to stress test their preparedness and response. Participation in the ARC Accelerate programme will support buy-out for the PI to spend time conducting critical market research with potential stakeholders, customers, partners, and donors to understand how we can tailor our services to best meet their requirements. This will include critical infrastructure and utilities companies, NGOs, insurers, small nation-states, and humanitarian organisations, to gauge the potential market for the scenario exercises. The PI will also continue to expand the charity’s network and will work to develop a robust fundraising strategy and case for support. By the end of the programme, we will be in a strong position to pitch for large-scale support with a well-defined client base.