Early career researchers

Research and InnovationDoctoral CollegeEarly Career ResearchersInitiatives and FundingECRN AwardsApplication and Eligibility information

Early Career Researcher Network (ECRN) Enhancement Awards 2025

Eligibility and Application information 

The Researcher Development and Research Culture team has run a funding application process for ECRN Enhancement Awards for several years. These awards depended on funding from Research England, aimed at enriching research culture activities at the University of Exeter. 

What are the ECRN Enhancement Awards?

The ECRN Enhancement Awards provide funding to support current Early Career Researcher Networks (ECRNs) in enhancing, developing or re-establishing their network activities. The awards are also available for the creation of new ECRNs in departments or faculties that do not yet have an established ECRN (please check that an ECRN does not already exist in your area by checking the ECRN webpages). These awards are specifically for ECRs and not for the establishment or development of PGR (Postgraduate Researcher) only networks.  

Who can Apply?

The awards are offered to support events, workshops and initiatives e.g. speakers/facilitators and learning and development resources. The ECRN Enhancement Awards are open to all early career research staff.  The Lead Applicant must be an Early Career Researcher associated with an existing ECRN or wishing to establish a new ECRN. Typically, Early Career Researchers will be research-only staff (grades E-G), but we welcome applications from academic, research and technical staff who consider themselves to be early career researchers, including, for example, lecturers, experimental officers, research software engineers.   

Please note that postgraduate research students currently studying for a PhD or other higher degree are not eligible.  

We encourage creative and innovative bids that have a lasting impact. Proposed events can by delivered in various formats: hybrid, online or face-to-face.   

Anyone who received an award in the preceding round of applications will need to clearly show in their application how their initiative builds upon what they did in the preceding round; previous activities cannot be repeated in exactly the same format. All applications will need to clearly articulate a plan as to how the network will be developed beyond the activities related to the award. Although the award can support a social or community-building element, the bulk of the funding must be focused on learning and development activities.  

Key Themes for Your Proposal

To align with the university and the funding priorities, your initiatives should focus on one or more of the following themes:  

  • Creating routes for collaboration and exchange with businesses, third sector organisations and government; 
  • Career development at all stages; 
  • Improving research conduct and reproducibility;
  • Enhancing research leadership skills;
  • Advancing open research practices;
  • Delivering new approaches to public dialogue and community-led research;
  • Fostering equality, diversity and inclusion in research;
  • Fostering collegiality and building research communities.

We have collated a series of FAQs - ECRN Enhancement Awards for any applicant who may have questions about the process or what the money can be spent on.  

Application Guidelines

Applicants must consider the following when applying:   

  1. Beneficiaries: The proposed activities must directly benefit parties beyond the named applicants, fully reflecting the beneficiaries detailed in the application. 
  2. Long-term Impact: Applicants will be required to provide a clear outline of how your network will sustain its activities after the funding period, such as through producing accompanying resources, guidance or establishing a committee etc. 
  3. Award Holders Responsibilities: Successful applicants must agree to fulfil the responsibilities outlined in the Award Holder’s Responsibilities which includes taking full responsibility for managing the financial demands of the award. Full details can be found on the How to Guide.
  4. Funding for internal room bookings, travel to conferences, equipment (including IT) or individual professional development are outside the scope of this funding. 
  5. Regular Reporting: Successful award holders are obliged to write a monthly update report to share the progress of projects. This will include updates on expenditure. Upon completion of projects, award holders will be required to evaluate their activities, provide a short written report in blog style and send it to the Researcher Development & Research Culture team at researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk 

Remarks on Funding timeline

  1. The funding must have been spent within the financial year in which hit has been awarded, meaning: Goods/services received (pre-payment for goods/services received after the cut-off date is not eligible) and receipted (on T1).
  2. Travel undertaken prior to this date (prepayment for later travel is not eligible).
  3. Consultancy payments made (for work undertaken within the funding period).

Administrative Support: 

  1. The RD&RC team will provide some administrative support for the duration of the award. In your application, please specify the maximum number of administrative hours you believe you will need. Successful applicants will be notified of their allocated time. 
  2. Applicants will need to plan how to manage any administrative tasks that fall outside of the allocation you are given.

For any questions, please refer to our FAQs  

Keep your eyes peeled for updates about future ECRN Enhancement Award rounds – these feature in the ECR Newsletter.