IAA Proposal Imperial College London

Imperial's approach is based on successful management of impact acceleration schemes from other Research Councils. By aligning the types of activities we currently support on behalf of other funders, and aligning our processes for academics to receive funding we will increase the awareness of this opportunity amongst the NERC funded community in the long term. We will therefore continue to support discrete investigator-led and group based projects which build on research funded by previous grants from NERC. We will hold a similar call for applications as in Phase I. This will be our prioritised use of the funding.

In addition, working with the College's Corporate Partnerships Division we will create a bespoke NERC based event to encourage and inspire a broader audience of NERC funded researchers. We will showcase the current and future impact of NERC's funded research at Imperial to an industrial and policy- based audience, and support others in their exploration of engaging with industry. NERC representatives will be invited to this event.

Funding will be provided for projects that focus on delivering or promoting the benefits of NERC-funded research to end users outside of academia. Eligible activities would include, but not be limited to:
1. Early stage commercialisation/market assessments/proof of concept;
2. Workshops, seminars, or symposia;
3. Production of engagement materials for commercial use;
4. Production of materials to increase awareness of research outputs and dissemination to next stage investors;
5. Engagement events with industry and other end user communities, including new audiences;
6. Secondments, people exchange, or placements;

This approach will be used to meet objectives 1), 2) and 3).