Call for Pilot Study proposals for EPSRC UK-India Future Networks Initiative (UKI-FNI) – Phase 2

Closing date for applications: 22^nd November 2024

Summary

Applicants are invited to apply for short‐term pilot research study funding from the EPSRC UK-India Future Networks Initiative, set up as a priority collaboration area by the ICT Theme led by EPSRC. These pilot studies will be no longer than 3 months in duration and are intended to develop new ideas or create novel linkages between research areas. The number of pilot projects that will receive funding will be subject to the quality of the proposals and the amount of available funding remaining in our Flexible Fund

The priority areas for applications are as follows:

Research that develops our understanding of impact and opportunities linked to vendor and service diversification of digital telecommunications infrastructure, in particular Open-RAN, drawing upon the recommendations of the recent DCMS Report on Telecommunications Diversification [1].
Design of scalable architectures for next generation of mobile communications networks
Research that deepens our understanding of, and demonstrates applications of Open-RAN for Industry in areas such as new 5G+ network design and infrastructure planning, service deployments, network management and control, interoperability with legacy systems in mobile and fixed-line networks
Regulatory and Legal aspects of managing future networks that co-exist with major vendor deployments.
Data Trust and governance of future network systems and their impact on service provider business models

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/telecoms-diversification-taskforce-findings-and-report

We are seeking applications that also consider other cross-cutting themes relating to the digital telecommunications sector in UK and India, namely:

Ensuring Cyber Security and Resilience of Future Networks Systems
Monitoring end-to-end QoS and SLAs across Open-RAN and legacy networks
Contribution to Net Zero- Energy Efficiency of future Vendor-agnostic converged networks
AI-Enabled real-time resource allocation and management across Open-RAN control layer
Service and Application specific Feasibility projects
Reducing energy consumption in base stations and exchanges
Intelligent FCAPS with increased Network-enabled AI Systems and Services
Improved support for mobile edge AI compute and storage
Reduced congestion and bandwidth consumption between edge- core networks using Network Slicing
Removal of vendor lock-in and dominance
Identification of Scalable Use-Cases that demonstrate the need for Future Networks
Designing the architecture for joint testbeds to benefit UK researchers for system scaling and regulation
Improved mobility of researchers between academia and industry

Note- All the pilot proposals should indicate how they will contribute to the on-going development of a Future Telecoms Research & Innovation Roadmap that will be collated by the UKI-FNI Team on behalf of EPSRC.

Criteria

Individual projects can request up to £32,000 total grant funding (total spend up to £40,000 as per FEC with 80% funding as per EPSRC costing principles). Applicants will be awarded 80% of the full cost, and when invoices are submitted they should be for 80% and a statement should also be submitted showing the full cost.
Projects are expected to last for a maximum of 3 months duration and need to be completed by 31^st March 2025
Projects should be interdisciplinary in nature and should preferably involve more than one institution or organisation. Interdepartmental collaboration is the minimum acceptable level of interdisciplinary.
The engagement of external partners in India e.g. industry, government is strongly encouraged and proposals should indicate how this engagement is supported.
Projects should articulate how this funding is an important precursor in seeking to secure continuation funding.
Funding is for academic research teams led by UK Universities and only UK-based University salary costs will be covered. Funding for reasonable travel by UK-India collaborators in support of the project can be included in accordance with EPSRC policies.
Applications must be made on the UKI-FNI application form and must not exceed 6 pages, minimum font size 11 Arial. They must be accompanied by a Gantt chart project plan.
Applicants must be eligible for EPSRC funding. A list of eligible organisations to apply to EPSRC is provided at: https://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/guidance-for-applicants/check-if-you-are-eligible-for-funding/ As this call is a targeted funding opportunity provided via EPSRC funding, higher education institutions, and some research council institutes and independent research organisations are eligible to apply.
Applicants need to demonstrate GDPR compliant policies and Data Processing Agreements between the applying institution and the University of East Anglia. If these cannot be agreed within a certain timeframe, we reserve the right to abandon the contract process and select another proposal.
Proposals also need to demonstrate how they adhere to EPSRC guidelines for RRI, ED&I.
Where the proposals involve third parties including academic partners from India, appropriate Due Diligence linked to Trusted Research should be completed for such partners by the respective UK Institutional Research Office.

Proposals will be assessed in two stages:

The review process is a paper exercise based solely on the completed application form. The review process will be carried out the by the UKI-FNI Network Plus Leadership Team. Members of the UKI-FNI Advisory Board will also conduct reviews dependent on their expertise.

Stage 1: Preliminary sift. This is done against the criteria for applications e.g. relevance to UKI-FNI Network, fit to priority areas etc. and correct completion of the application form.
Stage 2: Detailed Review of selected proposals. Reviewers will assess the applications against the following criteria. The prioritised list will then be reviewed by the Leadership Team in terms of topics addressed, and the highest ranked projects funded subject to available funds and quality criteria having been met.

Proposal Criteria on Suitability for the call:

Does the proposal map to the UKI-FNI Network areas?
Does the proposal lay out plans for continuation funding?
Is it relevant to the call themes?
Does the proposal give articulation of research problem and “so-what factor (what makes this project stand out?)
Is there evidence that the proposers have taken RRI and ED&I into account?
Does the proposal articulate a plan to identify the research challenges and priority areas for contribution to the UKI-FNI Future Telecoms Roadmap?
How will the project help grow and sustain the UKI-FNI Network Community?

Standard EPSRC assessment criteria will also be applied: Scientific Quality; Importance; Impact; The applicant’s ability to deliver the proposed project within budget and in time;

Evidence of a planning and management process for the duration of the project will be required.

Each application will receive three reviews.

Pilot Project Management

The UKI-FNI Network operations team will be the point of liaison between the UKI-FNI investigators and the successful pilot projects. The Pilot projects will be required to keep us informed of progress (e.g. via reports, a web site or a blog) and take part in network activities as appropriate to the project.

Projects will need to submit a report on the activities and outcomes of the projects, along with their invoice within a month of the end of the pilot project (a template will be provided).

Regarding intellectual assets created as part of the funded projects, we will follow the EPSRC guidelines: https://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/guidance-for-applicants/what-to-include-in-your-proposal/protecting-your-intellectual-property/

It is expected that the outputs of any project will be shared with the UKI-FNI Management Board for inclusion in our project web site and other promotional materials to inform the Network as a whole and wider public in an appropriate and timely manner in such a way as to achieve some of the main aims of the funding, that is growing the Network and its associated research base.

All successful projects will be expected to provide a Final Report (4 pages A4) and Technical Poster on activities by 31st March 2025

The funding will be awarded via a sub-contract with the University of East Anglia, which will specify the agreed terms and allow for any issues with respect to background IP to be highlighted.

Key dates

Call formally announced 4th November 2024
Deadline for applications submitted by e-mail to the admin team at g.parr@uea.ac.uk by 22^nd November 2024
Successful applicants will be notified by early December 2024
Successful projects starting by late December 2024 subject to contracts.