New UofG collaborative teams awarded GCF funding to advance challenge-focused solutions

Eighteen projects from across the University of Glasgow have been awarded Glasgow Changing Futures seed funding in GCF’s first call of this kind. Supported projects advance challenge-focused solutions and will be delivered by new collaborative teams formed over organisational and disciplinary boundaries.

Seed-funded projects cover an exceptional breadth of initiatives, from examining the ethical, methodological and political challenges arising from the use of Earth observation technologies, through using spatial optimisation to supporting fairer access to community-based healthcare in 20-minute neighbourhoods, to exploring how communities can be empowered to co-design climate-resilient neighbourhoods - and many more.

New teams across boundaries

Twenty-eight applications, involving 207 team members from all four Colleges and 24 Schools were submitted for consideration, demonstrating a strong demand for collaborative project support.

Around two-thirds of applications were cross-College, and more than 80% of applications involved multiple Schools, with the average application bringing together more than three Schools. School-level collaboration was particularly diverse. There was a spread of School partnerships rather than a handful of recurring combinations, suggesting the fund is being used to connect different pockets of expertise across the University.

The GCF Collaborative Seed Fund, as intended, helped to create new connections: almost 90% of applications involved new UofG collaborations, suggesting the call was actively helping colleagues form new relationships.

Professor Chris Pearce, Vice Principal for Research & Knowledge Exchange at the University of Glasgow and the Chair of the GCF Programme Board, said,

I am delighted to see such a strong response to the GCF Seed Fund. These awards showcase the creativity and ambition of our community, and reflect the three priorities set out in our recently published Research Strategy 2036 - Collaboration, Creativity, and Careers. By supporting colleagues to develop new ideas and build collaborations across institutional and disciplinary boundaries, the seed fund is helping to create the conditions for tackling complex challenges. At the same time, it is creating opportunities for colleagues to expand their networks and develop skills and leadership capabilities.

Projects across the three priority areas of Glasgow Changing Futures have been funded:

Collaborative Futures

Awarded projects explore language, trust, research culture and emerging technologies. Researchers will investigate variation in the Scots language and the role of constructed languages in supporting global challenges, while other projects examine public trust in expertise, effective formation of interdisciplinary research teams, as well as the ethical use of generative AI in research and ethical, methodological and political challenges of Earth observation technologies.

Other initiatives will develop practical toolkits and guidance: one to help reflect on power, positionality and collaboration in interdisciplinary and cross-sector research partnerships, while another one will explore Scotland’s links to plantation slavery to inform inclusive bicentenary programming for 2033/34.

Healthy and Equitable Futures

Funded projects address a range of health, wellbeing and inequality challenges. Research will examine how integration of housing, neighbourhoods, energy systems and support technologies can improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities; how social, economic and cultural circumstances shape biological processes and contribute to inequalities in health and wellbeing; and how spatial optimisation can support fairer access to community-based healthcare in 20-minute neighbourhoods.

Other projects will investigate the health implications of climate change and peatland restoration and explore how AI could help expand access to mental health support for underserved groups.

Sustainable Futures

Successful projects focus on both technological and social aspects of the transition to net zero. Research will advance understanding of geothermal energy, green hydrogen and offshore wind integration to support a secure, affordable and resilient energy system.

Other projects will explore how communities engage with climate action, including tackling misinformation and developing policies that better reflect people’s needs, as well as empowering communities to co-design climate-resilient neighbourhoods.