Next application deadline: 15th November 2026 (and then every second month)

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Please note: The terms of Fund 2 have been updated as of September 2026. Previously funded projects under Fund 2 are unaffected. If you are preparing a submission for the next deadline (November 2026), please review details on this page to ensure that your application is aligned with the updated terms.

Purpose

CHARTED’s Fund 2 is designed to support a wide range of community activities within the project’s remit. CHARTED is focussed on making the digital Research Technical Professionals (dRTP) ecosystem easier to navigate for both new and experienced members of the community. This encompasses improving the understanding of skills and roles within the space as well as improving the visibility and accessibility of training resources.

Fund 2 is intended to support a variety of events and activities that can help to enable the development of skills, and an improved understanding of roles and technical career pathways, within the dRTP and related communities. Our target audience represents a vitally important part of the modern research ecosystem, but engaging the community, understanding the technical and professional skills that they need and supporting both new and existing roles is not straightforward.

Some of the many ways these challenges can be addressed include community events, hackathons, working meetings and networking opportunities. We are also keen to support alternative approaches to knowledge exchange and career support, such as peer networking and mentoring schemes and training activities that specifically address current gaps in the skills ecosystem.

To maximise the effectiveness of this opportunity, the fund will be administered on a rolling basis, with new submissions being reviewed approximately every two months.

The total value of this fund is £150k to be administered throughout the duration of the CHARTED project, with the maximum award per activity being £12.5k (event series will also be considered). The eligibility criteria and the review process are described below.

The fund is designed to support specific community activities by covering costs such as room/venue hire and catering at 80% FEC. Requests for funding to cover staff time are allowed. Requests for funding for the purchase of equipment are not eligible. Applicants should therefore gain approval from their home institution to cover any shortfall in funding resulting from provision of funds at 80% FEC. If you are a UK-based non-profit wanting to apply to Fund 2, please see further information under the “Who can apply” section below.

Who can apply This fund is aimed at UK-based researchers and dRTPs involved with research software, research data and research computing infrastructure, or supporting other dRTPs. Applicants can be based at UK universities or UK-based non-profit organisations. Note that it is possible to apply for funds to support non-UK based collaborators to come to the UK. Individuals who operate principally as freelance trainers, educators or community managers in this sector are also eligible to apply for Fund 2.

This fund will cover 80% of the Full Economic Costs (FEC) of the proposed activity. If you are a UK-based non-profit looking to apply to this fund, please contact the CHARTED team to discuss the possibility of an exception to the 80% funding rule.
What we're looking for Fund 2 will support community-wide activities including but not limited to:
  • Creation and support of local dRTP networks;
  • Working meetings/events/workshops on career development, supporting local communities, knowledge exchange, etc.;
  • Events focussed on capturing career profiles or supporting specific roles;
  • Events engaging with other stakeholders e.g., industry, policy makers, international guests/collaborators, etc.;
  • Training events focussed on skills (both technical and non-technical) that are not covered/available anywhere else.
  • Hackathons covering different tools or frameworks that are relevant to CHARTED.
  • Online, synchronous frameworks and events to strengthen and support the community
  • Mentoring programmes;
Applicants are expected to include the following in their application:
  • Description of the event or activity for which the support is being requested, including the scope, target audience, expected outcomes, institutions and/or organisations involved.
  • Expected number of attendees and a detailed plan for event dissemination
  • Well-formed plans on how this activity will support the dRTP community in terms of expected benefit and impact.
  • Details of how the proposed activity will help to support the aims and remit of the CHARTED project.
  • Details of other funding sources explored.
  • Detailed breakdown for the expected costs and justification for the requested funds.
Note that all successful applicants to Fund 2 will be required to sign a contract with the University of Edinburgh in order to receive funds. Applications must be made at least three months in advance of the proposed activity date to allow sufficient time for processing of submissions and contract preparation for successful applications.
Dissemination and reporting The goal of this fund is to support community activities and this includes sharing outputs with the wider community.

All funded projects will be expected to contribute to the CHARTED HUB through:
  • Providing a description of the project;
  • Contributing blog posts featuring the work being done (each project will be required to provide at least one post - more if the projects are longer or larger in scope);
  • Sharing the final outputs - either directly on the HUB or linked (as appropriate);
  • Participating and contributing to occasional community events.

Additionally, the funded projects may be asked to share relevant statistical data that was collected during the projects’ duration and directly contributes to CHARTED’s goal of better understanding and improving the dRTP landscape e.g. statistics related to dRTP roles.

CHARTED is subject to the UKRI reporting requirements and, as a result, all projects funded from CHARTED’s flexible fund are expected to report their progress regularly. All funded projects will be required to provide an end-of-project report and may be asked to demonstrate good financial management. Additionally, longer projects may be required to provide a mid-point report.

We are also hoping to organise a series of community calls to facilitate knowledge sharing between the funded projects.

How to apply Applications are being managed through the Good Grants Platform. You will need to register on the platform and sign in to access and complete the online form to submit an application to fund 2. Apply via Good Grants.

Review process Applications will be assessed using a light-touch review process to ensure timeliness of the awards.

Applications will be ranked according to the benefits to the individuals and their local community. Please see the previous section for details on what should be included in the applications.

The number of applications funded in each round will depend on the quality of the applications and the amount of funds requested.

If you have any questions about the application or review process please get in touch with us at: charted@drtp-skills.ac.uk