Enter a distinct name for your application.

Application name

Use simple language so a lay person could also understand your approach to running the network plus over the next 5 years. Briefly describe the scope including your vision, objectives, areas of focus and, why it&rsquo;s important and why it will succeed, telling us:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>what&rsquo;s unique about you and your thinking</li>
<li>what you will deliver</li>
<li>how you will do it</li>
<li>who is involved.</li>
</ul>

Provide a summary which can be emailed to potential reviewers inviting them to assess your application. 

Summary

Explain your vision and its importance. Tell us why&nbsp;is it timely and how&nbsp;it will contribute to you delivering the desired outcomes we have outlined&nbsp;earlier. Demonstrate how your Digital Society Network Plus vision fits into the wider context or current research. Sketch out what will be positively different because of your network and your approach to achieving its vision.

What is your network setting out to achieve?

Case for Support – Vision

Articulate a high-level research agenda exploring people&rsquo;s relationship with technology that will sit above, but is flexible to, opportunities that emerge from Network Plus activities.&nbsp;Detail the research agenda that will guide the network&rsquo;s activities and any themes that will be explored. These could relate to the two proposed themes&nbsp;of &lsquo;Power and Behaviour&rsquo; and &lsquo;Harnessing Technology&rsquo;.&nbsp;For research being done by the network, clearly describe your proposed research design and methods and how you will:
<ol class="govuk-list govuk-list--number">
<li>generate new insights into the relationships between people and technologies&nbsp;through supporting research that maps interconnections between social, economic and cultural lives. The network should look into changes underway in society - at macro and micro levels. It should draw lessons from key disciplines, investments and other networks, having identified and explored areas where changes are happening, both now and in the future</li>
<li>build new interdisciplinary capability in this emerging research area, linking existing - and establishing new - transdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary partnerships. Show how you will bring together technical and social science approaches and develop conceptual, methodological, theoretical and leadership skills for this emerging area.</li>
</ol>
Care should be taken to explain any innovation in the methodology or methods, or how different methodologies or methods may be combined. Reference any existing work on which the main research will draw, with references. Any relevant policy or practical background should also be included.
You may wish to&nbsp;upload a document&nbsp;that helps demonstrate this visually.

Clearly state the research agenda, including any themes and specific methods.

Case for Support – Research Agenda

Tell us about&nbsp;the key people or groups&nbsp;beyond your team&nbsp;that need to be involved and how you will get them involved? Paint a picture of the kind of activities you will deliver, how, and who those activities will be for. Describe how you will prioritise activities, people, groups and research themes.
Demonstrate how you will connect people and the research landscape to support new and widespread collaboration as well as taking advantage of opportunities as they emerge.
Provide an insight into the processes you will put into place to:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>enable a coherent and connected landscape&nbsp;for digital research across disciplines, by bridging existing structures, identifying needs through sustained engagement and brokering relationships</li>
<li>inform policy, practice and public understanding, through understanding stakeholder needs and enabling insights to feed into development processes for devices, services and public policy&nbsp;as well as co-producing research.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Where possible include details of any potential links to international collaboration.
Tell us how you will build new research capability and leadership capacity.&nbsp;Bringing people with diverse and different thematic and methodological expertise together is a key requirement. This includes people in your team delivering the network, as well as researchers that are &lsquo;in&rsquo; the network or who participate in its activities. We want to know what these people will learn and specifically, how you will:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>bring together diverse expertise within projects, conceptually, methodologically and theoretically</li>
<li>support and enable learning</li>
<li>help people to collaborate, and get better at, collaborating in the future</li>
<li>develop and promote the use of combined social science and technical methods, for example: computational and digital</li>
<li>create concepts and use them to explore themes.</li>
</ul>
Nurturing and developing talent of researchers at all career stages is also a key requirement for a successful application. How will you identify and support opportunities&nbsp;for the development of leadership skills and research capabilities?

What is your strategy for achieving your vision?

Case for Support – Strategy

We will not be requesting Letters of Support through this Opportunity. Instead, in the text box below, please provide details of supporting organisations by creating a table using the following headings:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>partner/support provider&rsquo;s named individual</li>
<li>partner/support provider&rsquo;s named individual&rsquo;s position&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>partner/support provider&rsquo;s registered organisation office address or web link&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>clear statement of support (data access/cash/in kind)&nbsp;</li>
<li>date support was agreed&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
In each table the statement needs to provide assurance to reviewers that the support has been agreed and will be forthcoming if the proposal is funded. Please note, all partners are expected to have been involved in development or creation of the proposed Network Plus.
For audit purposes, UKRI expects formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Provide details of key partners and other supporting organisations who will be essential to the successful conduct of the research.

Case for Support – Supporting Organisations

Detail&nbsp;your expertise and that of your team. Specifically,&nbsp;why they are the right people to help you build and manage the network and&nbsp;deliver its aims,&nbsp;describing&nbsp;for example:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>what specific relevant experience they have</li>
<li>what they will contribute</li>
<li>how their skill sets are complementary</li>
<li>how they will contribute to the generation of new ideas, hypotheses, processes and managing research programmes</li>
<li>how they will help&nbsp;you establish teams and collaborations</li>
<li>how they will work with the wider research community and interested groups and people.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
We are particularly&nbsp;seeking&nbsp;to understand how you will recruit new partnerships and team members,&nbsp;as new opportunities arise&nbsp;and results indicating directional approaches occur.&nbsp;Specifically, how will you ensure that the network is managed effectively? For example, and making&nbsp;reference to any partners or user involvement:&nbsp;
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>what is the management structure of the team, including both named and non-named applicants?</li>
<li>what kind of professional service staff roles - for example: Network Manager, knowledge exchange manager, administrators and communications experts &ndash; will you recruit?</li>
<li>how will you distribute responsibilities?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
There is no need to duplicate information here that you will include in the Justification of Resources section.&nbsp;This section should describe the functioning of the team to meet the project aims.
You may wish to&nbsp;upload a document&nbsp;that helps demonstrate this visually.

Referring to yourself and the other individuals named in the Applicants’ section (including any partners or users) list each member of your core team’s role and why their experience and expertise is key to your proposal’s success.

Case for Support – Your Team, the Network and its Management

Specifically, tell us how you will manage and coordinate:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>the flexible funding so it is distributed fairly, efficiently and with probity</li>
<li>the network&rsquo;s activities so they are conducted ethically, are aligned and add value to each other</li>
<li>the outputs, outcomes and impacts arising from the network&rsquo;s activities to maximise their value.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
You may wish to&nbsp;upload a document&nbsp;that helps demonstrate this visually.

Provide some detail about what kind of governance structure your network will have particularly in respect of the flexible fund.

Case for Support – Governance and Management of the Flexible Fund

Show us a vision for a brand and your ideas for amplifying it &ndash; demonstrating your understanding of how to create a strategy using digital and other forms of communication is key.
We also want to understand:&nbsp;
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>about the kind of culture you are looking to foster, with a fair focus on EDI. Feel free to reference, for comparison, examples from other arenas where you think this is done well</li>
<li>how you will develop stakeholder engagement and knowledge mobilisation strategy</li>
<li>what are the institutional commitment(s) and practical contributions to hosting and sustaining the network plus?</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

How will you develop the brand and communication strategy and embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)?

Culture, Communications and Other Commitments

If you are not collecting or acquiring new data, just write &lsquo;No&rsquo; in the text box, mark this section as complete and continue to the next section.
Otherwise,&nbsp;referring&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a class="govuk-link" href="https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESRC-301121-DigitalSocietyNetworkPlus-GuidanceCompletingCollectionAcquisitionDataSection.pdf" target="_self">Guidance to completing the collection or acquisition of data</a>&nbsp;provide a Data Management Plan&nbsp;in the&nbsp;text box below,&nbsp;that&nbsp;considers&nbsp;the network and&nbsp;projects funded via the flexible fund.
Unless you state to the contrary here, it will be assumed that you (as the principal applicant) are willing for your contact details to be shared with the affiliated data support service (UK Data Service) working with the Research Council.

Does your proposed research involve the collection or acquisition of new data?

Data collection or acquisition

Download&nbsp;and complete&nbsp;the <a class="govuk-link" href="https://ukri-tfs-prod-assets.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/Full-Economic-Costings-Template-November2021.docx" target="_self">full economic costs template</a> (.docx, 75KB).
Your total staff costs must include all employee-related costs such as National Insurance and Superannuation.
You must also make sure each named or identifiable (from post name) individual included on this form is aware that:
<ol class="govuk-list govuk-list--number">
<li>You have shared their personal information with UKRI. &nbsp;</li>
<li>UKRI will process their personal information as set out in <a class="govuk-link" href="https://www.ukri.org/about-us/privacy-notice/" target="_self">UKRI&rsquo;s Privacy Notice</a>. &nbsp;</li>
</ol>
Quotes for equipment, or externally sourced surveys, exceeding &pound;10,000 are not necessary for this application. However, appropriate processes must be used to ensure requested costs are accurate, inclusive of VAT and, where appropriate, import duty. Successful&nbsp;applicants&nbsp;must be able to show UKRI&nbsp;evidence of adherence&nbsp;to procurement rules (such as quotes) if audited.
Using&nbsp;the text box below, explain why the resources requested are appropriate, taking into account the nature and complexity of the research proposal. It should not be simply a list of the resources required, as this will already be given in the &lsquo;costs&rsquo; section. Where you do not provide explanation for an activity that requires justification, it will be cut from any grant made.
Do not duplicate information that you have included in the Team section above.&nbsp;Your answer here&nbsp;should describe&nbsp;how&nbsp;your project&nbsp;offers&nbsp;value for money.
Proposals which include co-investigators from third sector organisations,&nbsp;that are deemed not to engage in economic activity, must provide evidence of this status within the Justification of Resources statement.
Estates, Indirect and Infrastructure Technician costs do not need to be justified within the Justification of Resources.

Provide full economic costs and calculate the amount you are applying for using the template contained within ‘What the assessors are looking for in your response’ and add justifications.

Full Economic Costs and your Justification of those Resources

Please explain what, if any, ethical issues you believe are relevant to the proposed research project, and which ethical approvals have been obtained, or will be sought if the project is funded?
If you believe that an ethics review is not necessary,&nbsp;instead&nbsp;please explain&nbsp;why you believe that is the case.

Please explain what, if any, ethical considerations and/or approvals have been, or will be, obtained if your proposal is funded.

Ethical issues

If other support or previous and related proposals are not relevant, just write &lsquo;No&rsquo; in the text box, mark this section as complete and continue to the next section.
Otherwise:
<ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
<li>provide details of any other support sought, or received, from any other source for this or other research in the same field in the past 3 years</li>
<li>enter the ESRC reference numbers of any support sought or received from ESRC in the past 5 years.</li>
</ul>

This Opportunity closed on Tuesday 1 March 2022

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This Opportunity closed on Tuesday 1 March 2022

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