Propose a Community Research Project for Cohort 2026
Call for community engaged research proposals
Co(l)laboratory is looking for research project proposals from collaborative teams of Nottinghamshire academics and community focused organisations which seek to address local community challenges.
For the Nottinghamshire 2026 Cohort, Collaboratory will be funding 10 PhD projects and 5 Research Placements.
The links above to the PhD and Placement proposal forms will be live and accessible from Tuesday 06 May 2025.
Proposals Deadline: 11:59pm Wed 10 Sept 2025
The projects we fund
Through our collaborative approach to research, Collaboratory aims to support community-engaged research – research which is grounded in the needs of local communities and which is more readily able to make a direct, relevant and meaningful impact for communities across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
PhD Projects
- 3-years, full-time.
- UKRI stipend and UK Home Student tuition fees covered.
- Conference and fieldwork budget of £500 per year.
- Full access to partner universities.
- Unique and comprehensive support through our Championing Engaged Research training programme, aimed at developing researchers who can be leaders in community-engaged research.
Research Placements
- 10-weeks, part-time based on 1.5-2 days per week.
- Focus on scoping and candidate development.
- Includes candidate bursary of £1,300 and fieldwork budget of £200.
- Access to bespoke training and resources from all partner institutions.
- Unique opportunity to establish new partnerships and explore the potential of new engaged research project ideas.
NOTE: Offline copies of the proposal forms are provided to support your planning and preparation. All proposals must be submitted by the online submission forms linked at the top of this page.
Community Priorities for Research
For the 2025-26 call, all proposals will need to address one or more community-set research priorities. The full series of 2026 Community Priorities for Research will be made available here from 12 May 2025.
KEY DATES
- Application deadline: 11:59pm Wednesday 10 September 2025
- Successful projects open to applicants: 02 Oct – 30 Nov 2025
- Applicant interviews: 12-23 January 2026
- Start date for successful candidates: Monday 30 March 2026
Who are we looking for?
Collaboratory is looking to support collaborative proposals from teams of Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham academics, with partners from civic and community-focused organisations in Nottinghamshire.
Each project team must include 1 Lead Academic Supervisor, at least 1 Academic Co-Supervisor, and at least 1 Community Supervisor. As a minimum, each project supervisory team must include an Academic Lead and Co-Supervisor from any 2 different Notts universities.
Researchers
Active researchers from Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham who wish to develop and supervise a collaborative, community engaged PhD or Research Placement Project.
Community Professionals
People from organisations based in Nottingham or Nottinghamshire working with one or more local communities, who want to contribute their insight and expertise to the development of evidence-based change for our communities.
If you are a prospective community partner and would like to have an informal discussion to find out more about how to get involved, please contact collaboratory@universitiesfornottingham.ac.uk
Learn more – Webinars and Workshops
We strongly recommend that anyone interested in developing a proposal to submit a proposal attends one of our Information webinars. We also offer a Co-Creating Research webinar to support researchers and community professionals to work together to turn their ideas into research projects.
Information Webinars
Learn more about us, the work we do, and what is involved in being part of a Co(l)lab research project team.
Click to see times and registration link
Information Webinars
- Weds 14 May 2025, 12pm-1pm
- Thurs 22 May 2025, 4pm-5pm
- Weds 28 May 2025, 2pm-3pm
- Weds 04 June 2025, 12pm-1pm
Co-Creating Research
Advice and support for those wanting to develop a new research proposal, whether you’re an academic or community professional.
Click to see times and registration link
Co-Creating Community Research
IN-PERSON WORKSHOP
Weds 18 June 2025, 1pm-4pm
City as Lab, University of Nottingham Castle Meadow Campus, Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham, NG2 1AB
ONLINE WEBINAR
Fri 20 June, 12pm-1pm
Looking for someone to collaborate with?
Whether you’re a research academic or a community professional, if you’re interested in developing a project proposal for Collaboratory but are in need of an additional collaborative partner to work with, post your details on our Project Development Padlet Board.