Flexible Funds
The DICE Network+ has an ambitious approach with a desire to create impact and meaningful change within the sector. One of the key opportunities within the network is access to flexible funding to accelerate wider research into specific challenge areas at the interface of digital technologies and circular economy.
Flexible funds are available for Knowledge Exchange Placements, Feasibility Studies and Demonstrators, totalling a value of £450,000 (available at 80% fEC).
Our first call for Knowledge Exchange Placements and the first round of Feasibility Studies is open now, with the Demonstrator call scheduled for early 2026.
CONNECTING ACADEMICS TO NETWORK PARTNERS
We’re trialling a MATCHMAKING provision to help match industry and policy partners with academics to align and provide opportunity to develop collaborative feasibility studies, with a focus on addressing real-world challenges.
Please complete this short form to allow others to understand your areas of interest and opportunities that you may be able to offer for the current call for knowledge exchange placements and feasibility studies.
Three funding opportunities
Read more >Knowledge Exchange Placements
As part of our focus on engaging Early Careers Researchers, the Knowledge Exchange Placements are designed to support interdisciplinary collaboration of academic, industry and network partners across the UK, promoting the adoption of a digitally enabled circular economy.
Read more >Feasibility Studies
This Feasibility Study Call provides the opportunity to undertake speculative and potentially high-impact research to accelerate innovative solutions that promote the adoption of a digitally enabled circular economy.
Read more >Demonstrators
Through demonstrators, research teams have opportunity to further develop their feasibility knowledge into a minimum viable product or service by developing a demonstrator model. This can help make outcomes of research attractive to the market, accelerating the adoption of a digitally enabled circular economy.
Flexible Funding Webinar - recorded resource
In this webinar, held on 10 July 2025, we covered the objectives of the funding opportunities available as part of the DICE Network+ including:
Feasibility Study Funding: providing the opportunity to undertake speculative and potentially high-impact research to accelerate innovative solutions that promote the adoption of a digitally enabled circular economy.
Knowledge Exchange Placements: designed to support interdisciplinary collaboration of academic, industry and network partners across the UK, promoting the adoption of a digitally enabled circular economy.
We also covered the application process and assessment criteria, along with hearing from Oliver Fisher on his first-hand experience of being awarded feasibility study funding and the opportunities it has provided. The session was followed by Q&A to answer general questions from academic and network partners.
Please view the slides here.
We would recommend you review this resource to supplement your understanding when preparing your application(s).
Access the full slide deck below.
DOWNLOAD WEBINAR SLIDES >Launched in January 2025, the Digital Innovation and Circular Economy (DICE) Network+ is an EPSRC-funded, three-year programme that seeks to leverage the digitalisation of industry to foster a circular economy across sectors and value chains for digital and communication technologies. Our Network+ comprises eleven investigators from nine UK universities, along with a breadth of academic, industry and policy partners.
