Funding applications open to manage future shocks

29 June 2021

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© Davide Angelini
The Oxford Martin School has opened its latest round of research funding, inviting expressions of interest for research into how future shocks can be managed.

This internal funding call, open to permanently contracted researchers and senior fellows across the University of Oxford, will support research that will lead to solutions to the urgent, critical challenge of managing future shocks.

“COVID-19 has delivered a global economic and emerging health shock that we now need to manage ourselves out of,” said Dr Jean-Charles Buffet, Research and Programmes Manager at the Oxford Martin School. “Yet future shocks are not limited to pandemics. We are encouraging a broad interpretation of the shocks that are likely to become more common in our interconnected world and how they could be managed.”

The School is placing no limitation to the type of shock expressions of interest might relate to from climate-related, economic, geo-political, social, technological, or environmental to the very real possibility of new pandemics. The potential envisaged response is similarly open to interpretation. Shocks could severely challenge our economies, social cohesion, political stability, or the natural systems which support our lives, and each will need a tailored approach to manage them.

Researchers are encouraged to read the full application guidelines and eligibility criteria prior to the development of a formal expression of interest and follow the suggested next steps within the document.

It is anticipated that the Oxford Martin School will contribute up to a maximum total of £1 million per project over a period of two to five years. The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 5pm on Monday 18th October 2021.