I am reaching out as part of a research team at Connected Places Catapult, where we have been developing a project called Transport Safety for Women and Girls. Connected Places Catapult is working with the Department for Transport to accelerate the development of interventions and innovations that help tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) on the transport system in England.
We have worked with a number of external stakeholders, including charities, transport providers, local authorities, police and crime commissioners, and academics (though I am not certain whether we have spoken to anyone in the VAWGRN). We are in the process of finalising with the DfT an interim report of our findings which we will share with you once approved. We are keen to build on this by working further with academics to explore and validate problem spaces and gain a better understanding of how potential solutions might address these challenges.
As such we are looking for a Researcher in Residence to work with us in this area. This would be a part of the Launchpad Network+ which is the new researchers in residence scheme for the Catapult Network.
https://catapult.org.uk/launch-of-new-national-epsrc-funded-network-to-boost-innovation/
This is an opportunity for UK academics to work with the Catapult Network on an applied research project to the value of £50k.
I was wondering if anyone within the VAWGRN might be interested in submitting a project idea which is looking at the safety of women and girls on public transport? As mentioned above, we are particularly interested understanding more about the causes of unsafety and potential solutions that might address some of these challenges.
If you think you might have a project idea in mind (either new or building upon existing research), please do reach out and Nick (CC’ed) can arrange a discussion to potentially progress to an application.
If you have any questions about the researchers in residence scheme, please us me know, and do forward this email on to those in your network who you think would be interested in applying.
With best regards,
Simeon