The three project Flex Fund topics were co-created with National Highways, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd to ensure that funded research directly addresses real-world challenges currently facing transport infrastructure owners and operators.
The call focused on three strategically important areas:
- Climate impact assessments for road assets;
- Assessing performance challenges to green infrastructure adaptation and mitigation interventions across the rail network; and
- Understanding the impact of extreme weather on productivity in large rail construction projects.
These projects will generate actionable evidence and recommendations that can help infrastructure organisations better understand climate risks, improve resilience planning, and prepare transport systems for the impacts of a changing climate.
Professor Roberto Palacin, Co-Director of the DARe Hub and Chair of the Hub’s Flex Fund Governance Committee, said: “The third DARe Flex Fund competition demonstrates the value of bringing researchers and infrastructure partners together. By co-designing these research topics with National Highways, Network Rail and HS2, we have been able to focus investment on areas where new evidence and insight can make a real difference to decision-making and practice. We are delighted to support these projects and look forward to seeing the practical outputs and recommendations they deliver.”
The funded projects will work closely with DARe researchers and The DARe Hub is announcing the successful projects from its third Flexible Fund competition, awarding funding to three new research projects that will help address pressing climate resilience challenges facing the UK’s transport infrastructure.
partner organisations over the coming months. They build on the success of the Hub’s first and second Flex Fund competitions, further expanding the portfolio of applied research being developed to support more resilient, adaptable and decarbonised transport infrastructure.
The DARe Hub would like to thank all applicants for their interest in the call and for the time and effort invested in developing proposals. The competition attracted a strong field of applications, reflecting the depth of expertise, innovation and commitment within the UK’s academic research community to addressing complex transport and climate resilience challenges.
Winners:
Topic 1: Climate Impact Assessments for Road Assets
- Dr Usman Hadi, Ulster University, “Northern Ireland Road Weather Intelligence for Sustainable Evaluation (NI ROADWISE)”.
Topic 2: Assessing Performance Challenges to Green Infrastructure Adaptation and Mitigation Interventions Across the Rail Network
- Dr Daniel Donaldson, University of Birmingham, “Toolkit for Resilient Adaptation Decision-making with Green Infrastructure Interventions (TRADE-GREEN)”
Topic 3: Extreme Weather Impact on Productivity in Large Rail Construction Projects
- Dr Dongjun Li, Northumbria University, “From Evidence to Action: A Weather Resilience Toolkit for Rail Construction”.
For more information about the DARe Hub’s Flexible Fund programme, visit: https://dare.ac.uk/flexible-funding/