DisCouRSE Network+ Logo

Submissions close at 16:00 GMT on Friday 11th December 2026 for our latest call, which allows longer and larger projects than before. Full details can be found here, with a summary and some background below.

We are also inviting individuals to apply for our free leadership programme - visit our news article for more about this. It has an earlier deadline of 8th November.

The DisCouRSE Network+ project aims to encourage and support the development of leaders of all kinds across all digital Research Technical Professional (dRTP) roles, primarily within the UK, resulting in an empowered and connected community equipped to shape the future of digital research. We have a twin focus on leadership training and dRTP career pathways – preparing the next generation of leaders and ensuring roles exist for them to lead within.

Our flexible fund supports community-led projects aligned with this goal, enabling aspiring leaders to trial approaches to enhancing skills and career opportunities within their local contexts, build new connections through joint initiatives, and strategically assess options for future investment and activity.

This third call has two strands:

  1. Pilot projects of up to £15k in any area relevant to DisCouRSE’s aims. This category is focused on enabling and exploring new ideas, so we are particularly seeking applications from organisations that have not yet received DisCouRSE funding.
  2. Growth projects of up to £50k building on previous DisCouRSE funding or existing community initiatives, particularly in one of these 5 focus areas:
    1. working to implement dRTP career pathways,
    2. community building among leaders in under-represented (within the DisCouRSE Network) professions,
    3. environmental dRTP leadership,
    4. expanding the use and broader uptake of the DIRECT web app,
    5. developing or delivering dRTP leadership training.

For this round we analysed round 1 & 2 projects to see what we want to build on and where key gaps are, and we will prioritise funding work in these areas. For example, we recently presented interim results from our interviews with dRTP group leaders on career pathways and would be keen to see other groups follow the lead of Christine’s round 1 project trying to extend the career ladder within their organisation. This will help us build a larger evidence bank for others to leverage.

Several round 1 and 2 projects have looked to use or extend the DIRECT competencies framework in different ways, and we also funded further development of the DIRECT web app. Round 3 seeks to continue this work, particularly embedding the framework as a valuable tool in career development for dRTPs.

Digital RTPs have pioneered topics in green computing, introducing schemes such as Green DiSC and related training. Round 3 encourages applicants to reflect on where we should be looking next to extend environmental leadership, in concert with projects like NetDRIVE.

Many DisCouRSE projects have piloted different leadership training opportunities, forming part of the evolving landscape of dRTP training alongside courses being developed by other related projects. DisCouRSE helped found the dRTP Skills Landscape Coordination Group to coordinate this activity, and prospective applicants looking to develop or deliver training must engage with the group to ensure complementarity with existing initiatives. We want to make sure that we’re not duplicating work being done elsewhere.

In this round we are also thinking more about what happens after DisCouRSE, as we near the half-way point for our funding. Growth projects may extend beyond a year in duration, but in return we ask applicants to submit a brief sustainability plan giving some indication of how the project’s activity could be continued beyond the end of DisCouRSE funding.

We remain keen to expand the network to professions, regions and organisations that we’ve not yet managed to reach, hence one focus area supports community-building initiatives that engage these stakeholders. We have also retained our pilot projects strand from round 2, looking for novel ideas from the community. This welcomes a wide range of proposal topics or approaches, provided they are relevant to DisCouRSE’s overall aims. Pilot proposals from new individuals, organisations, or communities will be prioritised in our review process.

If you have ideas but aren’t sure how they fit in, do discuss them with us.

Many dRTPs have not been accustomed to leading research grants, and their organisation’s processes may not be set up to make it easy for them. Part of the motivation for the DisCouRSE flexible fund is to change this situation! We have prepared some guidance for applicants on typical issues to watch out for, and what some of the terminology you may encounter means. New to this round, we have also launched a mentoring scheme whereby the DisCouRSE management team or previous applicants can provide direct assistance with making an application. If this is of interest to you then get in touch.