Funding opportunity: Apply to be recognised as a Policing Academic Centre of Excellence

The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are inviting applications to be recognised as one of nine Policing Academic Centres of Excellence (P-ACEs). These centres will improve connections between academic researchers and research users in policing. They will make it easier for users of research to identify the best research evidence available. 

P-ACEs will bring together academic researchers with relevant expertise and connect them directly with policing stakeholders. NPCC and UKRI Policing Academic Centre of Excellence status will be a prestigious recognition of the specialisms and expertise of an academic group, and the P-ACEs will be promoted across the policing sector as an accessible source of leading academic expertise. 

Applications must be submitted via UKRI’s funding finder by 16:00 on 3 December 2024. 

Use ADR UK flagship datasets in your project  

Applicants are encouraged to consider whether the use of ADR UK flagship datasets could add value to the project. Datasets securely available for research which have particular relevance to the P-ACEs include: 

• Ministry of Justice & Department for Education linked dataset – England: This dataset enables analysis to understand the links to between childhood characteristics, educational outcomes and (re)offending. 
• Data First: Cross-Justice System – England and Wales: This dataset connects Ministry of Justice data from the civil and family courts with different areas of the criminal justice system, presenting an opportunity to understand cross-cutting questions about the intersections between users of services in different justice jurisdictions. 
• Data First: Family Court linked to Cafcass and Census 2021 – England and Wales: This dataset contains information on adoption, divorce, Family Law Act, public law and private law cases, and their legal outcomes. Cafcass stands for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. 

About the opportunity 

The full economic cost of each P-ACE grant can be up to £600,000, and projects should be three years in duration. 

The P-ACEs will carry out the following functions: 

• engage with the evidence needs and areas of research interest in policing and organise specialist academic expertise against certain topics. 
• summarise, make accessible and showcase key findings from the P-ACE’s existing work and industry engagement in these areas 
• be responsive to the evidence needs and questions raised by policing, and be accessible for enquiries from policing stakeholders. To deliver this function, 50% of the total available budget should be ringfenced and used as a flexible fund to support activities developed during the course of the funding period through engagement with policing. 

By funding a network of Policing Academic Centres of Excellence, UKRI and NPCC are aiming to:  

• galvanise a community of researchers addressing policing’s issues, encouraging world-class, open access research that has the potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of UK policing 
• enhance the quality and scale of policing research and related postgraduate training undertaken in the UK 
• improve connections between academic researchers, industry and research users in policing, to create shared understanding and improved partnerships 
• make it easier for users of research to identify the best research evidence, science, and technologies that the UK has to offer 
• encourage interdisciplinary perspectives on policing challenges, recognising there are economic, social scientific and technical elements to all 
• establish and enhance fast track knowledge mobilisation pipelines between leading academic researchers and frontline policing 
• ensure that there is retained, agile research capability in key fields, and that there are routes for PhD and postdoctoral researchers to contribute to the policing knowledge base 
• ensure that high quality research evidence is underpinning the professional development and training of current and future policing professionals 
• help to develop a shared vision among the UK’s policing and prevention research community, inside and outside academia. 

How to apply 

The lead organisation must be a UK research organisation eligible for Economic and Social Research Council funding.  

To read the full details of the opportunity including the application criteria and process, visit UKRI’s funding finder.