UKRI Net-Zero Digital Research Infrastructure Vision and Expertise (NetDRIVE) Fund

Funding programme to support Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) community activities.

The Network for sustainable Digital Research Infrastructure Vision and Expertise (NetDRIVE) is a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded project designed to enable stakeholders to build a common vision for a sustainable future and to facilitate a transition to sustainable working practices in the Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) communities.

NetDRIVE runs a funding programme to support community activities across three calls. Projects should address the following topics. Each item should require three to six staff months of effort, though more could be awarded if clearly justified.

Projects may address more than one item, and larger projects (£50,000 upwards) should address at least one topic fully while smaller projects (eg hackathons, desk research) may address parts of a topic:

Supply Chain Sustainability

• Guidelines for Life-Cycle Analysis
• Facility Action Plans
• Understanding Impacts

Monitoring Usage and Impact

• Multi-Facility Dashboard
• Green Scheduling
• Metrics and Tools
• Open Research
• User Carbon Footprinting Tools

Training and User Behaviour

• User Training Modules
• Research Practise
• User Stories
• Incentives
• International Communities

UK Compute Roadmap

• NSS: Sustainable implementation and use of the national supercomputer service
• AIRR: Sustainable implementation and use of the AI Research Resource

Projects addressing issues outside the topic list may be considered, but applicants must demonstrate a clear contribution to at least two of the three NetDRIVE objectives: immediate progress towards net zero DRI; enhancing community confidence in the roadmap to net zero DRI; and international leadership.

Projects should deliver clear outputs, such as:

• Demonstration or prototype services.
• Reports and digital content developed through open, transparent, and inclusive processes (including recommendations, guidance, standards, training material, hackathons, literature reviews, surveys, interviews, creative output).
• Peer reviewed publications.