Users of the Nimbus cloud supercomputer need to secure funding to cover the costs of running their HPC workloads. In the future, this will also apply to users of the Anatra HTC cluster.

This does not apply to the GW4 Isambard, which is a free-to-use service.

The University is committed to supporting non-grant funded computational research activities such as:

• initial proof-of-concept studies
  
• feasibility tests and seed corn projects
  
• short research projects, including PhD student projects

Departmental research computing budgets
Medium and smaller size research projects will typically be funded by your department's research computing budget. If funds are available, your local HPC budget should be used as the first point of call to cover the cost of your research.

If your department can't cover your computational costs, you can apply for a University Research Computing Accelerator Award.

Speak to your Research Computing Champion to discuss your computational needs and funding opportunities.

University Accelerator Awards
If your department can't cover the cost of your research, you can apply for a University Research Computing Accelerator Award.

Extensive use of computing resources
The costs of extensive use of computational resources should be covered by external grant funding. The RIS Research Development team and the Research Computing group can help you secure the funding you need for your research.

The University Research Computing Accelerator Award is a central funding mechanism which covers the cost of important, non-grant funded computational research that departmental budgets can't fund.

Academic staff and PhD students from all disciplines can apply for an Accelerator Award. The next application deadline is TBC.

The Research Computing Resource Allocation Committee manages the award and application process.

Eligibility criteria

Your research is eligible for funding if it meets one of these criteria:

• initial proof-of-concept study, feasibility test or seed corn project
• short project critical for a grant preparation or fellowship application
  
• project linking consecutive grant applications or which have bridging requirements, e.g. between submitted and awarded grants (max three months)
  
• short PhD student project where the student has computational research experience and will be supported by their supervisor
  

You can submit multiple Accelerator Award applications in any given funding round.

If you are not a permanent contract, your employment must not end earlier than the expected end date of your proposed research project.

Deadline

The next Accelerator Award application deadline is TBC.

One funding round per semester

You can apply for a Research Computing Accelerator Award once per academic semester.

The Research Computing Resource Allocation Committee will review all applications and decide which projects to fund.

The committee consists of representatives from the University Faculties, the School of Management and Digital Data and Technology.

The Research Computing group will review the technical aspects of your application and contact you if anything needs to be clarified.

Assessment criteria

Applications eligible for support will be assessed against four criteria:

• Achievability of research goals
• Significance of research problem and expected outcomes
• Value for money
• Applicant's research track record from previous award applications

Funding outcome

We will email all applicants to let them know the outcome of their application once this has been decided.