The Local Government Technical Advisers Group (LGTAG) has launched a £20,000 research fund in partnership with the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE) to support 'practical, impactful' projects.
LGTAG members can bid for a share of the cash and those wishing to submit a grant proposal must do so by 29 May.
In a letter to LGTAG members, group president Emily See stated that they were ‘particularly keen' on proposals exploring the impact of electric vehicles (EV) on highways, adaptive transport initiatives, artificial intelligence (AI) in highways and transport.
She added that LGTAG will also welcome proposals outside of these areas, provided they ‘clearly demonstrate value to the sector', move ideas forward from 'research into reality' and align with the group's objectives.
In order to make sure that the research is ‘firmly grounded' in real-world challenges and outcomes, LGTAG has said that proposals must be led by its members and also must be driven by a local authority, whether it is the lead organisation or a ‘core project partner'.
Following this, proposals will be reviewed and scored by LGTAG's past president group.
Ms See said that LGTAG's new partnership with the IHE was ‘a genuinely exciting moment' and added that the group was ‘extremely grateful to the IHE' for supplying funding, as well as strong support in helping progress this initiative.
More information on the grant and how to apply can be found here.
