Sandpit

21st – 22nd May 2026
Mercure Hotel Fairfield Manor, York

The HESTIA two-day in-person ‘sandpit’ was held in York on the 21st and 22nd May 2026 bringing together researchers from different academic disciplines and people working in a range of organisations (e.g., councils, charities, community groups, housing associations, building/technology companies) to develop ideas for small research projects.

We can fund 4 small-scale projects (e.g., to test the feasibility of an idea, scope the literature / survey views of residents, etc.) which must be completed within 6 months of the award. Two of which can cost up to £30,000 and two can cost up to £65,000 (at 100% full economic cost; we will fund 80% of this). We hope that these projects will lead to larger scale funding applications in the future. We are looking to fund research projects that will broadly be based around enabling healthier indoor home environments for everyone, and focus on health, technologies, and equity and justice. We will fund research projects looking at:

  1. Existing technologies used in homes (e.g. smart meters, air cleaners), and how they might help towards meeting low carbon / net zero targets and promote human health, considering affordability and those who might be most vulnerable (e.g. older people, those with existing physical/mental health difficulties, and low-income households).
  2. The impacts of climate change on housing, and how homes can be ‘future-proofed’ to be resilient to extreme conditions (e.g. extreme heat/cold, air pollution), in a way that is low carbon and promotes human health, and is affordable/cost-effective.
  3. Co-producing healthy homes with communities affected by poor quality housing.

We will prioritise early career researchers (ECRs) to lead proposals
– For the purposes of the HESTIA sandpit, we define an ECR as those that are immediately post doctorate, and/or transitioning to become an independent researcher. For example, this includes postdoctoral researchers and/or Lecturers/Assistant Professors. Unfortunately, this does not include PhD researchers as per UKRI rules they are ineligible to receive funding.

The project must be led by a researcher who attended the sandpit (and whose contract at a UK-based higher education institution is until at least 30th September 2027), involve at least one non-academic organisation, and meaningfully involve individuals from communities affected by poor quality housing (including recruiting a local public member to the project, with support from the HESTIA team). 

Please find documents outlining the application process below.
Please note that only researchers who attended the sandpit can apply as the principal investigator.

HESTIA funding guidelines PDF
HESTIA funding guidelines finalDownload
HESTIA funding application finalDownload
HESTIA budget spreadsheet finalDownload

Key dates:

  • 24th June: HESTIA Plus Application webinar | Funding Guidance and Q&As
  • 17th July 2026: full application deadline
  • End of October 2026: results of applications announced
  • 1st January 2027: projects start.

If you have any questions please contact the HESTIA Network Coordinator: D.S.Groves@leeds.ac.uk