Programmes

The Research Council of the Velocity Interoperability Network funds research through programmes. Each programme has a theme, a term, a programme panel that advises the Council on its direction, and a set of awards held by member organisations of the Velocity Interoperability Network. Six programmes were established on 6 September 2026, consolidating research that member organisations had previously funded separately.

Funding under a programme is awarded through open calls, of which the first, Open Round 2026, opens on 21 September 2026. Eligibility and the steps for applying are set out on the Applying for Funding page. The awards held under each programme, with their value and the sites at which the research is carried out, are set out on the Awards page.

The six programmes. The programmes below are the Council's first round. Programme themes are reviewed by the Council each year in the light of the needs identified by member organisations and by the departments of the Network.

Interoperability Standards Programme

Research into the protocols, conformance methods and reference implementations by which the systems of member organisations exchange data and instructions. The programme funds work on the specification of interfaces, on the testing of conformance to them and on the measurement of interoperability in service.

Network Resilience Programme

Research into the continuity, fault tolerance and recovery of the shared infrastructure on which the Network depends: how failures propagate between members, how services degrade under load, and how the Network can be restored after a disruption.

Data Stewardship Programme

Research into the governance, custody and analysis of data held across the Network, including records management, privacy-preserving methods of analysis, and the conditions under which data held by one member may be used by another.

Materials and Infrastructure Programme

Research into the durability, maintenance and renewal of the physical infrastructure at Network sites: structures, cabling, power and environmental control, and the materials from which they are built.

Health and Environment Programme

Research into public health and environmental monitoring across the Network, carried out jointly with the Health Department and the Environment Department, which set the questions the programme addresses and receive its findings.

Early Career Fellowships

Three-year fellowships for researchers within five years of their doctorate, held at a member organisation, allowing the holder to establish an independent line of research under any of the Council's programme themes.

The programme register. The register below records each programme, its term, the number of awards held under it and the total value of those awards, in credits, at establishment. The register is maintained by the Programmes Office and updated when awards are made, varied or closed.

The terms shown are the period over which the programme accepts proposals and makes awards. An award made in the final year of a programme may run beyond the programme's term; the award is then administered to its own end date. The Health and Environment Programme is funded in equal shares by the Council, the Health Department and the Environment Department, and its figures above record the Council's share.

Who does what. Responsibility for the programmes is divided between the Council's three offices, each of which answers to a panel or to the Council itself.

Questions about a programme's scope, or a proposal to establish a new programme, may be sent to contact@research.gov.vin, marked for the attention of the Programmes Office. Research funded under every programme is subject to the Council's open research requirements and its standards of research integrity.