Place Based Impact Accelerator Account

Goal of PBIAA

Place Based Impact Accelerator Accounts (PBIAAs) are a central element of UKRI - EPSRC’s Place strategy, supporting programmes of impact activities that strengthen partnerships and drive regional growth, informed by both national priorities and local context. They feature consortium-led delivery which supports collaborations between universities, civic partners, and businesses, aligned to local ambitions. The programmes are tailored to address the specific opportunities and needs of Belfast and beyond.

PBIAA Themes

The PBIAA will focus on three main themes:

• Future Healthcare Technology Leader: bringing together emerging healthcare technology leaders from academia, business and clinical/civic organisations to share knowledge, address gaps, develop insight and explore opportunity.
• Advancing Trusted Research: improving access to existing and novel data with existing and emerging tools.
• Place Based Projects: collaborative funding is available to support project-based activities that examine locally based healthcare and civic challenges and blockages that could be addressed with Digital Healthcare Technology.

PBIAA in Progress

Future Technology Leader Sandpits

We are pleased to share our first Future Technology Leader Sandpit, held on 26 November 2025. This twelve-session programme brings together emerging leaders from academia, industry, and clinical or civic organisations to exchange expertise and generate practical insights. The first workshop was led by Dr. Rashid Kamal (UU) on Secure AI in Healthcare, explored the risks and opportunities of rapidly adopting AI-enabled tools. The second workshop will be led by Dr. Richard Gault on Computer Vision in Microscopy.

Place Based Projects

The first PBIAA place-based funding call closed on 30 November, 2025. The applications spanned a diverse range of researchers and topics aligned to Belfast’s place-based challenges. The review of initial expressions of interest is now underway. This funding round focused on advancing emerging research areas and supporting early-stage researchers, with further research calls expected in 2026.

Understanding Health Inequalities

The PBIAA are engaged in a “Graphic Medicine” exploration with illustrator Conor McClure from the UU Belfast School of Art. The project aims to explore how to communicate “health inequalities” to scientists, researchers, policy leads, and health leaders. While many understand that deprivation impacts health outcomes, it can be challenging to translate that awareness into doing things differently. This work uses graphic illustration as a tool to enhance understanding and improve impact.