ESRC White Rose DTP Collaborative Award
The ESRC WRDTP Collaborative Awards are PhD studentships set up in collaboration with partners in the private, public or third sectors.
For October 2026 entry, the University of Sheffield and ESRC White Rose DTP are pleased to offer two collaborative PhD opportunities.
Both studentships will cover full fee and stipend at the UKRI rate and a Research and Training Support Grant.
Welfare and distributional effects of energy-affordability and debt: Consumer policy beyond the energy crisis with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem)
This exciting PhD studentship is based at the University of Sheffield’s School of Economics.
The student will work in close partnership with the UK’s energy regulator (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, Ofgem) and the UK’s national fuel poverty charity (National Energy Action, NEA). A 3-month Research in Practice placement will be provided at Ofgem’s Headquarters (London)This studentship will focus on affordability and debt in the UK energy sector. The research will draw on theoretical and econometric methods to investigate the welfare effects and distributional makeup of household energy-debt/arrears. The research could further explore whether/which households take up support to install “win-win” technologies, ensuring more affordable and sustainable energy consumption. It will use data sources such as Understanding Society and the Smart Energy Research Lab. Its findings will provide policymakers and practitioners with evidence to design policies optimally to address the dual challenge of energy-affordability and energy-debt/arrears.
An interdisciplinary investigation of multidimensional food insecurity and nutrition in community-dwelling older people in Sheffield
This exciting PhD studentship is based at the Sheffield Methods Institute in the University of Sheffield's School of Education.
Existing research has highlighted the impact of broader factors such as health and disability, mobility, frailty and physical weakness, transport, social isolation, housing, digital exclusion, motivation, and the capacity to shop and cook on food insecurity in older people. This evidence suggests that food insecurity among older people may be both more prevalent and have specific causes and features that risk being overlooked when focussing on financial determinants. This project will provide the first multidimensional investigation of food insecurity in older people to identify the comparative relevance of financial and wider risks of food insecurity among this at-risk population group. As part of the project, the student will complete a three-month Research in Practice placement at the project partner, Sheffield City Council.