NERC: Pushing the frontiers of environmental research

19/10/2023

23/01/2024

Apply for funding to pursue an ambitious, high risk and high reward project in environmental research. This funding opportunity supports researchers’ curiosity and imagination to enable discoveries that unlock new knowledge with a degree of adventure previously unrealised. We are seeking to invest in our best environmental researchers to be truly adventurous and ambitious in the pursuit of curiosity driven, high risk and high reward projects. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £1 million. We will fund 80% of the FEC.

We are looking for applications that can support pure, applied, technology led or policy driven research but still address, or provide the means to address, clearly defined scientific questions. We welcome, and are increasingly supporting, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, designed, supported and delivered in partnership with other research funders and research users.

Eligibility Note Who is eligible to apply This funding opportunity is open to research groups and individuals. Your research project must address a significant environmental science question, but we welcome applications from individuals who can demonstrate a capability to collaborate with experts from other disciplines to generate innovative research. We encourage multidisciplinary research and collaborations with other UK organisations. We welcome applications from individuals at any career stage, subject to the UKRI eligibility criteria. You may be involved in no more than two applications submitted to this funding opportunity. Only one of these can be as a project lead.