Pushing the frontiers of environmental research (Grant)

Apply for funding to pursue an adventurous, ambitious curiosity-driven project in environmental research. You must be: • based at a UK research organisation eligible for Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funding • in a role that meets the individual eligibility requirements We welcome: • multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research • projects delivered in partnership with other research funders and users The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £950,000. We will fund 80% of the FEC. There is no defined project duration, but awards are usually between three and four years. Demand management Demand management is not being applied to this funding opportunity. Scope 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-reward projects, which may or may not involve substantial risk. Applications can propose pure, applied, technology-led, or policy-driven research but must address, or provide the means to address, clearly defined environmental science questions. We welcome, and are increasingly supporting, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, designed, supported and delivered in partnership with other research funders and research users. We welcome applications from individuals at any career stage, subject to the UKRI eligibility criteria. This funding opportunity is open to research groups and individuals. The research must sit predominantly within NERC’s research areas . We will work with other research councils to ensure that applications close to remit boundaries are assessed by the most appropriate lead council. We encourage you to contact us first to discuss your application if you believe your research may cross research council boundaries. See our remit query form . Use of novel, critical technologies in your application UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is seeking to support researchers and innovators to develop and make use of novel, critical technologies including artificial intelligence, engineering biology, and quantum technologies throughout its investment portfolio. We have also set out our aspirations for the future of data and technology in environmental science in our digital strategy 2021 to 2030 . In developing your application to this funding opportunity, you may wish to consider how the innovative use of critical technologies and approaches addressing the ambitions of NERC’s digital strategy, might offer opportunities to address your research questions in new and novel ways. This might include the development of new collaborations across domains and disciplines. Duration There is no defined project duration, but awards are usually for between three and four years. It is anticipated that your grant will be able to start within six months of receiving the offer letter, but it should be noted that start dates for all successful grants will only be confirmed following discussion with NERC regarding project requirements. For those projects requiring use of large infrastructure, start dates will be dependent on access to infrastructure being scheduled and confirmed. Funding available The (FEC) of your project can be up to £950,000. We will fund 80% of the FEC with the following exceptions: • eligible costs for international project co-lead involvement would be funded at 100% Costs for ship time and marine equipment (SME) are not included in the application, so do not count towards the funding limit. Most applications will be expected to be under £950,000. We recognise that a small number of projects have exceptional costs (for example, for use of large research infrastructure facilities) that may require the budget to exceed the maximum grant limit. If you are planning to apply for more than £950,000, you must seek prior approval from NERC first. A case for why the costs are essential for the project and why they exceed the maximum limit must be submitted by email to pushingfrontiers@nerc.ukri.org before submitting an application to the Pushing the Frontiers opportunity. We aim to provide a decision within 10 working days. Justified equipment is funded at 80% FEC. Any requests for equipment over £25,000 must be fully justified as part of your application. You are reminded that funding for equipment is subject to consideration by NERC, based on the justification of resources and budget availability. What we will not fund: • PhD studentship costs • Costs for data archival and curation services will be paid directly to the NERC Environmental Data Service (EDS) on behalf of the programme and should not be included. You should ensure that you request sufficient resource to cover preparation of data for archiving by the research team. Any specialist services, such as database development or project data‑m

This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible . Before applying for funding, check the following: • Individual eligibility • check your project is in our remit , if you are unsure whether your proposed research falls within the remit of NERC 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 • welcome applications from individuals at any career stage, subject to the UKRI eligibility criteria Project partners fund their own involvement. We will only fund minor incidental expenses, such as some travel costs, if needed for project partners. Resubmissions We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have previously been assessed by UKRI. Find out more about Application resubmissions . International researchers Under the UKRI and Research Council of Norway Money Follows Cooperation agreement a project co-lead (international) (previously co-investigator) can be based in a Norwegian institution. Read more about this in the NERC eligibility guidance for applicants . If you are submitting your application under a NERC Lead Agency agreement (NSF, FAPESP, FNR), then please see the section entitled International Collaborative proposals for further information. All other international collaborators should be included (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners. This includes organisations from the business or financial sectors. Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: • career breaks • support for people with caring responsibilities • flexible working • alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Click here to start an application on the UKRI Funding Service: https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1368/apply/1394 We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service, so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. To apply Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. • Confirm you are the project lead. • Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. • Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. • Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. • Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. • Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.When including images, you must: • provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) • insert each new image on a new line • use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include: • sentences or paragraphs of text • tables • excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: • how applicants use the Funding Service • how research offices use the Funding Service • how reviewers use the Funding Service References References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the appli