Pushing the frontiers grants
The Pushing the Frontiers scheme invests in excellence, challenging researchers to push the boundaries of environmental research. The adventurous and ambitious curiosity-driven, high-risk, high-reward projects lead to scientific discoveries that are likely to change the future landscape of a discipline.
Timing: two funding opportunities per year with closing dates in January and July.
Funding: up to £1 million per award (at 100% full economic cost, of which we pay 80% full economic cost).
Assessment process: assessment panel.
Grant duration: proposal dependent, no fixed duration of award but typically three to four years.
Demand management will apply.
Find out more about demand management.
Find out more about the latest pushing the frontiers entry on the funding finder.
Contact email: pushingfrontiers@nerc.ukri.org
Large grants
Large grants offer funding for researchers tackling the big environmental science questions that have the potential to produce world-leading research. Often multidisciplinary, these large-scale projects are adventurous, innovative, and complex. As with all discovery science schemes, large grant proposals must fit predominantly within NERC’s remit but can cross over into other research council areas.
Timing: this is a two-stage process. Outline proposals closing date in March; full proposals (by invitation only) closing date in November. The launch of the next large grants outlines funding opportunity, originally scheduled for autumn 2024, has been delayed. We intend to open the next opportunity in autumn 2025.
Funding: between £1.2 million and £3.7 million per award (at 100% full economic cost, of which we pay 80% full economic cost).
Assessment process: outline proposals, assessment panel. Full proposals, expert review and moderating panel with applicant interviews.
Grant duration: up to five years.
Demand management does not apply.
Find out more about the latest large grants entry on the funding finder.
Contact email: largegrants@nerc.ukri.org
Urgency funding
Urgency grants offer fast-track support to respond quickly to short-lived and unexpected research opportunities that would result in a missed opportunity to collect valuable data should you conform to other available funding opportunities.
These may be events affecting the environment created by the occurrence of sporadic natural events such as (but limited to):
- earthquakes
- droughts
- floods
- ephemeral events in ecosystems.
We expect projects to last up to one year and focus on urgent data collection and essential initial analysis. You must have a clear strategy for taking the research forward once the urgent phase is complete.
Timing: no closing date, two stage application process, outline proposal, then full proposal by invitation only.
Funding: up to £100,000 per award (at 100% full economic cost, of which we pay 80% full economic cost)
Assessment process: expert review with moderation by NERC Peer Review College member (target turnaround time one month from receipt of full proposal).
Grant duration: up to 12 months.
Demand management does not apply.
Find out more about urgency grants.
Contact email: urgencygrants@nerc.ukri.org