This funding opportunity aims to further the design and implementation of co-produced adaptation and mitigation strategies for vulnerable groups. Vulnerable groups are those currently most impacted by the effects of climate change, owing to both:
- physical vulnerability: heightened exposure to events related to climate change or poor infrastructure
- socioeconomic vulnerability: limited resources to prepare or respond to the impacts of climate change, including knowledge, technology or financial resources, or owing to conflict, security and fragility
The opportunity is supporting international teams to conduct research that is both:
- interdisciplinary: integrating information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts or theories from 2 or more disciplines or bodies of specialised knowledge
- trans-sectoral: involving the academic, research, economic (businesses), societal (governmental and non-governmental) organisations, and community sectors, as appropriate
International project teams must be interdisciplinary, incorporating expertise from across disciplines, as appropriate, to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies, and including expertise in the social sciences or humanities to address enabling factors such as:
- effective governance
- community capacity
- geopolitical and economic security
Research areas
The UKRI-funded component of projects must fall within ESRC or AHRC’s respective remits.
Find out more about ESRC’s remit, portfolio and priorities.
Find out more about AHRC’s remit, portfolio and priorities.
The research must focus on participatory and contextually and culturally appropriate mitigation and adaptation mitigation and adaptation responses to at least 2 of the 8 representative key risks of climate change highlighted in the Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):
- risks to low-lying coastal socio-ecological systems
- risks to terrestrial and ocean ecosystems
- risks associated with critical physical infrastructure, networks and services
- risks to living standards
- risks to human health
- risks to food security
- risks to water security
- risks to peace and to human mobility
Projects must focus on responding to the needs of those most impacted by the effects of climate change, such as:
- communities in low and middle-income countries or Indigenous territories
- groups that are vulnerable due to their geographic, social or economic circumstances
Projects are required to partner with a participating community or communities in the co-creation, implementation, and ownership of the research and outcomes, and to develop approaches related to policy implementation and knowledge mobilisation. The integration of team members from vulnerable groups is required.
Project teams will be comprised of co-principal investigators, co-applicants, and collaborators. Co-principal investigators share responsibility for the direction of the project and the coordination of proposed research activities, in addition to participating in the execution of the research project, whereas co-applicants and collaborators contribute to the execution of the research project.
Each project team must have representation from a minimum of 3 countries among the co-principal investigators and be eligible to receive funds from at least 2 consortium partners. At least 1 co-principal investigator must be eligible to apply to the Canadian New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) programme.
Please visit the NFRF website for further information.
Funding available
This opportunity will fund international consortia of researchers.
UKRI will fund the UK components of successful projects and is making a total of £6.5 million available for the funding opportunity.
The full economic cost of your project can be up to £500,000. UKRI will fund 80% of the full economic cost.
