Tagged / nerc

NERC Science Board – membership vacancies

Guidance

NERC is inviting applications from across the NERC science remit to join its key scientific advisory board, the Science Board (SB). NERC is seeking to recruit for up to three vacancies, to commence appointment in October 2017. SB is the key source of advice to NERC Council on science related issues.

For further information about SB and what is required to be a member, please see the document below.

Member profile and attributes (PDF, 72KB)

Further information and details of how to apply are available at: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/about/organisation/boards/science/nomination/

The closing date for applications is noon on Friday 16 June 2017.

Interviews will be held in London on Tuesday 25 July 2017.

NERC standard grants (July 17 deadline) – internal competition launched

Funding opportunities

nerc-logo-large

NERC introduced demand management measures in 2012. These were revised in 2015 to reduce the number and size of applications from research organisations for NERC’s discovery science standard grant scheme. Full details can be found in the BU policy document for NERC demand management measures at: http://intranetsp.bournemouth.ac.uk/policy/BU Policy for NERC Demand Management Measures.docx.

As at March 2015, BU has been capped at one application per standard grant round. The measures only apply to NERC standard grants (including new investigators). An application counts towards an organisation, where the organisation is applying as the grant holding organisation (of the lead or component grant). This will be the organisation of the Principal Investigator of the lead or component grant.

BU process

As a result, BU has introduced a process for determining which application will be submitted to each NERC Standard Grant round. This will take the form of an internal competition, which will include peer review. The next available standard grant round is July 2017. The process for selecting an application for this round can be found in the process document here – the deadline for internal Expressions of Interest (EoI) which will be used to determine which application will be submitted is 17th March 2016.  The EoI form can be found here: I:\R&KEO\Public\NERC Demand Management 2017.

NERC have advised that where a research organisation submits more applications to any round than allowed under the cap, NERC will office-reject any excess applications, based purely on the time of submission through the Je-S system (last submitted = first rejected). However, as RKEO submit applications through Je-S on behalf of applicants, RKEO will not submit any applications that do not have prior agreement from the internal competition.

Following the internal competition, the Principal Investigator will have access to support from RKEO, and will work closely with the Research Facilitator and Funding Development Officers to develop the application. Access to external bid writers will also be available.

Appeals process

If an EoI is not selected to be submitted as an application, the Principal Investigator can appeal to Professor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty, Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Any appeals must be submitted within ten working days of the original decision. All appeals will be considered within ten working days of receipt.

RKEO Contacts

Please contact Lisa Gale-Andrews, RKEO Research Facilitator – lgaleandrews@bournemouth.ac.uk or Jo Garrad, RKEO Funding Development Manager – jgarrad@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to submit an expression of interest.

Do you or a colleague think you have a solution to an environmental problem?

Knowledge Exchange

The Royal Society Of Edinburgh Logo NERC has agreed to support up to five new Enterprise Fellowships to boost the development of new businesses from investments in environmental research.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) Enterprise Fellowship scheme provides support to researchers and innovators who have promising business ideas.

The programme, delivered by the RSE with support from BBSRC, NERC, STFC and Scottish Enterprise, allows fellows to focus solely on developing their business idea. They receive one year’s salary, expert business training, business development funding and access to mentors from a pool of successful individuals in the commercial community.

The next call for applications is now open, closing on 9 November 2016.

More information, including eligibility and how to apply, is available on the RSE website.

NERC standard grants – internal competition closing soon

Funding opportunities

NERCFurther to the earlier blog post concerning the internal competition for NERC standard grants (January 2017 deadline), please be reminded that the closing date is this Thursday, 21 September. Further details can be found here, but, in outline, the process is as follows:

  • Internal call launched 11 August 2016
  • Internal call deadline 22 September 2016. Academic submits one page expression of interest on research to be carried out, stating aims, objectives, potential impact, and any collaboration – to Dr Jennifer Roddis, RKEO
  • From 22nd September, peer review takes place by DDRPP, BU academics with NERC experience, and external peer reviewers
  • Applicants will be informed of the decision regarding which application is to be taken forward on 3rd October. The successful applicant will then work with Dr Jennifer Roddis to develop, refine and draft their application before peer review in November and submission in January 2017.

 

 

NERC Science Board nominations invited

NERCMembership vacancies

NERC is inviting applications from across the NERC science remit to join its key scientific advisory board, the Science Board (SB). NERC are seeking to recruit for up to four vacancies, to commence appointment in January 2017 for a period of two years, with a possible two year extension. SB is the key source of advice to NERC Council on science related issues.

For further information about SB and what is required to be a member, please see the document below.

Member profile and attributes (PDF, 73KB)

NERC is committed to the principle of providing equal opportunities for all. They are keen to obtain more diversity in our public appointments so would welcome applications from a range of candidates from all backgrounds and from across all sectors of our diverse communities.

To nominate yourself or someone else for membership, please complete the appropriate sections of the SB application form below.

Application form (Word, 160KB)

In addition to your completed form, you will also need to provide a CV listing significant accomplishments, and a list of recent publications, if appropriate. Both the form and the CV should be returned, preferably electronically, to . Alternatively, paper copies should be sent to:

Laura Gemoli
NERC
Polaris House
North Star Avenue
Swindon
SN2 1EU

The closing date for applications is 16:00 on Friday 23 September 2016.

Interviews for a shortlist of candidates will be held in London on Tuesday 11 October 2016.

Contact

For further information please contact:

Lyndsey Jones
Secretariat officer to Science Board
01793 411609

NERC standard grants (Jan.17 deadline) – internal competition launched

Funding opportunities

NERC

NERC introduced demand management measures in 2012. These were revised in 2015 to reduce the number and size of applications from research organisations for NERC’s discovery science standard grant scheme. Full details can be found in the BU policy document for NERC demand management measures at: http://intranetsp.bournemouth.ac.uk/policy/BU Policy for NERC Demand Management Measures.docx.

As at March 2015, BU has been capped at one application per standard grant round. The measures only apply to NERC standard grants (including new investigators). An application counts towards an organisation, where the organisation is applying as the grant holding organisation (of the lead or component grant). This will be the organisation of the Principal Investigator of the lead or component grant.

BU process

As a result, BU has introduced a process for determining which application will be submitted to each NERC Standard Grant round. This will take the form of an internal competition, which will include peer review. The next available standard grant round is January 2017. The process for selecting an application for this round can be found in the process document here – the deadline for internal Expressions of Interest (EoI) which will be used to determine which application will be submitted is 22nd September 2016.  The EoI form can be found here: I:\R&KEO\Public\NERC demand management 2016.

NERC have advised that where a research organisation submits more applications to any round than allowed under the cap, NERC will office-reject any excess applications, based purely on the time of submission through the Je-S system (last submitted = first rejected). However, as RKEO submit applications through Je-S on behalf of applicants, RKEO will not submit any applications that do not have prior agreement from the internal competition.

Appeals process

If an EoI is not selected to be submitted as an application, the Principal Investigator can appeal to Professor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty, Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Any appeals must be submitted within ten working days of the original decision. All appeals will be considered within ten working days of receipt.

RKEO Contacts

Please contact Jennifer Roddis, RKEO Research Facilitator – jroddis@bournemouth.ac.uk or Jo Garrad, RKEO Funding Development Manager – jgarrad@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to submit an expression of interest.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.money

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

BBSRC and the MRC, under the Global Challenges Research Fund, invite expressions of interest for their call for Networks in Vector Borne Disease (VBD) Research. This call forms part of BBSRC’s and MRC’s activities under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) (see related links) and therefore requires Networks to address VBD challenges primarily relevant to the health or prosperity of Low and Middle Income Countries on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) DAC List. The funders aim to support multidisciplinary Networks which foster collaboration, facilitate wider cross-disciplinary integrative participation (including environmental and social science research) and build capability which together will contribute to and underpin the development of novel strategies to control VBD of plants, animals and humans. Five key research priorities have been identified: Development of new control strategies for VBD in particular non-chemical vector control methods such as genetic control; Increased understanding of fundamental vector biology and vector ecology; Understanding what is driving the emergence and expansion of VBDs; Increased understanding of vector pathogen interactions; Improved diagnostics, surveillance and forecasting.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: Expressions of interest 4pm, 03/11/16.

British Academy

British Academy, in collaboration with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the National Council for the State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) and the State Funding Agencies (FAPs) in Brazil, and the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society in UK, under the Newton fund programme, invites applications for its Fellowship and Young Investigator awards. In the State of São Paulo, the call is open for UK visiting researchers to visit research groups in São Paulo. FAPESP will also offer an opportunity for young investigators from the UK to start a research career in a university or research institution in the State of São Paulo through its Young Investigator Awards. The UK Academies will also offer Newton International Fellowships and Newton Advanced Fellowships to the Brazilian research community, covering the fields of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and medical (including clinical and patient-orientated research) sciences. Mobility grants will also be offered to the Brazilian research community, covering the fields of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and engineering.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 12pm (Brazil time), 24/10/16.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

EPSRC, on behalf of the RCUK Energy Programme (RCUKEP), invites applications for  the DoE NEUP programme. In particular the RCUKEP will support the UK component of proposals including US/UK collaboration in the following specific areas: Radioisotope Retention in Graphite and Graphitic Materials; Materials Ageing and Degradation; Reactor Safety Technologies; Materials Recovery; Advanced Waste forms; Advanced Fuels ; Used Nuclear fuel disposition: Disposal; Nuclear Energy Advanced modelling and simulation.UK applicants wishing to engage in this programme should liaise directly with their US partners. Appicants must submit an expression of interest (pre-applications), which shoulbe be submitted by the US partners to the DoE.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: Pre-aplications 14/09/16.

Medical Research Council

MRC and the ESRC invite applications for their Skills Development Fellowships, which enable early-career researchers to develop new skills in a priority area as well as researchers at all career stages willing to transform their career. The scheme currently invites proposals that focus on any of the following priority areas within a UK and/or global health context: Quantitative Skills – covering mathematics, statistics, computation and informatics applicable to any biomedical or health related data sources, from molecular to population level. These skills can be applied across the full range of the MRC’s remit, for example, cell biology, physiology, epidemiology, population and public health, and health psychology; Skills at the social science interface – with a focus on areas of health economics and/or mixed methods research.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 14/06/17.

Natural Environment Research Council

NERC invites application for its Follow-on Fund Pathfinder awards, which enable researchers to develop projects that will realise the commercial potential of NERC-funded research via a combination of complementary technical and commercial engagement work programmes. Pathfinder awards are designed to fill  knowledge gaps via activities such as market assessment and competitor analysis, intellectual property searches, engaging with potential commercial collaborators and end-users, and ‘milestone 1’ technical work where the technical feasibility of the whole project depends on it. The fund is open to researchers with current or past NERC funding. Proposals for Follow-on support must build on the outputs of recent or previous NERC-funded research activity.

Maximum award: £20,000 (80% fEC). Closing date: 4pm, 27/09/16.

The Royal Society

Royal Society, in collaboration with the EPSRC and Rolls-Royce, invites applications for its Industry Fellowships.  The Fellowships are for academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry and for scientists in industry who want to work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation. The scheme aims to enhance knowledge transfer in science and technology between those in industry and those in academia in the UK.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 29/09/16.

Royal Society and the National Natural Science Foundation of China invite applications for the cost-share programme of their International Exchanges scheme. This scheme is for scientists in the UK who want to stimulate new collaborations with leading scientists overseas through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel. The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering, but excluding clinical medicine.

Maximum award: £12,000. Closing date: 10/10/16.

Royal Society and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) invite applications for the cost-share programme of their International Exchanges scheme. This scheme is for scientists in the UK who want to stimulate new collaborations with leading scientists overseas through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel. The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering, but excluding clinical medicine.

Maximum award: £12,000. Closing date: 10/10/16.

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline. Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here. If you are thinking of applying, why not add an expression of interest on Research Professional so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.

Economic and Social Research Council

The Economic and Social Research Council, under the Research Councils UK and Fonds National de la Recherche, Luxembourg, bilateral agreement, invites proposals for its Research Grants Scheme. The scheme supports collaborative research in any area of social sciences within the remit of both ESRC and FNR. The UK part of the project must be a minimum of £350,000 and no more than £1 million (at 100% fEC).

Maximum award: £1 million. Closng date: 31/12/16.

Natural Environment Research Council

The Natural Environment Research Council, in collaboration with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Indian Department of Science and Technology, invites applications for their Water Quality in India Scoping Workshop. The workshop will take place in Delhi on 17th and 18th November 2016 and the aims of the workshop will be: to define the scope of a potential new UK/India interdisciplinary programme focussed on research contributing to improved water quality, and through this support the economic development and welfare of India; to facilitate links between the UK and Indian research communities in the area of water quality research.

Applications from researchers working in the fields of water quality, water engineering and related disciplines are welcome. NERC and EPSRC will cover all reasonable travel and subsistence expenses for UK participants attending the workshop.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 16/09/16.

The Natural Environment Research Council, under its Discovery Science programme, invites applications for its Standard Research Grants.  Discovery Science is a key component of delivering the strategy of NERC and is intended to facilitate the identification of the next generation of strategic priorities. The minimum that can be requested per complete proposal and per component is £65,000 and the maximum for complete proposal is £800,000 at 100 per cent full economic cost.

You must speak to your DDRPP and your Funding Development Officer before applying to this call. Bournemouth University can submit one application per round and operates a demand management process.

Maximum award: £640,000 (at 80% fEC). Closing date: 17/01/17.

Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust invites submissions for its Wellcome Book Prize.  The award is open to new works of fiction or non-fiction published by a UK based publisher or in-print between 1st January 2016 and 31 December 2016 (for the 2017 prize).

A book should have a central theme that engages with some aspect of medicine, health or illness. This can cover many genres of writing – including crime, romance, popular science, sci fi and history. The subjects these books might include birth and beginnings, illness and loss, pain, memory, and identity. The Wellcome Book Prize aims to excite public interest and encourage debate around these topics. Academic textbooks, scholarly monographs, diet books and picture-led books are not eligible, even if they are relevant to medicine or medical science.

Maximum award: £30,000. Closing date: 09/09/16 (recurring).

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline. Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here. If you are thinking of applying, why not add an expression of interest on Research Professional so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

 

NERC standard grants (Jan.17 deadline) – internal competition launched

Funding opportunities

NERC

NERC introduced demand management measures in 2012. These were revised in 2015 to reduce the number and size of applications from research organisations for NERC’s discovery science standard grant scheme. Full details can be found in the BU policy document for NERC demand management measures at: http://intranetsp.bournemouth.ac.uk/policy/BU Policy for NERC Demand Management Measures.docx.

As at March 2015, BU has been capped at one application per standard grant round. The measures only apply to NERC standard grants (including new investigators). An application counts towards an organisation, where the organisation is applying as the grant holding organisation (of the lead or component grant). This will be the organisation of the Principal Investigator of the lead or component grant.

BU process

As a result, BU has introduced a process for determining which application will be submitted to each NERC Standard Grant round. This will take the form of an internal competition, which will include peer review. The next available standard grant round is January 2017. The process for selecting an application for this round can be found in the process document here – the deadline for internal Expressions of Interest (EoI) which will be used to determine which application will be submitted is 22nd September 2016.  The EoI form can be found here: I:\R&KEO\Public\NERC demand management 2016.

NERC have advised that where a research organisation submits more applications to any round than allowed under the cap, NERC will office-reject any excess applications, based purely on the time of submission through the Je-S system (last submitted = first rejected). However, as RKEO submit applications through Je-S on behalf of applicants, RKEO will not submit any applications that do not have prior agreement from the internal competition.

Appeals process

If an EoI is not selected to be submitted as an application, the Principal Investigator can appeal to Professor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty, Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Any appeals must be submitted within ten working days of the original decision. All appeals will be considered within ten working days of receipt.

RKEO Contacts

Please contact Jennifer Roddis, RKEO Research Facilitator – jroddis@bournemouth.ac.uk or Jo Garrad, RKEO Funding Development Manager – jgarrad@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to submit an expression of interest.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.

Economic and Social Research Council

ESRC invites applications for an Understanding the Macroeconomy Network Plus. The aim of the network is to develp the capacity needed to sustain a substantive policy-oriented research programme, which is focussed on the macroeconomy. The Network will include representatives from the policy community and the private sector as well as academics from the economics profession and other disciplines which have the potential to add value in this area. It will be charged with providing leadership in connecting interdisciplinary research groups and networks, ensuring the new initiative can best add value in the context of existing capacity and current research agendas (whether or not ESRC-funded).

Maximum budget: £3.7 million. Closing date for outline proposals: 4pm, 20/09/16.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

EPSRC is inviting tenders for a contract to run a mid-range facility providing a high-specification electron microscopy  service to the UK academic community and other users. Full details of how to apply will be in the relevant published OJEU and Contracts Finder notices. The contract will run initially for three years with an option to extend it to five years subject to a review. Bidders will need to provide information on the specification of the equipment they intend to operate, the facilities and the service they intend to provide, the staffing of the facility and the cost of the service.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 07/09/16.

Global Food Security

Global Food Security, in collaboration with  BBSRC, ESRC, NERC and the Scottish Government, invites applications for its second call on Resilience of the UK food system in a global context. There are three overlapping thematic priorities in the programme. Proposals should address one or more thematic priorities and are encouraged to take a food systems approach

  • Optimising the resilience of agricultural systems and landscape whilst enhancing productivity and sustainability
    At the core of this theme is understanding the relationship between resilience, sustainability and production and how to optimise the trade-offs associated with these tensions. This will help ensure agricultural systems and landscapes that are both resilient and sustainable and balance the provision of food with other ecosystem services in the face of evolving world-wide changes and threats
  • Optimising resilience of food supply chains locally and globally
    This theme is focused on understanding the economic, environmental, biological and social factors affecting the food supply chain, and the interplay between these, to ensure resilience of the food system at a local-to-global level
  • Influencing food choice for health, resilience and sustainability at the individual and household level
    Central to this theme is understanding the drivers behind food choices and how these impact on the wider food system and production, in order to identify interventions that result in provision of nutritious and sustainable food in more resilient and equitable ways

Maximum award: £2.8million. Closing date: 10/11/16.

Natural Environment Research Council

NERC invites applications for access to its High Performance Computing Facilities. Users will be allocated to one of three HPC consortia- oceanography and shelf seas; atmospheric and polar sciences; mineral and geophysics.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 12/09/16.

Medical Research Council

MRC invites outline proposals for its Stratified Medicine Initiative call – disease-focused partnerships to stratify for patient benefit. This call aims to support consortia to address disease areas where there is a strong case for scientific advancement and major unmet clinical need. Proposals should clearly describe and justify why a particular disease area is likely to contribute important understanding of disease, whether employing stratification by response to treatment or by risk, diagnosis and/or prognosis. The consortia must: build upon existing scientific and clinical expertise; utilise clinical research infrastructure, such as that provided by the National Institute of Health Research, Scottish Government Health Directorates, National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, Welsh Government and Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland; forge significant links with industrial partners.

Total budget: £15million. Closing date: Outline applications due 4pm 01/12/16.

Wellcome Trust

Wellcome Trust invites applications for its Investigator Awards in Science, which fund researchers at all career stages working on important questions of relevance to their scientific remit.

Maximum award: £3million. Closing date: 21/11/16.

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline.

Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

NERC Peer Review College call for membership 2016

ANERCpplication deadline: 15 August 2016

NERC is recruiting for Peer Review College (PRC) members, core panel members and panel chairs to refresh its current membership and support its peer review processes. College members have a vitally important role in the peer review of discovery science grants and provide specialist advice, either by reviewing individual grant applications or by acting as panel members and panel chairs. College membership provides an excellent opportunity to represent the NERC community and hold a critical position, providing the subject expertise which is essential to the effectiveness of the NERC’s decision-making processes.

NERC are looking for members with experience in all types of environmental sciences, including observational sciences. Those selected will play a vital role in determining the research that NERC funds and in maintaining its quality.

In particular, NERC would like to enhance membership with the following areas of expertise:

  • Aerosol science
  • Argon-argon dating
  • Atmospheric convection
  • Atmospheric modelling
  • Climate modelling
  • Geo-dynamo
  • Geological carbon storage
  • Marine biology
  • Meteorology (weather prediction / extreme events / techniques)
  • Multiphase fluid flow
  • Physical oceanography
  • Plant biology
  • Population modelling
  • Satellite retrievals
  • Science based archaeology
  • Sea ice
  • Solar terrestrial physics
  • Statistical ecology
  • Theoretical ecology

NERC is committed to the principle of providing equal opportunities for all. NERC are keen to attain more diversity in our public appointments, so would welcome applications from a range of candidates from all backgrounds and from across all sectors of our diverse communities.

All appointments would start from 1 January 2017.

We are seeking candidates for the following roles:

Panel chairs

Nine exceptional individuals are required to take on the key role of chairing our discovery science moderating panels and fellowship sift and interview panels in each of our panel portfolio areas.

In the first year of appointment, successful applicants will act as deputy to the existing chairs, before taking up the post of chair themselves in January 2018. Chairs will be recruited for four years (one year as a deputy plus three as a chair). They will be required to attend an annual chairs meeting and must be prepared to hold the dates that will be provided for future moderating panel meetings.

PRC chair application form (Word, 56KB)

Core panel members

Individuals are required to join the core membership of each of our panel portfolios areas.

Core members are needed to join the existing panel portfolios. These members will be asked to complete reviews in the same way as other Peer Review College members but will have lead responsibility for attending moderating panel meetings to ensure consistency within and between different panel areas and funding schemes.

PRC core application form (Word, 56KB)

Peer Review College members

New college members with a high level of expertise and experience.

PRC members will have a lead responsibility for completing reviews as part of the peer review process but will be asked to attend moderating panels meetings where their expertise is required, according to the proposals submitted.

PRC member application form (Word, 54KB)

Conditions of membership

In accepting the invitation to join the college, all members are expected to agree to NERC’s terms and conditions for membership.

College terms and conditions (PDF, 71KB)

Application process

All roles are open to any members of the environmental sciences community who meet the criteria for membership. Recruitment to the core membership will be focused on members of the PRC who have performed well with reviewing and on panels, and who meet any extra criteria for the PRC core. Recruitment to the chair roles will be mainly from the core membership. In exceptional cases, there may also be a case for inviting other individuals, who have previously contributed significantly to NERC peer review, to cover particular expertise needs or to help address the current gender imbalance.

NERC require detailed information about each candidate’s expertise, experience and suitability for the roles on offer, as detailed in the membership criteria.

Criteria for membership (PDF, 73KB)

Each application must be supported by a senior colleague within a higher education institution or other research organisation. The supporting statement can be associated with different organisations if appropriate.

Email the completed form to by 15 August 2016, along with a CV (maximum two sides A4 including a list of publications).

Applicants will be informed of decisions in October 2016.

Selection process and criteria

NERC welcome UK-based applicants / nominees from all research backgrounds who are ready to make the necessary commitment to the peer review process. NERC will consider how applicants / nominees fit our criteria for membership for each role.

They also need to ensure coverage of NERC’s wide remit and to avoid over-representation from any single department or organisation. Therefore they cannot always invite even excellent candidates to join the college when they apply.

NERC Peer Review College chairs and members of Science Board will be involved in the selection of Peer Review College members. Membership will be posted on the NERC Peer Review College website when the recruitment has been finalised.

Further information

Further information on college membership is available online or by contacting:

Andy Adams
Peer review college manager
01793 442503

Emma Devine
Peer review college co-ordinator
01793 411792

NERC/AHRC/ESRC GCRF Building Resilience call

Funding opportunities

NERCAs part of the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the UK research councils, led by NERC, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), are taking a leadership role in generating inter-disciplinary research and communities which can address the issue of ‘Building Resilience’.

AHRC_logo_anniversaryBuilding resilience rests on the ability to take a holistic approach which encompasses environmental knowledge, socio-economics, infrastructure, governance, and the history and culture of a community or region that is affected. It will require new inter-disciplinary research and recognition of the importance of engaging with local actors to understand what knowledge is required and how it can be implemented to design solutions that help all parts of society.

ESRC logoThe call is open to proposals addressing resilience to natural and man-made environmental hazards in a range of developing world contexts. The focus is on how to build resilience in relation to both sudden and slow-onset environmental hazards (eg land-degradation, deforestation, drought, hurricanes, climate change) taking into account the intersections and relationships with other contexts such as conflict and fragility, poverty and famine, urbanisation, economics and health / disease risks.

The call will fund foundation-building activities to stimulate the creation of inter-disciplinary international research communities; to enable broader, deeper and more effective collaborations with beneficiaries and user organisations at the forefront of the development agenda; test new innovative ideas and inter-disciplinary approaches for addressing the issue of developing resilience. All proposals are expected to take an inter-disciplinary approach, bringing together environmental science with social science and arts and humanities.

A total of £3.3 million of funding is available for this call. Awards are expected to vary in scale according to the nature of the activities proposed and not to exceed £200,000 (at 100 per cent full economic costs). The funders anticipate funding 15-20 projects ranging from 3-9 months. A small number of projects of 12 months duration can be funded. Successful projects will be expected to start no later than 1 November 2016.

The closing date for applications is 16.00 on 6 September 2016.

Networking-300x140Workshop

There will be a workshop on 19 July 2016 to provide more information on the call and facilitate the development of collaborations between academics from different disciplines and between academics, beneficiaries and users. To apply to attend please complete the online application form by 27 June 2016.

Further information

Further details about the call and workshop can be found on the NERC website.  If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact the RKEO Funding Development Team in the first instance.

Opportunity to join the Strategic Programme Advisory Group

NERC is seeking applications to help steer the future of UK environmental science by joining its Strategic Programme Advisory Group (SPAG). SPAG makes recommendations to NERC’s Science Board and the NERC Executive on how to invest NERC’s strategic research funding through highlight topics or strategic programme areas.

Members, will be drawn from a wide range of environmental science disciplines and sectors, including academia, policymakers, business and NGOs. You will be an innovative thinker, an expert in your area of environmental science or profession. You will have the ability to recognise emerging ideas and opportunities across the whole of NERC’s remit. You should also be able to take a visionary perspective and be skilled at making judgements across a range of scientific, strategic and policy issues.

Appointments will be for one year in the first instance, with the possibility of extension for a further two years. It is expected that the role will require six days per year for meetings plus additional preparation time.

If you are interested in applying for this opportunity, you will find further information here.

NERC_ Oil and gas decommissioning brokerage event

Funding opportunities

As part of the Oil and Gas Innovation Programme, NERC invites applicants to participate in a one-day interactive brokerage event on decommissioning and its environmental management, with the ultimate aim of funding research translation projects which address industry challenges related to:

  • Development of environmental baselines and innovative monitoring techniques and approaches.
  • Data management, sharing, access and collaboration.
  • Impact of man-made structures on the natural environment and options for decommissioning.

Following the event, £850k will be available for research translation projects. Participants will have the opportunity to develop and submit a research translation project proposal through Je-S. Proposals will only be accepted from those who have participated in the brokerage event.

Further information is included in the announcement of opportunity below:

Announcement of opportunity (PDF, 763KB)

Deadline for applications Monday 6th June at 16:00