Addressing environmental challenges: NERC highlight topics 2022

Apply for funding to address one of seven environmental ‘highlight topic’ research challenges.

You must be a UK resident and employed by an eligible UK research organisation.

Your proposal must address issues within only one of these topics:

• eco-evolutionary drivers of emerging antifungal resistance
• understanding and predicting changes in mountain water resources
• advances in halocarbon research
• mixing of stratified shelf sea biogeochemistry by offshore renewable energy
• wildfire management tools in the UK
• assessment and monitoring of urban geothermal resources
• microbial community dynamics.

The full economic cost of your project can be between £2.5 million and £5 million, depending on the topic you choose. NERC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.

Your project can last up to four years.

Start date

Projects will start no later than November 2022, except for projects subject to programming of ship-time or aircraft campaigns.

Individual eligibility

Normal individual eligibility applies and is in Section C of the NERC research grant and fellowships handbook.

Principal investigators and co-investigators may be involved in no more than two proposals submitted to this funding opportunity. However, they may only apply as the principal investigator on one proposal.

No associated studentships can be requested under this opportunity.

Research organisation eligibility UKRI research grants for all schemes may be held at:

• approved UK higher education institutions (HEI)
• approved research council institutes (RCI)
• independent research organisations (IRO)
• public sector research establishments (PSRE).

Check if your organisation is eligible for research and innovation funding.

IIASA Co-investigator eligibility rules apply to this funding opportunity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion NERC values equality, diversity and inclusion across all its funding programmes, and actively encourages proposals from diverse groups of researchers.