Opportunity status:
Upcoming
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£2,835,000
Maximum award:
£708,750
Publication date:
6 February 2025
Opening date:
8 July 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
21 January 2026 4:00pm UK time
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful Opening up the Environment 2025 application.
Apply for funding to deliver activities to increase the diversity of the UK environmental science community.
You must be:
* based at a UK research organisation eligible for Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funding
* in a role that meets individual eligibility requirements
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £708,750. We will fund 80% of the FEC.
The award is for 24 months.
This is a pre-announcement and the information may change. The funding opportunity will open on 8 July 2025. More information will be available on this page by then.
Who can apply
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful Opening up the Environment 2025 application (hereafter termed ‘stage one’).
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
Project teams from stage one are welcomed to apply individually or collaborate on joint applications to this funding opportunity.
Before applying for funding, check the following:
* * *, if you are unsure whether your proposed research falls within the remit of NERC
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.
For full details, visit .
Who is eligible to apply
This funding opportunity is open to invited team members from successful stage one applications, as members of an inclusive leadership team. Members of the team may have changed from stage one of funding.
Full information about the inclusion of the leadership team is detailed in the ‘What we are looking for’ section.
Applications to this funding opportunity can include new project co-leads (previously co-investigator) and can be based at a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding. For this NERC funding opportunity, project co-leads may also be based at UK businesses, third sector or government organisations.
Read for details of eligible organisations and costs. Note that costs associated with project co-leads from a UK business, third sector or government organisation’s contribution to a project must not exceed 30% of the overall cost of the grant at 100% FEC. Additionally, eligible costs differ amongst organisation types, for example, for government organisations we will only fund travel and subsistence.
Other ways different organisations can be involved include:
* project partners: people who will not receive funding directly from the award but will have an integral role in the proposed project. Minor directly incurred costs, such as some travel costs, are acceptable
* subcontractors: people responsible for providing a service only
* dual roles: an organisation or individual can act as both a project partner and be paid non-minor costs to be covered by a subcontract, however this must be fully justified. An example of where dual roles might be required is when an organisation or individual is giving to the project in kind but are also funded to deliver other work to the project
Who is not eligible to apply
You may be involved in no more than one application submitted to this funding opportunity.
Project partners fund their own involvement. We will only fund minor incidental expenses, such as some travel costs, if needed for project partners. You may want to consider the use of dual roles to ensure equitable payments are received by contributing parties.
International applicants
As our research council (NERC) is the lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’.
We do not fund overseas organisations, except for specific costs for project co-leads from Norway and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Read more about this in the .
You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners. This includes organisations from the business or financial sectors.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
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
for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.