Pushing the frontiers of environmental research: January 2026 (Grant)

This funding opportunity supports researchers' curiosity and imagination to enable discoveries that unlock new knowledge with a degree of adventure previously unrealised. NERC is seeking to invest in environmental researchers to be truly adventurous and ambitious in the pursuit of curiosity-driven, high risk and high reward projects. The research must sit predominantly within NERC's research areas and can support pure, applied, technology-led or policy driven research, provided it addresses clearly defined scientific questions. NERC welcomes multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, designed, supported and delivered in partnership with other research funders and research users. Awards are usually between three and four years in duration, with a full economic cost of up to £950,000, of which NERC will fund 80%.