Environmental sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2026

Environmental sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2026 is sponsored by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Funding to create new and sustainable global partnerships in environmental science, requiring at least one new international partner.

Environmental sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2026 – UKRI Funding opportunity: Environmental sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2026 Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Taiwan 5 May 2026 9:00am UK time 16 July 2026 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 2 June 2026 - see all updates Apply for funding to create new and sustainable global partnerships within NERC remit.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding and in a role that meets the individual eligibility requirements. include at least one new international partner focus on activities that require international expertise The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £100,000. NERC will fund 80% of the FEC.

We will fund your project for up to two years. Applications including partners in Brazil or Taiwan may be eligible for co-funding from FAPESP or NSTC, respectively. This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility.

Check if your organisation is eligible . Before applying for funding, check your project is in our remit . This funding opportunity is open to research groups and individuals.

We: encourage multidisciplinary research and collaborations with other UK organisations welcome applications from individuals at any career stage, subject to NERC eligibility criteria Who is not eligible to apply You can only submit one application as either project lead or project co-lead.

apply as project leads and project co-leads (previously principal investigators and co-investigators) in two consecutive years hold an active Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund grant either as project lead or project co-lead at the time of the closing date International researchers You should include all international collaborators, including your new international partner(s), (and UK partners not based at approved organisations) within the ‘Project partner’ section, not within your core team.

This includes organisations from the business or financial sectors. Project partners fund their own involvement. We will only fund travel and subsistence of a maximum of £15,000 for international project partners.

This is funded at 100% FEC. Project partners in Brazil or Taiwan eligible for funding from FAPESP or NSTC respectively can receive funding from these funding organisations. Further details are included in ‘What we are looking for’.

Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity 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: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process. Demand management is not being applied to this funding opportunity.

The Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund (GPSF) enables UK researchers to develop new international partnerships and networks, which underpin the development of long-term sustainable collaborations. Developing new international partnerships and networks within natural environment science supports the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) mission of advancing knowledge, improving lives and driving growth.

New international partnerships support curiosity driven research across the globe to better understand our planet and to leverage expertise and build bigger collaborative projects. By understanding our planet within a changing climate and changing human interactions with our environment, we are able to drive growth which is sustainable and long-term.

Proposed collaborations within this GPSF programme may involve international research partners from any country and in any science area within NERC’s remit . Although the majority of the application should lie within NERC remit, environmental science-led multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborations with international partners are welcomed.

The aim of the GPSF is to support development of partnerships that are: international (from any country) new (partners you have not collaborated with previously) long-term (that will be self-sustaining beyond the lifetime of the grant) While some exploratory elements are expected, your application must include specific scientific objectives.

Your vision and approach should be developed alongside your international partnership to advance areas of science that could not be achieved from working with UK partners. You should ensure there is an even balance between partnership building activities and direct research, considering the key objectives of the funding opportunity.

Supported activities may include but are not limited to: programmes of exchange visits or staff secondments establishing networks on a common research area scoping, feasibility or proof of concept studies New collaborations may enable UK researchers and international partners to share: unique or complementary data In all cases, activities must be undertaken with the clear and demonstrable intention of developing long-term sustainable collaborations.

We are often asked what constitutes a ‘new’ partnership for the purposes of this funding opportunity and have developed the following guidance: neither you nor your primary project partner should be the lead author on a peer-reviewed paper where the other is a co-author (as lead author we consider you will have worked directly with everyone on the paper) you shouldn’t have co-authored in any capacity more than two papers together (we consider that more than this suggests you work in the same groups regularly and therefore can partner without the support of GPSF) you should not have received funding for any joint project together previously you should not be partnering with someone who you worked in the same lab or department previously you should not partner with your PhD supervisor or student Note, this does not cover all scenarios, panel members assess this based on their own judgement under the principles of peer review assessment.

Nor will we consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Some partnerships will fall outside these boundaries and will still not be considered new on final assessment. Our decision is final and there is no appeal.

The inclusion of one or more international project partners is mandatory. They should be included within the ‘Project partner’ section and not your core team. To maximise the quality of the activity and its potential to develop long-term sustainable partnerships, international project partners must have an integral role in the proposed work.

You can work with project partners from any country around the globe, outside the UK.

You should note the following when considering potential partners: the international partner should bring expertise that is not available within the UK the quality of partnerships should be the primary criteria rather than the number of international partners while existing long-standing international partners are welcome to participate, the application must primarily involve developing new international project partnerships UKRI believes freedom to work without fear of reprisals is essential and international collaboration is vital in addressing the global challenges we all face.

However, you are strongly encouraged to consider the current geopolitical environment and any conflict situations that may affect your ability to develop a partnership with your international partner. The GPSF team will be pleased to consult specifically on questions arising in this area. See ‘Contact details’ and get in touch.

Details of the project partners and their contributions to the project must be recorded in the appropriate sections of the application. Applications with international partners in São Paulo, Brazil This funding opportunity will accept joint applications with researchers in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, under the terms of the UKRI-São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) lead agency agreement (PDF, 260KB).

Eligible Brazilian project partners can receive funding support from FAPESP. You should refer to the FAPESP guidance (PDF, 144KB) and: include ‘NERC-FAPESP’ as a prefix to your application title include your Brazilian investigator as a project partner in the application question on project partners.

The project partner contribution should be the budget requested from FAPESP register under FAPESP’s SAGe system attach the FAPESP submission (SAGe ‘Visualise’) in the question ‘FAPESP or NSTC joint funding’ Learn more about FAPESP .

Applications with international partners in Taiwan This funding opportunity will accept joint applications with researchers from Taiwan under the NERC-National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (NSTC) memorandum of understanding. Eligible Taiwanese project partners can receive funding support from NSTC.

You should refer to the NSTC guidance (PDF, 114KB) and: include ‘NERC-NSTC’ as a prefix to your application title include your Taiwanese investigator as a project partner in the application question on project partners.

The project partner contribution should be the budget requested from NSTC attach the completed NSTC budget form (DOCX, 215KB) as a PDF in the question ‘FAPESP or NSTC joint funding’ For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional information’ section. The duration of this award is a maximum of 24 months. Projects must start by 1 February 2027.

The FEC of your project can be up to £100,000. NERC will fund 80% of the FEC with the following exception; a maximum of £15,000 towards your international partners’ travel and subsistence costs during visits or exchanges. All travel and subsistence for international project partners will be payable at 100% of actual costs.

For projects seeking support from FAPESP or NSTC, you may still use this allowance, or part of it. However, you should carefully consider and make clear which costs are supported by NERC and why. conference attendance, including registration fees and associated travel and subsistence costs requests for equipment of £25,000 and over are not part of this funding opportunity.

You should request smaller items of equipment (under £25,000 individually) under ‘Consumables (other directly incurred costs)’ in your application standard office computing equipment all international project partner costs, such as, salary and estates costs, except for travel and subsistence up to £15,000 You can apply to use a facility or resource in your funding application.

You should discuss your application with the facility or service at least two months before the funding opportunity’s closing date to: discuss the proposed work in detail receive confirmation that they can provide the services required within the timeframe of the funding The facility will provide a technical assessment that includes the calculated cost of providing the service.

NERC services and facilities must be costed within the limits of the funding. You should not submit the technical assessment with the application, but you must confirm you have received it. For more information, see the NERC research grants and fellowships handbook .

Read the full list of NERC facilities that require a technical assessment . High Performance Computing (HPC) and the large research facilities at Harwell have their own policies for access and costing. Supporting skills and talent We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment .

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where you can find additional support.

You must adhere to UKRI open research policy and NERC data policy and complete the ‘Data management and sharing’ question. For details of data centres, see the NERC Environmental Data Service . We will pay the data centre directly on behalf of the programme for archival and curation services, but you should ensure that you request sufficient resource to cover preparation of data for archiving by the research team.

Additional services from the data centres, such as database development or a specialist in project data management during your project, will need to be discussed with the relevant data centre prior to submission, costs for additional services will need to be funded from your grant. Through our funding processes, we seek to make a positive contribution to society and the environment.

This is not just through research outputs and outcomes but through the way in which research is conducted and facilities managed. All NERC grant holders are to adopt responsible research practices as set out in the NERC responsible business statement . Responsible research is defined as reducing harm or enhancing benefit on the environment and society through effective management of research activities and facilities.

Specifically, this covers: equality, diversity and inclusion You should consider the responsible research context of your project, not the host institution as a whole. You should take action to enhance your responsible research approach where practical and reasonable. We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service, so please ensure that your organisation is registered.

You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application. Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page: Confirm you are the project lead. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers.

If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.

Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant. Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . NERC must receive your application by 16 July 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines. Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

NERC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications. We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice .

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email gpsf@nerc. ukri. org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

Institutional matched funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations.

Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged. This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

NERC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What NERC has funded . If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research . In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses how you will develop your new partnership with your international partner(s) potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

Your international project partner(s) should not be listed in your core team but should instead be named in the ‘Project partner’ section and their role included in all other relevant sections (vision, approach, applicant and team capability to deliver, international partnerships). UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type.

Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications . What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your proposed work: has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area is timely given current trends, context, and needs Within the Vision section we also expect you to: describe the aim of your new international partnership(s) References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how you have designed your approach so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable) will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work Within the Approach section we also expect you to: describe the specific intellectual and material contributions of each partner References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Applicant and team capability to deliver Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have: the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the R4RI format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and your team including your international project partner(s) and any project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, and so on have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings: contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships contributions to the wider research and innovation community contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit what expertise your new international project partner contributes that is not available in the UK Provide any further details relevant to your application.

This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them). This section should not be used as extra space for the R4RI.

Applicants are warned that panellists will be asked to disregard anything over the 1,650-word limit that is not being used for additional context (for example, career breaks). Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section. The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles. Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) What are the ethical and RRI considerations, implications and issues relating to the proposed work?

If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated: the relevant ethical and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, while minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project If you are collecting or using data you should identify: any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing and storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data) formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving: genetically modified organisms You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Please refer to the UKRI position statement on funding ethical research and Responsible innovation for more information around our expectations on ethical and responsible research and innovation. Animal involvement and ‘3Rs’ You must complete this section about how your proposed project will involve or impact animals.

If your project does not involve or impact animals, you must confirm this. what animals you are involving the severity of the procedures you are using where the procedures will take place welfare standards you aim to meet the relevance of your project to the development, validation or dissemination of the 3Rs You may also need to download, complete, and upload at least one set of additional questions.

You will be told how to do this towards the end of this section. To complete this section and check whether your project is in the scope of the questions, refer to the UKRI policy for research and innovation involving animals . UKRI policy relates to all animals in the Kingdom Animalia, including vertebrates and invertebrates.

Genetically modified organisms and biological risk You must complete this section if your project will include genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies. If you project does not involve genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies, you must confirm this.

the type of organism your project will involve and the procedures your project will include the intended use of the organism or genetic technology the genetic, biological and environmental risks of your project For more information, see UKRI’s guidance on genetic technologies . Human participation in health-related research You must complete this section about whether your project will include human participation.

If your project does not involve human participation, you must confirm this. what type of human participation your project includes the project design for human participation the phase of the clinical trial whether the project will be in an NHS setting, if so how the project will be registered whether diversity and inclusion will be considered For more information, see UKRI’s guidance for human participants in research .

Resources and cost justification What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular: significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences) any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities all facilities and infrastructure costs all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’ You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project.

For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders . Where a funding limit is imposed on the opportunity, requested costs for reasonable adjustments may exceed the maximum funding amount. Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources.

Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work: are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes maximise potential outcomes and impacts International partnerships How will you develop and sustain your new international partnership?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how you will develop your international partnership(s) by: describing how the primary international partnership is with a new partner demonstrating how the international partner brings expertise that is not available within the UK describing your plans for long-term collaboration including: how the partnership will develop beyond the duration of the grant the likely research subject of a potential follow-on grant Within this section we also expect you to clearly describe which international partnership is new and which is an existing collaboration, if you have included more than one international partner.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. References may be included within this section.

FAPESP or NSTC joint funding Are you submitting your application with either FAPESP or NSTC joint funding? What the assessors are looking for in your response If not, enter ‘N/A’ into the text box, mark this section as complete and move on to the next section.

If your application is seeking co-funding for international partners from either Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in Brazil or the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in Taiwan, you should provide the name of the agreement in the text box. You should include further detail of the team, the collaboration and the added value to the project in the appropriate sections of the application, not here.

For joint funding with FAPESP you should include the SAGe visualization from FAPESP’s funding system as a single PDF attachment in this section. For joint funding with NSTC include the completed NSTC budget form as a single PDF attachment in this section. Upload a single PDF containing the international funder documentation ensuring it is not larger than 8MB, if applicable.

For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives to your application when