Exploring the frontiers of environmental research 2026

Exploring the frontiers of environmental research 2026 is sponsored by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Exploring the frontiers of environmental research 2026. Funding opportunity from Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Apply via the UKRI portal.

Exploring the frontiers of environmental research 2026 – UKRI Funding opportunity: Exploring the frontiers of environmental research 2026 Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Award range: £100,000 - £200,000 10 September 2026 9:00am UK time 12 November 2026 4:00pm UK time Apply for funding to pursue truly novel curiosity-driven environmental research that is at an early stage of development and has the potential to be transformative.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funding. Projects should focus on preliminary investigation that may inform future activities and applicants should articulate the potential for impact of the project outcomes. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be between £100,000 and £200,000.

NERC will fund 80% of the FEC. The duration of the award is a maximum of two years. This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility.

Check if your organisation is eligible To be eligible as a project lead, you must be: employed by an eligible UK research organisation We recognise that expertise is built through many routes, including industry experience, applied or practitioner roles, technical careers, non linear pathways and time spent outside academia.

Therefore, in line with Individual eligibility we focus on individuals’ talent, skills and capability to lead and deliver the proposed work, rather than formal qualifications and length in post. multidisciplinary research and collaborations with other organisations applications from individuals at all career stages Who is not eligible to apply An applicant may appear on a maximum of two applications submitted to this opportunity.

Of those two, they may be listed as project lead on only one. We strongly recommend institutions use an internal quality assurance process to: help ensure proposals are appropriately aligned with the scope of this opportunity contribute to efficiency within the peer review process and avoid very low success rates We will not accept uninvited application resubmissions that have previously been assessed by UKRI.

International researchers All other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) should be included as project partners. This includes organisations from the business or financial sectors. 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 UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Demand management is not currently being applied to this funding opportunity. However, should the level of interest exceed what can be managed within the assessment process, UKRI may introduce limits on the number of applications that can be submitted. Further details will be clearly communicated where this is the case.

UKRI encourages organisations to support applicants in preparing well-planned, high-quality applications that are competitive for funding relative to the funding opportunity This funding opportunity aims to enable researchers to test new ideas and approaches. As well as concepts at a stage when they are not yet sufficiently developed for standard funding routes and the outcomes are inherently uncertain.

By supporting innovative new lines of research and reducing the expectation for preliminary data, this opportunity intends to encourage a high-risk, high-reward culture in the application and assessment process. This funding opportunity supports early-stage, curiosity-driven environmental research with the potential to be transformative.

We are seeking to invest in our best researchers to pursue world-leading, truly novel, exploratory research projects, the outcomes of which could lead to a clear and significant advancement in knowledge, capability or application. Projects should focus on exploratory or preliminary investigation that may inform future activities, such as longer-term research activity, a commercialisation opportunity or influencing policy.

The proposed work should have the capacity to significantly reshape current and future thinking and introduce a new avenue of enquiry. The proposed research must sit predominantly within NERC’s research areas . We will work with other research councils to ensure that applications close to remit boundaries are assessed by the most appropriate lead council.

We encourage you to contact us first to discuss your application if you believe your research may cross research council boundaries. Applications must demonstrate how the funding opportunity’s environmental research scope is being met and projects must address clearly defined environmental science questions.

should be original and visionary, challenging current thinking and paradigms, representing a clear departure from existing research directions or establishing a completely new line of enquiry may include the development of new techniques to tackle existing problems must be early stage and untested, lacking preliminary data and perhaps involving creative or unconventional approaches to the research challenge may involve a high level of uncertainty or require a range of exploratory investigations, such that while there are clear aims to explore, the outcomes are neither predictable nor guaranteed can involve any combination of pure, applied, technology-led or policy-driven research, potentially crossing disciplinary boundaries Potential outcomes could include: generating a new discovery or insight that challenges current understanding testing an unconventional idea at a disciplinary interface opening novel research paradigms for further exploration in the longer-term demonstrating proof of principle establishing feasibility of a new or innovative approach Additional benefits may arise from funded projects, regardless of whether the original objectives are achieved, such as: establishing a new cross-disciplinary collaboration deriving key lessons learned from negative results or the disproving of a theory This opportunity is not intended to support: activities that would be supported through any other more appropriate funding opportunity (as determined by us) incremental developments along existing lines of enquiry (for example, extending previous work in a predictable way) established research programmes seeking further validation activities that are primarily non-research focused, or those focussed on the career development of an individual as a researcher (for example: networking, studentships, fellowships, infrastructure, equipment purchase, or training) applications that focus on methodological or technology development purely to address a specific end user’s need This funding opportunity aims to support early-stage innovative research projects that wouldn’t be supported elsewhere.

NERC has a high tolerance for risk where applicants have clearly thought about where risks may exist. do not require preliminary data expect projects to involve significant uncertainty accept that outcomes may not be predictable or guaranteed Assessment will focus on the potential reward, rather than the likelihood of success.

However, applicants must demonstrate that they have: thought critically about key risks identified plausible mitigation or alternative approaches considered what can still be learned if the core idea is disproved or objectives are not fully realised Applicants must include within their application a distinct, evidenced statement outlining the novelty of the proposed research, which can be interpreted by UKRI staff and generalist assessors.

Failure to do so may lead to an office rejection. The duration of the award is a maximum of two years. Projects must start by 1 May 2027.

Requests for delayed starts or extensions to the award to accommodate staff recruitment at the beginning of the project will not be allowed. The FEC of your project must be between £100,000 and £200,000. We will fund 80% of the FEC.

However, eligible costs for project co-lead (international) based in a Norwegian institution would be funded at 100% The project lead (PL) is required to cost their time for a minimum of 0. 2 FTE, ensuring that this individual has a substantive relationship to the proposed project, whilst enabling part-time and flexible working patterns. The PL may commit more time than this if required.

The total grant cost must include any service and facility costs. individual items of equipment over £25,000 costs for data archival and curation services. All costs for data archival and curation services will be paid directly to the NERC Environmental Data Service (EDS) on behalf of the programme and should not be included.

You should ensure that you request sufficient resource to cover preparation of data for archiving by the research team any specialist services, such as database development or project data management support, must be discussed with the relevant data centre before submission; costs for additional services will need to be funded from your grant For assistance on research data management planning please contact data@nerc. ukri.

org You can apply to use a facility or resource in your funding application. If you need to use a UKRI facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. See Using NERC facilities and resources for more information.

You should discuss your application with the facility or service in advance of submitting to the funding opportunity to: discuss the proposed work in detail receive confirmation that they can provide the services required within the timeframe of the funding You should ensure you have prior agreement from the facility before submitting to the funding opportunity and indicate this within your application.

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), Ship-time or Marine Equipment (SME) and the large research facilities at Harwell have their own policies for access and costing.

High Performance Computing (HPC) The UK Compute Roadmap was published in July 2025 detailing plans to evolve the UK Compute landscape. Given the evolving nature of UKRI’s HPC portfolio, if you require HPC services, please refer to Applying to use high performance computing services for the latest information on how to apply.

Ship-time and marine facilities Requests for ship-time and marine equipment from NERC’s marine facilities will be considered. However, any requests should be of an appropriate scale that reflects the size and duration of the award. All costs must be included within the maximum grant limit for this opportunity.

If you wish to use NERC’s marine facilities, then you should, see further information about facility availability and contact marineplanning@nerc. ukri. org to discuss your requirements as soon as possible.

We reserve the right to reject an application requesting marine facilities if we do not have assurance that delivery is feasible within the timeframes proposed. SMEs or ADFs must be submitted to, and approved by, NERC Marine Planning by the time your funding application is submitted. Applications submitted without an approved SME or ADF will be ‘office rejected’.

A PDF of the SME or ADF must be attached as a facility form to your application. If you do not do this, your request will not be considered for inclusion in the NERC Marine Facilities Programme. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Antarctic logistics support Requests for NERC BAS Antarctic logistics support will be considered.

However, any requested fieldwork should be of an appropriate scale that reflects the size and duration of the award. All costs must be included within the maximum grant limit for this opportunity. If you require NERC BAS Antarctic logistics support (ALS), then you must complete a Pre-Award Operational Support Planning Questionnaire (OSPQ) online.

OSPQs must be submitted as early as possible and approved by the Antarctic Access Office prior to submission to this funding opportunity. Applications submitted without an approved OSPQ will be ’office rejected’. All funding applications wishing to use Antarctic logistics support must add this to the facilities question in the application.

See further information on which ALS costs should be included in your application budgets . These costs should be clearly identified in your funding application and included in the ‘Resources and cost justification’ as £xxx for ALS. 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 applicants can find additional support.

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 12 November 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 .

As part of NERC’s commitment to evidence-based improvement, personal data submitted in connection with this call (successful and unsuccessful submissions) may be used for monitoring, evaluation, analysis and learning activities. Such processing will be undertaken in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation.

Analysis outputs will be aggregated and, where relevant, anonymised before reporting so that no individual can be identified. The purpose of this analysis is to support NERC’s internal learning and continuous improvement activities. However, high-level findings, trends and lessons learned may be shared with external audiences in a form that does not identify any individual.

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email exploringfrontiers@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 the application is an invited resubmission 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 . NERC may use data from both successful and unsuccessful applications for internal monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement activities.

Such processing will be undertaken in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation. Results of any analysis will be aggregated and anonymised, and although undertaken for internal purposes, high-level findings may be shared externally in a form that does not identify any individual or organisation. 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 or opportunity the project addresses potential applications and benefits clear statement of novelty which can be interpreted by UKRI staff and generalist assessors List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) project co-lead (international) (PcL(I)) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

The project lead is responsible for setting up and completing the application process on the Funding Service. The project co-lead international role may only be used for collaborators based in Norway, where NERC has a collaboration agreement in place. We do not otherwise accept funded project co-lead (international) applicants.

We expect these grants to begin promptly once awarded, so encourage you to have suitable individuals identified for each role at the point of submission. 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 . Primary discipline classification Please list up to five discipline areas that concisely encapsulate the core remit areas within your proposed research project. What UKRI are looking for in your response Copy and paste from the list below up to five discipline classifications to support the assessment process.

This information is used to determine eligibility for NERC funding and to assist in the selection of appropriate reviewers.

Boundary layer meteorology Climate and climate change Ecosystem-scale processes and land use Environmental biotechnology Environmental informatics Environmental microbiology Glacial and cryospheric systems Land – atmosphere interactions Land – ocean interactions Large scale atmospheric dynamics and transport Mantle and core processes Ocean – atmosphere interactions Physics and chemistry of Earth materials Planetary Surfaces and Geology Population genetics and evolution Radiative processes and effects Regional weather and extreme events Science-based archaeology (fossilised organisms) Science-based archaeology (geoarchaeology) Sediments and sedimentary processes Technology for environmental applications Upper atmosphere processes and geospace What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) 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 impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment Within the Vision section we also expect you to provide a distinct, evidenced statement outlining the novelty of the proposed research, which can be interpreted by UKRI staff and generalist assessors.

This should clearly state the features of your proposed work that are particularly novel, ambitious, adventurous or unique, and provide supporting evidence as appropriate. This statement is an essential requirement within the application. Failure to provide this will result in your application being deemed ineligible for assessment.

introduce the topic of research and explain its wider relevance, including sufficient references to explain the context of your proposed work within your field of research to generalist reviewers provide clearly defined aims and objectives, typically as a small number of bullet points describe the potential of your proposed work to deliver a genuine, distinctive advancement or added value via its outcomes, and who the beneficiaries might be justify why your proposed work requires an exploring the frontiers award (and cannot, therefore, be supported by more traditional funding routes) and how it fits the scope of the funding opportunity 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: identify and explain the particularly innovative, unconventional methodologies or approaches that will be explored identify key milestones where you may need to make decisions, track, or evaluate progress identify alternative approaches, or the learning potential, in the event of unexpected results provide a basic project plan detailing team responsibilities provide brief evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have the right balance of skills and expertise to deliver the proposed work 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. 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, whilst 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 on the next page. 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 on 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 your project does not involve genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies, you must confirm this on the next page.

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 on the next page.

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 UKRI 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. NERC 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 Have you submitted a related application to a previous NERC or UKRI funding opportunity?

What the assessors are looking for in your response you can use this response to note any linked work submitted to a previous UKRI opportunity add the text ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the textbox. If your response is ‘Yes’, then also provide the Funding Service application number, in the format APP*****, and confirm which opportunity your application was submitted to (for example, ‘Exploring the frontiers of environmental research’).

NCAS or NCEO Research Centre Is the application submitted under the auspices of either National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) or National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO)? What UKRI are looking for in your response Indicate either NCAS or NCEO if appropriate. Enter ‘N/A’ into the text box if your application is not submitted under either NCAS or NCEO.

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service. A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research.

This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment