Deadline: 01-Apr-2025
The UK Research and Innovation is inviting applications for its Opening up the Environment Grant Program.
Aim
- The aim is to fund up to 20 pilot grants that develop partnerships and identify the potential to increase the diversity of representation in the NERC community.
Funding Information
- The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £62,500.
- The duration of this award is nine months.
- Projects must start by 1 July 2025.
- Projects must end by 31 March 2026.
Eligible Cost
- They will fund facilities costs for this funding opportunity.
Ineligible Costs
- They will not fund:
- PhD studentship costs
- requests for equipment of £10,000 and over are not part of this funding opportunity. You should request smaller items of equipment (under £10,000 individually) under ‘Consumables (other directly incurred costs)’ in your application
- costs for ship and marine equipment (SME)
Eligible Projects
- Your project will set out equitable, inclusive plans to identify and include a broader diversity of people in the environmental solutions workforce of the future, contributing to increasing diversity and inclusion in the NERC community.
- Your project will undertake emerging work to test, scope and pilot approaches that showcase a broader range of people and skill sets to inspire those who have the potential to be part of the future talent pipeline and contribute towards delivering environmental science solutions.
- Your project will:
- explore and assess the potential your organisation or department has to increase, support and sustain diversity of representation to attract a wider talent pool to create the future research and innovation workforce that will enable and support NERC science. Your self-assessment should identify actionable activity to achieve project ambitions
- form new, or develop existing, partnerships that support the ambitions and actions needed to identify, include, and showcase individuals from the widest possible talent pool across the research and innovation sector to see “someone like me” working in environmental solutions. Plans will also consider how to increase the breadth of audiences who will be exposed to the skillsets and people delivering NERC science. Partnerships may include; regional partnerships, those with other institutions, other departments within your organisation and with charities or NGO’s who share and contribute towards your project’s ambitions
- evaluate the impact of your work undertaken from this funding opportunity including sharing relevant lessons learnt, and undertaking evaluation through your project
- Other areas you could consider with your project may include:
- social mobility
- geographic location
- lived experience
- intersectionality
Eligible Activities
- The activities you may wish to cover can include:
- those which contribute towards building relationships with new partners or building upon existing ones
- hosting collaborative meetings (digitally or in person)
- transport to meetings
- exploring the benefits of collaboration to addressing the potential your organisation or department has to achieve increasing diversity of representation
- payment to partners working on the project
- evaluation of existing partnerships, to inform future approaches
- co-creation of theory of change models
Eligibility Criteria
- This funding opportunity is open to research groups and individuals. They welcome applications from:
- individuals from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds
- individuals at any career stage, subject to NERC eligibility criteria
- 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
Ineligibility Criteria
- You may be involved in no more than two applications submitted to this funding opportunity. Only one of these can be as project lead.
- Project partners fund their own involvement. They will only fund minor incidental expenses, such as some travel costs, if needed for project partners.
For more information, visit UKRI.