NERC

Decision-makers are increasingly faced with the challenge of making our infrastructure resilient and mitigating the effects of extreme weather events and climate change. There is a wealth of data, knowledge and expertise in the UK research base that could address this challenge, but this valuable resource is often difficult to access and requires translating to be more readily used. NERC is investing £5 million into an Innovation Programme driven by the needs of business and decision makers.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is inviting proposals to its International Opportunities Fund (IOF). The IOF scheme provides resources to NERC-supported researchers to allow them to forge long-term partnerships with overseas scientists that add value to current NERC-funded science. IOF grants are pump-priming, to help stimulate novel research collaborations. Mature research collaborations should apply to NERC's Standard or Large Grant schemes, which allow for overseas project partnerships, or to other appropriate sources of funding.

The Valuing Nature Programme is inviting interested parties to contribute to the shaping of its forthcoming Health & Wellbeing call - to be announced in May 2015 - by completing the an online survey (deadline March 13th) 

NERC invites proposals for the first round of highlight topics, a new route for funding strategic research. Highlight topics focus strategic research on defined topic areas, and will be delivered through independent projects.

The highlight topics in this call are:

• Understanding and predicting anomalous trends in surface temperature and implications for decadal to centennial climate behaviour
• Environmental pathways, impacts and fate of manufactured nanomaterials
• Dynamics of freshwater ecosystems within an integrated landscape system

This year NERC expects to participate in a spending review that sets budgets for government departments, and ultimately research councils, for 2016-2020. A call for evidence has been launched which will inform decisions as to how NERC can most effectively invest in environmental science and innovation to continue to support UK priorities, balancing society's need to benefit from environmental resources whilst managing our environment responsibly.

The Innovation Projects call supports projects that are likely to generate little or no commercial return, but which will deliver impact.

The call aims to increase and accelerate the uptake and impact of NERC funded research output by supporting translational and knowledge exchange activity which delivers direct tangible and demonstrable benefits to end users. The Follow-on Fund is for those projects that aim to be fully commercialised with a revenue stream derived from licensing, spinouts, consultancy etc.

NERC has revealed the first tranche of highlight topics that will tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges facing us today.

NERC's Strategic Programme Advisory Group (SPAG) carefully considered 150 ideas submitted by the environmental science community during summer 2014 and developed several areas of research, called highlight topics. After reviewing the topics, NERC's Science & Innovation Strategy Board (SISB) has decided to pursue five:

This is a reminder that the closing date of NERC's inaugural Impact Awards is fast approaching.

There are four categories: Economic Impact, Societal Impact, International Impact and Early Career impact. There will also be an Overall Winner selected from the finalists, all of whom will be invited to the prize-giving ceremony in London on 27 January 2015.