NERC's international role
NERC plays a major role in funding and delivering global environmental research, supporting the UK environmental research community to produce science with a world-leading impact.
We collaborate with key regional, national and international partners to enable the UK's contribution to addressing environmental research challenges to be leveraged for maximum impact, by providing funding and services to enable UK scientists to collaborate with other scientists and to access infrastructure and data, world-wide.
NERC's International Plan supports the delivery of NERC Strategy.
The International Team at NERC's Swindon Office provides support to NERC's international activities through, for example:
- Supporting NERC's international policy and planning, including working with RCUK and other government partners to influence the priorities of the European Commission's Framework Programme
.
- Funding and managing RCUK overseas teams in China, India, USA and Brussels, which help NERC programmes and centres develop strategic partnerships in key countries.
- Building partnerships with major funders overseas, to deliver collaborative approaches to strategy development, funding calls, programmes and infrastructure, such as:
- founding Co-Chair of the Belmont Forum of funding agencies (with the US National Science Foundation)
- a Memorandum of Understanding with FAPESP , the Research Council for the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which removes barriers to collaboration by enabling a single review process for joint applications. This MoU has supported joint UK-Brazilian research projects through NERC's International Opportunities Fund and the Human-modified Tropical Forests research programme.
- a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences to promote exchange of scientific and technical expertise and joint activities in areas of mutual interest, including atmospheric, polar, biodiversity, ocean and hydrological research.
- member of Science Europe
- member of the Environment Working Group of the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructure (ESFRI)
- Funding subscriptions to enable UK scientists' participation in international programmes and networks.
- Administering grant funding schemes, focused on supporting international research collaborations. This includes the annual NERC International Opportunities Fund.
Announcement of Opportunity
Proposals are invited for the Belmont Forum and G8HORCs International Opportunities Fund. The deadline for pre-proposals is 20 July 2012, the closing date for full proposals is 20 December 2012.
Contact us
For any further information about NERC's international role, please contact:
International Team
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU