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UK IODP

Announcement of opportunity

Closing date for full proposals: 7 April 2010

To support UK membership in the international Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), NERC runs a UK research programme to enable UK scientists to:

  1. participate in and obtain material from drilling expeditions,
  2. ensure that IODP carries out the best and highest priority science, and
  3. capitalise on the results of IODP drilling and UK technologies, allowing them to benefit from technological advances in deep sea drilling.

The current phase of NERC's UK-IODP science support started in September 2008 and runs until 2013. Part of the funding for the programme is directed toward supporting research grants with the objective of taking forward IODP-related research in the UK.

Science support for the UK-IODP programme is funded through the NERC Research Programme funding stream (with the international subscription to IODP funded through the National Capability funding stream). Therefore, all projects funded by the programme will be expected to be strategically directed research. The UK-IODP Science Advisory Panel will provide guidance on the research themes for each of the funding rounds, based on their importance to achieving balanced research outputs from UK-IODP given the UK-IODP Science Plan and the fit with NERC strategy and research themes.

IODP-related research can also be, and is encouraged to be, applied for via the Responsive Mode research funding stream in NERC.

This Announcement of Opportunity calls for Standard and Small Grants with a closing date of 7 April 2010 at 16:00.

Standard Grant Proposals

The UK-IODP programme has a total of c. £1·5m (where this is 80% of Full Economic Costs) available to fund innovative standard grant proposals in three topic areas. Awarded grants will have a start date of no later than 1 August 2010. Topic areas are:

  1. Oceanic records of palaeoclimate as constraints on climate modelling
  2. Dynamics of the Earth's interior and its manifestation at the Earth's surface: processes and hazards at oceanic plate boundaries
  3. Microbiology/biogeochemical impacts and feedbacks and interactions of marine biosystems to a changing environment (to include deep-biosphere)

Small Grant Proposals

The UK-IODP programme has a total of c. £0·6m (where this is 80% of Full Economic Costs) available to fund innovative small grant proposals in four topic areas. Awards will be 18 months in duration with a start date of no later than 1 August 2010. Topic areas are:

  1. The Impact of Ocean Crust Generation and Alteration on the Oceans
  2. Technology Development: Proof of Concept studies for sampling, downhole sampling, downhole instrumentation and new measurements on cores
  3. The marine record of global biogeochemical cycles
  4. High resolution oceanic records of rapid environmental change

For full detail of potential projects under each topic heading, please see the full Announcement of Opportunity below.

Announcement of Opportunity (42KB)

How to apply

Proposals should be submitted at full economic cost via the Research Councils' Joint electronic-Submission system (Je-S). The 'scheme' should be completed as 'Directed FEC' and the 'call' as 'IODP'.

See the Je-S website for information on the Je-S process. Further information, including details on Full Economic Costing, is also available in the NERC Research Grants Handbook for Full Economic Cost Grants. Potential applicants are reminded that they and their institution must be registered with Je-S, in order to submit applications.

IODP-related research can also be, and is encouraged to be, applied for via the Responsive Mode research funding stream in NERC.

Standard NERC rules for institutional and investigator eligibility apply to all components of the call. For example, submissions must be made via UK universities or NERC-recognised bodies. An individual may only be lead Principal Investigator on one proposal, plus be involved in one further proposal as Co-Investigator (or be involved in two proposals as Co-Investigator).

The outcome of the assessment of full proposals should be known by August 2010. Awarded grants will have a start date no later than 1 August 2010.

Scientific queries regarding this Announcement of Opportunity should be directed to the Programme Science Co-ordinator, Dayton Dove.

Advice on application and administrative arrangements is available from the Programme Administrator, Katie Waiters.

Any queries regarding the Je-S system and submission of applications should be directed to the dedicated Je-S Helpdesk.

For further information please contact:

Katie Waiters
Tel: 01793 411693