Fellowship placement opportunities

Fellowship policy placements are organised by NERC in collaboration with a policy-making body, for example a government department, devolved administration or agency. The applicant applies for the position, which will be for a fixed term and on a specified topic. The placement is jointly funded by NERC and the partner organisation on a 50:50 basis, with the exception of NGOs, who are asked to provide 25% of the funding.

Eligibility

Normally the fellowship will be taken up by those in early to mid-career, that is, those researchers having been involved in research for 5-10 years after completing their PhD, or policy makers with at least 2 years experience. In exceptional circumstances, we may appoint a more experienced applicant.

Sabbatical arrangements available to the applicant will not count towards the fellowship period, but could add value to it, before or after.

Duration

The minimum period for a fellowship will be three months and the maximum a year. Some flexibility may be negotiated on the proportion of time devoted to the award. Shorter awards are expected to be full-time.

Location

Placement fellows will normally be expected to spend at least 50 per cent of the placement in the partner organisation's offices, although some work might require time to be spent at other locations in the UK or abroad.

Conditions of work

All placement fellows must adhere to their employer's and the host organisation's requirements of independence from political or commercial interest through the placement. Fellows will need to give undertakings to respect a confidentiality agreement, specifying that data on policy advice and internal debate will not be disclosed without prior written agreement of the partner organisation.

Funding arrangements

During the placement, the fellow will remain employed by her/his institution. All agreed costs for the fellows will be shared equally by NERC and the partner organisation.

Management and supervision

The partner organisation will nominate a supervisor to whom the fellow will report. NERC will nominate a contact person (within the Knowledge Exchange (KE) group at Swindon) who should be actively informed about the progress of the placement.

Fellowship placement - current opportunities

NERC and Environment Agency Knowledge Exchange Policy Placement Fellowship: Planning for floods and droughts in the face of climate change - a continuum approach

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) research programmes 'UK Droughts & Water Scarcity', 'Flooding from Intense Rainfall' and the Environment Agency (EA) welcome applications for a Policy Placement Fellow to undertake work considering integrated approaches to managing floods and droughts in a changing climate; this includes both physical measures to manage extremes as well as human responses to coping during events. The 18 month part-time placement (60%) will be based at EA.

NERC and Environment Agency Knowledge Exchange Policy Placement Fellowship (93KB)

NERC and Environment Agency Knowledge Exchange Policy Placement Fellowship
Closing date: 13 November 2012

NERC Defra High Level Policy Placement Fellowship: Improving the uptake and impact of NERC science into, and on, environmental policymaking.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are seeking a senior member of the environmental science community to take on a key role linking NERC science with Defra policymaking at the highest level. The postholder will be at NERC Band 3 level. The one year post will be based in Defra offices in London on a part time basis (40%). Fellow will work between NERC and Defra, developing and implementing processes to identify, translate and feed in NERC's research to Defra's policy teams in a timely and appropriate manner, prioritising areas which will have most impact on policymaking and practice.

NERC Defra High Level Policy Placement Fellowship (45KB)

NERC Defra High Level Policy Placement Fellowship
Closing date: 20 November 2012

LWEC Health Fellow Applications (84KB)

LWEC Health Fellow
Applications are now closed.