Please note these calls are now all closed, and are retained here for reference.
Pre-announcement of demonstrator project funding opportunity
Announcement of Opportunity: Expert Network
Constructing a Digital Environment workshops
Feasibility – Wave Two Announcement of Opportunity
Feasibility – Wave One Announcement of Opportunity
Announcement of Opportunity: Constructing a Digital Environment – Demonstrators
[7th November, 2019] NERC is inviting proposals for demonstrator projects costing up to £960,000 at 80% full economic cost, with a maximum duration of 24 months, as part of the Constructing a Digital Environment Programme.
Top of pageConstructing a Digital Environment – Pre-announcement of demonstrator project funding opportunity
NERC will shortly be inviting proposals for demonstrator projects as part of the Constructing a Digital Environment programme. The programme is led by NERC but is supported by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). NERC has allocated £6·2 million for this investment. Eligible research organisations will be invited to submit proposals up to a value of £960,000 (at 80% full economic cost) with a maximum duration of 24 months.
This call aims to further bring together the ‘Digital Environment’ community through multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and innovation to deliver increased benefit from existing and new sensor networks technology and their associated infrastructure. Projects will explore the methodologies and tools for assessing, analysing, monitoring and forecasting the state of the natural environment at higher spatial and temporal resolutions than previous possible.
NERC aims to fund impact-focused demonstrator projects which harness the UK’s leading position in environmental, observations and computer/data sciences to create a digitally-enabled environment which progresses our understanding of the natural environment and provides lasting benefit to policymakers, businesses and the public.
This will be an open call and is not limited to individuals with existing funding from a specific call, scheme or research council.
- Expected AO release: Early November 2019
- Expected proposal deadline: Mid-January 2020
- Expected project start date: August 2020
The full announcement of opportunity will follow in due course.
Top of pageAnnouncement of Opportunity: Constructing a Digital Environment Expert Network
The NERC/UKRI ‘Constructing a Digital Environment’ Programme (www.digitalenvironment.org) is an exciting challenge, set to develop a ‘digitally enabled environment’, providing benefits for policy makers, businesses, communities and individuals. The focus of the programme is the combination of environmental science, with computer science, data science and behavioural science.
We seek to develop an ‘expert network’ to join us in identifying best practices in ‘digital environment’ and to influence UK environmental policy thinking. You will draw on your expertise in the methodologies and tools for assessing, analysing, monitoring and forecasting the state of the natural environment. The Network of Experts will provide input to the successful operation of the Programme, initiating or contributing to scientific and knowledge exchange initiatives and related events, public engagement, creating and generating resources that will be accessible after the programme ends, signposting existing digital resources and being involved with any other relevant activities that will further future impact and development of the digital environment.
The Expert Network offers an exciting and highly topical opportunity to help shape the UK landscape in ‘digital environment’. Our experts will be influencers and thought leaders, joining at the start of a new scientific approach that will have profound impacts on public policy, environmental stewardship and management, and operating at the nexus of SMART thinking (e.g. Smart Cities; Smart environment), Artificial Intelligence and public policy making. Experts will have the ear of senior members of key organisations in government (e.g. Defra), in public bodies (e.g. the Environment Agency), as well as scientific groups and business. This opportunity is therefore a powerful career springboard for the early-career stage experts, and a chance for the network members to create real impact.
We are seeking 24 experts in total – 8 Early-Career Stage Experts, 8 senior UK-based Experts, and 8 international Experts, all with an annual term, with a prospect of renewal over the three-year Digital Environment programme. All reasonable costs will be covered, and for the early stage experts a fellowship grant will be provided.
If you would like to be considered for membership of the network, please send an application to us by October 18th, midday. Full details are included in the ‘Announcement of Opportunity’ below. The application form is linked below.
FAQQ. If I apply to the Expert Network, am I or my organisation precluded from applying for any of the wider calls?
A. No, you are free to apply to any of the project calls, and there is no impact on your organisation.
Q. How do you define ‘Early Career Stage’?
A. One of the expert Network categories is Early Career Stage: Further to the NERC definition used for early career fellowships (see https://nerc.ukri.org/funding/available/fellowships/eligibility/), we will consider in addition for this category those applicants who are employed as a researcher or academic with a permanent appointment of 5 years of less.
Q. For the ‘Early Career Stage’, is the £10k supporting grant for travel/public engagement, or can this be used to pay for staff/indirect costs? If this is the latter, is this allocated at 80% as per other NERC research grants?
A. The £10K supporting grant (at 100% FTE) is paid directly to the institution and will cover T&S and other direct / indirect expenses associated with involvement in the network. Where there are significant activities requiring for example, substantial travel, then a case can be made for additional funding to support such activities; this will be independent of the grant received.
Constructing a Digital Environment workshops
4 October 2019 (Friday)
Cardiff
10 October 2019 (Thursday)
London
16 October 2019 (Wednesday)
Edinburgh
Latest News: The materials provided in each of the three workshops are now made available in our Downloads Area. You will find all the presentations and other materials there. To access the area you will need a password to be advised for delegates by NERC.
Cost: Free (attendees are responsible for funding their own travel)
Deadline: 16:00 on 6 September 2019
We are inviting individuals to submit expressions of interests (EoIs) to attend workshops for the NERC-led four-year £10·4 million Constructing a Digital Environment programme in either Cardiff (4 October), London (10 October) or Edinburgh (16 October).
The workshops aim to bring together the ‘digital environment’ community, including (but not limited to) environmental science, computer science, informatics, statistics, social science, data science, policymakers and members of industry, and follows on from the first workshop held in Manchester earlier in 2019.
The workshops will include presentations from the NERC Digital Environment Team and the Constructing a Digital Environment Champions Ron Corstanje and Steve Hallett and other project partners. The days will primarily focus on networking and discussions around specific digital environment themes ahead of a future funding opportunity.
The themes discussed will be suggested by participants via a well-sorted.org study for which participants will be sent a link within three days of expressing interest. Each participant will need to fill out a response to a key question which will feed in to the workshop content. The responses will be grouped together to establish our discussion sessions. Please note that within three days of your EoI you will receive an email from us containing a link to the relevant Well Sorted study. If you have not received it, please check your junk/spam folder.
Due to the limited space available, we are asking for EoIs, from which NERC Head Office will select attendees to ensure a balance of expertise and institutional representation. To submit an expression of interest in attending, please complete the online registration form.
The deadline for submitting EoIs and the accompanying Well Sorted response for this workshop is 16:00 on 6 September 2019. Individuals will be notified whether their application to attend has been successful by 20 September 2019.
More details about the programme can also be found on the NERC Constructing A Digital Environment page, and by following us on Twitter @SPFDigiEnv- external link.
Contact
For queries regarding the workshop, please contact digitalenvironment@nerc.ukri.org.
Top of pagePrevious Call Announcements
The ‘Constructing a Digital Environment’ Programme has had previous calls which, although now closed, are retained here for reference: