Apply for funding to support innovative, large-scale and complex projects that tackle big environmental science questions and have the potential to produce world-leading research.
We welcome multi and interdisciplinary research, as long as it is predominantly within the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s remit, delivered by collaborative teams.
Funding of between £1.12 million and £3.45 million (at 100% full economic cost) is available for projects lasting up to five years. We expect to fund up to eight projects.
Scope
Our large grants are intended to support innovative, large-scale and complex research, tackling big environmental science questions that cannot be addressed through our other discovery science funding opportunities.
You can submit an application in any area of environmental science, provided it is predominantly within a research area or subject associated with NERC’s remit.
We also welcome multidisciplinary applications that cross into other research council areas.
Applications can support pure, applied, technology-led or policy-driven research but must still address (or provide the means to address) clearly defined research questions.
We expect that the projects we fund will have the potential to produce world-leading research. To achieve this, they will often involve multidisciplinary approaches. We expect your application to demonstrate how any interdependent components (work packages) will interact in a single overall structure. Collaborative projects that include diverse teams and partnerships between research organisations and other stakeholders are strongly encouraged.
This is an outline stage and the information may change at the full opportunity stage. The full funding opportunity will open in August 2026 for invited applicants only.
Use of novel, critical technologies in your application
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is seeking to support researchers and innovators to develop and make use of novel, critical technologies including artificial intelligence, engineering biology, and quantum technologies throughout its investment portfolio. We have also set out our aspirations for the future of data and technology in environmental science in our digital strategy 2021 to 2030.
In developing your application to this funding opportunity, you may wish to consider how the innovative use of critical technologies, and approaches addressing the ambitions of NERC’s digital strategy, might offer opportunities to address your research questions in new and novel ways. This might include the development of new collaborations across domains and disciplines.
Duration
The duration of this award is a maximum of five years.
You should propose a realistic and appropriate project start date based on the requirements of your project. It is anticipated that grants may be able to start from September 2027, but it should be noted that start dates for all successful grants will only be confirmed following discussion with NERC regarding project requirements. For those projects requiring use of large research infrastructure, start dates will be dependent on access to infrastructure being scheduled and confirmed.
Funding available
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be between £1.12 million and £3.45 million. Note that this funding limit takes into account indexation rates applied to all UKRI grants at award, so the maximum FEC value of individual awards will be between £1.2 million and £3.7 million. We expect to fund up to eight projects at full application stage, depending on funds requested.
Deadline: 26 February 2026 4:00pm UK time
For more information and to apply visit https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/large-grant-outlines-february-2026/?mc_cid=e949c886dd&mc_eid=47f78f7490
