Doctoral Focal Award: Environmental Evidence Synthesis, £8.1M

Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Doctoral focal award: environmental evidence synthesis

Opportunity status: Upcoming Funders: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Co-funders: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Funding type: Grant Total fund: £8,144,000 Maximum award: £4,072,000 Publication date: 14 April 2026 Opening date:

15 April 2026 9:00am UK time

Closing date:

15 July 2026 4:00pm UK time

Apply for funding to deliver a doctoral focal award in environmental evidence synthesis.

Doctoral focal awards funded through this funding opportunity must equip the next generation of researchers with a robust foundation in advanced evidence synthesis methodologies, providing them with the skills to critically appraise, synthesise and communicate diverse sources of environmental information.

Funding is available to support up to two doctoral focal awards each in receipt of 30 notional studentships across three annual intakes.

A notification of intent must be completed by 27 May 2026 4:00pm UK time.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Who is eligible to apply

To apply to this funding opportunity as a project lead (PL) or project co-lead (PcL) you must be based at an organisation which is eligible to receive UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.

Organisations eligible to apply include:

• higher education institutions
• research council institutes
• eligible independent research organisations and Catapult centres
• public sector research establishments (PSREs) PSREs wishing to be involved in an application are required to choose whether they wish to do so either as a project lead/project co-lead or as a project partner. An organisation cannot perform both roles within one application.

If your organisation is not currently listed as an eligible organisation you can apply to become an eligible organisation.

Project lead and project co-leads

Organisations can only apply as the project lead on one application but can be a co-lead or project partner on any number of applications. The lead organisation will act as the training grant holder.

Project lead and any project co-lead organisations will provide the principal base for students (i.e. hosting the studentship).

You may apply as a single-institution or a multi-institution consortium. Within a single-institution application, the project lead will be the only hosting organisation. For multi-institution applications, you should identify one of the organisations as the project lead.

The project lead does not have to be an organisation with doctoral research degree awarding powers, but an organisation with these powers must be present within your consortium. In addition, where organisations without doctoral research degree awarding powers are hosting studentships, formal agreements must be in place with another relevant organisation with these powers.

Identification of the project lead should not be interpreted as recognition as the dominant partner or where the majority of studentships will be hosted. While only one project lead can be included on the UKRI Funding Service, UKRI welcomes applications that reflect flexible and joint leadership models.

At least one member of the team (either the project lead or a project co-lead) must be a social scientist.

Project partners

Organisations that are not eligible for UKRI funding may act as project partners on your application. Information regarding the nature of these collaborations must be included within your application in the project partners section. Any organisation acting as a project partner may do so on any number of applications as long as they are able to support them if funded.

Organisations which are eligible for UKRI funding but will not provide the principal base (host) for students during the award may also be named as project partners. An organisation cannot act as both a project lead (or co-lead) and a project partner in the same application.

We welcome applications to include a wide range of project partner organisations contributing to research and training within the scope of this funding opportunity. This can include, but is not limited to:

• universities that are not leading or co-leading the proposal
• businesses of all scales
• public sector organisations, such as public sector research establishments and government at all levels, including devolved administrations
• third sector organisations

• other key stakeholders across the research and innovation landscape
  Your application must demonstrate that there is significant added value from any project partners you choose to form part of your consortia. This may include, but is not limited to:

• CASE studentships

• Other collaborative studentships

• work experience or placements for students

• training for students, programme staff, or both

• access to facilities, equipment, or both

• financial commitments to partially, or fully, fund additional studentships

• commitment to cover the costs of access to facilities or training that cannot otherwise be provided

• strategic links to an important stakeholder or user
  There is no limit to the total number of organisations you may include within your application. However, each member of the consortia must make meaningful contributions to the delivery of the training grant, as outlined in your application.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

What we're looking for

Demand management

Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Further details are provided in the ’who can apply’ section.

Scope

This doctoral focal award funding opportunity will equip the next generation of researchers with a robust foundation in advanced evidence synthesis methodologies, providing them with the skills to critically appraise, synthesise and communicate diverse sources of information to inform effective evidence based environmental policy and practice.

Through their research projects, students will apply these approaches to address real-world environmental challenges. Working closely with policy and practice stakeholders, they will co-design research that advances understanding and delivers practical, policy-relevant insights to inform effective environmental decision-making.

You are invited to propose an innovative training model that will give students in-depth knowledge and practical experience in evidence synthesis – ensuring their research is academically rigorous and directly relevant to real-world decision-making.

The award will strengthen and grow the community of evidence synthesis specialists within the environmental and social sciences. This cohort of researchers will carry their expertise into future careers across academia, policy and practice, acting as informed advocates for robust, transparent, and systematic synthesis approaches, and strengthening the culture of evidence informed decision making across the sector.

The UK has rich and wide-ranging sources of environmental information with enormous potential to support policy and practice. However, the use of environmental information for policy making across the breadth of government in the UK remains relatively nascent. A key challenge is that much of the evidence is fragmented, difficult to access or combine with other sources of information or not presented in formats that are practical for decision-makers.

Policy makers and practitioners tackling complex environmental issues need timely, reliable evidence presented in ways that support effective decisions. Evidence synthesis, the process of systematically bringing together the best available evidence to answer specific questions, is essential to clarifying both what is known and where further research is needed. By strengthening the foundations of evidence informed decision making, evidence synthesis helps us to design better policy interventions, maximise the effectiveness of implementation, avoid costly mistakes and improve public services.

To maximise the potential of environmental and social science to inform policy and practice, it is essential that the next generation of talented individuals in this sector is equipped with the skills to produce evidence syntheses that are timely, usable and impactful for decision makers.

Through this doctoral focal award in environmental evidence synthesis students will:

• undertake comprehensive, in-depth training in evidence synthesis (and related skills) at the forefront of methodological innovation
• apply this learning directly to their individual research projects, working with evidence synthesis experts, information owners and UK policy and practice stakeholders to ensure their research is robust and that outputs are tailored to decision-makers’ needs This training will equip students with transferable evidence synthesis skills, preparing them for a breadth of future careers across academia, policy and practice.

Research training remit

All PhDs funded through this award must be underpinned by robust training in evidence synthesis, ensuring that students develop the skills to apply these rigorous approaches effectively within their field of expertise. Evidence synthesis will form the central, unifying training component across the cohort, providing a shared methodological foundation that applies regardless of disciplinary focus.

The environmental science area(s) addressed by the doctoral focal award should be:

• primarily within the remit of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)*
• aligned to one or more priority areas in the NERC Forward Look for environmental science *
• relevant to UK government priorities so that research outcomes support the evidence needs of decision makers Beyond these requirements, you have flexibility to determine whether your training model has a broad, cross cutting environmental science remit, or focuses on a specific thematic or disciplinary area(s), provided that the chosen scope meaningfully embeds evidence synthesis at the heart of the cohort training.

*You are strongly encouraged to review our remit and the Forward Look to ensure your application aligns with these strategic priorities.

As part of the doctoral focal award, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) will fund six PhD studentships (two per cohort) for social scientists working at the intersection of environmental and social sciences. Each studentship must be based on an interdisciplinary evidence synthesis project that integrates concepts, methods or information assets from both environmental science and social science, demonstrating how this approach will generate novel insights, improve policy relevance or enhance real world impact. Projects must be at least 50% social science, rooted in the social science remit, while making a clear and substantive contribution to environmental science priorities. Projects can be from across the full breadth of social science disciplines, including interdisciplinary approaches, where the primary intellectual contribution is to social science and the proposed work meaningfully engages with NERC aligned environmental science area(s) addressed by the overarching award, meeting the requirements outlined above.

Methodological training in evidence synthesis

The cohort training delivered through this doctoral focal award must provide students with a comprehensive and contemporary foundation in the principles and practices of evidence synthesis.

Students should be equipped with the skills to evaluate the quality and reliability of existing research, explore and map current knowledge, identify gaps, and synthesise information from multiple sources in a transparent and rigorous way.

This grounding will enable students to select and apply the most suitable evidence synthesis approaches for their own research, while developing capabilities that they can carry forward into their future careers.

Crucially, the training must reflect developments at the forefront of methodological innovation and expose students to current advances in evidence synthesis practice.

Provision should therefore span a wide spectrum of approaches, from established methods for understanding and synthesising the evidence base through to advanced techniques that draw on data science, automation, and AI enabled tools. This should include approaches that enhance the scale, efficiency, adaptability and reproducibility of evidence synthesis.

Overall, the training should ensure students gain both breadth and depth of skills, and that they learn and apply evidence synthesis methods in ways that align with best practice and meet the needs of decision makers.

You are responsible for determining a suitable training model that will deliver the required breadth of evidence synthesis skills. Applications should set out how the chosen structure and delivery method will ensure comprehensive coverage of evidence synthesis approaches while offering a coherent and effective learning experience that enables students to work at the forefront of methodological innovation and policy relevance.

Broader skills development

You should incorporate within your cohort training model a package of complementary skills development that will enable students to maximise the impact of their evidence synthesis training. This broader skills training should support students’ ability to work effectively across disciplines, navigate complex policy landscapes and engage with a diverse range of stakeholders.

These wider professional competencies are essential for translating evidence synthesis outputs into actionable insights that are relevant, accessible, and aligned with real-world decision-making processes. By building these skills, students will be better equipped to produce robust, policy relevant research and to develop productive, meaningful partnerships with the policy and practice community who rely on such evidence.

You should articulate within your application the suite of complementary skills that will be included in your delivery model. Key areas of training could include, but are not limited to:

• data and information management
• interdisciplinary working
• systems thinking approaches
• understanding government policy-making processes
• participatory and co production approaches to stakeholder engagement
• communication, visualisation and knowledge exchange methods For the ESRC funded studentships, the Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines set out expectations around the training that students should receive by the end of their studentship.

Training model

Training delivered through this doctoral focal award will help build a strong, interdisciplinary community of practitioners with the skills, knowledge and networks needed to critically appraise, synthesise and communicate evidence into actionable insights for policy and practice.

You are invited to propose an innovative training model that will equip students with in-depth knowledge and practical experience in environmental evidence synthesis, ensuring their research is academically rigorous and directly relevant to real-world decision-making.

The model should encompass the following core parameters:

• students must conduct their research within the environmental science area(s) defined by the doctoral focal award holder, or in the case of ESRC funded studentships, apply social science to environmental science area(s)

• students should:undertake cohort-level training in evidence synthesis methodologies and related skills, and apply these approaches within their projects at appropriate stages to strengthen research outcomes
  Your application should demonstrate how the training model will:

• provide students with both technical and transferable skills

• support students to embed learning within their research projects, through mechanisms such as mentoring, peer support and tailored supervision models (including discipline-specific provision)

• ensure that research topic supervisors possess sufficient understanding of evidence synthesis methodologies to support students effectively

• build on existing communities of expertise to strengthen capability and capacity within the environmental and social sciences to produce policy-relevant evidence syntheses
  Applications must outline a coherent training programme through which students will undertake individual research projects alongside cohort-level training in cross-cutting skills relevant to the areas above. You should design and justify an appropriate programme for your doctoral focal award where we welcome innovative approaches.

Additional requirements

Alignment with UKRI Core Offer

The UKRI Core Offer sets out the Statement of expectations for doctoral training for all UKRI studentships, including support and student experience, research skills and methods and professional and career development.

All applications must clearly state how the requirements outlined within the UKRI core offer will be delivered as part of their application.

In addition to the expectations set out within the UKRI Core Offer, the training programme must:

• enable access for all students to placements, internships or other relevant work experience opportunities (this includes UKRI policy internships). This does not mean that all students must complete a placement, however placement opportunities must be made available to all students, and training programmes should be designed with flexibility to enable students to undertake these opportunities if they wish

Capability to deliver

You must provide evidence within your application that you offer sufficient high quality research capacity to deliver training in the areas specified in the remit of the priority area. You should also justify your choice of partnership which can include international collaborative partners as appropriate to deliver the objectives of the training programme.

Collaboration with end-users and non-HEI partners

You should adopt a collaborative approach to the training offer, creating opportunities for students to engage with a diverse range of experts and stakeholders. These partnerships will provide students with real-world insights, practical experience and professional networks that enhance both the quality and impact of their research and skills development.

Students should have the opportunity to:

• learn from leading experts in evidence synthesis: Gaining exposure to cutting-edge methodologies and best practices, building confidence and competence in applying advanced techniques
• co-design their research questions with policy and practice stakeholders: Ensuring their projects address priority evidence needs and produce outputs that are relevant and aligned with decision-making contexts
• access and utilise high-quality evidence: Work with information asset owners to identify, interpret and integrate diverse sources of evidence, strengthening the robustness and applicability of their findings You must evidence a track record of collaborative working and describe a coherent strategy for engaging with multiple stakeholders.

In addition, you should:

• ensure that a number of studentships offered by the doctoral focal award are CASE or ‘collaborative’ studentships (see the ‘CASE studentships’ section)
• embed collaboration with end-users through mechanisms in addition to CASE (for example, placements, training courses or site visits) for all doctoral students within their wider training programme You must demonstrate clearly within your application how this will be achieved.

CASE studentships and collaborative studentships

CASE studentships are delivered in collaboration with eligible non-academic partners and include specific requirements relating to co-supervision and a placement; a financial contribution from the partner is encouraged.

Further information about CASE studentships is available: NERC CASE studentships. Over the lifetime of the award, a minimum of 25% of the total notional studentships within the focal award must be CASE studentships. You must demonstrate within your application the mechanisms you will use to ensure the CASE conversion requirement is met. We will review the successful applicants’ CASE compliance throughout the lifetime of the grant via reporting processes and reserve the right to use the outcomes to adjust future studentship cohort allocations.

In addition to CASE studentships, any number of studentships may be collaborative.

These are partnerships which may not meet all the requirements for CASE or where the partner organisation is not eligible to be a CASE partner. These collaborative studentships will be monitored through a reporting process and formally recognised as a success metric as part of the ongoing monitoring of the awards.

Engagement with the policy and practice community

Applications should demonstrate how you will work with UK governmental organisations (including devolved administrations) to shape and deliver cohort training.

Alignment with relevant UKRI investments

Outline how you will build on, and where appropriate work with, existing relevant UKRI investments to maximise opportunities for learning, collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Use of UK environmental, social science (and other) information sources

Explain how students will access and utilise existing information assets, including those available via the NERC Environmental Data Service and ESRC’s data infrastructure.

Connection to the wider evidence synthesis community of practice

Funded focal awards should facilitate student engagement with the wider evidence synthesis community of practice by providing opportunities to learn from and engage with leading initiatives such as the global Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC).

Management and governance

The doctoral focal award must have strong leadership and management. It should have both a lead operational manager and steering committee or management board. The steering committee or management board should be comprised of all hosting doctoral focal award partners and must also have representation from relevant end-user organisations.

This body will have overall responsibility for the effective governance of the doctoral focal award and its relationship with us and provide a strategic needs framework to aid the prioritisation and development of PhD projects.

You must demonstrate that your leadership team includes:

• expertise in evidence synthesis, with clear capability to provide cutting edge methodological training across a broad spectrum of synthesis approaches
• at least one social scientist, to ensure appropriate support for the full student cohort The doctoral focal award must demonstrate that robust and transparent governance arrangements will be in place from the outset of the focal award, which may include the development of formal partnership agreements, communication plans and systems for monitoring the focal award’s overall progress and success.

You are strongly encouraged to incorporate doctoral focal award students into the management and running of activities within the focal award. Where appropriate, formal partnership agreements must be in place ahead of the start of the first student cohort.

The doctoral focal award must also commit adequate support for appropriate administrative resource, and applications must be explicit about how administrative structures will be managed and funded.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is a core feature of this funding opportunity. In line with UKRI’s principles on EDI, we want to work with our partners to shape a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive system of research and innovation that is an integral part of society.

You will need to explain how your EDI strategy will embed the core principles of EDI at all levels and across all aspects of the doctoral programme, addressing the points described in this section.

Increasing PhD access

Detail how will you ensure that your programme will attract a wide range of applicants from underrepresented or different social, cultural and educational backgrounds, and how will you make this process open and transparent.

Working practices, including individualised student support

All UKRI funded training grants must offer the option of studying on both a part-time and full-time basis. Discuss how you will support students and staff who require a flexible working pattern.

Supervision and supervisory teams

Detail how you will deliver comprehensive inductions for new supervisors and support development for supervisory teams in line with an inclusive culture of excellent research supervision.

Wellbeing support, including mental health

Propose a strategy for the provision and support of good physical and mental health and wellbeing practices for students and staff. Detail how you will promote a positive culture of listening to staff and student feedback.

Monitoring and evaluation, including a baseline and plans for improvement

Detail what progress indicators you will use to measure improvement in your EDI strategy and why these are the most appropriate. Detail how you will provide evidence for your proposed EDI actions, including a baseline and subsequent updates throughout the lifetime of the grant.

We would expect your EDI strategy to describe how your doctoral programme is accessible to a diverse range of people and needs and how you will be removing barriers to participation across your doctoral programme and associated processes. Your application should demonstrate how you will create and maintain a positive, inclusive, and supportive environment for all students and staff.

You should refer to equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI, with a focus on embedding and implementing UKRI good practice principles in recruitment and training at a doctoral level.

As a mandatory requirement, the EDI strategies, activities and commitments stated by successful applicants will be regularly reviewed. These data will be collected on at least a yearly basis, via annual reports and we will reserve the right to access these data if and when appropriate across the lifetime of the award. See the UKRI data collection policy for more information.

Legacy and impact

Focal awards are supported with the intention of developing a legacy of training excellence. You must demonstrate consideration of the legacy and impacts of the doctoral training programme beyond the lifetime of UKRI investment.

Reporting requirements and monitoring

The monitoring of progress towards the vision and objectives as well as evidencing of impact are important components of these programmes. This information will be used by us to review the success of our training investments. Information provided will also be used to provide assurance that the focal awards are being managed appropriately and are progressing in accordance with the original funding application.

This will be conducted in various ways, including:

• mandatory annual reports
• hosting a regular partnership visit by UKRI staff Successful applicants will be expected to respond to other reporting requirements when requested.

We will describe the key information required from focal awards in annual reports. This will include diversity statistics for doctoral candidate recruitment, CASE studentships and other collaborative partner engagement, financial leveraging, training, and development activities offered, and examples of doctoral candidate achievements.

Partnerships are expected to describe their approach to monitoring and evaluation, outlining their success measures and baselines and a continuous improvement process built in within their applications.

We will oversee and engage with successful applicants to support the delivery of excellent doctoral training.

Flexible Fund

The doctoral focal training programme will include a Flexible Fund to be split across successful applicants.

The Flexible Fund must be used to benefit those associated with the doctoral focal award, which could refer to students, associated staff or both. It can be used to support a range of activities, including support for skills development, network building, or addressing EDI challenges (see relevant EDI sections).

It can also be used to increase access to potential future students of the programme, for example, widening participation activities. We would expect you to use the flexible support fund to complement and support the proposed training and EDI plan you have provided within your application.

The Flexible Fund can be rolled over to subsequent years, for example if there is a plan for an ongoing activity across multiple years of student intake. All Flexible Fund activities and their subsequent progress will need to be recorded in the mandatory annual report. It will also be the successful applicant’s responsibility to keep and maintain records of Flexible Fund activity expenditure.

Some specific examples are given below, but we encourage each applicant to think creatively about how they may use these funds such as:

• widening participation activities, for example improving recruitment of underrepresented groups to the doctoral programme or developing networks for students with protected characteristics
• supplementary funding for undergraduate research experience placements (REPs). REPs can address demographic and diversity-related challenges as well as helping to address skills gaps in biological and environmental sciences
• cohort training and development of core or vulnerable skills
• EDI training for supervisors of funded students, for example, mental health first aider training or training in neurodiversity needs
• supporting student entrepreneurship
• supplementary funds for student placements
• supporting the integration of data science, AI and machine learning approaches
• cohort training in transferable skills, for example, leadership, project management
• cross-doctoral training programme training and network building, for example theme-specific symposia We will endeavour to continue to support REPs as a separate scheme.

The Flexible Fund will be issued on an annual basis, the doctoral focal award will receive £27,000 per cohort intake (the first three consecutive years of the award).

Duration

The duration of this award is a minimum of six years.

Projects must start by 1 October 2027.

This award will support three cohorts of students undertaking a three and a half to four year doctorate on a full-time basis, or equivalent part-time. The first cohort will start in the 2027 to 2028 academic year and the final cohort will start in 2029 to 2030.

Funding available

We will fund ten notional studentships a year for three years, to each of the successful doctoral focal awards.
The indicative funding per notional studentship is provided:

• stipend: £87,220
• fees: £20,952
• research training support grant: £11,000
• programme management: £2,000
• total: £121,172 NERC will fund 100% of the FEC.

A notional studentship consists of sufficient funds to meet the annual UKRI minimum stipend and fee levels, plus additional research, placement and management costs for four years of doctoral study. Awards will be supplemented with London allowance where eligible.

Individual studentships can be between three and a half to four years on a full-time basis, or equivalent part-time. If full four-year studentships are planned, a placement of a minimum of three months should be included and accommodated for within this timeframe.

The student stipend and fees are indicative estimates only, based on the 2026 to 2027 research council minima multiplied by four, and excluding London allowance (at the time of award, stipend and fees will be indexed to accommodate rises in the minimum stipend and fees levels over the lifetime of the award).

Additionally, the doctoral focal award will receive a Flexible Fund allocation. There will be £27,000 awarded per cohort.

The programme management header above can be used as a contribution towards placements, conferences, and administrative costs. A contribution towards operational management costs has been included within the above indicative funding calculation in recognition of the need to manage the partnership.

We acknowledge that this does not reflect the full cost of programme administrative structures. In line with the requirements in the management section, adequate funds must therefore be committed by you from either flexibility within the training grant, leveraged support, or a combination of sources.

Given the flexibility in use of funding, it will be possible for successful applicants to use the training grant to support more than the minimum number of students each year. For example, this could be achieved by having students undertake training over a variety of timeframes and by co-funding studentships from other sources.

Successful applicants will have flexibility in how they use the funding awarded and we encourage flexibility and virement between headings, subject to the standard UKRI terms and conditions of training grants. Be aware that the minimum numbers of students will still need to be supported each year (the minimum being the number of notional studentships allocated by us).

Studentships must be at least 50% funded from the training grant. Co-funding from non-UKRI sources can be used to part-fund additional studentships.

Successful applicants may use funding to leverage additional investment (either as cash or in-kind support) from multiple stakeholders, however, there is no formal requirement for match-funded studentships or cash leverage for this funding opportunity.

Facilities and Resources

NERC welcomes applications from PhD students (via their supervisors) to access facilities and resources. Funding for access to NERC resources and facilities should be requested separately to this training grant application. Staff at the relevant facility will be happy to advise and help with the application process.

Access to the facilities can also be obtained through other funding, for example studentship research training support grant funds, although this may only be relevant for very small or pilot studies. Read about NERC resources and facilities.

Data management

It is our policy to increase the visibility and awareness of environment data and to improve their management as a resource. The focal awards funded through this funding opportunity should therefore ensure that relevant NERC environmental data centres are aware of significant datasets generated, or to be compiled, under the award so that their long-term stewardship can be planned. For details of data centres, see the NERC Environmental Data Service.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

S ee further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

Notification of Intent

A notification of intent (NOI) to submit a full application must be submitted by 27 May 2026 at 4:00pm.

Submit a notification of intent.

Tell us the organisations that are expected to be involved as hosting and project partners and include a title and summary of your planned work (limit of 300 words). This is mandatory but will not be assessed. We will use the information to plan the application assessment.

Full applications submitted without a prior notification of intent will be rejected.
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on The Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application, where applicable.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

1. Confirm you are the project lead
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must:

• provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
• insert each new image on a new line

• use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
  Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include:

• sentences or paragraphs of text

• tables

• excessive quantities of images
  A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

• how applicants use the Funding Service
• how research offices use the Funding Service
• how reviewers use the Funding Service

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

• references are easily identifiable by the assessors
• references are formatted as appropriate to your research
• persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.

Deadline

NERC must receive your application by 15 July 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

NERC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email researchcareers@nerc.ukri.org.

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

• individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
• declaration of interest
• additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
• conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
• the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Publication of outcomes

NERC will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What NERC has funded.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

• opinion-formers
• policymakers
• the public
• the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

• context
• the challenge the project addresses
• aims and objectives
• potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)
• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
• specialist
• grant manager
• professional enabling staff
• research and innovation associate
• technician
• visiting researcher Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 500

What will this training investment achieve? How will this support UK capability and capacity needs and why is it important that UKRI support this activity?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Please outline:

• a clear vision, and objectives that will make a positive contribution to the scope of this investment opportunity and deliver high quality doctoral education with tracking measures
• the positive outcomes and impact for society and the economy that the investment is aiming to deliver. Describe the strategies to deliver these, grounded in a model that results in highly skilled doctoral graduates, employable across a range of sectors and careers
• how your vision aligns and will positively contribute to relevant wider strategies and priorities, including national capability and capacity needs. If relevant, describe how it will provide additionality to your existing doctoral provision The vision must be in line with the scope set out in the What we are looking for section. You must justify your chosen area of environmental science focus.

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Approach

Word limit: 1,500

How will the doctoral training programme, that you deliver through this grant, support your vision, and align with UKRI’s ambitions for its doctoral investments?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your choice of training programme will:

• deliver your vision and any specific requirements set out in the opportunity documentation, including why this approach is necessary to achieve your expected outcomes
• embed delivery of UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students so that the programme provides a holistic approach that delivers high quality doctoral research. Also, how it integrates in-depth subject knowledge, research and methodological skills, and wider skills development opportunities
• embed delivery of UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students so that the programme supports students to build their understanding of what conducting high quality research involves
• embed delivery of UKRI’s statement of expectations for its students so that the programme prepares globally competitive researchers, able to use their skills to thrive in a range of sectors and careers. And also, operate across interdisciplinary, collaborative and challenge-led environments The proposed approach must be in line with the scope set out in the What we are looking for section.

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Positive culture and environment

Word limit: 750

How will you create and maintain an inclusive and supportive culture and environment for all those involved?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your doctoral training programme will:

• create and maintain a positive, inclusive, and supportive environment for all students and staff involved, addressing a variety of needs and supporting good wellbeing including relevant, specific support and training for supervisors where needed
• champion and embed equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for students and staff, across all aspects of the training grant, including supervision, training design and approaches, and flexible student support
• achieve the specific EDI requirements detailed in the funding opportunity documentation or that you are proposing. You should provide evidence for the specific need and value of the proposed EDI activities to achieve its intended aim, including baseline information
• explain how you will undertake subsequent updates and reviews across the lifetime of the award The proposed approach must be in line with the scope set out in the What we are looking for section.

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Capability to deliver

Word limit: 750

Who will lead and drive delivery of this application’s vision?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that those leading the delivery of this award have:

• secured the appropriate research and pastoral capacity to support the number of studentships that you expect to deliver through this award
• a well-evidenced track record of the experience and skills needed to deliver the proposed vision, training programme, and scale
• a well-evidenced track record of contributing to a positive research culture and the wider community
• a well-evidenced track record of supporting the training and development of others, particularly previous involvement in delivering doctoral training successfully References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Partnerships and governance

Word limit: 750

How will the training grant be governed, and partnerships or relationships be supported and managed, to maximise benefit and minimise risk?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide evidence that partners are committed to:

• working together, with effective two-way engagement

• positively and constructively contributing to the delivery of the doctoral training programme and the training experiences of the students, with students clearly benefitting from these interactions
  Within the Partnerships and governance section, we also expect you to provide evidence that there is an established, clear and effective governance and risk management structure for the training grant award that:

• is appropriate for the size and complexity of the doctoral programme and ensures continuity of the programme’s capabilities

• supports continual improvement, monitoring, and evaluation

• manages the legal duties of the programme and providers

• supports UKRI’s expectations to create value for society in an ethical and responsible way through relevant frameworks
  References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Flexible fund

Word limit: 500

How will your use of flexible funding benefit the doctoral training programme and those it supports?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain:

• the aims of the flexible funding and the intended beneficiaries
• the approaches that will be used to achieve the aims and support access by the targeted beneficiaries
• how it will complement the wider doctoral programme You should refer to the ‘Flexible Fund’ section in the funding opportunity when answering this question.

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Project partners

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

Add the following project partner details:

• the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
• the project partner contact name and email address
• the type of contribution (direct or indirect) and its monetary value If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

Word limit: 100

Does your proposed work relate to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate how your proposed work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation principles including:

• list any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research
• if this project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, please list the area(s)
• please read the academic export control guidance and confirm if an export control licence is required for this project and the status of any application(s)
• if your project involves any items or substances on the UK strategic export control list, please provide a list We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information later, in line with UKRI TR&I principles and funding terms and conditions (RGC 2.6.2, 2.7.1 and 2.7.2).

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process. UKRI will make the final funding decision. UKRI reserves the right to change the process of assessment in case of high demand, this could include the introduction of a shortlisting stage ahead of the interview panel and changes to the dates listed below.

Notification of intent

A mandatory notification of intent must be completed by 27 May 2026 4:00pm UK time. This will enable UKRI to prepare for the assessment process.

Interview panel

Applicants will be invited to give a presentation followed by questions from an interview panel. The panel will score applications against the assessment criteria using evidence from both the submitted application and the interview, and make a funding recommendation to UKRI.

We will provide early notice of an invitation to attend, but you should note that the interview assessment panel meeting is currently planned for the week commencing 14 September 2026.

The final funding decision for this funding opportunity will adopt a portfolio approach to select a diverse range of projects in accordance with How we make decisions; balancing thematic focus in such a way that is appropriate to the funding opportunity aims.

We plan to communicate the outcomes of the funding opportunity by the end of September 2026.

For more information on how we prioritise applications for funding please visit How we make decisions.

Feedback

Feedback will be provided with the outcome of your application.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment, including to correct language, spelling, grammar and formatting. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

• vision
• approach
• positive culture and environment
• capability to deliver

• partnerships and governance
  The ‘Flexible Fund’ question will not be assessed by the panel but will be reviewed by us against the following criteria:

• whether the proposed activities meet the objectives of the funding

• whether the proposed mechanisms for delivery are appropriate
  The award amount will be confirmed by us if successful.
  Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact researchcareers@nerc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm To help us process queries more efficiently, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Additional info

Background

Definition of evidence synthesis

Evidence synthesis refers to the process of bringing together the best available relevant evidence to answer a specific question. It is based on a rigorous and systematic approach to searching, identifying, collating, quality appraising and analysing relevant evidence from multiple studies and sources, based on pre-defined criteria, to inform scientific understanding and decision-making on specific issues.

This includes the production of evidence and gap maps, rapid or systematic evidence reviews, realist reviews and living evidence reviews as well as the design of tools and methods to communicate evidence synthesis outputs effectively to policymakers and practitioners.

The most effective evidence synthesis is often an ongoing iterative process co-owned by synthesis producers and users. By providing access to the highest quality current evidence on an issue, ideally with priority issues defined by end-users from the outset, evidence synthesis serves as a critical and powerful tool for decision makers when formulating policy or designing public services.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

• breaks and delays
• disruptive working patterns and conditions
• the loss of ongoing work
• role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

Timeline

15 April 2026 9:00am Opening date applications 27 May 2026 4:00pm Notification of intent 15 July 2026 4:00pm Closing date Week commencing 14 September 2026 Panel interview End of September 2026 Announcement of successful awards October 2027 First cohort of students to start

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• UKRI policies and standards
• NERC policies and standards

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