The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is now inviting applications from early career researchers for the NERC Independent Research Fellowship. Eligible applicants must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding, and from any area of NERC’s remit. This offers an opportunity to apply for funding to further your career through an independent research fellowship.

Your fellowship will last five years, and you can choose to work full time or part time (on pro rata basis). You will be funded at 80% full economic cost up to a total fund amounting to £7,200,000.

Funding Details

The NERC Independent Research Fellowship funds early career researchers who hold a PhD qualification or expect to submit their thesis before the fellowship interview and are based at a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding. We welcome applications from any area of NERC’s remit.

The fellowship will fund at 80% full economic cost. You may apply for funding for facilities costs and cruise costs. We will not fund studentships. Your fellowship will last five years. You can choose to work full time or part time. Part-time fellowships will be pro rata.

Award Value

Up to a total of £7,200,000.

Funders

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

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Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible to apply to the NERC Independent Research Fellowship thus:

• This funding opportunity is open to early career researchers wishing to carry out independent research. Applicants on an upward trajectory to pursuing working independently and developing research leadership are encouraged to apply.
• You must also be able to evidence reasonable scientific and technical skills and competencies, in line with the ambitions of the Independent Research Fellowship (IRF) scheme.
• If you are currently studying for a PhD, you are only eligible if you are expecting to have passed your PhD viva before March 2024.
• There is no limit on the number of years postdoctoral or work experience.
• Holders of postdoctoral training fellowships such as the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions can apply.
• Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellows and Daphne Jackson Trust Fellows who meet all eligibility requirements may also apply.
• If you have been included on applications as a project co-lead, then you are eligible to apply provided you still meet all eligibility criteria. Your application must be different from applications you have been included on.
• You may be employed at a lecturer level that is clearly a ‘teaching only’ post.

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Application Procedure

To apply to the NERC Independent Research Fellowship:

• Confirm you are the project lead.
• Sign in or create a UKRI 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
• 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.
• Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
• Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
• Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Application Deadline: Applications to the NERC Independent Research Fellowship must be received by 8 November 2023 at 4:00pm UK time.

Website and Application Link