UKRI

NERC urgency funding

The questions, word limits and assessment criteria below are the funder’s own, taken from the published competition material. You still submit through their service; this is where the writing happens first.

8 questions, straight from the funder

Their word limits are on every box, counted live as you type, and what the assessor is told to look for sits beside it. All of that is free. The pre-sift check — every mechanical rule that rejects a proposal before anyone reads it, run over what you have written — comes with the pass.

Application questions

Q1 Summary

0 / 550 words

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

Q2 Vision

0 / 330 words

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessor looks for

  • is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
  • has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
  • is timely given current trends, context, and needs
  • impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
  • identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be
  • provide justification for the urgency of the proposed work and explain why applying through other available funding opportunities would result in a missed opportunity to undertake environmental research of high scientific importance

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

Q3 Approach

0 / 770 words

How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessor looks for

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
  • is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
  • uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable)
  • summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
  • access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed work
  • a clear strategy for taking the research forward once the urgent phase is complete

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

Q4 Applicant and team capability to deliver

0 / 1650 words

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessor looks for

  • the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
  • the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
  • the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
  • contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
  • contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
  • the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
  • contributions to the wider research and innovation community
  • contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

Q5 Resources and cost justification

0 / 1 words

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost? Please complete the resources and costs for each organisation to illustrate the high-level cost summary for your proposed work. You are not required to submit a justification of resources with your application. Instead enter ‘NA’ into the justification of resources text box. Further costing information may be requested before the grant can be awarded. You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and

Q6 Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

What are the ethical and RRI considerations, implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessor looks for

  • the relevant ethical and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project
  • the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, while minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm
  • how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

Q7 Data management and sharing

0 / 200 words

How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?

What the assessor looks for

  • which NERC data centre is required to archive the data
  • whether the total volume of data is likely to be larger than 1TB
  • any other detail on how you will comply with NERC data policy

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

Q8 Facilities

0 / 250 words

Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility? The ARCHER2 service will end on 21 November 2026, and UKRI is currently transitioning to a new compute landscape. Until details of new compute provision are confirmed, applicants who require HPC resources beyond November 2026 have been advised to select ARCHER2 at application and to describe their compute requirements in full. Other compute investments to be aware of include: EPSRC Tier 2 facilities ended in March 2026 Isambard 3 is currently funded until March 2027 National Compute Resources will come online in 2026 (Recen

What the assessor looks for

  • name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 43KB)
  • proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
  • confirmation you have their agreement where required

A filled dot only means your answer mentions that ground. It is not a judgement of how well.

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