We would like to remind research organisations and partners that NERC’s flagship curiosity-driven research funding opportunity – Pushing the Frontiers – is open for submissions. Details of the funding opportunity are available on the Funding Finder

• Please note the following key changes to how we now run this scheme:
  • No submission deadlines – applicants can submit at any time, as soon as their application is ready
  • No organisational demand management (no caps on individual ROs)
  • No individual demand management (no limit on individual involvement across multiple applications)
  • Assessment by expert review + moderation panels (previously biannual assessment panels)

A note on assessment process and timeline: Moderating panels will be held when a critical number of applications have progressed through expert review. Only at this stage will NERC be able to make funding decisions. During this initial transition to our always open PtF Opportunity, we appreciate your patience as we are keen to carefully manage both demand on assessors and potentially lengthened processing times.  If significant peaks and troughs in submissions need to be managed throughout the year, funding outcomes will likely be delayed to enable us to manage demand on UKRI staff and assessors.