Council launches a way for natural environment researchers to steer large sums toward major challenges
Like any major funder, the Natural Environment Research Council already has mechanisms for sourcing the views of the research community. But in September it added a further one to the mix by creating the Big Ideas platform by which researchers can make suggestions of major challenges in environmental science (but which may require assistance from other disciplines) that the council should address.
Jemima Brinton, a senior programme manager at NERC responsible for coordinating the process for Big Ideas, explains what a Big Idea is, what’s new about this mechanism, and why it is needed.