NERC removes cash limit on new investigator grants

The Natural Environment Research Council has removed the £15,000 limit on new investigator grants, and has opened them up to applicants even if they have previously received funding as a co-investigator.

The changes are set out in NERC’s new research grant and fellowship handbook, which was published on 12 April. However, applicants must not have received research funding from any source as a principal investigator with any associated post-doctoral research assistant staff support costs.

Other changes in the handbook relating to research grants are that NERC will not accept proposals that have been submitted to more than one research council or funding body. It will also increase support for PhD students from 42 to 48 months from the academic year 2014-15. It has also altered the closing dates for standard grants—which will now be late January and July each year—and for independent research fellowships—now the beginning of October each year.