Scope
This funding opportunity is led by the Brazilian agencies, National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and National Council for the State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) and forms a part of the wider Amazon+10 initiative. The funding opportunity aims to support research and technological development in Legal Amazonia, focusing on a deeper understanding of nature-society interactions for sustainable and inclusive development in the region.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are acting as an international funding agency in this Brazil-led funding opportunity, and we will fund UK researchers to collaborate with Brazilian partners in joint projects. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) welcome joint projects that are within the scope of the main funding opportunity published by CNPq and CONFAP and are within the remit of NERC, AHRC or both.
We welcome multidisciplinary applications that span the remits of NERC and AHRC though it is not a requirement for funding. Details of the topics we cover can be found on the NERC and AHRC websites.
In addition, for this funding opportunity researchers who are not based in the UK may participate in the project as international project co-leads, where there is a clear rationale for doing so and should follow AHRC’s international co-lead policy. International researchers within NERC’s remit are also eligible to participate in this scheme. International researchers who are eligible for funding from other funders participating in this Amazon+10 funding opportunity may not request funding from UKRI under AHRC’s international co-lead policy. Costs attributed to international co-leads cannot exceed 30% of the overall cost of the grant at 100% FEC. There is no cap on eligible funds going to co-leads based in countries from the DAC List of ODA recipients.
We invite applications that address the following funding opportunity objectives:
- support the organisation of scientific expeditions aimed at expanding our knowledge about biodiversity or socio-cultural diversity in the Amazon
- build institutional research partnerships between organisations in the Amazon and outside the region, and connect researchers with different affiliations
- foster the strengthening of local research infrastructure and training of professionals in taxonomy, systematics, museology and ethnobiology, under the coordination of teams based in the Amazon
- encourage scientific research in remote and understudied parts of the Amazon
- encourage scientific research that proposes ways to surmount the challenges of studying less well-known and less studied taxonomic groups
- encourage co-creation of applications with traditional knowledge holders from local indigenous peoples, quilombolas, and riparian communities
- promote activities involving education, popularisation and scientific diffusion to different kinds of audience in all sectors of society, and involving specialists, groups and institutions engaged in formal and non-formal education (for example schools, extension units, museums, science centres, zoos, botanic gardens, aquariums, conservation unit visitor centres and non-governmental organisations)
As listed in the funding opportunity, teams must propose data collection, biological and mineral specimens, and objects belonging to past and present Indigenous native and popular culture, always in connection with one or more of the priority themes as follows:
- understanding habitats and their species
- study of biodiversity as a source of livelihood and potential for bioeconomy
- conservation and restoration of natural capital
- studies of the tangible and intangible heritage of ancestral, indigenous and traditional peoples of the Amazon and their associated knowledge systems
- documentation and conservation of Amazonian indigenous languages and associated knowledge systems
- studies on sustainable use of natural resources, institutional arrangements for conservation, and territorial dynamics of indigenous and traditional communities
- integration of field data with emerging technologies
The UK component of all applications must be compliant with Official Development Assistance (ODA) guidelines. For more information, see the ODA section in the annex of the main funding opportunity.
Duration
The duration of this award is up to three years.
Projects must start by 1 November 2024.
Funding available
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £1 million for the UKRI component of collaborative projects with Brazilian partners. We will fund 80% of the full economic cost for UK organisation costs. We encourage applications of different sizes.
You should include all relevant UK costs in the application, taking particular care to include sufficient costs to support an international project such as travel and subsistence in addition to salary (project leads, project co-leads, researcher co-leads and research and innovation associates), consumables, Estates and Indirect costs.
Costs for international co-leads from other countries (excluding Brazil) can be included in accordance with AHRC’s international co-lead policy where it can be demonstrated that they will add value to the project. International researchers who are eligible for funding from other funders participating in this Amazon+10 funding opportunity may not request funding from UKRI under AHRC’s international co-lead policy. All costs incurred by the international co-lead will need to be listed as ‘Exceptions’ and paid at 100% of direct costs only (no Estates and Indirects costs are permitted). We would not normally expect to see salary costs for international co-leads applied for; however, we would allow it in some circumstances, for example:
- where a co-lead is paid term-time only and is expected to supplement their income for the rest of the year
- where a co-lead is required to secure external funding in order to conduct research
- where the co-lead university agrees to free up teaching time for them, provided they can secure funding for replacement teaching
Refer to section 3 of the AHRC research funding guide for full details.
You can request inclusion costs in line with UKRI’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and to continuing to attract and nurture talented people from the widest pool to remain internationally competitive in research and innovation.
You may apply for funding to cover extra costs for such participation, for example, for people with disabilities who may otherwise not be able to participate, or for additional childcare beyond that required to meet the normal contracted requirements of the job and which are directly related to the project.
See the UKRI grants terms and conditions guidance for details of cost headings.
The British Council are also supporting UK participation in the Amazon+10 initiative including providing funding for UK researchers to participate in this funding opportunity. While a joint Brazil-UK project could apply to both UKRI and British Council to fund the UK components, we would not expect individual UK researchers to request funding from both UKRI and British Council in the same joint project.
Applications for funds to UKRI and British Council must be complementary rather than duplicative. For example, you could request costs for a project lead from UKRI and a co- Lead from British Council but could not request costs for the project lead from both UKRI and British Council. Applications involving both UKRI and British Council must ensure they meet all relevant eligibility criteria.
What we will not fund
- PhD studentship costs (but funds may be requested for exchanges of students supported from other sources)
- requests for equipment of £10,000 and over are not part of this funding opportunity. You should request smaller items of equipment (under £10,000 individually) under ‘Consumables (other directly incurred costs)’ in your application
- NERC aircraft, ship time or use of NERC marine equipment
Services and facilities
You can apply to use a facility or resource in your funding application.
You should discuss your application with the facility or service at least two months before the funding opportunity’s closing date to:
- discuss the proposed work in detail
- receive confirmation that they can provide the services required within the timeframe of the funding
The facility will provide a technical assessment that includes the calculated cost of providing the service. NERC services and facilities must be costed within the limits of the funding.
You should not submit the technical assessment with the application, but you must confirm you have received it.
For more information, see the NERC research grants and fellowships handbook.
Read the full list of NERC facilities that require a technical assessment.
High Performance Computing (HPC), and the large research facilities at Harwell have their own policies for access and costing.
Supporting skills and talent
We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) compliance
You must ensure that your application is written with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as the main objective to be considered ODA compliant. Your application must also meet the scope of the funding opportunity.
The Official Economic Development committee (OECD) definition of ODA can be seen on the OECD website. The development assistance committee (DAC) list of ODA recipients shows all countries and territories eligible to receive ODA.
In order to be eligible for this funding opportunity, you must make it clear that your primary purpose is to promote the economic development and welfare of Brazil, which is a DAC list country.
You should:
- seek to investigate a specific problem or seek a specific outcome which will have an impact on Brazil
- clearly articulate Brazil is the primary beneficiary of their research activities
- provide evidence as to why this is a problem for Brazil
- address the issue identified effectively and efficiently
- demonstrate that the research is of an internationally excellent standard
- identify appropriate pathways to impact to ensure that Brazil directly benefits from the research
UKRI also expects that any research being conducted in a developing country will be conducted through equitable partnerships and involve thought leadership and expertise from that country.
In the Amazon+10 funding opportunity, it is a requirement to collaborate with researchers in Brazilian Amazon and for the team to include at least one member who has traditional knowledge related to the chosen territory, referred to as PIQCT, the Portuguese-language acronym for Indigenous Peoples, Quilombolas, and Traditional Communities.
Insufficient evidence of how the research meets this requirement may lead to rejection from the scheme. However, we also encourage you to articulate any secondary benefits, whether that is in the UK or another developed country.
Gender equality
ODA funding provided by UKRI must comply with the requirements of the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, which states, the ’desirability of providing development assistance that is likely to contribute to reducing poverty in a way which is likely to contribute to reducing inequalities between persons of different gender.’
All applications have to address this requirement and detail how meaningful, yet proportionate consideration has been taken as to how the project will contribute to reducing gender inequalities. A statement of how these requirements will be met must be included as part of applications.
It is expected that some projects will have less impact on gender and gender relations and your professional judgement should be exercised to ensure appropriate consideration of the context and intended aims of the project. You can reference other parts of your application within this statement, if relevant.
For more information, see the UKRI guidance on gender equality compliance.
Data management
You must adhere to the UKRI open research policy and NERC data policy.
For details of NERC data centres, see the NERC Environmental Data Service.
We will pay the NERC data centre directly for archival and curation services, but you should ensure that you request sufficient resource to cover preparation of data for archiving by your research team. Additional services from the data centres, such as database development or a specialist in project data management during your project, must be discussed with the relevant data centre prior to submission and the costs included in your application.
Where other specific types of data are also collected, you must refer to relevant council guidance for archiving such specific data.
Reporting requirements
If you are successful, you will be required to report your research outcomes on ResearchFish in line with the standard UKRI terms and conditions. This is required annually and continues for up to five years after the end of funding.
As part of a UKRI-Brazil collaboration, UKRI grant holders will also be expected to contribute as appropriate, to reporting by the Brazilian investigators to meet reporting requirements of CONFAP and CNPq.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning will be a key component of the programme. Project teams will be required to comply with all reporting requirements on research outcomes and ODA compliance from UKRI or Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which will be detailed in the terms and conditions of UKRI awards.
Safeguarding and ethical research
Full consideration should be given to the relevant collaborating country’s context and ethical issues in the planning and conduct of research, implementing a ‘do no harm’ duty of care approach. This includes languages, cultures, faiths, public engagement, legal frameworks, political and regulatory systems.
Applications must fully address ethical and safeguarding issues, referring to local guidance and regulations where applicable. Ethical considerations are amplified in spaces of fragility and violence, requiring additional reflection and safeguarding when planning research.
A toolkit (PDF, 335KB) for those involved in planning research in fragile and conflict-affected contexts has been developed via UKRI and UNICEF. You are strongly encouraged to consult this document when planning your research.
UKRI’s preventing harm in research page outlines our key principles for safeguarding and preventing harm in research.
UKRI also has wider guidance on safeguarding, ethics and expectations around due diligence. See research in a global setting for further guidance.
As this funding opportunity is aimed at international development research, we expect researchers to consider and act on this guidance.
Transfer and use of biological and genetic materials
Any collection and exchange of biological and genetic materials between collaborating institutions must be undertaken in strict compliance with the relevant access and benefits sharing legislation in effect in the UK and Brazil. The Nagoya Protocol provides a framework for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. UK researchers can find further UK national guidance on the UK government website.
Responsible research
Through our funding processes, we seek to make a positive contribution to society and the environment. This is not just through research outputs and outcomes but through the way in which research is conducted and facilities managed.
All NERC grant holders are to adopt responsible research practices as set out in the NERC responsible business statement.
Responsible research is defined as reducing harm or enhancing benefit on the environment and society through effective management of research activities and facilities. Specifically, this covers:
- the natural environment
- the local community
- equality, diversity and inclusion
You should consider the responsible research context of your project, not the host institution as a whole. You should take action to enhance your responsible research approach where practical and reasonable.
