This is a pre-announcement for the Resilient UK Coastal Communities and Seas programme. One element of the programme will be a research grants funding opportunity due to open in April 2023.
Objectives
The programme objectives are to:
- apply place-based approaches seeking to transform our understanding of climatic, environmental, health, economic, social, and cultural factors affecting coastal communities and seas
- support the resilient management of UK coastal seas, coastal communities, and the natural capital these areas support by delivering the evidence base, tools and practical solutions needed to inform policy and apply transformative decision making, in collaboration with communities
- build capacity and capability for transdisciplinary research and the mobilisation of research evidence within coastal communities and seas
Within the programme, we aim to support 3 to 4 research grants, beginning in April 2024 and lasting up to 54 months. The full economic cost of each project can be between £2.5 million to £3 million. Funders will fund 80% of the full economic cost.
Thematic areas
Proposals should take a transdisciplinary approach, to address at least 2 of the following thematic areas:
- understanding the impacts of climate change on UK coasts, improving ocean literacy, and building resilience of marine environments and coastal communities to the impacts of climate change on UK coasts
- understanding the health and socio-economic challenges experienced by coastal communities, and the potential mitigation effects of the natural environment, to enhance resilience in UK coastal areas
- articulating the value and benefits of coastal environments and communities to support the implementation of policies that improve environmental, economic, social and health outcomes in these areas
Requirements
Proposals should also address the following requirements:
- place-based approaches, including, but not limited to, natural capital approaches, which will seek to provide transformative solutions for UK coastal resilience
- developing useful, scalable solutions and tools to enable resilient and sustainable coastal communities and seas
- championing transdisciplinary research and collaborating with stakeholders within coastal communities in the design and delivery of the project, that it is genuinely collaborative in approach
- smart use of data, re-contextualising existing data and new research, where appropriate
- proposals should include legacy plans to ensure the benefits of the project outlive the funding period
We are not seeking:
- proposals where the transdisciplinary research fits within a single research council remit
- proposals where there is an imbalance of the intellectual content, and some disciplines appear ‘bolted’ on
Proposals must be able to start on 1 April 2024. Proposals must clearly outline how they will deliver and report short term impacts within in the first year of the programme, as well as in the medium to long term. Successful projects must have a UK coastal focus and outline which geographies they benefit.
