The NERC Management Board (NMB) is part of a revised governance structure to deliver management of NERC as a commissioner including its national capability requirements through three bodies:
- the NMB
- the National Capability Partners’ Forum
- the NERC Assurance Board.
NMB is responsible for:
- directing the development and implementation of Council’s strategies, policies and decisions
- overall corporate management
- ensuring an effective framework is in place for the identification and management of risks in accordance with NERC’s risk appetite, to ensure it reflects NERC’s overall risk profile and provide challenge on mitigating actions and identify new risks
- effective financial management
- capital decisions, planning and spend
- centre allocations (within a national capability commissioning framework)
- resource decisions not taken elsewhere, by the Science Committee etc.
- developing and maintaining corporate information systems
- ensuring that NERC (within UKRI) is managed according to the required standards of accountability, regularity and propriety, achieving high standards of efficiency, effectiveness, and economy
- ensuring that decisions and recommendations are undertaken with the full consideration and management of health and safety in line with:
- the UKRI health and safety policy
- NERC delivery plan and the NERC responsible business statement (including equality, diversity and inclusion)
- UKRI environmental sustainability
- forming collective views on research centre future strategies, informed by Board observer roles
- cross-centre issues with relevance to more than one centre.
NMB works with other research councils, and other bodies, on scientific and operational or administrative matters where there is benefit in doing so. NMB does not get involved in managing individual business units (such as research centres and central functions), which is the responsibility of the relevant director.
Members
- Professor Louise Heathwaite, NERC Executive Chair
- Christine Foster, Chief Product Officer for Data Science, Kantar Public
- Kate Hamer, Interim Director Strategy and Analysis
- Jen Jamieson-Ball, Interim Deputy Director Major Programmes and Infrastructure
- Kim Shillinglaw, Media Executive
- Michaela Simpson, Interim Director People, Culture and Operations
- Dr Iain Williams, NERC Director of Strategic Partnerships
Read the NMB register of interests 2025.
Meetings
Meetings in 2025
- 4 February 2025
- 10 June 2025
- 24 September 2025
- 3 December 2025
Meetings in 2024
Meetings in 2023
Minutes and agendas from previous meetings can be found on the National Archives.