NERC in collaboration with the Argentine National Scientific & Technical Research Council (CONICET), the Brazilian São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the Chilean National Commission for Scientific & Technological Research (CONICYT), the Peruvian National Council for Science, Technology, & Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC), are inviting proposals under the Latin American Biodiversity Programme.
This call is supported by the UK through the Newton Fund, which forms part of the UK government’s official development assistance commitment and is only open to joint UK-Latin American (LATAM) applications.
The Latin American Biodiversity Programme aims to provide trans-regional level understanding of the role of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and the services they provide in managing environments for sustainable development. The programme is being delivered through two calls. Phase 1 was led by the British Council, which created capacity building and mobility schemes in the first year of the programme.
Phase 2 (this call) is led by NERC, and is a multilateral research call based on four thematic areas identified by the funders:
Understanding habitats and species. Biodiversity for sustainable livelihoods and bio-economy. Global climate change, biodiversity and ecosystems. Maintaining and restoring natural capital.
Applications to this call are not restricted to successful applicants in the Phase 1 call.
Applicants are invited to submit multilateral collaborative research proposals comprising eligible UK-based researchers and at least two participating LATAM countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile or Peru). All proposals will be required to have a UK principal investigator, in addition to principal investigators from participating LATAM partner countries. Eligibility to apply is determined by each agency’s eligibility rules and the resources requested must also adhere to each agency’s guidelines
Prospective applicants from participating LATAM countries currently without UK collaborators should note that Universities UK International (UUKi) is offering match-making service to help connect potential UK partners. LATAM applicants wishing to use this service should complete UUKi’s partner request form– external link. Their partnership request will also be included in UUKi’s opportunities for collaboration– external link webpage.
Up to £4·5 million is available from NERC to support eligible UK based researchers, with the relevant LATAM funding agency supporting the LATAM researcher effort. Projects can have a maximum duration of 36 months. The funders anticipate funding up to four successful multilateral projects.
Applicants should refer to the full Announcement of Opportunity below for further details.
Announcement of Opportunity (PDF, 298KB)
In addition, the LATAM partners have requirements for additional documents to be included within the submission and, where relevant, templates can be found here: https://nerc.ukri.org/research/funded/programmes/latam/news/ao/