Environmental Sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2026
Historical reference for NERC’s 2026 Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund, which supported new international environmental science partnerships. The official UKRI page lists the opportunity as closed.
Environmental Sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2026
The Environmental Sciences: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund (GPSF) 2026 was a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant opportunity delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It supported UK researchers who wanted to establish new, sustainable international partnerships and networks in natural environment science. The official UKRI opportunity page now lists this round as Closed. No later opening or closing date is announced on that page, so this entry is a historical reference rather than an invitation to apply.
The 2026 opportunity was published on 30 April 2026. Applications opened on 5 May 2026 at 09:00 UK time and closed on 16 July 2026 at 16:00 UK time. NERC stated that applications could not be submitted after the closing time. The page’s timeline listed an assessment panel in October 2026, award announcements in November 2026, and a required project start by 1 February 2027.
Key details
| Item | Verified 2026 details |
|---|---|
| Funder | Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) |
| Co-funders | São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Taiwan |
| Funding type | Grant |
| Opportunity status | Closed |
| Total fund | £1,000,000 |
| Maximum project value | Up to £100,000 full economic cost (FEC) |
| NERC contribution | 80% of FEC |
| International partner travel and subsistence | Maximum £15,000, paid at 100% FEC for eligible actual costs |
| Award duration | Maximum 24 months |
| Required project start | By 1 February 2027 |
| Application service | UKRI Funding Service; not Je-S |
| International partners | At least one new international project partner was mandatory |
The official page does not announce a replacement round. Readers looking for a live call should check NERC and UKRI directly for a separate announcement instead of treating the 2026 deadline as open.
Purpose and scope
GPSF was designed to help UK researchers develop international relationships that could become durable collaborations beyond the grant. The proposal needed to combine partnership development with specific scientific objectives. Exploratory work was welcome, but a proposal could not be only a networking exercise or a general travel request.
The collaboration had to address work in a science area within NERC’s remit. Environmental science-led multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary proposals were welcome when the majority of the application remained within that remit. The official guidance described the desired partnerships as international, new, and long-term. It also asked applicants to explain why the proposed work required expertise or resources that could not be obtained by working only with UK partners.
Supported activity examples included exchange visits or staff secondments, networks focused on a common research area, scoping or feasibility studies, proof-of-concept studies, and workshops. Partners could contribute complementary skills, data, infrastructure, or field sites. The partnership had to be central to the scientific plan, with a clear and demonstrable intention to continue the relationship after the award.
The call allowed partners from any country outside the UK. The quality of the partnership mattered more than the number of participating countries or institutions. Existing international collaborators could take part, but the application had to primarily develop a new international project partnership.
Eligibility and the meaning of a new partnership
The lead organisation needed to be a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding, and the applicant’s role had to meet NERC’s individual eligibility requirements. The call was open to research groups and individuals and welcomed applicants at any career stage, subject to those rules. Multidisciplinary research and collaboration with other UK organisations were encouraged.
At least one international project partner was required. International collaborators, including the new primary partner, had to be recorded in the Funding Service’s Project partner section rather than the core team. This also applied to UK partners who were not based at approved organisations and to partners from business or financial organisations. Project partners funded their own involvement, except that the call could pay up to £15,000 for international partners’ travel and subsistence at 100% FEC.
NERC gave specific guidance for judging whether a partnership was genuinely new. The primary UK applicant and partner should not have been lead author and co-author on a peer-reviewed paper together. They should not have co-authored more than two papers in any capacity, received funding for a joint project, worked previously in the same lab or department, or occupied a PhD supervisor-and-student relationship. These examples were guidance rather than an exhaustive test: assessment panels used their own judgement, and NERC stated that exceptions would not be considered case by case and that the decision was final.
There were also participation limits. An individual could submit only one application as project lead or project co-lead. The guidance prohibited resubmission, applying as project lead and project co-lead in two consecutive years, and holding an active GPSF grant in either role at the closing date. These rules applied to the closed 2026 round and should be rechecked against any future NERC call because a later programme could use different terms.
Funding and eligible costs
The full economic cost of a project could be up to £100,000. NERC funded 80% of FEC. The specific exception was international project partners’ travel and subsistence during visits or exchanges: up to £15,000 could be requested, paid at 100% of actual eligible costs. Partners in Brazil or Taiwan could also be eligible for support from FAPESP or NSTC, respectively, under the relevant joint-funding arrangements.
The award could run for a maximum of 24 months, and projects had to start by 1 February 2027. The budget therefore needed to support a defined seed phase rather than an open-ended programme. A credible budget would connect each visit, workshop, feasibility study, or research activity to both the scientific objectives and the development of the partnership.
NERC listed several exclusions. The call would not fund PhD studentship costs, conference attendance, conference registration, or associated conference travel and subsistence. Equipment requests of £25,000 or more were outside the opportunity. Smaller equipment items under £25,000 individually were to be requested under consumables or other directly incurred costs. Standard office computing equipment was also excluded. International partner salary and estates costs were not funded; the stated exception was travel and subsistence up to the £15,000 limit.
Where an application needed a NERC facility or service, the applicant was expected to discuss the work with the facility at least two months before the closing date, obtain confirmation that the service could be provided within the funding period, and receive a technical assessment with the calculated cost. The technical assessment did not need to be submitted, but the application had to confirm that it had been received.
How the 2026 application worked
The 2026 round ran on the new UKRI Funding Service. The lead organisation had to be registered, and applications could not be submitted through Je-S. The project lead was responsible for completing the application, while team members and project partners were expected to contribute. Only the lead research organisation could submit to UKRI.
For the closed round, the application sequence was:
- The project lead signed in to, or created, a UKRI Funding Service account and selected and verified the organisation.
- The team entered answers directly into the Funding Service text fields, saving work and returning to it as needed. Where the service requested a document, applicants followed its upload instructions.
- The application identified the core team and recorded international collaborators in the Project partner section, with their contributions also explained in the relevant narrative sections.
- The lead organisation completed the internal review and approval process required by its research office.
- The lead research organisation submitted the application to UKRI before 16 July 2026 at 16:00 UK time.
The final step is no longer available for this round: the official page says applicants could not apply after the deadline, and submitted applications could not be changed. That is why this page keeps the real closing date in its metadata while marking the entry as historical.
Brazilian partners in the State of São Paulo followed an additional FAPESP route. The application title needed the “NERC-FAPESP” prefix, the Brazilian investigator had to be entered as a project partner, the FAPESP budget had to be represented in the partner contribution, and the applicant had to register in FAPESP’s SAGe system and attach the relevant submission in the Funding Service.
Taiwanese partners followed the NERC-NSTC arrangement. The application title needed the “NERC-NSTC” prefix, the Taiwanese investigator had to be entered as a project partner, and the requested NSTC budget form had to be completed and attached as a PDF in the joint-funding question. Those routes were part of the 2026 guidance and would need fresh confirmation for any later call.
Application content and assessment
The Funding Service asked applicants to provide a plain-English summary, a Vision section, an Approach section, Applicant and team capability to deliver, Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI), and International partnerships. The assessment areas were vision, approach, applicant and team capability to deliver, ethics and RRI, and international partnerships.
The Vision response needed to explain the intended achievement, the opportunity to advance knowledge, why the work was timely, and the aim of the new international partnership. The Approach response needed to connect methods, activities, timing, outputs, and the partner’s role. The team-capability response used the R4RI format and needed to show the skills of the UK team and international partner, including the expertise the partner brought that was not available in the UK.
The International partnerships section was a central part of the application, not an administrative appendix. It needed to identify which partnership was new, explain the partner’s distinct expertise, and set out how the relationship could continue beyond the award, including possible follow-on funding and research subjects. If more than one international partner was included, the application had to distinguish the new primary partnership from existing collaborations.
The panel process began with eligibility and remit checks. Applications within scope were assigned to two panel members for pre-scoring, and the lowest-scoring applications could be sifted out with agreement from the panel chair. The remaining applications were discussed by an expert panel, which agreed a single score. Panel scores were considered alongside the opportunity requirements and available budget, with random allocation available for equally scored applications. Co-funded FAPESP or NSTC applications received priority in the relevant random allocation, subject to the limit stated in the guidance.
Applicants also needed to address ethics, responsible research, and trusted research and innovation. International due diligence, data, people, infrastructure, the natural environment, local communities, equality, diversity, and inclusion could all be relevant depending on the proposed work. The official guidance expected organisations receiving UKRI funding to act within applicable legislation and conduct appropriate due diligence on research partnerships and related contracts.
Historical-reference FAQ
Can I apply now?
No. The official UKRI page lists the 2026 opportunity as closed and says applications could not be made after 16 July 2026 at 16:00 UK time. This entry is retained to document the closed round; it is not a live application listing.
Was there a later cycle?
No later opening or closing date is announced on the official page checked for this update. Do not infer that another GPSF round will use the same budget, eligibility rules, or dates. Check the NERC and UKRI opportunity pages for any separate announcement.
What was the maximum award?
The 2026 call allowed a project FEC of up to £100,000, with NERC funding 80% of FEC. Up to £15,000 for international partners’ travel and subsistence could be paid at 100% FEC, subject to the guidance.
What made the partnership suitable?
It needed to be international, new, and intended to become long-term. The partner had to contribute expertise, data, infrastructure, field access, or another capability not available within the UK, and the proposal needed specific scientific objectives alongside partnership-building activity.
Where was the official application page?
The archived 2026 opportunity remains at the UKRI URL in this page’s metadata: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/environmental-sciences-global-partnerships-seedcorn-fund-2026/. The UKRI Funding Service was the submission system for the closed round, not Je-S.
Official source
The official source for this historical entry is the Natural Environment Research Council opportunity page hosted by UK Research and Innovation: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/environmental-sciences-global-partnerships-seedcorn-fund-2026/. It records the closed status, the 2026 dates, the £100,000 maximum, the 80% FEC contribution, the partner-cost limit, the eligibility rules, the Funding Service process, and the assessment timeline.