Abbreviation | NERC |
---|---|
Formation | 1965 |
Type | Non-Departmental Government Body |
Purpose | Funding of UK environmental science research |
Headquarters | Polaris House |
Location |
|
Region served
|
United Kingdom |
Chairman
|
Sir Anthony Cleaver |
Chief Executive
|
Prof. Duncan Wingham |
Main organ
|
NERC Council |
Parent organization
|
|
Affiliations | AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC, MRC, RCUK, STFC, TSB, UKSA |
Budget
|
£400 million |
Website | www.nerc.ac.uk |
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British Research Council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.
NERC began in 1965 when several environmental (mainly geographic) research organisations (including Nature Conservancy which became the Nature Conservancy Council in 1973 and was divided up in 1991) were brought under the one umbrella organisation. When most research councils were re-organised in 1994, it had new responsibilities – Earth observation and science-developed archaeology. Collaboration between research councils increased in 2002 when Research Councils UK was formed.
The council's head office is at Polaris House in Swindon, alongside the other six Research Councils. NERC's research centres provide leadership to the UK environmental science community and play significant and influential roles in international science collaborations.
It also supports a number of collaborative centres of excellence and subject-based designated Environmental Data Centres for the storage and distribution of environmental data.
The Natural Environment Research Council delivers independent research, survey, training and knowledge transfer in the environmental sciences, to advance knowledge of planet Earth as a complex, interacting system. The council's work covers the full range of atmospheric, Earth, biological, terrestrial and aquatic sciences, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere, and from the geographical poles to the equator.
NERC's mission is to gather and apply knowledge, create understanding and predict the behaviour of the natural environment and its resources, and communicate all aspects of the council's work. The British Meteorological Office is not part of NERC.