The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is one of the seven UK Research Councils which fund and manage scientific research in the UK. NERC is the leading 
body in the UK for research, survey, monitoring and training in the environmental sciences. NERC supports research and training in universities and in its 
own Centres, Surveys and Units.  
NERC aims to promote and support, high quality basic, strategic and applied research, survey, long-term environmental monitoring and related postgraduate 
training in terrestrial, marine and freshwater biology and Earth, atmospheric, hydrological, oceanographic and polar sciences and Earth observation. 
  
NERC supports four research centres: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the British Geological Survey (BGS), the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and 
the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) and 15 collaborative centres.  
NERC funding schemes come under the following headings: Blue Skies Research Grants; Directed Programmes; Earth Observation Funding Schemes; Fellowships; 
Studentships; Using NERC Science; Knowledge Transfer.