This document provides guidance for applicants seeking funding from NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) to develop public engagement resources. The funding aims to support NERC-funded researchers in engaging the public and developing a suite of reusable resources. Eligible applicants must have attended NERC training and have current or recent NERC funding. Successful applicants can receive up to £2,000 to create resources like lesson plans, demonstrations, exhibits or web content. Applications will be assessed based on their ability to engage the public about NERC science. Funded applicants will be expected to evaluate their resource, share results, and may participate in a workshop to exchange best practices.

1. NERC Public Engagement with Research: Resource
development funding scheme
Call for proposals and guidance for applicants
1. Background
Two aims of the NERC Public Engagement with Research Strategy1 are to
‘engage young people with research’ and ‘encourage and enable NERC-funded
scientists to engage with the public’. Whilst public engagement (PE)
activities are supported through Pathways to Impact funding in order to
achieve societal and economic impact, not all NERC researchers are currently
able to access this money.
To address this, funding is available through this call to provide NERC-funded
researchers, who have undertaken NERC communication/PE
training, with financial support to develop resources that will support their
public engagement activities.
2. Strategic aims for this funding
This funding scheme has two main aims:
i. To support the engagement of people with environmental science by:
 developing a suite of resources across the breadth of the NERC remit
that researchers can use;
 developing resources that people other than researchers can use.
ii. To improve understanding across NERC of how resource development
can best be supported. This can be done by:
 increasing awareness of the types of resources that are of most use in
helping engage the public;
 developing best practice and/or community knowledge and
understanding about the process of developing resources which
support delivery of PE.
3. Eligibility
To apply for this funding you must be able to meet both the following eligibility
criteria:
 previous attendance on NERC’s CSTTP or ETPWYR course2.
 currently, or within the last 12 months, be in receipt of NERC funding
(e.g. a research grant, fellowship or doctoral grant) OR currently a
NERC employee based within one of NERC’s research centres
1 http://www.nerc.ac.uk/about/work/engagement/documents/nerc-per-strategy.pdf
2 You should have attended either NERC’s Communicating Science to the Public or Engaging the
Public with your Research course between 1st Jan 2009 and 20th September 2013

2. Funding will be paid upon submission of an invoice from an eligible
organisation3. You will need to be based at an eligible organisation to be able
to receive payment. We will not accept invoices from individuals for payment
into personal bank accounts.
4. Available funding and payment
Applicants can apply for up to £2,000 of funding. This is the maximum amount
we will pay and includes any VAT. Up to £20,000 has been made available to
support this round.
We expect to have paid the majority of the funding allocated by 31st March
2014; please do not apply to this scheme if you will not be able to invoice us
before then.
5. Types of resources to be funded
The funding is flexible to support development of resources that are
appropriate to the research, the audience and the researcher carrying out the
public engagement.
Examples of resources that could be funded include:
 teaching resources (e.g. lesson plans or hand-outs for teachers)
 demonstrations or models (e.g. hands-on activities or kits to take away)
 exhibits and displays
 workshop or field trip guides
 web or social media content
However, you should not feel bound to produce only these kinds of resources;
we are keen to support new and innovative ways for you to engage people
with your research. To get more ideas and see what already exists please
visit our public engagement webpages and other resources4.
6. Application process and deadlines
Applicants should complete the electronic application form and submit this to
Poppy Leeder (fvl@nerc.ac.uk ) by 17.00 on the 20th September 2013.
Guidance for applicants is provided below
Applicants will be informed of the funding outcome in the week commencing
30th September 2013. Successful applicants will be notified in writing of the
level of award and any terms and conditions that will apply.
3 eligible organisations include all HEIs eligible to receive funding from NERC as outlined in
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/Eligibilityforrcs.aspx
4 Resources to refer to for ideas and guidance:
NERC PE webpages: information for researchers -
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/about/work/engagement/researchers.asp
NCCPE website - http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/how STEM elibrary -
http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/

3. 7. Assessment criteria and process
Applications will be assessed by a panel of people drawn from across NERC
with a responsibility for PE or delivering NERC’s strategic aims.
Applications will be assessed on the overall quality of the proposed
resource, the following will be considered as part of this:
 Ability of the resource to convey the relevance and excitement of
NERC-funded science;
 Innovativeness of the resource
 Sustainability, longevity and legacy of the proposed resource;
 Likely impact of proposed resource;
 Links with other activities;
 Cost effectiveness of creation and delivery of resource;
8. Anticipated outputs
A number of outputs are anticipated to arise from this funding. The primary output
will be newly developed resources that can be used to engage people with
environmental science; researchers are encouraged to make the resource widely
available where appropriate. All resources produced with this funding will be listed
on the NERC website.
A number of secondary outputs are anticipated; these include:
 evaluation of the resource and the process of resource development that
will be made publicly available to increase understanding and highlight
best practice;
 the exchange of ideas and experiences between grant holders to
increase overall levels of knowledge;
We will invite all those funded through the scheme to a workshop towards the end
of, or shortly after, the funding period. This is not compulsory but is a good way to
exchange best practice and learning between researchers and inform NERC about
how best to provide PE funding in future. Travel and subsistence will be provided
for all attendees.
9. Final report and evaluation
You will be required to submit a final report. This includes a summary of a
light-touch evaluation of the resource you will need to carry out.
The light touch evaluation should look at the impact on ‘users’ of the resource e.g.
audience questionnaire for visitors to an exhibition stand. We are happy to
provide help and advice to you about compiling a ‘user’ questionnaire; however
you will have to demonstrate in your application form that this is an area you have
given some thought to. Many resources exist to provide advice on evaluation5
Grant holders will be sent a final report form to complete and return; up to
25% of the funding may be withheld until this is received.
Both the evaluation forms and the workshop (mentioned in section 8.) will be
written up, in an anonymised format, as a brief report to highlight best practice,
5 Royal Academy of Engineering evaluation toolkit
http://www.raeng.org.uk/societygov/public_engagement/ingenious/evaluation.htm and
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/publications/evaluationguide.pdf

4. advice and guidance to others working in the field of public engagement.
10. Contacts and advice
Please contact Poppy Leeder (fvl@nerc.ac.uk or 01793 411974) if you would like
to discuss your ideas
Guidance for applicants
Text Boxes should be expanded to accommodate text as appropriate
1. Title of resource and brief description
This will be used to provide details of funded resources on the public
website. This should be a brief overview of the resource.
2. Applicant’s details
Please provide your details and that of the organisation where you are
based. We are only able to pay grants to an eligible organisation; we will
not accept invoices from individuals for payment into personal bank
accounts.
3. Background information
Please provide a valid grant number. If you were previously on a
doctoral grant and don’t have the number please provide details of
where the studentship was based and your supervisor’s name.
4. Resource summary
Please provide a summary of the resource, this should include the following:
• a description of the resource you intend to produce
• the aims and objectives for engaging young people using the resource
• how or why the resource will appeal to the target audience
• likely audience size
• whether the resource could be used by people other than yourself
(e.g. could teachers use it in the classroom, or could a science
busker use it?)
• could the resource be made available for others to use it (e.g.
could resources be hosted on a website for others to download,
or if a piece of equipment could a lending system be set up?)

5. 5. Evaluation and monitoring
While we will provide help and advice that can be used to help develop
the user questionnaire, it is likely that there will be questions that could
be addressed based on the specific nature of the resource, please give
some indication of what you feel will best demonstrate whether the
resource has been a success or not.
You should also outline how you might evaluate the use of the resource from
a researcher’s point of view and how you might capture your learning from
the process of development
Please indicate whether you are willing to attend the workshop at the end
of the funding period
6. Awareness raising and dissemination
Please give details of how you intend to make potential audiences aware of
your resource and how it might benefit them. You should also list any
places, such as museums or websites where your resource could be lodged
to enable more people to access it, or for others to use it if appropriate.
NERC can provide assistance to you in promoting your resource and
ensuring potential users are made aware of its existence. If you would like
to work with us on this please outline particular areas where you might seek
our support.
7. Budget
You can apply for up to £2,000 (this amount is inclusive of VAT)
As the funding available for this call is limited you are unable to apply for
your time to be supported by this grant, however if you need to buy in some
expertise (such as web-design, or model building, this is an eligible cost)
Please provide a breakdown of your costs; suggested categories include
• venue hire
• printing and publication
• marketing costs
• web-design
• consumables
8. Signatures
Please ensure your head of department signs the application form to
indicate they are willing for this application to be submitted to NERC.