Resilient Economy and Security through Ecosystem Transitions Grants
UK Research and Innovation's Resilient Economy and Security through Ecosystem Transitions Grants fund interdisciplinary research on ecosystem changes to support UK resilience, security, and economic prosperity.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: September 16, 2026 (Notification of Intent) | October 22, 2026 (Full Application)
Funding Amounts: Up to £2.5 million per project (80% FEC; 100% for eligible international co-leads); total fund £15 million; up to 3 years.
Summary: Supports interdisciplinary research to understand and manage ecosystem transitions, enhancing economic prosperity, societal resilience, and national security.
Key Information: Participation in distributed peer review is mandatory for applicants.
Description
This opportunity, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) via the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and co-funded by Defra, supports ambitious research projects to advance understanding of how, when, and why ecosystems transition, reorganise, or collapse. The RESET programme aims to generate new evidence, models, and tools to anticipate and manage ecosystem changes at local to global scales, with direct relevance to UK economic prosperity, societal resilience, and national security. Projects must be interdisciplinary, working across environmental, biological, social sciences, economics, and the humanities, and are expected to collaborate closely with a central programme hub and other RESET initiatives.
Research should address one or more of the following themes:
- Predicting ecosystem change and transitions
- Understanding cascading risks from ecosystem changes
- Building ecosystem resilience
Projects may focus on UK or international ecosystems, but must demonstrate clear relevance to UK resilience and security. Outputs are intended to inform policy, business, and societal strategies for managing ecosystem transitions in the context of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures.
