Opportunities
The Strategic Priorities Fund programmes will bring together a broad range of research disciplines to drive an increase in high quality multi- and interdisciplinary research and innovation.
We will be allocating funding for the Clean Air, UK Climate Resilience and ExCALIBUR programmes through open competition.
There are no current open Met Office calls for the UK Climate Resilience or ExCALIBUR programmes.
Details on current Clean Air opportunities
Details on current EPSRC ExCALIBUR cross-cutting research opportunities
Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) – Clean Air Programme
Met Office tendering on behalf of BEIS.
Background information on the Clean Air Programme
- Indoor Air Quality Emissions & Modelling System opportunity
- UK Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality Outreach opportunity
Note to bidders* - project timeline changes due to recent events have resulted in a reduction of available budget for this work than originally advertised – see details below.
Indoor Air Quality Emissions & Modelling System
Call Reference: DN524412
Grant Funds for one lot for the period January 2022 – January 2025:
| FEC | Total amount |
2021/22 (3 months) |
2022/23 (12 months) | 2023/24 (12 months) | 2024/25 (10 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | £1,000,000 | £81,000 | £324,000 | £324,000 | £271,000 |
| 80% | £800,000 | £64,800 | £259,200 | £259,200 | £216,800 |
Key dates:
| Publication of call (start of bidding period) |
09 March 2021
|
|---|---|
| Bidding deadline | 10 May 2021, 12pm |
| Estimated award of call | w/c 26 July 2021 |
| Estimated delivery period | Year 1: January 2022 – March 2022 Year 2: April 2022 – March 2023 Year 3: April 2023 – March 2024 Year 4: April 2024 – January 2025 |
Summary of Requirement - Indoor Air Quality Emissions & Modelling System
Outdoor air quality emissions and modelling is well established in the UK, the outputs from outdoor air quality models are frequently used to estimate human exposure for health impacts studies, assuming that outdoor pollution estimates are a valid proxy for all exposure. Improvements in outdoor air quality and a growing understanding of the importance of indoor air quality, coupled with the fact that most people spend the majority of their time indoors, has made it apparent that the contribution of indoor pollution to overall daily exposure estimates of the accumulated human exposure, is important.
The indoor air environment may contain in excess of 900 chemicals, particles, and biological materials, all with the potential to cause health impacts. This activity will identify a reduced set of key indoor air pollutants, or pollutant families (chemical and biological) as well as their main sources, which are required to characterise overall air quality. By identifying a number of key pollutants and their sources or family types, it will become possible to quantify the contribution of indoor pollution to overall pollution exposure and permit the development of targeted mitigation advice and policies to further reduce personal exposure.
The calculation of air quality exposure relies upon the availability of emission estimates and a suitable air quality model. This activity will deliver extendable software and data tools capable of calculating pollutant emissions estimates for a range of representative buildings, indoor environments, and activities to capture a suitable UK representation. To support the use and analysis of this data the activity will also deliver a simple indoor air quality model (e.g. maybe a box model) which will enable the emission estimates to be validated and for total exposure estimates to be made.
Further details can be found in the call documentation - see 'how to apply' on for how to access this.
Eligibility criteria
How to apply
UK Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality Outreach
Call Reference: DN524568
There are two lots available, each lot is for the period January 2022 – January 2024.
Call for competition to cover the following lots:
| FEC | Total amount (per lot) |
2021/22 (3 months) |
2022/23 (12 months) | 2023/24 (10 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | £100,000 | £12,000 | £48,000 | £40,000 |
| 80% | £80,000 | £9,600 | £38,400 | £32,000 |
Key dates:
| Publication of call (start of bidding period) |
09 March 2021 |
|---|---|
| Bidding deadline | 10 May 2021, 12pm |
| Estimated award of call | w/c 26 July 2021 |
| Estimated delivery period |
Year 1: January 2022 – March 2022 |
Summary of Requirement
As a society, our individual life choices and behaviour can have a significant impact on air quality. This is true for both the indoor and outdoor environments. Choices and behaviours are influenced by several factors including knowledge of and attitudes towards air quality and health. On an individual level, a pre-requisite to us adopting positive actions that may result in improved air quality, is the heightened awareness and knowledge of how our own behaviour may contribute. Although there are many sources of information (Defra, PHE, Royal Colleges, COMEAP, and charities have all published material on aspects) on the causes of poor air quality, the health impacts, related policy and mitigating actions, the available information can be highly detailed and/or aimed at specific audiences including specialists/professionals. While highly factual, the information can present barriers to wider access by both adults and children.
Many local examples of information on air quality and health do also exist but wider universal resources are far from exhaustive.
In this call we are seeking proposals that offer to develop a range of material aimed at providing a holistic resource(s) for a number of target audiences. Material will cover the causes, and implications of poor air quality; the actions available to reduce our exposure; and how we can improve air quality. The intention is for an easily accessible range of resources to be centrally located that informs and encourages a shift in comprehension of and general behaviour in relation to air quality. These resources will have a distinct and positive messaging approach on how we can improve air quality and build a clean air future.
This outreach activity is an important area for development in the air quality community as it completes the cycle of translating knowledge and science into action, so increasing the relevance, applicability and impact of the research undertaken in the health and air quality disciplines. It will consist of two lots which will be complimentary, and bidders are welcome to bid for either or both.
The call will consist of two lots which will be complimentary, and bidders are welcome to bid for either or both.
Further details can be found in the call documentation - see 'how to apply' on for how to access this.
Lot 1: CA20-2 - UK Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality Outreach – Children
This activity will develop material aimed at children. Material will be suitable for use in the classroom, in wider structured settings e.g. Scout/Guide groups, home educators, and also for individual self-driven exploration/use.
Where possible and appropriate, effort should be made to link with and complement curricula of the UK’s four nations, to maximize the potential reach and impact of the resource(s). However, the material should not be limited to what is in the curricula but should seek to go beyond, particularly given the desire that the resources will provide a wider and more encompassing tool set for air quality understanding and action and also be suitable for use outside the classroom (e.g. Scout/Guide groups, home educators, etc).
Lot 2: CA20-3 - UK Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality Outreach – Adult
This activity will develop material aimed at adults. This is potentially far too broad a category and so it is expected that proposals will focus on subset(s) of the adult population. No restrictions are placed on the focus. However, we would note that some material already exists for certain groups considered to be vulnerable to poor air quality and also that there is formal material/training for some who address air quality in their professional capacity. Similarly, we note that clean air will benefit all and that everyone has a role to play in achieving clean air. We are therefore particularly keen on material that in part of whole addresses and engages those who might perceive themselves to not have to worry about air quality.
Eligibility
The following criteria must be met by UK organisations submitting a bid against Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) funded Calls to be eligible to apply or be awarded funds against this Call:
- Must be a UK operating and registered organisation.
- Consortium bids are eligible; a lead partner must be nominated for payment and agreement purposes and all parties must be UK operating and registered organisations. Details of all consortium members must be provided.
- Funding can only be used to fund new activity for the costs incurred.
- The activity must last the full duration of the Grant Award Term specified
- There must be a willingness to work with Authority and other organisations and individuals associated with the SPF Programme.
The above call is advertised on the Met Office ProContract e-Tendering portal called ProContract. To access you will need to log onto the ProContract portal via this link: tenders.metoffice.gov.uk
You may need to search for the Call references DN524568 or DN524568 as appropriate.
You will need to register your company (if you have not already done so) and register your interest against the opportunity before you are able to access the tender documents.
If you require guidance or ‘how to’ instructions – see the supplier manuals on the right-hand side of the supplier home page.
Online Discussions between Bidders and the Met Office:
There is a Discussions function on ProContract which shall be used to provide all further information regarding this opportunity including any changes to time scales, scope or clarifications. This function must be used by bidders to submit all clarification questions.
Background to Clean Air Programme
Poor air quality is acknowledged as the top environmental risk to public health in the UK, with air pollution is responsible for ~40,000 early deaths and has a cost of ~£20bn pa to health services and business. For example, air pollution makes us more susceptible to respiratory infections and other illnesses, where particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone were estimated to cost UK businesses £2.7bn in productivity losses in 2012, and are projected to cost the NHS and social care systems between £5.3bn and £18.6bn by 2035.
This challenge will require shared Government, business, research, and civic responsibility to tackle. The UK has built up exceptional research, practitioner and citizen communities, however, there has traditionally been a siloed response to air quality challenges that has inhibited the necessary joint and cross disciplinary activities.
Furthermore, the UK is entering a transformative period in air pollution as transport, heating, energy, solvent use and agricultural emissions change. Most of the “easy wins” to reduce particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, ammonia and nitrogen oxides have already been implemented in the UK. Divergent trends are anticipated over the next decade that will likely see declining outdoor air pollution emissions from the road transport sector, but other sectors, such as domestic consumption of volatile organic chemicals, becoming more prominent. Managing human exposure to the very smallest airborne particulate matter, the complex cocktail of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)3, and also interactions with other potential exposures (such as biological), is likely to grow in health significance.
Clean Air is an integrated programme of air quality research, which aims to bring together the UK’s world class air quality research capabilities, including across the health, atmospheric and behavioural/social sciences to address, and support high quality multi- and interdisciplinary research and innovation to develop practical solutions to today’s air quality issues and equip the UK to proactively tackle future air quality issues, in order to protect health and support clean growth.
The programme is a £42.5 m research and innovation investment supported through the UK Research and Innovation Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) and is delivered across two waves of SPF funding. The Clean Air programme is jointly delivered by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Met Office, with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Medical Research Council (MRC), National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), Department for Transport (DfT), Scottish Government and Welsh Government.
The Met Office invites proposals for interdisciplinary research under the second wave of the Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) Clean Air Programme.
The overarching aim of the second wave of investment (£22m) is to support new interdisciplinary research and innovation that will equip the UK to tackle emerging and future indoor and outdoor air quality challenges in a proactive way. The knowledge and solutions generated will allow us to act now to secure clean air and protect health by avoiding locking in potential future issues and unintended consequences such as increases in exposure to toxic VOCs, fine particulate matter and ozone that are projected to occur as other types of air pollution fall.
The second wave of the Clean Air programme is expected to:
• Build a new UK interdisciplinary community to address research challenges across the interface of indoor/outdoor air quality through collaboration between wider disciplines and stakeholder including: environmental, social and medical sciences, engineering, economics, and health.
• Deliver new knowledge that:
• provides critical foresight on emerging air pollution challenges and associated health risks and impacts; and
• enables better understanding and quantification of human behavioral change and practices, and development and assessment of behavioral and technological interventions, that limit exposure routes and mitigate negative health impacts of those most at risk.
• Provide consistent, evidence-based advice for stakeholders through open data and tools in order to stimulate policy and regulatory innovation.
• Stimulate business-led innovation for sustainable products and services to protect health across the indoor/outdoor air quality interface and grow UK businesses.
The programme will be delivered through a portfolio of activities by both UKRI and Met Office.