Choosing a proposal
Scientists can apply to a range of different organisations for funding; some government run (including the EU), while others may be charities or commercial organisations. Whatever the funding route, NERC will only provide ship time 'free at the point of use' for science that is of an international quality, and it has a grading system against which proposals are assessed. NERC completes this assessment by a group of the researcher’s peers, referred to as the Peer Review College. This group only look at the quality of the science proposed, not at its costs, and consequently it is quite possible for there to be more successful proposals than available funding.
Once a proposal has been funded, it has reached the first step and there is no guarantee it will be programmed to go to sea immediately. NERC must use the specialist capabilities of its ships in the most effective and cost-efficient manner. As a result, the programme is developed according to prioritisation criteria to avoid discriminating between cruise bids by having to (re)assess science quality or consider funding type. This means it can take several years for a cruise to get programmed for sea time, although normally, a cruise will be programmed in the year following the one in which it is funded.
Another way NERC capitalises on its ship time is through ‘opportunistic sea time’, which may be available because a scientist can effectively utilise a passage leg without delaying the progress of the vessel. Alternatively, it may be that a scientist can conduct additional work alongside an existing cruise without significantly affecting the activities of that cruise.
