FOI release

FOI2020/00207: Capital Call: Ranked List

This request was refused in full, so we didn't provide the information the requester asked for. This may include information where we can neither confirm nor deny that we hold it.

Case reference FOI2020/00207

Published 22 June 2021

Request

Request Received: 7 July 2020

Would it be possible to get the ranked list of all proposals and the cut off for the 2019 capital call?

The NERC website does not have this information available yet, and it would be useful to have for a planned submission for the next call later this year.

Response

Response Sent: 16 September 2020

I can confirm UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) hold the information relevant to your request.

We have determined that the information you have requested falls under Section 41 of the FOIA, information provided in confidence.

To explain further, UKRI would not release information on the unsuccessful proposals into the public domain, as the details included in the ranked list have been provided in confidence.

If the information were to be released, we believe it would result in an actionable breach of confidentiality.

As this exemption is absolute there is no requirement to conduct a public interest test.

However, there is still a need for us to consider whether there are any public interest defence arguments which might outweigh the prevailing public interest in maintaining confidentiality.

We considered whether disclosure of the ranked list would facilitate transparency and accountability in NERC's funding decisions, however concluded that this public defence argument is not sufficient to override the public interest in maintaining the privacy of unsuccessful applicants.

Documents

• FOI_Response_Letter_FOI2020_00207_Redacted.pdf (146.6 KB)

This is UK Research and Innovation's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

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