FOI release

FOI2024/00836: National Interdisciplinary Climate Change Research Centre

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

Case reference FOI2024/00836

Received 18 September 2024

Published 13 January 2025

Request

Request Received: 18 September 2024

Clarification Received: 30 October 2024

I would like to request access to any documents retained/archived by the Natural Environment Research Council covering the period 1998 to 2000 pertaining to the decision to establish a new national interdisciplinary climate change research centre and to do so through an open competition amongst UK higher education institutions. (This centre was eventually established in 2000 as the Tyndall Centre, based at the University of East Anglia (UEA)). I believe Sir John Krebbs was chief executive of NERC at the time.

These documents, including minutes or relevant meetings, might include the following:

• Allocation of funding to such a centre, in relation to ongoing and new Government allocations

• Decision to collaborate with the EPSRC and ESRC in supporting the competition

• The terms of reference for the new centre (the open competition for the centre was announced in about May 1999)

• The constitution of the expert evaluation panel commissioned to review proposals (this panel sat between summer 1999 and March 2000)

• The recommendations of the evaluation panel in both Phase 1 (to decide on short-list) and Phase 2 (to decide on the winner) of the competition.

Response

Response Sent: 2 December 2024

Full details of this response are provided in the attached documents.

Documents

• FOI2024_00836 Expert Panel & Assessment Criteria.pdf (58.8 KB)
• FOI2024_00836 Expert Panel Review Meeting_Redacted.pdf (9.9 MB)
• FOI2024_00836 Extracted Meeting Notes_Redacted.pdf (1.0 MB)
• FOI2024_00836 Funding & Collaboration_Redacted.pdf (1.9 MB)
• FOI2024_00836 Initial Concept Notes_Redacted.pdf (2.9 MB)
• FOI2024_00836 Outcome Notifications_Redacted.pdf (2.9 MB)
• FOI2024_00836 Supplementary Bid Information.pdf (168.7 KB)
• FOI_Response_Letter - FOI2024_00836_Redacted.pdf (321.2 KB)

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