What Works Centre for a climate resilient UK

Open UKRI funding opportunity · Grant. Closes 2026-12-15. Opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/what-works-centre-for-a-climate-resilient-uk/

Apply for funding to establish and lead a What Works Centre for a climate resilient UK to transform how the UK adapts, and builds resilience to the impacts of climate change. It will work with stakeholders to generate, synthesise and mobilise evidence to inform and accelerate adaptation pilots, interventions and actions.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding.

The maximum funder contribution of your centre can be up to £21.1 million.

The grant must start by 1 August 2027.

What we're looking for Scope

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland, Scottish Government, and Welsh Government are inviting applications for an independent What Works Centre (WWC) for a climate resilient UK. The centre will work to transform how the UK adapts, and builds resilience to, the current and projected impacts of climate change.

The centre will work with stakeholders to generate, synthesise and mobilise evidence to inform, accelerate and scale adaptation pilots, interventions and actions. UKRI and Defra are co-funding the centre, and devolved governments are formal partners.

Context

The UK is already experiencing the impacts of climate hazards, with extreme events becoming more frequent and severe than previously projected, while current levels of climate change adaptation are insufficient to respond effectively to these challenges (A Well-Adapted UK, Climate Change Committee, May 2026).

By the 2050s, impacts could include thousands of extra heat related deaths each year, millions of homes at risk of flooding, major infrastructure disruption, and significant further economic and ecological damage, including…