SPAG, chaired by Professor Graham Underwood of the University of Essex, recommends prioritised highlight topic (HT) and strategic programme area (SPA) investment opportunities to NERC's Science Board. These opportunities are generated from broad and open input of ideas from the NERC community.

SPAG responds to ideas provided by the environmental science community to ensure that those strategic investments are appropriate, timely, support excellent research, and tackle environmental challenges faced by business and society.

Members are experts in their area of environmental science or profession and are committed to solving real-world problems through environmental science. As such they are well-placed to recognise emerging ideas and opportunities across all of the NERC remit and to make judgements across a range of scientific, strategic and policy issues.

Appointments are for one year in the first instance, subject to arrangements with UKRI. The new members are:

• Dr Adrian Hines (Met Office)
• Professor Caroline Peacock (University of Leeds)
• Professor Tom Spencer (University of Cambridge)
• Professor Jason Weeks (Joint Nature Conservation Committee)

For further details on this announcement, and the SPAG institution, please see the source article here.