WCSSP India Grant funding FY2526
At WCSSP India - Met Office, we are committed to providing accurate weather forecasts and climate services that help people make informed decisions. With a team of highly skilled meteorologists and climate scientists, we use state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge research to deliver customized services that meet the specific needs of our clients. Our mission is to provide reliable information and innovative solutions that enable communities to adapt to changing weather patterns help them prepare for extreme weather events, such as floods and drought therefore mitigating the impact of climate change.
- Opening date:
- Closing date: (Midday)
Contents
Summary
This open call is split into two (2) Lots. Bidders can submit a proposal for a single Lot or multiple Lots.
We invite bidders to propose grant activities to cover a 3-year (36 month) period. Funding will initially be available for a 1-year period (April 2025 – March 2026). Subject to further funding allocations being received from DSIT, the Met Office will confirm extensions to the Grant Agreement on an annual basis to fund year 2 and year 3 activities.
Bids are invited for the following calls/lots;
IND25_2.11: Monsoon extreme rainfall: predictability, variability and forecast skill from days to months ahead
The Indian subcontinent is frequently affected by extreme rainfall before, during and after the summer monsoon season. Extreme precipitation events associated with intense, localised convection, particularly over orography, or larger organised weather systems (monsoon low pressure systems or depressions), can cause substantial damage from flash flooding and landslides, lightning strikes, storm surges and coastal inundation.
This call for research invites contributions that will advance understanding of the representation and predictability of monsoon extreme rainfall events at different scales, and their associated interactions and feedback. This should include examining the skill of ensemble prediction systems to forecast monsoon extreme rainfall from days to months ahead in the context of relevant global and regional seasonal to sub-seasonal numerical weather prediction capabilities. Research could include assessment of aspects such as the role of model resolution, coupling and representation of environmental complexity, ensemble design, diagnostics and post-processing techniques.
The research is also expected to bring original insights on the potential value of new convective-scale global modelling capabilities for predictability of monsoon extreme rainfall, with new capabilities under development at Met Office and Indian partner institutes, as well as provided for research by other international groups (e.g. under WCRP Digital Earth initiative).
IND25_3.7: Utilising Indian research observations for model evaluation
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in India is investing in meteorological facilities for gathering research observations. The Atmospheric Research Testbed (ART) has 3 components enabling detailed observations of atmospheric processes. The new ART Central India site located near Bhopal hosts a wide variety of meteorological instrumentation including lidars, radiometers, radars and a tall mast. The High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory in Mahabaleshwar focusses on observations for aerosol and cloud microphysics research. Finally, the Urban Radar Network across Mumbai provides fine-scale rainfall observations that offers potential to enhance model evaluation over urban areas.
This call for research invites contributions to utilise some components of the MoES research observations for weather and climate model evaluation. It is anticipated that this will support the development of evaluation toolkits that incorporate easy access to the observations and tools to facilitate the evaluation of different models and test news parametrisations. Evaluation activities will initially focus on convective-scale and precipitation modelling. Proposed research and development should be compatible with the new evaluation framework provided by the Met Office’s new Convective Scale Evaluation Toolkit (CSET), and be sufficiently generic to be applicable to the evaluation of parametrisations across a wide variety of model environments, including the Met Office Unified Model (UM), the new LFRic replacement to the UM, and Weather Research & Forecasting (WRF) model.
The Met Office is anticipating to support the successful bidder to engage with MoES collaborators to ensure access to available research observation data from ART facilities.
For further information please visit the project website – WCSSP India - Met Office
Eligibility
The following criteria must be met by the organisation submitting a bid against Calls supported by the Met Office WCSSP Programme in order to be eligible to apply or be awarded funds against this Call:
The following criteria must be met in order for a Bid to be eligible for a Grant Award:
The Bidder must be an organisation operating and registered in the United Kingdom.
The Bid must demonstrate how it contributes to the Met Office WSCCP Grant Fund's aim to develop science and innovation partnerships.
The Bid must demonstrate ODA compliance.
The Bid does not cover activities in relation to which the Bidder has received, or will receive, external funding.
There must be an In Country economic and societal benefit to which must be demonstrated.
The proposed Grant Activities in a Bid will last the full duration of the Grant Period.
The Bidder must be willing and able to work with Met Office and other organisations and individuals associated with the WCSSP Programme, including by attending meetings and other collaborative events.
Multiple Bids can be submitted from a single organisation where they are led by different academic departments.
Bidders are not expected to have pre-existing In Country Partners to respond to this call. The bilateral partnership nature of the Newton Fund means that effort by in-country researchers is supported by our existing In Country partners as standard. In country partners are currently: The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), India National Centre of Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) and National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
We would request that bidders do not discuss their proposed research with In-Country partners. Please note the Met Office can make introductions to the In-Country partners once the Grant Award is confirmed, if required.
Objectives
This activity is expected to build the capacity or capability of an in-country partner institution or individual, to enable them to more effectively carry out their research/operations e.g. developing improved modelling systems, skills training
The methods or results in this activity are expected to be relevant more widely and could be applied to benefit other countries and regions.
Dates
Estimated Publish of Call:
(Start of bidding period).
Week commencing 9th December 2024
A notification email will be sent to parties who have formally registered their interest by way of clicking on the ‘Register Interest’ button displayed below the opportunity on the ProContract portal
Estimated Bidding Period:
Week Commencing 9th December 2024 – 31st January 2025
Estimated Award of Call:
Week commencing 25th February 2025
Estimated Delivery Period:
1st April 2025 – 31st March 2026
Funding is initially available to cover a 1-year period (April 2025 – March 2026). Subject to further funding allocations being received from DSIT, the Met Office will confirm extensions to the Grant Agreement on an annual basis to fund year 2 and year 3 activities
How to apply
How to Apply:
The above Expression of Interest is advertised on the Met Office ProContract e-Tendering portal called ProContract. To access and register your interest you will need to log onto the ProContract portal via this link: tenders.metoffice.gov.uk
You may need to search for the Call reference DN749379
You will need to register your company (if you have not already done so) and register your interest against the opportunity before you are able to access the tender documents.
If you require guidance or ‘how to’ instructions – see the supplier manuals on the right-hand side of the supplier home page.
Online Discussions between Bidders and the Met Office:
There is a Discussions function on ProContract which shall be used to provide all further information regarding this opportunity including any changes to time scales, scope or clarifications. This function must be used by bidders to submit all clarification questions.
Supporting information
All supporting documents are available on Procontract Met Office Tendering Portal