How the Environment Agency carries out research, plus their programmes and partnerships.
Scientific research and analysis underpins what the Environment Agency does.
Our work depends on science and research - whether it’s:
Research is carried out across the Environment Agency, by our national and regional teams, in the field, our laboratories and at desks. We work closely with partners in industry, academia and across government and the public sector. At the centre of our research effort, is a dedicated research team based in the Chief Scientist’s Group.
We are committed to strengthening the impact of our knowledge and better integrating science into the heart of everything we do.
Our portfolio of research directly supports the delivery of the Environment Agency’s corporate strategy EA2030, and Defra’s Environmental Improvement Plan.
The Chief Scientist’s research portfolio spans 4 themes:
Environment and human health is researching the role that the environment plays in public and individual health.
Protecting and enhancing ecosystems is generating new understanding and approaches to strengthen the Environment Agency’s response to threats to ecosystem health and support nature recovery.
Net zero and circular economy is generating new knowledge of the potential impacts, trade-offs and co-benefits of low-carbon technologies and activities on the environment and communities.
Climate adaptation and resilience is developing knowledge and understanding of climate impacts and about how to prepare for these, reduce vulnerabilities and build resilience to change.
We also carry out research specifically to help measure and assess chemical hazards and risks in support of the operational delivery of UK chemical legislation (UK REACH).
Underpinning and enabling our core research portfolio is our Research Hub. It leads the Environment Agency’s relationship with UK research councils and facilitates our research design, delivery and dissemination, including our publications and science communications.
A further significant and dedicated, national research programme is the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) research and development programme.
This partnership between Defra, Environment Agency, Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales is focussed, to 2028, on shared areas of FCERM research interest.
All our scientific research work is published as summaries and reports, freely available to access via our publications catalogue.
Older publications are held in The National Archives.
We work with a wide range of academic partners, domestically and internationally, and are always interested in new partnership opportunities. Collaborating with the science community to drive innovation and impact is helping to build the Environment Agency’s reputation as a world-class environmental regulator and practitioner.
The Environment Agency is a place-based organisation. We can help academic partners to demonstrate the impact of their research in applied situations, and show how research could inform policy or practice.
We also help develop environmental scientists of the future by co-supervising and providing placements for PhD students, and hosting fellowships or post-doc researchers. A placement at the Environment Agency provides valuable experience of working in a leading environmental public body.
Examples of how we can work with you include:
For further information on:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency/about/research