[This is a post bringing together things I have done elsewhere whilst learning how to use this platform.]
I am a huge fan of the Natural Environment Research Council, and used to work for the British Antarctic Survey. It is a fact that in the UK at the moment the community has some very tough funding decisions to make.
NERC decided to investigate saving money through a possible merger of the National Oceanography Centre and BAS. It is fair to say that this was not so well recieved.