Water, Climate & Future Deltas: seed money call

For researchers, stakeholders, and other interested parties to submit a proposal for a small project/activity that fits within the scope of Water, Climate & Future Deltas (WCFD), one of the research hubs of Pathways to Sustainability.

Nature of the proposals

Researchers can apply for funding to support pilot projects contributing to the transdisciplinary goals of the WCFD hub, e.g. scientific publications, research proposals, workshops. We encourage activities or projects that include a societal engagement activity. Priority audiences for Water, Climate & Future Deltas include: policy makers, politicians, academics, knowledge institutes, and the media, aiming at a wide range of audiences and people who live in potentially affected areas.

Criteria

Proposals should meet the following criteria:

1. The proposal must demonstrate clear links to the scopes of WCFD hub and fit into one (or more) of the three main research lines:
   A: global external drivers of change
   B: delta system functioning
   C: designing and developing adaptation pathways
   We particularly welcome proposals that contribute to research lines B and C.

2. The proposal should be innovative and have a high potential to generate future research funding. The proposal should have an interdisciplinary character (submitted by researchers from different departments of Utrecht University), a strong collaboration with external partners, and potential for valorization.

3. The main applicant should be affiliated to the Faculty of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, or Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance of Utrecht University and at least one of the (co)-applicants should be affiliated to the Faculty of Geosciences.

4. Applicants can apply for one of the two options of seed-grant for:
   Option 1: research activities (maximum budget €20.000).
   Option 2: organizing workshops/matchmaking events (maximum budget €4.000). These workshops/events should contribute to (i) the development of an interdisciplinary research proposal or (ii) dissemination of crucial research outputs to societal partners.

5. There should be one or more clear deliverable(s).

Submission

The call is now closed for applications.

Review 

The proposals will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee on:

• Contribution to objectives of the Water, Climate & Future Deltas hub
• Potential to generate future research
• Innovative aspect
• Feasibility of deliverables
• Feasibility of planning and budget
• Interdisciplinarity
• Collaboration with external partners
• Potential for valorization.

An external committee will review the proposals within a month after the submission deadline.

Budget

The total budget of this seed-funding call is €160.000.