Signature Project Grants

The Signature Project Grant is our instrument to spur radical innovation in university practices with the aim of enhancing our impact. Signature Projects are challenge-based, interdisciplinary in nature (preferably cross-community) and directed at fostering the radical innovation that PtS seeks to achieve. PtS encourages out-of-the-box thinking as to the aims and format of, and collaboration within, such projects. We particularly invite projects and collaborations that are new and/or difficult to get funded via other channels, for instance because of their exploratory or experimental nature.

We aim to stimulate an open and inclusive design process in which initial ideas may develop in new directions with the input and integration of various types of expertise. At PtS, we believe that such an open process is key to transformative learning.

At the end of 2023 the procedure will be evaluated and announcements will be made regarding the continuation of these instruments.

Application deadline 3 October 2023 (only for Incubator Grants recipients)

The application procedure

The application procedure takes place in stages, and is further described in this document.

Firstly, interdisciplinary groups have the opportunity to apply for an Incubator Grant (up to 8k for a period of maximum 12 months). The Incubator Grant may, among other things, be used to further develop and grow the project idea and its team and to work towards its implementation.

Groups who have been successful in obtaining an Incubator Grant may prepare applications for the second-stage, the more substantial Signature Project Grant (50-150k for a period of maximum 24 months). The process of an Incubator Grant becoming a Signature Project Grant is not automatic. Should the Incubator phase prove fruitful, the team (or part of) may decide to apply for a Signature Project Grant, either after 6 or 12 months.

The deadlines for submission and application form are listed below. Please note, that a team's choice for applying to either of the deadlines (April or October) does not affect their chances of getting their proposal granted.

Conditions to apply for a Signature Project Grants:

Interdisciplinary team (active involvement by scholars from at least three faculties and multiple PtS Communities)
Adherence to the overarching principles and aims of PtS funding
Applications, and most notably the submitted costs, are coordinated within the departments of the applicants and signed off by the applicants’ managers/superiors.
The budget must be verified by your department controller and applications should state the name of the controller that has performed this check.

Assessment of proposals

Proposals for Signature Project Grants are assessed based on the extent to which proposals adhere to the overarching principles and aims of PtS funding. All applicant teams of Signature Projects are involved in the assessment procedure. They are asked to provide one other team with feedback and input in the week after submission. The ultimate decision is taken by the Programme and Community Boards, taking into account these peer assessments.

Eligible costs

Signature Project Grants may be used, for example, to fund part-time PtS fellowships (e.g. 0.2 fte) - in consultation with the faculties and departments concerned -, research or education assistance; project management support; hiring external expertise or support; education, including involving students, student teams or internships; outreach and communication; organizing events or workshops; fund small exhibitions or performances, open access publications; field trips and travel/ accommodation costs; buying or hiring materials or services to carry out the project.

Communication

With Signature Projects, Pathways to Sustainability aims to select original ideas that really showcase how the programme is working towards realizing its mission and ambitions. These projects, therefore, take centre stage in our communication strategy. We already want to start thinking about the potential impact and communication activities during the application and selection phase. PtS communication advisors will reach out to Incubator teams to assist and advise them while preparing Signature Project Grant applications.

The PtS mission is to propel radical innovation in our university practices by creating vibrant communities and fostering new collaborations in research and education, both within the university and with societal stakeholders, to enhance the impact of the exploration and development of pathways to sustainability and guided by the principle that scientific rigor meets societal relevance. This mission is carried out, in part, by funding initiatives that adhere to the principles and contribute to realizing the aims defined in the 2022-2025 PtS strategy and extracted below:

Be the driver of change fostering sustainable thinking and practice, via the creation of spaces for innovation, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary interaction, bringing together students and scholars from both early to established moments in their careers working on sustainability issues across the many different institutes and departments; thus
Fulfilling the critical role that belongs to universities, not only thinking along but also critiquing developments where appropriate and coming up with new imaginative ideas about what sustainable futures may look like and how we might get there.
Finding new ways to connect our proven excellence in research and education to processes of societal learning, creating more direct links with policy makers and stakeholders and society at large (transdisciplinarity).

To guide both the design of funding schemes as well as the final allocation of funds by the PtS Programme Board, the following principles are followed:

Applications should contribute to accelerating change through initiatives that are not yet happening elsewhere in UU and/or are not easily funded via other channels;
Applications will be challenge-based: initiatives are formulated and designed in such a way that they resonate within multiple PtS Communities and inspire collaboration across these Communities;
Applications will stimulate the integration of different types of expertise through transdisciplinary collaborations;
Applications should aim to create time and space for (early-career) scholars to make an active contribution;
Applicants commit themselves to the open and inclusive design process in which initial ideas may change with the input and integration of various types of expertise. They also commit themselves to peer-assessment once they submit an application;
Trust in our scholars and in the process is key. We aim to facilitate as many promising initiatives as possible. To be able to do so, we encourage applicants to only apply for necessary costs.

Timeline Pathways to Sustainability Incubator and Signature Project Grants

Procedure Incubator and Signature Project Grants 2022-25 (pdf)

Signature Project Grants

The application procedure

Applying for a Signature Project Grant

PtS Signature Projects phase

PtS Aims and Criteria

Timeline and submission deadlines 2022-25

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