1 July 2024
This is the full text of the just-published Call for Proposals Midsize Projects, which falls within the scope of the 4 themes as described in the UvA Instellingsplan ‘Inspiring Generations 2021-2026’. The grant encompasses project costs and the opportunity to hire new temporary staff like postdocs, data scientists, and research assistants for up to 2 years.
The call is open to all tenure-track, assistant, associate and full professors, as well as professors by special appointment at the University of Amsterdam. We invite passionate researchers to propose projects that align with one of the four IP Themes.
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) wishes to encourage collaboration between disciplines on complex societally relevant themes. To stimulate this type of research, the UvA theme-based collaboration programme offers grants for interdisciplinary research projects falling within four specific themes that are important for the university: Responsible Digital Transformations, Healthy Future, Fair and Resilient Societies, and Sustainable Prosperity.
Through this second Call for Proposals for Midsize Projects, researchers are encouraged to form interdisciplinary groups in partnership with non-academic stakeholders. They can apply for projects with a maximum budget of € 200k. The grant can be spent on hiring new, temporary staff, such as research assistants, postdocs, and data scientists for the duration of the project (up to 2 years) and additional project costs. Two or three grants will be awarded for each theme. Midsize Projects contribute to UvA’s strategic objective of inspiring generations through interdisciplinary research.
Involvement of a minimum of 2 faculties is required, and participation of even more faculties is strongly encouraged. Collaboration with a non-academic partner is also required.
Submit your proposal no later than 31 October 2024.
The Sustainable Prosperity theme seeks to promote transformative, forward-looking research on the challenges as recognized in e.g. the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN and the EU Green Deal, taking into account the impact of individual societies on each other and on the world as a whole.
Such research should help steer human development in a safer and more equitable direction. Safer by avoiding the negative effects of global environmental change for all forms of life on earth, taking into account planetary boundaries. More equitable by ensuring that all people have and maintain access to the resources that underpin human well-being, now and in the future.
We support and engage in research on the complexity of, and interconnections between, actors and processes, and underlying economic and legal systems that contribute to sustainability challenges, and which should also be the basis for solution directions and the necessary system transition.
Research can examine possible solutions (e.g. safe and sustainable-by-design materials and products, but also new financing instruments or paradigm shifts) in conjunction with the necessary adjustments in regulation, communication and practices of companies and consumers, locally, nationally, Europe-wide and internationally. Understanding how technology, regulation and behavioral change of individuals, groups and organizations can benefit sustainability, must go hand in hand with studies of distributional issues and underlying interests.
The research under the Sustainable Prosperity theme is carried out within the UvA Sustainability Platform. This is a UvA-wide community committed to making a positive sustainability impact through interdisciplinary research and collaboration with external partners.
Under the umbrella of USP, eight interdisciplinary research projects have been funded so far. Five of these are seed grant projects (small innovative interfaculty research projects or grant proposal preparations) and three are mid-size projects (larger projects that build on existing research ties between UvA scholars from different faculties and that anticipate to be able to draw in non-academic parties).
On our website you can find links to and information on research groups that are active within the theme sustainable prosperity, and the names of UvA researchers that are engaged in (interdisciplinary) sustainability research (see list of USP associates)
If you have any questions, please contact Dylan Suijker.