Seed-money call for collaborative projects

Call 1: Seed money projects

It is clear that the transformative change envisioned in UN’s Agenda 2030 will require active and strategic collaboration across disciplines and borders. The SDGs are ambitious and time is running short – with only 9 years to go there is a sense of urgency and a need to mobilise and move to concrete, collaborative action. GCUA 2030 is a network of university partners from across the globe, representing different disciplines but with a common vision of contributing to sustainable global development. To strengthen collaboration between SLU and the other GCUA 2030 members, we launch a seed-money call for short-term projects focusing on research, communication or networking between researchers at SLU and other GCUA 2030 member universities.

What can you apply for?

Short-term projects focusing on research, communication or networking of relevance to the SDGs with the potential to attract future funding and further develop collaboration between SLU and the other GCUA 2030 member universities.

The funds can be used for costs related to different project activities such as conducting field work, costs of stay and travel for those involved in the project and for organizing seminars/workshops. The funds may also be used as contributions to salaries of SLU early career scientists (postdocs or researchers who received their PhD within the past seven years) involved in the project.

Who can apply?

Researchers at SLU together with researchers at at least two other GCUA 2030 member universities. Involving junior colleagues is strongly encouraged as well as developing interdisciplinary project proposals. It is also encouraged to involve at least one key actor outside of academia as co-applicant.

How much can you apply for?

You can apply for seed-money funding for projects for a maximum of 18 months and a total of 200 000 SEK per project. Up to five projects will be funded.

Call deadline: 30 September, 2021

Submission: Submit the proposal as a PDF to GCUA@slu.se  

The proposal should contain the following information:

• CV:s of the project leader and co-applicants including the five most relevant publications (max two pages for the PI and 1 page for each co-applicant)
• Project description (maximum 5 pages, font size 11, Arial) describing;
  • Purpose and aims
  • How the project contribute to sustainable global development and the SDGs
  • Planned activities including timeline
  • Budget
  • Ethical considerations
  • Participating persons and the contribution of each partner

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for funding the proposal needs to fulfil the following criteria:

• The main applicant must be employed at SLU.
• The PI must invite co-applicants from at least two other GCUA 2030 member universities (list of members).
• The project should have a strong focus on one or several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Selection criteria

The projects will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. The potential of the project to contribute to sustainable global development.
2. The potential of the project to initiate or further develop collaboration between SLU and the other GCUA 2030 member universities as well as the linkage to key actors outside of academia.
3. The involvement of early career scientists as well as researchers from other scientific disciplines and non-academic actors.
4. The feasibility of the project in terms of timeline and budget.

Evaluation process & report

The evaluation committee consists of international experts represented by researchers. The decision will be made within one month of the submission deadline.

A selected project can start immediately after the grant contract has been signed. Projects can be up to 18 months in duration. A short mid-term report must be submitted to GCUA@slu.se half way through the project. A final report should be submitted to GCUA@slu.se no later than two months after the end-date of the project. All selected projects must be completed no later than 30 June 2023.