Aims and Criteria

The grants are provided to help to realise academic dreams through assisting our members in their work, in fostering an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogue, and in stimulating original research in the field of Urban Studies. In particular, we aim to enable exchange and collaborations between researchers from the Centre for Social Science and Global Health (SSGH), the Centre for Urban Mental Health (UMH) and the Centre for Urban Studies (CUS).  We especially appreciate proposals that build on the ideas generated during the joint networking event ‘Cities and Health’ of 1 June 2021 (find a brief recap here), and focus on: green spaces and health; the built environment and health; interventions against stress; self-care and care for the environment; green spaces in the Global South vs. the Global North.

Furthermore, we particularly appreciate initiatives that:

• aim to develop new research funding proposals;
• bring together academic research and work on Urban Studies from different departments and disciplines; not only from different programme groups within the same department;  
• foster exchange and collaborations between researchers from CUS and researchers from SSGH and UMH; 
• foster exchange and collaborations between researchers from CUS and international partners;
• facilitate dialogue between academic researchers and local, national and international stakeholders;
• involve PhD students or (research) master students;
• contribute to the development of the thematic focus of the Centre on the ‘urban commons’ (for more information on the thematic focus, and on the broader mission of CUS, see the 2018-2022 strategic plan).

Examples 

Examples of projects to be considered for funding are:

• assistance for coordinating research bids for large international collaborative projects (JPI urban Europe, Horizon, etc.). Please note: the CUS will also assist coordination of large projects; not participation as partners on projects coordinated by other universities;
• joint conferences, workshops or seminar series between different disciplines;
• activities reinforcing international collaborations such as seminars or conferences; 
• outreach projects with stakeholders that go beyond just a one-off event with the City of Amsterdam, and with national or international formats; e.g. series of public debates, continuous panel discussions, interventions in public space;
• funding an urban artist or journalist in residence, who will contribute specifically to disseminating academic work;
• funding a video, animation, exhibition, podcast, or performance to communicate an urban research publication to the wider public (published international peer reviewed journal articles and book monographs will be given priority);
• writing retreats (to collectively write a research proposal, but also a paper);
• larger pilot studies, funds for data acquisition for an existing project, or other activities to support the development of a new research line, preferably leading to a research grant application.

On the CUS website you can find inspiring examples of activities funded by seed grants, both smaller and larger. These are examples, but we highly encourage creativity and are therefore open to new activities and ideas other than mentioned above. 

Besides financial support, the Centre for Urban Studies will assist in  the communication of the projects that are awarded a grant. The practical organization of the activities remains the responsibility of the grant holders. We expect the projects to begin and end in 2022.

Eligibility

Eligible for Seed Grants are all CUS, SSGH and UMH members. An important condition is that the proposal is jointly submitted by at least one member of the CUS and one member of SSGH and/or UMH. Additionally, each proposal should involve a member from at least two different programme groups, departments or faculties. Seed Grant projects can be initiated by both permanent and temporary staff (PhDs, Post Docs, contracted staff). One person can only apply once for the same call and Seed Grant budgets cannot be used for reimbursing work hours by UvA staff. Scholars that are not yet a member of one of the Centres can join as members along with the start of the project.

Procedure

To be eligible, the proposal should not exceed 750 words. It should also include all of the following sections, in this order:

1. an outline of the immediate and longer-term goal(s) of the project;
2. an explanation of how the project adds value to research in Urban Studies;
3. an explanation of how the project advances inter- and/or transdisciplinarity;
4. an explanation of how – if applicable – the project contributes to the thematic focus on the ‘urban commons’;
5. a timeline, including the expected completion date and milestones;
6. a detailed project budget;
7. the expected academic outputs; 
8. a broader dissemination strategy. How results/outcomes will be presented to the Urban Studies community and how you will reach a broader national and international audience;
9. a follow up / continuation strategy: how do you envision follow up in terms of research funding bids? Through what schemes? And who will collaborate?

Proposals for a grant of an amount higher than €2.500 should not exceed 1000 words and should also include an additional section on: 

1. why this project should be awarded €XXXX instead of €2.500 (what this larger grant makes possible that cannot be done with a smaller one).

To be considered for this round of Seed Grants, please send a project description to: urbanstudies@uva.nl by Friday 17 September at the latest.  Applications arriving after this date will not be considered.

Selection process

If applications only marginally outnumber the available funding (when there are four or less applications and/or when there is a significant difference in quality), the grants will be awarded by the director and coordinator of the Centre for Urban Studies, based on the CVs of the applicants and the criteria stated above. We expect to do this early November 2021. If applications significantly outnumber funding possibilities (when there are more than four applications and/or when there are no significant differences in quality), the director and coordinator will prepare a report supporting a potential decision and submit it to the Executive and Advisory boards of the Centre for Urban Studies. In case consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be called.

Further information

Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:

• Jules Klinkhamer, coordinator of the Centre for Urban Studies

Would you like to learn more about the members and work of the Centre for Urban Studies? Visit our website.

We very much look forward to receiving your project proposals.