The Climate and Biodiversity program of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities has recently launched a new Seed Fund (maximum of €15,000 per project) for projects starting in 2026. The submission deadline was 15 December 2025. The goal of the Seed Fund is to catalyze practice-oriented research and education addressing challenges on the nexus of climate change and biodiversity loss — fostering cross-university (and beyond) collaboration towards a more livable planet.
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2026 applications closed
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General information Seed Funds
- Focus on practice-oriented and interdisciplinary projects on the themes of climate and biodiversity;
- Maximum of €15,000 per project;
- Submission deadline was 15 December 2025, with projects starting in February 2026; A new submission deadline will be announced medio 2026;
- To submit a proposal, the Seed Fund Project Proposal Form 2026 should be filled in and submitted as a PDF here;
- Required to involve colleagues from at least two Leiden-Delft-Erasmus universities, and preferably a third and/or external partners and early-career researchers;
- The funding should be used as catalytic funding for research and education activities that have the potential to develop further, beyond the lifetime of the grant, and ideally leverage external funding;
- The activities should resonate with the General LDE Climate and Biodiversity Program Guidelines;
- Proposals can focus on building networks, organizing workshops, conducting a pilot study, setting-up joint research, or education activities, expanding existing projects towards climate or biodiversity, or preparation for larger research grant applications;
- A committee will review and rank the proposals;
- To stimulate open science and inspire fellow researchers, applicants are encouraged to share their submitted abstract public on our website;
- If selected, you are asked to present your work during an activity of the LDE Climate and Biodiversity Program;
Refer to the detailed Seed Fund Guidelines, General Program Guidelines and the Project Proposal Form on the bottom of this page.
To file a submission, use this form.
Monitoring impact of Seed Funds
To monitor the growth and impact of our projects, we developed a light monitoring and learning tool. The broader aim is to learn and reflect on the way we are creating and cultivating change in biodiversity and climate research and education, as well as understand what our Seed Fund consortia need to increase their impact. The LDE climate and biodiversity program aims to create a learning environment in which project leaders and network partners can reflect and share experiences together, focusing on growth instead of performance.
For further information on the call or questions, please do not hesitate to contact LDE Climate and Biodiversity Program coordinator Suzanne van den Bosch at s.j.m.van.den.bosch@cml.leidenuniv.nl