Early-career and mid-career researchers can now apply for the 2026-2027 Kick-Starter grant. The grant of up to €35.000 is offered by the Resilient Delta initiative to support a new generation of researchers working together on innovative, transdisciplinary and impact-driven projects.

Researchers from TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus Medical Center and their research partners can apply for a €5.000 – €35.000 grant.

The purpose of this grant is to encourage PhD candidates, postdocs and assistant professors to pursue innovative projects, and to build a community of transdisciplinary researchers and educators.

Impact domains

The grant can be used in a wide variety of ways. We invite pre-proposals that focus on (at least) one of the three key domains of impact:

1. Place-based approaches to accelerate climate justice: research ideas that take a specific place (for instance, a street, a neighborhood or an urban area) as starting point to address climate transition challenges, and work towards novel forms of intervention.
   
2. Advanced transdisciplinary methodologies and education to strengthen shared learning: research ideas that scope out new ways to foster knowledge integration between disciplines and find creative ways to appreciate different forms of value creation through education, research and engagement.
3. Tangible prototypes, assets and infrastructures to (re)generate resilience: research ideas that develop innovative prototypes, (decision support) tools and measuring techniques for the socio-economic and environmental effects of transitions and other developments in Rotterdam’s urbanized and industrialized delta context.

How to apply

Pre-proposals can be submitted until 20 May 2026. Click below for more information about the procedure, the application criteria and the application form.

For questions or more information, get in touch with the Resilient Delta initiative (resilientdelta@convergence.nl) or Jelle Burger (jelle.burger@tudelft.nl).