Applicants must be Leiden University employees (academic staff or administrative & support staff) with a paid appointment, whether permanent or temporary. Applicants whose appointment is temporary must be employed at the university for at least the duration of the initiative. Every proposal must involve a minimum of two staff members, each from a different faculty, working in collaboration with colleagues at a partner university.

Proposals should meet the following conditions, as far as possible:

• The proposed project relates to innovating or improving activities focused on research, education or impact through contacts, connections and collaborations between Leiden University and partners in the region; 
• The proposed project is in line with the Leiden University Strategic Plan and contributes to linking these priorities in collaboration with designated partners in the regions. For example: promoting interdisciplinary working, development of young researchers, alignment with research profiles and educational innovation;
• We recommend that the activities should be closely associated with our international networks, such as Una Europa or LDE Global, and we also encourage collaboration with different partners in the Global South;
• The proposal is compliant with the knowledge security framework;
• The proposal involves staff members from at least two faculties; 
• Ongoing existing initiatives are only eligible if the proposal relates to a clear expansion or new dimension of the initiative;
• New proposals from existing partnerships are welcome;
• Any employee of Leiden University may only be involved in one submitted proposal;
• The budget and timeline are within the specified criteria (€15,000 and 12-month duration);
• All the information requested on the application form is supplied.

For each region, a number of academic institutions have been designated as preferred partners for LUGF seed funding projects. The list of partner institutions can be viewed here.

Applicants may also involve non-academic partners to increase social impact and explore possibilities for co-financing. These partners are public authorities, grant-awarding bodies, NGOs and international organisations. This can include existing collaborations as well as new partnerships. Examples of non-academic partners are: National Library of Indonesia, National Archives of Indonesia, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Asian Development Bank, FAPESP, China Scholarship Council, CNPq.

You can use this form to submit your application, which must include the following information: 

• Title of the application; 
• Short summary;
• List of participating staff members, faculties/units and contact details;
• List of participating staff members at the partner university;
• Description of the project goals and explanation of how the project will contribute to closer international collaboration and interdisciplinarity;
• Description of the project activities and timeline; 
• Description of how the funding will be used (budget);
• Description of how the project can be sustainably expanded in the longer term.

If we receive more than ten applications that are found to meet the conditions, the seed funding will be awarded by drawing lots. This approach is based on our philosophy that it is extremely difficult – if not impossible – to determine in advance what a pioneering collaborative project will ultimately yield. Drawing lots is therefore a fairer (and more efficient) way to select from the applications that meet the criteria.

We will draw lots per region, so that proposals for different regions are not in competition with one another. Projects with partners from different regions will be drawn first, provided that they meet the conditions.

All the proposals that meet the criteria will be published online before the draw. This means that an abstract and list of applicants will be shown for the eligible projects, because all of them are regarded as good enough to stand a chance of funding, and therefore deserve to be recognised. This also gives the option for proposals to secure funding via another route and encourages applicants to discover common ground between their initiatives.

The projects that receive seed funding are expected to provide feedback on the results and experiences in a final evaluation. They will also produce a report for publication on the university website.