Scoping Our Planet: Opportunity seeds
Opportunity seeds support ambitious research aligned to our opportunity spaces. We’re looking to challenge assumptions, open up new research paths, and provide steps towards new capabilities.
We will fund high potential proposals with up to £500k each.
Please note that applications for this call are now closed. You can read general feedback on applications received here.
We want to find bold ideas within the ‘Scoping Our Planet‘ opportunity space, where Programme Directors Gemma Bale and Sarah Bohndiek are asking how we can fill the gaps in Earth system measurement to respond confidently to the climate crisis.
You can find the scope below and our evaluation criteria in our call for proposals – beyond this we don’t have preconceptions about what ideas you might send our way.
In scope:
- Ideas that sit within the ‘Scoping Our Planet’ opportunity space. By this, we mean your proposal should show how your idea either aligns with or challenges the assumptions of the Summary, Beliefs, or Observations in the opportunity space.
- Ideas that could change the conversation about what is possible or valuable.
- Ideas that range from early stage curiosity-driven research through to pre-commercial science and technology.
Out of scope:
- Ideas that are within scope of the programme thesis, ‘Forecasting Tipping Points: Uniting climate measurements and models to create an early warning system’.
- Ideas that are undifferentiated or are likely to happen without ARIA’s support.
- Commercial or close-to-commercial stage products.
If you are unsure whether your idea is in scope, ask us by sending an email to clarifications@aria.org.uk.
Document library
Some key resources to understand the context for this seed funding call:
Everything you need to know to apply:
- Call for proposals
- How we select projects
- Template funding agreements
- Applicant walkthrough for the portal
- Funding FAQs
- Opportunity seed FAQs
- Clarification questions
If you require an accessible version of any of these documents, please contact clarifications@aria.org.uk
Who are we looking to fund?
If you have an important idea you’re obsessed with, but you don’t currently have the resources or support to take it forward, we’d like to hear from you. Ideas could come from anywhere, so we welcome applications from individuals and teams who are early in their career or who have atypical backgrounds – we care more about your idea and your intrinsic motivation than we do about your CV.
What budget and timeline can I propose?
We provide funding from £10k – £500k per project, inclusive of VAT (where applicable) and all associated costs (both direct and indirect).
There is no minimum length for a proposed project; the maximum length is three years.
Apply for funding
Applications for this call are now closed
Before submitting an application, please read the call for proposals
After reading our FAQs on ARIA funding and opportunity seed-specific funding, if you have any further questions relating to the opportunity seed call, please email clarifications@aria.org.uk. Any questions or responses containing information relevant to all applicants will be provided to everyone that has started a submission within the application portal and published on our website here.
We’ve designed a short and straightforward application. We hope you can spend no more than 2-3 hours writing it, though you may wish to spend more time thinking through your idea before applying.
Application timeline
| Applications open | Clarifying questions deadline | Application deadline | Shortlisting* | Final award decision** | Submit your application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 May 2024 | 16 June 2024 (00:00 BST) | 18 June 2024 (12:00 BST) | 5 July 2024 | 19 July 2024 | Apply here |
Applications open
23 May 2024
Clarifying questions deadline
16 June 2024 (00:00 BST)
Application deadline
18 June 2024 (12:00 BST)
Shortlisting*
5 July 2024
Final award decision**
19 July 2024
Submit your application
*Shortlisted/unsuccessful applicants notified. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to meet with the Programme Directors.
**Successful/unsuccessful applicants notified.
Meet Gemma and Sarah
Gemma Bale and Sarah Bohndiek are biomedical physicists working as co-Programme Directors. They both joined ARIA from the University of Cambridge, where Gemma continues to lead teams working on non-invasive brain monitoring, and Sarah in optical imaging technology for earlier cancer detection.
