In the general grant call, we are looking for active researchers and actors whose projects speed up the sustainability transformation that protects natural systems.
In the general grant call, we award funding for three purposes. You can apply for:
- personal grants for doctoral thesis projects (for a maximum of 4 years)
- personal grants for postdoc projects (for a maximum of 2 years)
- project funding for science-based action projects (for a maximum of 2 years).
What kind of research and action is the Nessling Foundation supporting in the autumn 2026 call?
The Nessling Foundation supports research and action that speeds up the sustainability transformation that protects natural systems. By natural systems, we mean the wholes formed by other species and their habitats that sustain life on Earth, including human life. These systems are being destabilised by the transgression of planetary boundaries.
We are looking for projects that either increase understanding about sustainability transformation or help push it forward in concrete ways. What matters is that the project is convincingly connected to the broader systemic change required for sustainability transformation. The funding application should therefore describe how the project is positioned in relation to the phenomena, assumptions, structures or practices that are central to sustainability transformation. The following questions may help to illustrate the project’s connection to sustainability transformation:
- How does the project support staying within the planetary boundaries?
- How does the project relate to socio-ecological systems — that is, the interconnected systems formed by society and the environment, in which societal and ecological changes are in constant interaction?
- How does the project improve understanding of, or help transform, the structures, development or functioning of a particular socio-ecological system?
- How does the project generate new solutions, practices or knowledge that speed up the sustainability transformation?
Funding for doctoral and postdoctoral research
We fund doctoral and postdoctoral research, which may be disciplinary, interdisciplinary, applied or basic research. We particularly value projects that:
- combine perspectives from different disciplines in new ways
- open up new research directions, for example through research questions, concepts, methods or other approaches
- represent high-quality research that deepens existing knowledge.
We expect the researchers we fund to engage actively with society, because research that advances sustainability transformation is developed in interaction with society. It is important that the applicant is able to articulate who is connected to the research or activity, who may benefit from its results, what kinds of impact the research may have, and how it will be communicated in ways that are clear and accessible to different audiences. For this reason, applicants are required to submit, as part of the application, a separate communications and interaction plan alongside the research plan.
Funding for science-based action projects
We fund science-based action projects that do not involve research but are grounded in science-based knowledge. These projects should aim for societal impact to speed up the sustainability transformation.
Call is open from 17 to 28 August.
- Check the terms, criteria and instructions for the funding call
- Watch the recordings from the information sessions
- Read the blog post: How to write grant application that stands out
- Browse through the projects previously funded by the Nessling Foundation