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BUas researchers receive NWO funding for sustainable science and climate transition
The Dutch Climate Research Initiative (KIN) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO) announced the awards for two funding calls this week. A total of 20 projects were awarded funding in each of the two calls. BUas is involved in three of the 40 awarded projects, a fine achievement that makes BUas, after TU Delft, the most successful institution across both calls.
The calls are part of the ‘Wetenschap in Transitie’(’Science in Transition’) programme line, launched by NWO and KIN in autumn 2025. The ‘Fonds Duurzamer Onderzoeken’ (’Sustainable Science Fund’) call focuses on reducing the direct environmental impact of academic work. The ‘Transformatieve werkwijzen en processen voor klimaattransities’ (’Transformative Practices and Processes for Climate Transitions’) call promotes new forms of collaboration between research and society, aimed at equitable climate transitions.
BUas researchers are involved in three of the 40 awarded projects. Two of these fall under the Sustainable Science Fund call.
In the ’Rooted Remotely: Sustainable Methods for Place-Based Research’ project, Frans Melissen, Marina Brinkman-Staneva, Ellen de Groot and Jeroen Klijs are developing and testing methods for equitable international collaboration, while avoiding air travel as much as possible. Rather than a Western researcher flying in to set the agenda, international and local partners work together to design, conduct and disseminate research. The results will be made available as an open toolkit for researchers worldwide.
The ODECART (Objective Decision Framework for Air-Based Research Travel) project is led by Nina Nesterova and Jeroen Klijs, together with partners from The Overview Effect Holding and TU Delft. ODECART is developing an evidence-based decision framework to determine when air travel for academic work is truly necessary. The framework combines ecological, organisational, societal and personal considerations and will be tested within Dutch universities.
BUas is involved in one project within the Transformative Practices call. The project called ‘Transition Dinners: Shared Meals as a Catalyst for Constructive Dialogue on Sustainability Transitions in Polarised Times’ is carried out by Frans Melissen and Lieke Sauer together with industry partner Goedzooi. The project investigates how pop-up dinners featuring sustainable food can serve as a bridge for conversations about polarised sustainability issues. The culinary method will be systematically tested and developed into a widely applicable toolkit.
