Erasmus University Rotterdam aims to contribute to better health worldwide by promoting smarter choices. Since health and health care are complex themes, the Erasmus Initiative ‘Smarter Choices for Better Health’ will be making a targeted investment in long-term multidisciplinary research.

SCBH invites applications from early-career researchers (i.e., PhD students, or academic staff up to 5 years after PhD) to undertake research on any topic of relevance to SCBH and its Action Lines. Each project can apply for at most € 15,000.

Applications have to be submitted by Friday 29 November 2024. If you have any questions, please send a mail to smarterchoices@eur.nl.

The SCBH Seed Grant call offers financial support for early-career researchers at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC (i.e., PhD students, or academic staff up to 5 years after PhD) for research related to the themes of  SCBH and its Action Lines. These awards are provided to cover the cost of the expenses arising from starting up a defined research project (e.g., data acquisition, primary data collection, running a small-scale lab or field experiment, hiring research assistants, etc.). 

The scheme is specifically designed to boost new prime interdisciplinary research. Grants are not intended to support individual conference visits or travel by staff, even where this involves the dissemination of the results of research directly associated with the theme of the Initiative. 

Grants are also not intended for the continuation or promotion of research already undertaken at the university. Nor can the scheme be used to cover the cost of replacement teaching, payment in lieu of salary. 

Awards are open to all early-career researchers (i.e., PhD students or academic staff up to 5 years after PhD) at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC, not limited to partner schools of SCBH. However, in order to be eligible, applications to the SCBH Seed Grant call should meet the following criteria:

  • demonstrate a clear link with the themes of Smarter Choices for Better Health, including any of the identified subthemes and research agendas associated with the Action Lines;
  • ensure that funds are sought for a clearly defined, distinct activity or piece of research, which will have an identifiable outcome on completion (e.g., a working paper, or publication). 
  • include a budget that clearly shows how the requested amount will be spent.

Typical projects request anywhere between € 5,000 and € 15,000. The maximum level of the award is € 15,000. Grants are tenable up to 12 months. The successful applicant will receive 75% of the rewarded grant upfront, the remaining 25% will be paid after the receipt of the short report (see hereunder). 

Applications have to be submitted by Friday 29 November 2024. A committee drawn from the three partner schools (ESE, ESHPM and Erasmus MC) will review the applications and will decide based on the scientific quality (40%), relevance and connection to the themes of SCBH (30%), the envisioned societal impact (20%), and appropriateness of the budget (10%). Applications will be assessed equally on their merits, with no preference as to mode of inquiry.

Applications should be submitted to the Erasmus Initiative at smarterchoices@eur.nl. Applicants will receive the decision in writing within one month after the application deadline. 

Successful applicants are required to submit a short report (at most 2 pages, which will be used for public dissemination) within one month after the end of the project. The report must contain a statement of original objectives, a brief account of expenditure, project outputs, expected impact, and future plans including the dissemination of findings to relevant networks. If relevant, adding pictures for public dissemination is appreciated. The normal expectation is that the funding will be spent within an average of 3-6 months of the award being made, although as mentioned funds can be spent for up to a year.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss a project idea, please contact us at smarterchoices@eur.nl.

  • Transgender Transitioning – Elisa de Weerd (ESE)
  • Biased Health Perceptions or Private Information? – Jannis Stockel (ESHPM)
  • Taboo trade-off aversion: a discrete choice model and application to healthcare decisions Nicholas Smeele (ESHPM)
  • Within and Between Group Inequality Aversion: An Experiment on Socioeconomic Health Inequality – Matthew Robson (ESE)
  • The impact of home births on child and maternal health outcomes – Joaquim Vidiella-Martin (ESE)

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