About the UGPN Research Collaboration Fund

The University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) is a consortium that advances collaborative research and education. Members include North Carolina State University (NC State), the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), the University of Surrey (UoS), and the University of Wollongong (Wollongong). The UGPN Research Collaboration Fund (RCF) provides seed-funding to foster innovative, high-quality and transdisciplinary research collaborations among member institutions. With a focus on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the RCF catalyzes bilateral and trilateral research projects for academic and societal impact. Engagement with industry, policy and community stakeholders is welcomed. Proposals with research teams that support early-career faculty in building their global networks are strongly encouraged.

Funding Support

Successful proposals will be awarded up to US $10,000 (or the £ or R$ equivalent) per participating institution. This means that a bilateral collaboration may be awarded up to US $20,000, and a trilateral collaboration may be awarded up to US $30,000. Funding will be awarded on the basis of strategic benefit, scholarly merit and availability of resources. Proposals that include matched funding from other sources are also strongly encouraged.

2026 Call for Proposals: Advancing Clean and Reliable Energy Solutions

For the 2026 call, the UGPN welcomes proposals which:

• Advance clean and reliable energy solutions
• Develop interdisciplinary research collaborations
• Address at least two SDGs
• Engage early career faculty

Clean and reliable energy solutions are critical to protecting human health, mitigating climate change and ensuring long-term energy security and economic stability. Thematic priorities include, but are not limited to:

• Next generation energy sources: Creating innovative, scalable technologies capable of significantly reducing carbon emissions. Examples include advanced renewables such as bioenergy, geothermal, green hydrogen, hydropower, nuclear, solar or wind.
• Energy storage and the built environment: Addressing needs for greater energy storage capacity and more efficient management of intermittent energy sources over extended periods of time. Includes the development of smart grid technologies, cyber-secure energy networks and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications for clean energy systems and demand-side response. May also include solutions for carbon capture or reduction within the built environment. Examples include ultra-efficient building materials, integrated smart energy management systems, low-carbon heating/cooling technologies or charging infrastructure for electric transport.
• Energy access and policy: Expanding access to affordable and reliable clean energy for communities around the world. Examples include improvements in regulatory structures, economic models, governance and public policy.

Deadline for Submission & Key Dates

• Call for proposals opens: January 2026
• Submission deadline: May 29, 2026
• All applicants notified of outcomes by: July 24, 2026
• Funding period: August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027.  Please note that NC State project funds must be expended by 30 June 2027 to align with the end of the fiscal year.
• Project period: August 1, 2026 – January 31, 2028
• Final project report: March 31, 2028 (template will be provided)

Expected Outcomes

All RCF project teams will be required to submit a two-page final project report within two months of the end of the project period.

Academic Impact

Proposals should involve substantive international engagement and are expected to lead to high-quality outputs, including:

• Peer-reviewed and/or open source publications stemming from the project
• Joint proposals for competitive external funding, building on RCF-funded seed projects (including national and international funding schemes, and bids for PhD scholarships)
• International research training activities for graduate students, including PhD mobility and co-supervision, and engagement of early-career researchers
• Guest lectures, master classes, COIL and short courses; the development of teaching materials, joint modules or collaborative programs)
• Development of resources such as databases and data repositories, websites, research collaboration sites, or social networking tools to inform external funding bids or disseminate results

Societal Impact

Engagement with industry, policy and community partners, with potential outputs including: 

• Publication of policy briefs or opinion papers
• Industry or policy-relevant training for PhD students and ECRs
• Living labs for data collection, testing and analysis or proof-of-concept studies
• Capacity-building for climate literacy or climate leadership
• Public engagement activities

Who Can Apply?

Proposals are invited from full-time faculty at all UGPN universities, as well as research professionals (those who comply with Sponsored Programmes eligibility requirements at NC State). All proposals must involve collaboration between university-eligible faculty from at least two of UGPN partners, with trilateral collaboration particularly encouraged.

Please note: Post-doctoral researchers based at the Universidade de São Paulo are not eligible to lead a project or receive funding for mobility. In addition, proposals by applicants who have previously received UGPN funding are welcome, but the PI and research team must demonstrate how the proposal tackles a new problem and is distinct from previously funded RCF projects.

Eligible Costs & Activities

Eligible costs include:

• NC State: Travel and subsistence; consumables directly related to the project; dissemination of results
• USP: Travel and subsistence; consumables directly related to the project; dissemination of results
• UoS: Travel and subsistence; consumables directly related to the project; dissemination of results; and payment for research assistants

Travel & subsistence costs may include international and local travel, accommodation and subsistence associated with researchers spending time at partner institutions. Subsistence costs need to be in line with staff expenditure policies at each participating institution.

Consumables directly related to the research project may include costs associated with hosting meetings, workshops and seminars, or costs for testing equipment, databases etc.

Dissemination costs may be requested for publications, media and other resources; the development of teaching and curriculum materials; and public engagement activities.

Research assistants can only be funded at the University of Surrey.

The inclusion of PhD or other Higher Degree Research students as project investigators must be indicated in the application. Please note that funding for the use of a UGPN partner’s laboratory facilities and infrastructure may not be included.

How to Submit Your Application

As this is an internally funded opportunity, submissions should not be routed through PINS. The Principal Investigator should submit the grant proposal via this online form no later than: Friday, May 29, 2026, 17:00 (UTC). Please use your institutional email address to access this section of the website.

Please complete the online proposal form and budget template, and upload the supplementary documents as detailed below:

Proposal form

• Title of the project
• Principal investigator: Please allocate one PI for the project from the lead partner university with contact information.
• Co-Principal Investigators: Please name one co-PI for each additional university participating in the project, with contact information.
• Further Co-Investigators (optional): Please list further collaborators or PhD student participants at each partner, with contact information
• Synopsis of the proposed project : Max. 1,000 characters and a list of 5 key words. This should be a summary of your proposal and may be used to promote the project on our website.
• Project description: Max. 1,000 words, which should include:
  • the objectives of the collaboration and the relevance of the project;
  • how the project addresses a new question or area of research (and has not previously been funded by the UGPN);
  • a work plan which clearly articulates the activities to be undertaken to achieve the objectives;
  • how the project aligns with the thematic focus of this RCF call and addresses least two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  • overview of the research team, including their respective roles and contributions to the project.
• Benefit statement: Max. 300 words outlining the expected project outputs, outcomes and impact for academia and society

Please include sufficient detail to reviewers to evaluate the proposals according to the evaluation criteria. Please remember that some reviewers may come from outside your discipline, therefore remember to avoid jargon or to explain highly technical terms.

Budget: Please use the template to include a budget table with justification (1 page maximum)

CVs of the PI and Co-PIs: Please include the CV of one named representative per partner. The CV should include education, professional appointments, up to five (5) publications related to the proposed research or scholarship, and activities relevant to this grant application (2 page maximum)

Letters of support from Faculty Deans (or their designees) from each collaborating institution and from sources of any matching funds.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals that meet the eligibility requirements will be reviewed and assessed by internal review panels at each of the three universities. A joint committee consisting of representatives from all UGPN partners will make the final decision for awards. Proposals will be assessed with reference to the following criteria:

• Relevance: Degree to which the project addresses a globally important challenge and demonstrates innovative, transdisciplinary and sustainable collaboration among UGPN partners;
• Proposal content: Clearly articulates measurable goals, objectives and activities that are feasible (evidenced by a reasonable and justified budget) and align with the purpose of the RCF;
• Outputs & impact: Focus on achievable results that can lead to high impact outputs and the potential to leverage future funding, and clearly articulated pathways to academic and societal impact.
• Research Team: Involvement of a team of appropriately qualified researchers from at least two UGPN partners representing a variety of disciplinary approaches and career levels/profiles.

Reporting & Acknowledgement

Recipients are expected to acknowledge UGPN in all subsequent published material and presentations. Funded teams are required to submit a final project report within two months of the end of the grant period (template will be provided). UGPN may also request additional updates after the final report to track progress on follow up activities, external grants, publication, etc.

Contacts & Questions

Please direct enquires to the following contacts at each UGPN member university:

• NC State: Office of Global Engagement
• University of Surrey: International Partnerships Team
• Universidade de São Paulo: Mr Daniel Barcelos, International Relations Assistant

View Previous RCF Projects

Previous RCF projects are listed online at this site (UGPN Institution log-in required).