Applied Research Focusing on Health and Environment Interactions – Orcadia Fund (Belgium)

Deadline: 07-Jan-27

The Orcadia Fund supports young researchers at the postdoctoral or equivalent level conducting applied research on the relationship between environment and health. Grants of up to €100,000 are available for projects lasting 9 to 18 months, with eligible researchers required to be hosted by an institution located in Belgium.

About the Orcadia Fund

The Orcadia Fund provides funding for young researchers working on practical research questions at the intersection of environment and health. The program is designed to support applied research that addresses concrete and contemporary challenges rather than focusing solely on theoretical or academic outcomes. Projects should demonstrate potential benefits for relevant stakeholders and show how research findings can contribute to real-world improvements. The funding can also help early-career researchers strengthen their research profile and prepare applications for larger fellowships or longer-term research funding. What Does the Orcadia Fund Support? The fund supports applied research examining interactions between environmental conditions and human health. Research may investigate how environmental factors affect health outcomes, how health systems can respond to environmental challenges, or how interdisciplinary approaches can address emerging environment-health issues. Projects should have a clear practical purpose and demonstrate potential impact beyond academic publications.

Potential areas of research include:

- Environmental health. - Public health. - Preventive medicine. - Curative medicine. - Epidemiology. - Geography. - Environmental determinants of health. - Interdisciplinary environment-health research. - Contemporary environmental and health challenges. - Research supporting practical interventions or policy responses. Grant Amount and Project Duration The Orcadia Fund provides financial support of up to: €100,000 per project Supported projects must have a duration of between: - 9 months minimum - 18 months maximum The grant can provide researchers with resources to conduct a focused applied research project while developing their academic and professional careers. It may also help researchers generate preliminary findings that can strengthen applications for future fellowships, larger grants, or long-term research programs. Who Is Eligible? The Orcadia Fund is intended for young researchers at the postdoctoral or equivalent level.

Applicants should:

- Be working at postdoctoral or equivalent research level. - Conduct applied research related to environment and health. - Develop a project addressing a practical and clearly defined research problem. - Be hosted by an eligible institution located in Belgium. - Demonstrate the potential for their research to create impact beyond academia. The opportunity is particularly relevant to early-career researchers seeking to establish an independent research profile. Eligible Host Institutions A key eligibility requirement is that the researcher must be hosted by an institution located in Belgium. Researchers should therefore confirm that their proposed host institution meets the fund’s requirements before preparing a full application. The host institution should be capable of providing the research environment, infrastructure, supervision, and institutional support necessary to complete the proposed project. Eligible Research Fields The Orcadia Fund accepts research from several disciplines connected to environment and health.

Relevant fields include:

- Public health: Research addressing population-level health challenges associated with environmental conditions.

- Medicine: Preventive and curative approaches connected to environmental factors.

- Epidemiology: Studies examining relationships between environmental exposure and health outcomes.

- Geography: Research investigating spatial and geographical dimensions of environment and health.

- Interdisciplinary research: Projects combining multiple disciplines to understand contemporary environment-health relationships.

Applicants should demonstrate a clear connection between their selected discipline and the broader environment-health question. What Makes a Strong Project? The Orcadia Fund places emphasis on applied research and real-world impact. A strong project should therefore go beyond explaining an academic problem and demonstrate how its findings could be useful to people, organisations, policymakers, healthcare professionals, communities, or other relevant stakeholders. A competitive proposal should clearly explain: - The practical problem being addressed. - Why the problem matters now. - The relationship between environmental factors and health. - The research questions or objectives. - The proposed methodology. - Who could benefit from the findings. - How research results could be translated into practice. - What outcomes are expected during the 9–18-month project. - How the project could lead to future research or funding. Why Applied Environment and Health Research Matters Environmental conditions can have significant implications for human health, making interdisciplinary research increasingly important. Researchers working across environmental science, medicine, public health, epidemiology, geography, and related disciplines can help identify practical responses to complex health challenges. The Orcadia Fund’s applied approach is particularly valuable because it encourages researchers to connect academic knowledge with real-world needs.

The program can help:

- Generate evidence for decision-making. - Address contemporary environment-health challenges. - Develop practical solutions. - Strengthen collaboration between researchers and stakeholders. - Build the research careers of early-career scientists. - Generate preliminary evidence for larger research projects. - Improve future fellowship and grant applications. Career Development Opportunities The grant is not only intended to support a specific research p