The UN SDGs: Pathways to Achievement

This joint call from UCL Grand Challenges and GEO will award up to £10,000 for projects that generate societal impact for the UN SDGs

text reading: The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Pathways to Achievement

Please note this funding call closed on 20 January 2021.

This small grants call from UCL Grand Challenges and the Global Engagement Office will fund innovative, cross-disciplinary activities that generate societal impact for the SDGs.

Using insights from interventions in Sessions 1, 11 and 12 of the UCL conference Beyond Boundaries: Realising the UN SDGs, applicants are encouraged to submit proposals focused on achievement of goal targets within the three framings articulated by Waage et al (2015) in Thinking Beyond Sectors for Sustainable Development.

Framings for proposals could include:

Wellbeing (SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 16)
Infrastructure (SDGs 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12)
Natural Environment (SDGs 13, 14, 15)

Goal 17, global partnerships for sustainable development, cross-cuts the three levels. Applicants should describe (and test if possible) synergies between SDG targets that could help the world to accelerate progress towards their early or timely achievement. Applicants are also challenged to identify trade-offs between targets if one or others is to be prioritised.

Value and eligibility

Up to £10,000 is available per project. Applications must be led by a UCL academic staff member and are open to UCL staff members with the following roles:

Professor/Professorial Teaching Fellow or equivalent
Associate Professor/ Reader or equivalent
Senior Lecturer/Principal Researcher/Principal Research Associate/Senior T eaching
Fellow or equivalent
Lecturer/Senior Research Associate/Teaching Fellow or equivalent
Post Doc/Researcher/Post Doc Fellow/Research Associate or equivalent

For full details on eligibility, please read the guidance and advice document below.

How to apply

Before applying, please read the

guidance and advice document

guidance and advice document
The deadline for applications is 23:59 UK time on 20 January 2021
Applications must be submitted via the online application form: