The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies seeks to support and widen an urban research environment at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The Centre offers an intellectual hub for more than twenty research groups and two hundred researchers with the aim to increase the visibility of VUB urban research(ers) and develop and support inter- and transdisciplinary collaborative urban research projects.
project focus
All kinds of projects and initiatives can be funded. Important is that the project is of relevance to the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies and engages with one or more of the following three overarching research questions that guide the Centre’s activities.
- Inter- and transdisciplinarity: Considering the diversity of disciplinary perspectives on cities and ‘the urban’, what are the key analytical approaches informing the project? Can one identify theoretical and thematic concerns as well as analytical concepts and heuristics that allow for truly inter- and/or transdisciplinary urban research?
- Comparative urbanism: Given the socio-spatial unevenness of global urban development, in what ways does the proposed project pay attention to the similarities and differences of cities across space? Considering recent criticisms on the city-centric bias of urban studies, how does the project move beyond a focus on the urban core of a limited set of cities and also pay substantive attention to urban ‘peripheries’ and wider urbanization dynamics?
- Engaged research: Embracing the situated nature of urban research, to what extent does the proposed project connect academia with other actors and networks, such as NGOs, civil society, government administrations and businesses? How does this shape the kind of urban knowledge to be produced in the project, and how does this create opportunities for engaged urban research?
project formats
The call for projects aims to stimulate and support urban research projects of all shapes and sizes. This can include activities such as the following (non-exhaustive and in no particular order):
- workshops to enable exchanges between VUB and other researchers;
- writing retreats to collectively work on publications or research grant proposals;
- small-scale pilot studies;
- training for early career (PhD, postdoc) researchers in urban studies;
- hosting visiting researchers to interact with researchers in Brussels;
- producing innovative research-led pedagogical material;
- developing collaborations between VUB researchers and urban research units abroad;
- production of research-led material of relevance to and in collaboration with non-academic actors (citizen networks, cultural organisations, administrations, companies).
Projects can revolve around one activity or combine a series of activities. Depending on the overall project structure, projects can be a few months only or last for a year or even longer.
project budget
Project funding can be used for all kinds of expenditures, ranging from catering, room rental and travel and accommodation costs to hiring staff, support for visiting researchers, design work, or translation and copy-editing costs. If you are unsure about the eligibility of certain cost categories for funding, please contact us in advance of the application submission.
There is no minimum or maximum amount one can apply for. Note, however, that the overall available yearly budget for projects is in the range of € 80.000 and the Centre would like to support a handful of projects each year.
application process
Applications can only be submitted by VUB researchers. Non-VUB researchers and/or non-academic actors/organisations (NGO’s, public administrations, companies, civil society networks, cultural sector) can naturally be part of a collaborative project proposal, but the main applicant needs to be a VUB researcher.
Please use the application form to describe the project. Submit the document via e-mail to the Centre’s research coordinator Lena Imeraj: Lena.Imeraj@vub.be. Deadline for applications is 15 February 2023. The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies board will review all received applications and communicate the selection results within 6–8 weeks following this date.