Grant for a research project or innovative education project. Maximum grant amount: € 35,000.

Researchers max. 5 years after their PhD who are affiliated with Leiden University or LUMC with a paid appointment (minimum 0.4 fte). In some cases, researchers who obtained their PhD more than 5 years ago can also submit an application (see grant conditions).
PhD candidates are eligible if they obtain their PhD before July 1, 2026.

• Projects must be stand-alone with a maximum duration of 3 years, starting 1 January 2027 at the latest.
• Research projects can be the stepping stone to a future grant application to NWO, ERC or another fund.
• Education projects must focus on long-term innovations or improvements in academic teaching.
• You must have a paid appointment of at least 0.4 fte at Leiden University or LUMC.
• The project must start no earlier than the spending committee meeting.
• Each applicant may only be involved in one application in this funding call.
• There must be no other funding opportunities for the project.
• Applications must be submitted to one of the available funds in this call. For most funds, applicants must have received their PhD no more than 5 years prior to the submission deadline (date on degree certificate). The NWO extension clause applies. This is not a requirement for some specific funds (see available funds).
• Applications must be submitted to the most relevant fund for the project. NB: the maximum funding may be different (see available funds).
• Eligible costs are:
  • Costs directly necessary for the project, excluding overheads.
  • Material and personnel costs, clearly itemised and without set items or unclear estimates. Personnel costs should be based on the costs of individuals who carry out the work and may include an exemption from teaching duties. Lab facilities that can be arranged internally should not be budgeted at more than cost price.
  • In exceptional cases, the cost of open-access publications, provided explicit and convincing grounds are given.
  • Unanticipated expenses (max. 5%).
• Applicants must submit a substantive report and a financial account via the LUF Grant Portal within 2 months of completing the project, after which the grant will be paid out.

January, 2026 (exact date and spending committee meeting date will follow)

• Application review: Committee for Academic Expenditure (CWB).
• Applications must be submitted via the Grant Portal. 
• Applications may be submitted in Dutch or English. In both cases, a Dutch summary must be included (max. 250 words). 
• Required documents for application:
  • project plan.
  • CV (max. 3 pages A4, incl. profile summary and FTE of the current appointment).
  • letter of recommendation.
  • budget.
  • PhD candidates: declaration of PhD supervisor with PhD defence date (before July 1 of the calendar year in question).
• If you make use of the NWO extension clause, please include the reason for invoking the extension clause, and if applicable, the name and date of birth of each child, at the top of your CV.
• The CWB reviews applications according to the following criteria:
  • The scientific importance and innovative nature of the project.
  • Clarity of the problem definition.
  • Quality of the methodology.
  • CV matching the ambitions of the project.
  • An adequate budget. 
• You will be informed about your application and - in case of award - the amount of the grant no later than June 2026.
• If you have any questions, please contact LUF at grants@luf.leidenuniv.nl.

Today's complex social issues rarely fall within the confines of a single discipline or specialism. When searching for solutions, it is of great importance that scientists look beyond the boundaries of their own domain. To stimulate this, LUF is allocating 2 grants of up to € 150,000 for interfaculty scientific research or education projects. Pre-selection takes place via the faculties.

Interfaculty teams within Leiden University or LUMC of research or education projects.

• It concerns independent projects with a duration of up to 3 years with a start date between 1 November 2025 and 1 May 2026. 
• Education projects are aimed at long-term innovations or structural improvements in scientific education.
• A project must involve scientists from at least 2 faculties.
• You must have a paid appointment of at least 0.4 fte at Leiden University or LUMC.
• You may not be involved in more than one project.
• An application may not be submitted to more than one faculty at the pre-selection stage.
• Eligible costs are:
  • Costs directly necessary for the project, excluding overheads.
  • Material and personnel costs, clearly itemised and without set items or unclear estimates. Personnel costs should be based on the costs of individuals who carry out the work and may include an exemption from teaching duties. Lab facilities that can be arranged internally should not be budgeted at more than cost price.
  • In exceptional cases, the cost of open-access publications, provided explicit and convincing grounds are given.
  • Unanticipated expenses (max. 5%).
• Applicants must submit a substantive report and a financial account within 2 months of completing the project, after which the grant will be paid out.

Proposals that have support of the faculty may be submitted to LUF from 1 April 2025 to 1 July 2025

• There will be a pre-selection process coordinated by the faculties. For details on the procedure and timeline, please contact the designated representative at your faculty:
  • Archaeology: Jimmy Mans
  • Humanities: Marlieke Ernst
  • Medicine/LUMC: Pieter de Koning and Milou Pauw
  • Governance and Global Affairs: Annemarie Bouwman
  • Law: Karin van Heijningen
  • Social and Behavioural Sciences: Hester Bergsma
  • Science: Monique Leemkuil
• Up to two proposals per faculty may be submitted to LUF. Applications are reviewed by LUF's Committee for Academic Expenditure (CWB).
• Proposals that have support of the faculty may be submitted to LUF from 1 April 2025 to 1 July 2025 via the LUF grant application form.
• Applications may be submitted in Dutch or English.
• For the project plan, please use the template Project plan application LUF Impulse Grant 2025.
• For the budget, please use the template on the website and the sample budget. We recommend that you have the budget checked for submission within the faculty by a project controller and/or research support staff member.
• For the letter of recommendation, use the template on the website. The letter should be signed by or on behalf of the faculty board.
• The CWB reviews applications according to the following criteria:
  • The social importance and innovative nature of the project.
  • Clarity of the problem definition and methodology.
  • The interfaculty character and added value.
  • Ambition of the applicants and quality of the CV’s.
  • An adequate budget. If the budget is unclear or includes ineligible items, the CWB may decide to decline the proposal.
• Applications will be reviewed at the CWB meeting on 8 September 2025. The applicants of maximum 5 best rated projects will be invited for a presentation at the CWB meeting on Monday afternoon, 13 October 2025.
• LUF will announce which 2 project teams will be awarded a grant no later than the week of 27 October 2025.
• If you have any questions, please  contact LUF at grants@luf.leidenuniv.nl. It is also possible to request a telephone appointment for further consultation via this e-mail address.

LUF allocates 2 Praesidium Libertatis Grants for innovative academic research in 2026. Maximum grant amount: € 75,000.

Researchers max. 10 years after their PhD who are affiliated with Leiden University or LUMC with a paid appointment (minimum 0.4 fte). PhD candidates are not eligible for this grant.

• Projects must be stand-alone with a maximum duration of 3 years, starting between 1 November 2026 and 1 May 2027.
• The grant will be awarded to innovative research that the applicant will conduct if awarded funding. Research projects can be the stepping stone to a future grant application to NWO, ERC or another fund.
• You must have a paid appointment of at least 0.4 fte at Leiden University or LUMC.
• You must have been awarded your PhD no more than 10 years ago on 1 July 2026 (date on your degree certificate). The NWO extension clause is applicable.
• Eligible costs are:
  • Costs directly necessary for the project, excluding overheads.
  • Material and personnel costs, clearly itemised and without set items or unclear estimates. Personnel costs should be based on the costs of individuals who carry out the work and may include an exemption from teaching duties. Lab facilities that can be arranged internally should not be budgeted at more than cost price.
  • In exceptional cases, the cost of open-access publications, provided explicit and convincing grounds are given.
  • Unanticipated expenses (max. 5%).
• Applicants must submit a substantive report and a financial account via the LUF Grant Portal within 2 months of completing the project, after which the grant will be paid out.

Proposals that have support of the faculty may be submitted to LUF from 1 April 2026 to 1 July 2027.

• A pre-selection will take place within each faculty. The contact details of the coordinators you can contact about the procedure will follow.
• Applications must be submitted via the Grant Portal. 
• Each faculty may submit a maximum of two applications to the LUF. The LUF Committee for Academic Expenditure will review the applications.
• Applications may be submitted in Dutch or English. In both cases, a Dutch summary must be included (max. 250 words). 
• Required documents for application submission
  • project plan.
  • CV (max. 3 A4 pages, incl. profile summary and FTE of the current appointment).
  • letter of recommendation.
  • budget.
• If you will be using the NWO extension clause, please include the reason for invoking the extension clause, and if applicable, the name and date of birth of each child at the top of your CV.
• The CWB will review applications according to the following criteria:
  • The scientific importance and innovative nature of the project.
  • Clarity of the problem definition.
  • Quality of the methodology.
  • CV matching the ambitions of the project.
  • An adequate budget.
• The applicants with the highest scoring projects (a maximum of 5) will be invited to give a presentation at the CWB meeting in October 2026. 
• LUF will announce which 2 projects will be awarded a grant in November 2026.
• If you have any questions, please contact LUF at grants@luf.leidenuniv.nl.

Contribution to the costs of organising a workshop or small conference that has an academic objective and/or highlights the social relevance of the discipline concerned. Maximum grant amount: for a one-day event: € 1,500: for a multi-day event: € 3,000.

Academics affiliated with Leiden University or the LUMC with a paid appointment (minimum 0.4 fte). PhD candidates are not eligible for this grant.

• The event must be an independent activity (i.e. not related or parallel to a PhD ceremony or other activity).
• Annual events are not eligible for funding.
• You must have a paid appointment of at least 0.4 fte at Leiden University or LUMC.
• In principle, the event must take place in a building belonging to Leiden University or an affiliated institution. Institutes abroad are regarded as an integral part of Leiden University in this context, i.e. the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW), the Netherlands Institute in Turkey (NIT), the Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR), and the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC).
• Your own faculty, institute or department must contribute to the costs, thus confirming the importance of the meeting. Other resources (such as project funds) may be used for this purpose with the explicit approval of the chair or head of the faculty, department or institute concerned.
• LUF’s contribution will not exceed the total contribution of your faculty, institute or department. 
• Eligible costs are: 
  • Venue hire
  • Catering (coffee/tea, lunch, dinner)
  • Printing (the grant is not for scientific publication costs).
  • Travel and accommodation costs for speakers.
  • Travel budget for Leiden University PhD candidates who live abroad and cannot afford to attend the meeting (maximum €500).
• In principle, LUF does not reimburse speakers’ fees.
• The conference or workshop must not take place before the meeting in which the Committee for Academic Expenditure will discuss the application.
• You must submit a substantive report and financial account via the LUF Grant Portal within two months of completing the project, after which the grant will be paid out.
• Applications that contravene restrictive measures adopted by the government or Leiden University or that apply in the destination country will not be considered.

•    January 5, 2025 (meeting January 27, 2025)
•    May 11, 2025 (meeting June 2, 2025)
•    October 23, 2025 (meeting November 17, 2025)

• Application review: LUF Committee for Academic Expenditure (CWB).
• You must submit your application through the LUF portal LUF Grant Portal.
• Applications may be submitted in Dutch or English and must include an explanation of why you are applying, a description of how the theme of the conference or workshop relates to your research, a summary of the programme (max. 150 words) and a budget. 
• Required documents
  • CV (max. 3 A4 pages, incl. FTE of the current appointment).
  • letter of recommendation from chair or coordinator of the research group or the research director.
  • proof of financial support from your faculty, department or institute (only available in Dutch).
  • Note: if the grant portal does not provide sufficient space to upload all documents individually, please combine the relevant documents into a single file and upload them together.
• The application will be reviewed at the CWB committee meeting closest to the project start date.
• You will be notified after the CWB’s application review meeting about whether your application was successful and if so, the grant amount awarded.
• If you have any questions, please contact LUF at grants@luf.leidenuniv.nl.