Call for Applications: 2026 UArctic Project Call for Networking Activities on UArctic Research and Education

Based on a grant from the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science (DAHES), UArctic and DAHES offer funding for network and education projects and encourage engagement between member institutions within the Kingdom, as well as internationally, for these UArctic activities.

Who can apply?

The main applicant must be a UArctic member university in Greenland, Denmark or the Faroe Islands. A complete and updated list of member institutions can be found on the UArctic website. The main applicant, and the project lead institution, must be UArctic members.

Purpose, priority and funding amount

The funding purpose is to support new cooperative projects on network activities related to Arctic research and education across all fields of science.

For 2026, DAHES offers a total grant of 3 million DKK that is to favor six projects in total. As such, the individual project may be funded with a maximum total of 500,000 DKK.

Funding cannot be applied for retrospectively, and it is not possible to successfully apply for funding for activities commenced or already carried out at the time of the final funding decision.

Priorities will be given to the projects which fulfil the following criteria:

1. Have a minimum of three UArctic partners, whereof two must be from the within the Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands). However, there is no limit to the maximum amount project partners, and it is viewed as beneficial, and therefore encouraged, to have more than three partners. The majority of project partners must be UArctic member organizations.
   
   Including partners from other Arctic organizations such as International Arctic Social Sciences Association IASSA and International Arctic Science Committee IASC and all UArctic member regions except Russia will be considered an asset (North America, Nordic countries, Asia and Europe).

Unilateral (national) projects are not eligible for funding.

 2. Involve activities within existing UArctic Thematic Networks or UArctic Institutes. 

The linkage to the Network or Institute must be clearly defined by an established contact with the Network or Institute in question. The activities must be highlighted and specified.

See a list of existing networks.

or

1. a) Develop a new Thematic Network or an UArctic Institute: A description of the developmental-process and preparations need to be clearly elaborated.

See guidelines in how to establish a Thematic Network.           

     1. b) Activities that meet the UArctic values. All applications are evaluated based on the guidelines and, most importantly, on how the project meets the six UArctic values.

Fulfilling all six values is regarded as excellent, but addressing minimum four out of six will be considered sufficient. In case the project addresses only some of the six values please describe the reasons for it.

UArctic values:

• Circumpolar
  UArctic promotes northern voices and a circumpolar world view.
• Inclusive
  UArctic embraces and respects cultural diversity, language plurality, and gender equality.
• Respectful
  UArctic promotes relationships of respect, trust, and partnership, and embraces the perspectives and knowledge of northern Indigenous Peoples.
• Collaborative
  UArctic is committed to supporting participatory approaches to the production and sharing of knowledge.
• Open
  UArctic is a university network without walls, committed to reducing all barriers to cooperation - across borders, cultures, and academic systems, embracing transparency and openness.
• Influential
  UArctic provides decision-makers with knowledge-based advice that supports sustainable development in the Arctic.

Eligible activities

• Establishment and development of a UArctic Thematic Network or a UArctic Institute
• Development of joint courses or joint degree programs on topics with northern relevance at bachelor’s, master’s or PhD levels
• Development of flexible education, especially online based programs or courses
• Networking activities related to research activities conducted by the UArctic Thematic Networks. A full list of the Thematic Networks can be found on the UArctic website
• Education or research activities focusing on Indigenous issues

Eligible costs:

• Meeting and workshop expenses (e.g. venue, meals, accommodation and travels of the participants)
• Teaching fees or payments, and per diems. Please, note that you cannot cover the permanent salaries for scientific/academic or technical/administrative staff
• Costs for online conference platforms and tools
• Consumables related to research work

Applicants must document funding of at least 25 percent of the total budget from in kind and/or other sources. NOTE, that overhead costs can NOT be covered by this offered grant.

Duration of projects
 Funded projects will initially be given a funding period of one year, running from September 1^st 2026 to August 31^st 2027 – with the opportunity to extend with further a year until August 31^st 2028.

Application deadline and process
 Application form and project plan must be submitted online by February 28, 2026 by 23.59 (WGT). Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will not be evaluated.

Applicants can expect a decision by the end of April 2026, and successful candidates must formally accept the award no later than May 15^th 2026. 

We encourage to supplementing projects with applying for mobility through the north2north Programme for student or researcher mobility, if relevant.

Applications must include:

• A filled-in application form
• A project plan in a separate document
• An itemized budget in a separate document – specify applied UArctic funding and funding from other sources separately
• The applying institution must provide an endorsement letter from the appropriate leadership level
• If project focuses on research, please attach also the main applicant’s CV (max two pages) with a list of relevant publications.

Project plan (maximum of 5 pages) must be attached to the application form and must include:

1. A description of the purpose and overall goal of the project
2. A list and explicit descriptions of deliverables
3. A description of the project activities, which could be divided into work packages
4. A description of how the project fits with the UArctic values, and how each of the six values are met. If some values are not included, please explain why
5. The planned project outputs (activity results), outcomes for the target group(s) and impacts on the target group(s) wider society, e.g. how will the outcomes benefit the circumpolar world?
6. An internal project evaluation and communication plan, including measuring impact of the activities and how the sustainability of the project will be ensured

UArctic Evaluation process:

UArctic evaluation focuses on three dimensions of excellence:

• UArctic values: relevance to the North as expressed through the six UArctic values.

It will also factor in, how the project contributes to circumpolar cooperation, its inclusiveness and openness, and diversity of partners, as well as the projects’ relevance to Northern communities and peoples, and how it contributes to policy making

• Academic excellence and feasibility of the applied project (education and/or research), its interdisciplinarity and inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and other knowledge systems. The experience and scientific merits of the lead applicant
• Project management: communication plan, internal and external risk management, sustainability plans for the activity, long-term impacts and internal evaluation.

The budget must reflect of the project activities in a realistic manner.

UArctic and DAHES expect that all research projects follow the Danish code of conduct for research integrity.

The grant is managed and administered by Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland, on behalf of UArctic in accordance with the recommendations from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in Denmark. The funding call is subject to the approval of the Danish finance act for 2026.

For more information, please contact researchoffice@uni.gl