All Things Urban

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies is excited to announce its fifth call for projects, open for all VUB research groups and researchers. Based at the Faculty of Geography and situated in the European capital, 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 This call welcomes a diverse range of projects, with the only requirement being their alignment with the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies' mission and their engagement with the three core research questions that steer the Centre’s endeavours. - inter- and transdisciplinarity: With the multitude of disciplinary viewpoints on cities and 'the urban,' we want to learn about the principal analytical approaches shaping your project. The proposal should highlight any theoretical and thematic considerations, as well as analytical concepts and heuristics that support genuinely inter- and/or transdisciplinary urban research. - comparative urbanism: Taking into account the socio-spatial disparities in global urban development, the proposed project should elaborate on how it deals with both shared characteristics and distinctions among cities across various locations. In light of the recent criticisms related to the city-centric bias in urban studies, we are eager to learn how your project goes beyond concentrating solely on the core of select cities and, instead offers substantial consideration to urban 'peripheries' and the broader aspects of urbanisation. - engaged research: Considering the situated nature of urban research, we are interested in understanding the degree to which your proposed project encourages collaboration between academia and other stakeholders, including NGOs, civil society, government administrations, and businesses. The project proposal should illustrate how this collaboration influences the type of urban knowledge produced by your project and the opportunities it provides for active 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 organizations, administrations, companies). Projects can revolve around one activity or combine a series of activities. Projects can vary in duration depending on their overall structure and objectives. 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.

**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: [email protected]. Deadline for applications is 10 January 2024. The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies board will review all received applications and communicate the selection results within 2-4 weeks following this date. **Please specify in your email that you found this opportunity through All Things Urban.**

The Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, one of the largest centres of its kind in Europe, brings together researchers from across the social sciences, humanities and engineering.