Calls currently open

2024 Wall-Free Lab Call to Projects 

Letters of intent must be submitted on the ANR platform. 

Deadline: 28 May 2024, 11:00 a.m. (UTC+2)

Context

The amplification of hydrological extremes in a context of global change is a major challenge for our societies in the 21st century, requiring action at every level. Water is a common good that is essential to life and to socio-economic development. It is a living environment, a vital element for climate regulation, the functioning of ecosystems and human development. France has been a global pioneer for governance at river basin level, but the assumption that everything could be resolved at basin level is being eroded. The global is catching up with the local, and new issues are emerging. These challenges need to be met by more integrated, systemic, multi-stakeholder approaches to co-construct knowledge and solutions adapted to contrasting realities. A shift of paradigm is needed to reconsider water as a common good, central element of socio-ecosystems subject to climatic and anthropogenic forcing.

The Call to Projects

The aim of this Wall-Free Lab Call for projects is to identify a specific subject, object, problem or issue which, in order to be understood in all its complexity, will be studied from a number of disciplinary perspectives. Each project submitted will be structured around a group of doctoral and post-doctoral students from different and complementary disciplinary backgrounds to address the multiple facets of each subject. It will mobilise a variety of knowledge, information and methodologies, through groups of young researchers from complementary scientific disciplines, to be anchored in an interdisciplinary approach. This type of call is open to scientists from French higher education and/or research institutions wishing to propose contributions to meet the OneWater - Eau Bien Commun programme's objectives.

Stakeholders (e.g. local authorities, NGOs, socio-economic actors, etc.) and other French and international partners may be involved in the consortia, but will not be eligible for funding under the Programme.

The Call will mobilise a maximum of €12 million and the amount of aid requested per project must be between €800k and €1.2m for a period of 4 years.

This Call for Projects aims to:

• Propose original scientific approaches to produce new knowledge and meet OneWater's objectives and challenges (see OneWater's 6 scientific challenges), complementing the contributions of targeted projects and projects selected during the first OneWater 2022 call.
• To remove the scientific barriers around a complex thematic issue, a specific subject that can only be tackled through an interdisciplinary approach, in order to be able to provide answers (actions, innovative approaches, etc.) to support local stakeholders and co-construct ways of building resilience for sustainable water management in France.
• To encourage the emergence and creation of new consortia to structure scientific communities around the fundamental challenges of OneWater, while contributing to the training of young researchers in approaches that go beyond their respective disciplinary fields.
• Training young researchers through research, in order to integrate them into an interdisciplinary approach.

This call for projects will take place in two stages: selection of the letters of intent to assess their relevance to the objectives of the OneWater - Eau Bien Commun programme and to the expectations of the call; assessment of the detailed projects submitted by the eligible consortia, carried out by an independent international scientific jury.

Key dates

• Launch of the Call on 27 March 2024, 3 p.m.  (UTC+2)
• Submission of letters of intent until 28 May 2024, 11:00 a.m. (UTC+2)
• Submission of applications after selection of the letters of intent until 5 November 2024, 11:00 (UTC+2)