Call for Proposals 2025 – Ophthalmology Research in LMICs
Event details
| Date | 29.09.2025 |
| Category | Call for proposal |
Our institution coordinates submissions because the funder limits the number of applications per institution.
Access our internal toolkit and submission instructions here: Dossier - Google Drive
- Reduce visual impairments and blindness in LMICs- low- and middle-income countries
- Develop and strengthen research capacity in LMICs, focusing on sustainable biomedical/clinical ophthalmology research.
- Induce a change in ophthalmology research by addressing specific biomedical knowledge gaps relevant to LMICs
- Institutional Research Capacity Strengthening Projects:
- Aim to sustainably build, develop, or reinforce institutional structures enabling biomedical/clinical ophthalmology research in LMICs.
- Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Projects:
- Develop and validate new diagnostic, prevention, or treatment methods for eye diseases adapted to the local context of LMICs.
- Must also contribute to strengthening research capacities of institutions in LMICs.
- Projects with a higher emphasis on institutional research capacity strengthening will be prioritized.
- Institutional Research Capacity Strengthening Projects:
- Focus on long-lasting capacity building, including developing research management, attracting funding, retaining researchers, and establishing centers of excellence.
- Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Projects:
- Address biomedical knowledge gaps specific to LMICs.
- Develop or validate new methods for prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of eye diseases adapted to local contexts.
- Must include elements of institutional research capacity strengthening.
- Consortia of research groups with at least one partner based in an LMIC.
- Involvement of a high-income country partner is welcome but not mandatory.
- At least one PI or co-PI must be an established or leading researcher in ophthalmology, as per the European Framework for research careers.
- A member of the LMIC research institution’s executive/leadership team should be included in the project team as PI or co-PI.
- NEW: each organisation can submit a maximum of two applications per call (in the role of PI or co-PI). If this limit is exceeded, all applications from that institution will be excluded.
Therefore, PIs must contact their institution’s Grants Office early to coordinate and confirm eligibility. - Important:
EPFL has a centralized submission coordination process for this funding call to ensure compliance with eligibility limits and to avoid duplicate applications and also to emit the institutional letter needed for the submission
If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please contact the Research Office.
Follow the link below to access our internal toolkit and learn how to express your interest in submitting a proposal: Velux Stiftung - Application toolkit - Research - Google Drive - Applicants must ensure compliance with internal approval processes and provide necessary documentation
Duration
- Projects may last from 1 to 4 years.
- CHF 50,000 to CHF 100,000 per year.
- At least 50% of the funding must be used in LMICs.
- Eligible budget categories include:
- Salaries (including university fees for students based in LMICs).
- Consumables (not more than 20% of the total amount, exceptions must be justified).
- Equipment.
- Knowledge transfer (travel, conference participation, workshop organization).
- Other costs related to research capacity building.
- Overhead is not Eligible
- Internal deadline to express interest: June 16 2025
- Submission deadline: 29 September 2025, 23:59 CEST
- Final decision: March 2026
- Submission portal: https://portal.veluxstiftung.deskone.ch/login
- Forestry call: https://veluxstiftung.ch/funding-areas/forestry
- Contact : research@epfl.ch
- Contact : info@veluxstiftung.ch
Practical information
- General public
- Free