Velux Stiftung - Call for Proposals 2026 – Daylight Research

The programme aims to support innovative, interdisciplinary research that places natural daylight at the centre of the research question and research plan.
The ambition is to:

• Address neglected but impactful questions where daylight plays a central role
• Encourage high‑risk, outside‑of‑the‑box ideas
• Generate interdisciplinary collaborations, especially between disciplines that rarely interact
• Support research that has the potential to drive systemic change, influence global health, and inform urban planning

• Feasibility / pilot studies exploring very high‑risk, radically new ideas
• Interdisciplinary combinations of fields that rarely work together
• Must generate initial empirical data
• Funding: CHF 50,000–100,000
• Duration: up to 1 year

• Full interdisciplinary research studies
• No need to apply for seed first
• Funding: CHF 100,000–300,000
• Duration: up to 4 years

• The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a permanent employee (professor, group leader) of a university or a permanent research organisation
• Co‑PIs is/are key personnel who is/are essential to the project and will be involved in the project management,  may be non‑permanent employees
• Up to 3 co‑PIs
• Collaborators are persons you are consulting with. Unlimited collaborators possible

• CHF 50,000–100,000
• Up to 12 months
   

• CHF 100,000–300,000
• Up to 4 years

• Salaries
• 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

• Submission deadline: 13 April 2026, 23:59 CEST
• Final decision: November 2026

• Submission portal: https://portal.veluxstiftung.deskone.ch/login
• Full call document:  Call for proposals: Daylight research
• Application Factsheet : Application factsheet
• Other relevant documents
• Contact: [email protected]