SANDEE Research Grant 2026: Call for Concept Notes

The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), has introduced its 2026 analysis grant cycle. This alternative is designed to strengthen analysis capability and tutorial management amongst early-career professionals in South Asia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) area.

SANDEE helps empirical analysis that connects financial improvement, environmental sustainability, and pure useful resource administration. The program emphasizes evidence-based work that may affect each scientific information and policymaking.

Background

• SANDEE is a regional community beneath ICIMOD, specializing in the intersections of economics, surroundings, and improvement.
• ICIMOD’s imaginative and prescient for 2030 is a greener, extra inclusive, and climate-resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya.
• The program aligns with ICIMOD’s three strategic teams:
  • Climate and Environmental Risks
  • Resilient Economies and Landscapes
  • Regional Action and Global Advocacy

Strategic Focus Areas

Applicants should align their idea notes with ICIMOD’s priorities. Areas of curiosity embody:

1. Climate and Environmental Risks

• Economics of cryosphere modifications and related dangers
• Multi-hazard catastrophe threat evaluation
• Nature-based options for catastrophe threat discount (DRR)
• Financing mechanisms for DRR
• Sustainable river basin administration (irrigation, ingesting water, electrical energy technology, upstream/downstream water use)
• Air air pollution: information assortment, monitoring, well being impacts, insurance policies, and communication methods

2. Resilient Economies and Landscapes

• Sustainable and resilient mountain livelihoods (e.g., yak herding, rangeland administration, agroecological transitions, renewable power, sustainable tourism)
• Policies and establishments supporting inexperienced, round, and transformative livelihoods
• Incentive-based mechanisms for conservation and restoration of ecosystems
• Economics of human–wildlife coexistence and battle mitigation
• Cost-effectiveness of springshed and wetlands administration

3. Regional Action and Global Advocacy

• Impacts of regional/world insurance policies on local weather, surroundings, and biodiversity targets
• Climate change adaptation, mitigation, and loss & injury (L&D)
• Biodiversity conservation and benefit-sharing with Indigenous communities
• Role of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and National Biodiversity Strategies (NBSAPs) in regional local weather motion and financing

Eligibility

• Only professionals (lecturers, researchers, practitioners) from and dealing in South Asia and the HKH area are eligible.
• Women professionals are strongly inspired to apply.
• Exclusions:
  • Applicants with kinfolk presently working or consulting with ICIMOD will not be eligible.
  • Senior-level professionals (professors, administrators, and many others.) can’t apply.
• Principal Investigators (PIs) should be junior to mid-career professionals affiliated with a college, analysis institute, authorities company, or non-profit group.
• Institutional affiliation is obligatory. A assist letter can be required on the full proposal stage.

Grant Size and Duration

• Grants vary between USD 20,000–30,000.
• Duration: two years.
• Larger grants can be awarded to tasks involving:
  • Multidisciplinary groups
  • Cross-border collaborations
  • Transboundary points requiring interdisciplinary approaches

Application Guidelines

• Concept notes should exhibit sturdy financial evaluation utilizing established strategies.
• Action analysis producing consulting-type stories won’t be thought of.
• Interdisciplinary tasks, cross-border collaborations, and gender-focused analysis are welcome.
• Clear identification of group roles and tasks is required.
• Applications should be submitted on-line through the official kind: SANDEE Application Form

Deadline: 31 December 2025

Selection Procedure

• Applications not assembly the factors can be rejected.
• Shortlisted candidates can be invited to submit full proposals.
• Proposals will bear multi-stage rigorous evaluate.
• Finalists will current their work at a analysis and coaching workshop in summer time 2026.

Key Dates

• Application Deadline: 31 December 2025
• Workshop: Summer 2026

Why Apply?

This grant is a singular alternative to:

• Contribute to evidence-led science-policy dialogue in South Asia and the HKH area.
• Strengthen your tutorial {and professional} profile by publications and coverage influence.
• Collaborate throughout borders on urgent environmental and financial challenges.
• Access funding and coaching tailor-made to early-career researchers.

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