Toronto-Warwick Joint Seed Fund
University of Toronto (U of T) and University of Warwick (Warwick) Joint Seed Fund
The U of T-Warwick Joint Seed Fund is a collaborative initiative designed to foster innovative research and the creation of academic and societal impact. This fund brings together the complementary strengths of University of Toronto and the University of Warwick, to facilitate research and education initiatives, by enabling academic colleagues to jointly undertake preliminary research or pilot projects, and organise meetings, workshops and events. Together we are committed to uniting our shared areas of expertise to tackle the greatest challenges faced by people across the world today.
Learn more about our collaborative research here.
Key Dates
Applications open: 2 March 2026
Application close: 1 May 2026 (12:00 PM EST/ 17:00 BST)
Awards begin: 1 August 2026
Awards finish: 31 July 2027
Duration: 1 year
Frequency: one call per year
Core Documents
Fund Objectives
- the organisation of virtual, hybrid or in-person workshops and symposia;
- in person meetings to facilitate planning and development of external funding proposals;
- reciprocal or non-reciprocal visits to establish new collaborations;
- preliminary research, experiments and pilot studies.
Funding:
Up to five (5) successful joint proposals will be chosen and each will receive up to $7000 (CAD) of funding from U of T and up to £5000 (GBP) from Warwick.
Examples of Allowable expenditure:
- Reasonable travel costs including flights, visas, accommodation and subsistence
- Research costs, including consumables and research assistants (up to 20% of the total requested budget).
- Costs associated with organizing workshops and meetings that are directly related to the project’s development
The Seed Fund will not typically fund:
- Replacement research/teaching costs
- Directly incurred e.g. teaching assistants
- Directly allocated costs including applicants’ time
- Indirect costs/estates costs
- Equipment
- Scholarships
- Conference attendance
- Tuition fees
- Per diems
- PhD stipends
- Gifts
- Salaries and honoraria of permanent and fixed term staff
- Costs already incurred prior to submission of the proposal
Eligibility
We welcome proposals in all disciplines that are of mutual interest to the project team and will strengthen the partnership between U of T and Warwick.
- U of T: Faculty members who meet the University’s definition of a Principal Investigator (PI) are eligible to apply. PIs must hold an appointment for the full duration of the grant’s funding period plus one year. Successful status-only PIs must hold grant funds at an account within the University.
- Warwick: The fund is open to staff from all academic Departments and Centres at Warwick. Applications should specify a Principal Applicant who must be a permanent (including probationary) member of academic staff or hold a fellowship awarded by an external funder, the duration of which extends beyond the duration of the award.
How to apply
- Please submit your application using U of T's application link. Applications must include:
- Completed Joint Seed Fund Application Form (no longer than 100 words)
- Warwick Requirements Form
- Abbreviated two-page CV from the Principal Applicant at each institution.