ESS26 - Resilience and Crises / Key Facts
Scope of the Call in a Nutshell
This call invites researchers to submit proposals for exploratory, interdisciplinary research projects that advance the conceptualization of resilience in relation to selected crises—primarily with regard to their societal dimensions. The project must be led by a social scientist. Projects should initiate structured collaboration with other scientific disciplines and with relevant practitioner communities, and employ methodological approaches capable of anticipating potential future crises.
This call is part of a two-phase funding activity. Projects funded in phase one will be invited to submit a further project proposal for larger projects once the exploratory projects are concluded (see outlook at the end of this document). The call for phase two is expected in early 2028 once all projects of phase one have finished.
Who can apply?
- An interdisciplinary team of 2-3 researchers led by a social scientist as PI & Coordinator (PI&C).
- The PI&C must be based at a university or research institute in Vienna.
- Co-PIs may be based outside of Vienna (funding limited to 20% of total budget).
- Co-PIs with an affiliation to an institution in Lower Austria may apply for up to 49% of the overall budget (Joint Project).
Project Duration
12-18 months
Funding
- Call budget: € 2 million.
- Project budget: € 50,000 to € 100,000.
- Personnel and non-personnel costs may be claimed.
- Maximum 50% non-personnel costs.
- Up to 20% overhead costs may be claimed.
Timeline
- Proposal deadline: June 17, 2026, 2pm CET
- Expected funding decision: October 2026.
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Project start: January 2027.
Process
- One-stage selection process
- Selection by an international jury (no external review process)
- Application via WWTF Funding Portal
Matchmaking Platform
The Matchmaking Event took place on March 23, 2026. For the remainder of the call until the submission deadline, the Matchmaking platform is available to find potential project collaborators: Please go to https://www.b2match.com/e/project-call-resilience-crises, register with you profile.
Past Events
Call Info Session!
The Info Session provided an introduction to the call and the requirements for successfully submitting a proposal. WWTF will give a presentation, followed by a Q&A session.
Date: April 24, 2026 , 10:00-12:00; online via Zoom
Download the Presentation: Slides - ESS26_InfoSession.pdf
Foresight Workshops
As part of the preparations for the WWTF call for proposals ´Resilience & Crises WWTF, in cooperation with Fraunhofer ISI, is offering two practice-oriented workshops on foresight methods in Vienna. The aim is to give potential applicants a sound introduction to the key concepts, approaches, and methods of strategic foresight and to support you in developing future-oriented project ideas. Participants will learn to explore key influencing factors of future resilience, identify signal of change, analyze and reflect on uncertainties, develop alternative future scenarios and derive needs for action and ideas for solutions. A special focus is placed on participatory methods, stakeholder involvement, and the derivation of robust options for action and governance strategies. The workshops combine conceptual input with practical exercises and provide space for exchange on concrete needs and examples in the context of resilience research.
Two workshops with the same content will take place on the following days at the WWTF, Schlickgasse 3, Top 8 / 1090 Wien:
Wed, Apr 8, 2026, 13:00 - 16:00
Thu, Apr 9, 2026, 09:00 - 12:00
The workshop is intended to support researchers new to these methods. Participation is not mandatory in order to submit a proposal. Furthermore, the methods presented at the workshops are exemplary. Other methods may also be chosen for the proposal.
You can find the workshop materials by Simone Kimpeler of Fraunhofer ISI here: WWTF Foresight Workshop Kimpeler.pdf.