Call for Expressions of Interest ExposUM “Science-Society Interactions”
Call for expressions of interest and call for incubation of regional ExposUM projects.
Support for visibility, communication, and dissemination of science-society initiatives by the I-SITE research community and its partners
To promote cross-disciplinary projects1 with a territorial impact and networking between research and civil society actors, the ExposUM institute is offering a new support mechanism for research teams from the I-Site community and their associative partners, to highlight their research on topics related tothe exposome, environmental health, or global health around territorial issues at the interface between science and society. This support is intended for initiatives in the design phase (funding for exploratory actions to enable a future research-action project), in progress (funding for internships, surveys, dissemination events to finalize a research project), or completed (promotion of the initiative via media, communication, and/or scientific dissemination).
Events must include at least one communication activity (conference, event, film or documentary screening) to promote the initiative at the Science-Society interface and share transdisciplinary experience at the I-SITE level.
For further information, please contact Aurélie Binot, head of the Science-Society Interfaces research area, or Mariline Poupaud, scientific support officer for the research area.
Support arrangements
This call for expressions of interest, launched in April 2024 by the ExposUM Institute, will remain open until March 2025. Funding allocated to each project may be up to €8,000 excluding tax.
Proposals may be submitted on an ongoing basis until December 23, 2025. An evaluation procedure will be implemented every three months by an ad hoc selection committee.
Background and objectives
The ExposUM Institute2 is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners3 based on the concept of the exposome4 aimed at establishing an external, open-plan institute of reference for the study, training, and science-society interaction of environmental determinants of human health. The Institute aims to provide an innovative conceptual framework for studying multiple environmental risks and their combined effects on human health through three areas of work: generating knowledge, applying knowledge, and transmitting knowledge. In the context of knowledge application, a line of work focusing on "Science-Society" interfaces supports and strengthens collaboration between researchers within the I-SITE perimeter and other civil society actors ( local authorities, associations and cooperatives, citizen groups, government agencies such as the Regional Health Agency, etc.) on research issues related to multiple environmental risks.
Eligibility criteria
This call for proposals concerns any event—including the creation of research networks, seminars, study days, workshops, symposiums, conferences, exhibitions, field surveys, internship grants, and scientific events—on topics related to the exposome.5, based on transdisciplinary approaches and involving scientific research in collaboration with civil society (public institutions, associations, private actors, etc.).
The event should aim to apply knowledge relating to the exposome (any environmental factor that affects human health in the broadest sense), i.e., define comprehensive mitigation strategies adapted to the local context and encourage innovation by creating a "Science-Society" interface to promote the results. Events at the science/policy interface will be particularly appreciated.
Events must include at least one communication activity (conference, event, film or documentary screening) to promote the initiative.
Funding awarded by the ExposUM Institute will be paid directly to the winning research unit, or possibly to an associated organization via service provision (to be considered on a case-by-case basis—please feel free to contact us by email if you have any questions).
The scientific event must be led by a researcher who is a member of a research unit within the I-Site perimeter, with the agreement of the director of the research unit.
Terms of payment of funding and eligible expenses
Funding awarded by the ExposUM Institute will be paid directly to the winning research units/associations (via service provisions). Co-funding by partner organizations, while not mandatory, will be appreciated. Participation fees for communication activities (if applicable) will be compatible with opening up the event to a wide audience, including students.
Eligibility of expenses:
- Eligible expenses: operating expenses directly related to the implementation of the survey (small equipment, operating costs, missions), internship stipends, services, and event organization (excluding prestigious events such as gala dinners and goodies).
- Non-eligible expenses: investment expenses, management fees, indirect expenses, salaries
Selection criteria and procedure
The selection will be made by a dedicated committee composed of the management committee and the president of ExposUM's COSS.6 and three members of the I-Site with experience in transdisciplinary research. The committee will meet at least every three months, at the end of each quarter. The following criteria will be considered:
- Proposal requiring the involvement of an I-Site research team and civil society actors around the concept of the exposome.
- Relevance in light of the Institute's strategic priorities ExposUM: initiation of new partnerships, territorial issues, One Health approach, Global Health and the South, promotion of the involvement of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
- Ability to mobilize both experienced and young researchers
- Efforts toward gender equality
- Credibility, amount, and relevance of the financial request
Submission requirements and schedule
- Proposals may be submitted on an ongoing basis until December 23, 2025, to this email address, mentioning [AMI axis 2 ExposUM] in the subject line of the email.
- Proposals must be written in French or English using the proposal form, following the instructions provided therein.
- Proposals will be evaluated once per quarter by the selection committee. Decisions will be communicated to applicants at the start of each new quarter (July 2024, October 2024, January 2024, April 2025).
- The initiative must take place within six months of notification of award.
Commitments of the bearer
Project leaders commit to:
- Include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030, the ExposUM Institute, and the Occitanie Region in all documents and materials related to the initiative.
- Submit a qualitative and quantitative assessment no later than three months after the end of the initiative.
- Provide the ExposUM Institute with access to the initiative's deliverables (e.g., minutes, video recordings, internship reports, survey results).
- In the case of an event, provide the ExposUM Institute with a short presentation (1/2 page) at least one month in advance, which may be used in the University of Montpellier's communication materials.
Call for Incubation of Regional Projects (AIP) ExposUM “Science-Society Interactions”
This call has been closed since June 2024.
This support was intended to incubate a transdisciplinary action research proposal, i.e., one involving the academic sector and civil society actors, whether associations, local authorities, cooperatives, citizen collectives, government services such as the ARS, etc. Among the projects that received support from this call in 2024, two will be selected to receive more substantial support during 2025 (budget of €20,000 to €50,000 per project). For example, in 2024, two projects are being supported by ExposUM: one focusing on the characterization of and awareness-raising about the risks of tick-borne diseases in Occitanie, and the other on eco-citizen institutes for the observation and understanding of pollution and the emergence of an institute in the Aude department.
- A transdisciplinary approach is based on a research and knowledge production approach with society rather than for society, engaging stakeholders in shared challenges (Seidl et al. 2013, Utrecht University Transdisciplinary Field Guide) ↩︎
- Winner of the ExcellenceS call for projects (PIA4) and supported by the Occitanie Region ↩︎
- CIRAD, CNRS, IFREMER, INRAE, INRIA, INSERM, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Occitanie Region ↩︎
- The exposome refers to the sum of lifetime exposures to environmental and social factors whose specific effects, combined with individuals' intrinsic characteristics, underlie health and the onset, progression, and severity of infectious and noncommunicable diseases in humans. In this sense, it is the environmental counterpart to the genome, with which it interacts throughout an individual's lifetime. ↩︎
- For example, environmental pollution, links between water and health, vector-borne infectious risks, air quality, prophylaxis, vaccination, awareness-raising, etc. ↩︎
- https://www.umontpellier.fr/universite/projets-emblematiques/exposum ↩︎