2026 Gerda Henkel Foundation Prospect Utopia

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are postdoctoral researchers from all academic disciplines supported by the Foundation within its various funding programmes. Institutional affiliation is not required.

For postdoctoral status within this programme, it is sufficient that a provisional PhD certificate has already been issued by the application deadline; unlike in the General Research Grants programme the dissertation does not need to have been (already) formally published.

Former funding recipients may submit an application provided that their previous funding has been completed by the application deadline and that the final report has ideally already been submitted.

There can be no funding for:

• individual doctoral projects
• projects of a purely documentary nature
• supplementary amounts destined for existing projects and research groups
• projects that merely enable the completion of work that has already been started (this includes, for example, completion scholarships, printing costs for manuscripts that are already available, final conferences for ongoing projects, etc.).

Funding cannot cover the following types of costs:

• overheads and administrative costs
• lump sums and non-verifiable expenses
• tuition fees

 The program is explicitly aimed at new, standalone research ideas.

Summary

To mark its 50th anniversary in 2026, the Gerda Henkel Foundation is launching a funding programme that seeks to enquire into the realms of the possible and the horizon of the not-yet-known. Researchers from all the fields supported by the Foundation are invited to reflect on the significance of their disciplines in terms of the meaning these have for lived reality and as a way of providing orientation, and thus to explore the future with regard to its possible shapes and the potential for interpretation and creation it offers. In doing so, the approaches may hinge on the representation of and/or reflection on historical visions of the future, or equally address horizons of expectation or conceptions of future practice and the scope for scholarship to act. Based on the conviction that utopias of successful social coexistence require a cultural awareness, the aim is to arrive at a current definition of what determines the communicative, identity-forming, and consensus-building role of these scholarly enterprises today and in the future, and how it can be reinforced or renewed.

There is a broad range of conceivable topics, extending from the way earlier societies imagined progress, community, or justice, to current ideals of future coexistence, the role of science, or the potential of technological developments. The focus may also be on images of the future from different cultures and their significance for social orientation or how uncertainty is handled – as well as new ideas for social, political, or ecological change.

What is crucial is that the projects show how differently people think about the future, be it from the point of view of history or the social science or indeed from an analytical, artistic, or interdisciplinary perspective. “Prospekt Utopia” wishes to create space for these kinds of approaches and to encourage people to think through the future actively.

The funding program is deliberately designed to be open and flexible, and there is scope for individual projects as well as collaborative or interdisciplinary projects that combine different perspectives. International cooperation or formats that make research results accessible to a wider public (such as digital offerings, audiovisual formats, or experimental presentations) are also welcome as long as there is a clearly discernible scholarly core. The objective is to encourage researchers to explore new ways of thinking and to make ideas for the future visible in a variety of forms.

 A total of 50 projects will be announced with a project sum of up to EUR 50,000 in each instance.

If working time within the projects is to be calculated via scholarships, we kindly ask you to take into account the scholarships rates set by the Foundation (including any possible allowances).

Research Scholarships for Postdocs

Monthly scholarship award: 2,760 euros

•    for one child: EUR 480
•    for each further child: EUR 120

The family grant is awarded for children who have not yet turned 18.

Monthly endowment for scholarships abroad: 690 euros

Travel aid: as required
Material aid: as required

Research Scholarships after Post-Doctoral Lecture Qualification

Monthly scholarship award: 3,720 euros

For classification under the stipend rate “after post doctoral lecture qualification”, the following applies: In higher education systems in which a formal second academic qualification beyond the doctorate (e.g. habilitation or an equivalent procedure) is required, this second qualification will be treated as as the determining qualification. In higher education systems in which a second qualification of this kind is not part of the academic structure, the Foundation will as a rule regard the holding of a permanent (normally tenured) professorship or other permanent higher education teaching position at a mid-level or senior rank (e.g. Associate/Full/Distinguished Professor, Senior Lecturer, Reader, Professor) as an equivalent qualification to the habilitation; comparable positions may be recognised as equivalent in individual cases, in line with the respective national ranking system. A positively evaluated junior professorship is likewise recognised as equivalent. Positions such as Assistant Professor or Lecturer, as well as fixed-term junior professorships without a positive evaluation, are not regarded as equivalent to the habilitation.

•    for one child: EUR 480
•    for each further child: EUR 120

The family grant is awarded for children who have not yet turned 18.

Monthly endowment for scholarships abroad: 930 euros

Travel aid: as required
Material aid: as required

Nature and scope of the funding

Funding for an anniversary project may cover staffing, travel, materials, and/or other costs, depending on the type of project. Applicants can request funding of up to EUR 50,000.

In principle, recipients can use the funding as they wish. Personnel costs for employees can be budgeted via grants in accordance with the Foundation rates (see endowment). Grants are only available for full-time work. It is not possible to receive a grant alongside a salary or old-age pension.

Justification must be provided for staff funding for individual positions in terms of the amount allocated and the need for it.

Funds for auxiliary staff can be calculated on the basis of the applicable institutional hourly rates.

Applicants must be actively involved in the work planned for the project.

Where funds are received, proof must be provided of how they were used; non-verifiable costs cannot be reimbursed.

Invoicing of funding should ideally be via an institutional external grants account.

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at fellowships@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Application Form