Current Call for Proposals

Call for Expressions of Interest and Call for Regional Project Incubation: ExposUM.

Next selection committee meeting: mid-June 2026; submissions accepted until June 8.

The next selections will take place in 2027

Support for the visibility, communication, and dissemination of science-society initiatives by the I-SITE research community and its partners

To promote interdisciplinary projects¹ with a local impact and networking among researchers and civil society actors, the ExposUM Institute is offering a new support program for research teams within the I-Site community and their partner organizations, to highlight their research on topics related tothe exposome,environmental health, orglobal healthas they relate to regional issues at the Science-Society interface. This support is intended for initiatives in the design phase (funding exploratory actions to enable a future action research project), in progress (funding for internships, surveys, or dissemination events to finalize a research project), or completed (promotion of the initiative through media, communication, and/or scientific dissemination).

Events must include at least one outreach activity (such as a conference, event, or screening of a film or documentary) to highlight the initiative at the science-society interface and facilitate the sharing of transdisciplinary experiences across the I-SITE.

For further information, please feel free to contactAurélie Binot, head of the Science-Society Interfaces research area, orMariline Poupaud, the scientific support officer for the area.

Support Options

This call for expressions of interest, launched in April 2024 by the ExposUM Institute, will remain open until the end of 2026 (and is expected to be repeated annually through 2028). Funding awarded for each project may be up to€8,000, excluding tax.

Proposals may be submitted on a rolling basisuntil the end of December 2028. An evaluation process will be conducted twice a year by an ad hoc selection committee. For the year 2026, the next selection committee meeting will take place in mid-June 2026; submissions will be accepted until June 8. The next meetings will be held in 2027.

If necessary, methodological and operational support will be provided through MSH SUD’s action-research initiatives, which the UM relies on as part of ExposUM’s “Science-Society Interfaces” research track (scientific support, communication, audiovisual support, advice on event organization, support for network coordination, and access to MSH SUD workspaces).

Background and Objectives

The ExposUM Institute² is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners³ centered on the concept of the exposome⁴ aiming to establish a leading, open, and interdisciplinary institute for the study, training, and science-society interaction regarding the 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 focus: generating knowledge, applying knowledge, and disseminating knowledge. Within the context of applying knowledge,a research focus on “Science-Society” interfacessupports andstrengthenscollaborations between researchers within the I-SITE network and other civil society actors (local governments, 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 is open to any event—including the formation of research networks, seminars, study days, workshops, symposia, conferences, exhibitions, field surveys, and scientific events—on topics related to the exposome⁵, 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 related to the exposome (any environmental determinant of human health in the broadest sense), that is, to define comprehensive mitigation strategies tailored to the local context and to encourage innovation by creating a “Science-Society” interface to disseminate the results. Events at the Science/Policy interface will be particularly appreciated.

Events must include at least onepromotional activity(such as a conference, event, or screening of a film or documentary) to highlight the initiative.

Funding awarded by the ExposUM Institute will be paid directly to the winning research unit, or potentially to a non-profit organization through a service agreement (to be determined on a case-by-case basis—please feel free to contact exposum-aap@umontpellier.fr with any questions).

Funding Disbursement Procedures and Eligible Expenses

Funding awarded by the ExposUM Institute will be paid directly to the winning research units or non-profit organizations (via service contracts). Co-funding from partner organizations, while not mandatory, is encouraged. Fees for participation in the outreach initiative (if applicable) will be set at a level that makes the event accessible to a broad audience, including students.

Eligibility of expenses:

• Eligible expenses: operating expenses directly related to the conduct of the survey (small equipment, operating costs, travel expenses), internship stipends, services rendered, and the organization of an event (excluding high-profile events such as gala dinners and promotional items)
  • Ineligible expenses: capital expenditures, management fees, indirect costs, salaries

Selection Criteria and Procedure

The selection will be made by a dedicated committee composed of the executive committee and the president of ExposUM’s COSS⁶ 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 that must involve a research team from the I-Site and civil society actors focusing on the concept of the exposome.
• Relevance to the strategic priorities of the ExposUM Institute: establishing new partnerships, regional issues, the One Health approach, Global Health and Southern Health, and promoting the involvement of the humanities and social sciences.
• Ability to engage both experienced researchers and early-career researchers
• Efforts toward gender-balanced representation
• Credibility, amount, and relevance of the funding request

Submission Guidelines and Schedule

• Proposals may be submitted on an ongoing basis until the end of December 2028 to thisemail address, with the subject line [AMI Axis 2 ExposUM].
• Proposals must be written in French or English using theproposal form, following the instructions provided therein. You can also download the form in PDF format.

• Proposals will be evaluated twice a year by the selection committee. Applicants will be notified of the decisions following the selection committee meeting. Next selection committee meeting: mid-June 2026; submissions accepted until June 8. Future meetings will be held in 2027.
• The initiative must take place within 12 months of notification of the award.

Responsibilities of the holder

Project leaders agree 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 report no later than three months after the initiative ends
• Provide the ExposUM Institute with access to the initiative’s deliverables (e.g., meeting minutes, video recordings, internship reports, survey results)
• Participate in outreach events organized by the University of Montpellier, such as: Sud de Sciences (Montpellier and its metropolitan area’s science film festival, held in December) / Fête de la Science / Bar des Sciences / Ecran de savoirs (YouTube channel)
• For events, please provide the ExposUM Institute with a brief description (half a page) at least one month in advance, which may be used in the University of Montpellier’s promotional materials

Footnotes

1. A transdisciplinary approach is based on conducting research and generating knowledge with society rather than for society, by engaging stakeholders in shared challenges (Seidl et al. 2013, Utrecht University Transdisciplinary Field Guide)↩︎
2. Winner of the ExcellenceS call for proposals (PIA4) and supported by the Occitanie Region ↩︎
3. CIRAD, CNRS, Ifremer, INRAE, INRIA, Inserm, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Occitanie Region↩︎
4. The exposome refers to the sum of an individual’s lifetime exposures to environmental and social factors, whose specific effects—combined with the individual’s intrinsic characteristics—underpin health as well as 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. ↩︎
5. For example, environmental pollution, the link between water and health, vector-borne infectious diseases, air quality, preventive care, vaccination, public awareness… ↩︎
6. https://www.umontpellier.fr/universite/projets-emblematiques/exposum↩︎