AXA New Gen Grants: Responsible Nature-Based Solutions for a Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Future (11/12/26)
Posted: 2026-11-06 10:09:39 (Funding)
Organization Simons Foundation
Award amount Up 140,000€
OR internal deadline: 11/4/2026
Sponsor deadline: 11/12/2026
Description:
The New Gen initiative of the AXA Foundation for Human Progress are 2-year grants supporting promising early-career researchers to foster transformative, transdisciplinary research networks, at the intersection of multiple fields and societal actors. The support of the AXA Foundation should be transformative for the researchers and the advancement of their field.
To tackle the intertwined climate, biodiversity and societal crises, we urgently need solutions that address human needs while respecting planetary boundaries. According to leading scientific assessments, nature-based solutions like actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems, could provide up to 30% of the cost-effective mitigation needed to keep global warming in check by 2030, while also playing a critical role in adaptation. At the same time, evidence shows that well-designed nature-based solutions can significantly reduce the impacts of natural hazards such as floods, storms, droughts and heatwaves on communities and economies.
Yet, the rapid rise of interest in nature-based solutions (NbS) brings major challenges. On the one hand, NbS are increasingly integrated into climate strategies, urban plans, agricultural policies and disaster risk reduction frameworks. On the other hand, they risk being reduced to simple “greening” measures or used as a form of greenwashing if they are poorly designed, inadequately governed, or implemented without regard to local contexts and social justice. Ill-conceived interventions can lead to land grabs, displacement of communities, “green gentrification” in cities, and biodiversity loss when monoculture plantations or hard infrastructure are favored over diverse, functioning ecosystems.
Moreover, the multiple objectives attached to NbS, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, food and water security, health and well-being, disaster risk reduction, and economic development, raise complex questions. How can we assess trade-offs and co-benefits across these objectives over the long term? What governance arrangements and financing models are needed to scale up effective NbS while ensuring that benefits and burdens are shared fairly? How do we avoid locking in short-term, low-quality solutions that undermine ecosystem integrity and social cohesion?
In this context, the AXA Foundation for Human Progress is launching a new call for post-doctoral research on nature-based solutions, aimed at supporting cutting-edge work that will help build a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive future through the responsible use of nature. We seek innovative and transdisciplinary projects, at local, regional or global scale.
The AXA Foundation for Human Progress will support post-doctoral projects that combine scientific excellence with a strong ambition to produce actionable insights and recommendations for decisionmakers in the public and private sectors, as well as for civil society. Through this call, we aim to contribute to the emergence of a robust, interdisciplinary field of research on nature-based solutions, capable of informing the policies and investments needed to deploy NbS at scale, in ways that truly enhance resilience and protect both people and the planet.
Eligibility:
Faculty & Pls; Early Career
Deadline: 11/12/2026