Eligible for funding ≠ inclusive funding

Presentation by Esther Plomp for the Sustainable Island Futures VIII conference on 21 November 2025. 

Abstract:
Many small island states are eligible for research funding from external funding agencies (such as programmes like Horizon Europe (EU) or calls from the Dutch Research Council (NL) for the Dutch Caribbean). These external funding options provide potential opportunities for small island states to increase capacity to conduct research  or boost nature/biodiversity preservation efforts. Unfortunately, the many options existing in this funding landscape are complicated to navigate and once an opportunity is identified it may be difficult to assess whether your institute is eligible for funding. There are also often additional or hidden requirements, which may have a detrimental impact for small island state institutes (bureaucratic administration, extensive reporting and accountability, non-eligible bank transaction costs, as well as required co-funding or in-kind contributions from institutes with already limited resources and capacity). Furthermore, even if small island institutes manage to navigate the funding landscape successfully and submit a proposal – additional hurdles will have to be faced in the process. Reviewers and other people involved behind the screens of these funding programmes are often not familiar with small island state contexts, imposing Global North standards upon the proposed (research) projects - which decreases the chances of success for small island state actors. This contribution will focus on the challenges faced by people from small island states interested in applying for external funding programmes. Tips will be shared on how to navigate the funding landscape hurdles, preventing the waste of valuable resources and providing insights in managing these inequitable systems.