Call 2026

The Sustainability Research Award Rudi Verheyen honours researchers for their scientific contribution to environment and nature policy in Flanders, Belgium. The award is a tribute to the life, work, dedication and personality of professor emeritus Rudi Verheyen, in recognition of his scientific contribution to environment and nature policy in Flanders. The Rudi Verheyen Award is hosted by the University of Antwerp and endorsed by the Flemish Minister of Environment, in cooperation with the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO). The 2026 prizewinner will receive EUR 26,000.

Candidates for the 2026 call

The 2026 call is open to individual researchers and to groups of researchers who apply jointly. Candidates must be researchers who contribute to Flemish environment and nature policy. They must demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary research to environment and nature policy, prove the relevance of their research for environment and nature policy in Flanders, and explain how their research is relevant to that policy or has already had an impact on it. Candidates of any nationality may apply.

Assessment and selection

The prizewinner is nominated by an independent jury of experts. The jury members are experts in environmental sciences and/or in Flemish and international environmental policy.

The jury assesses the research and its contribution to Flemish, European and global environmental policy on the following criteria:

1.      Economic and societal applicability, with impact on Flanders and the world; specific relevance for Flemish, European or global environmental policy; involvement of societal actors; and intended use of the prize;

2.      Timeliness of the research subject, integration in sustainable development, interdisciplinarity and impact on education;

3.      Scientific added value, publications, patents, international dissemination, change agents and the innovative character of the research;

4.      Making major environmental and nature-related challenges transparent and open to discussion, and the candidate’s signalling role in this respect.

The jury assesses the applications and nominates a prizewinner. If no candidate meets the required standards, the jury reserves the right not to award the prize.

The candidate must propose a use for the EUR 26,000 prize money that comes with the award. The money can be used to continue or start new policy-oriented environmental research, to disseminate scientific results, or to realise a concrete environmental project. The proposed use of the prize money will also be taken into account in the selection of the winner.

Prizewinner & award ceremony

The prizewinner will be announced at an academic ceremony at the University of Antwerp on 18 March 2027.

The call for the Rudi Verheyen Award 2026 remains open until 12 December 2026 at the latest

Application

Candidates must submit an online application form with the obligatory annexes, containing all requested information. Applications can be submitted in English or Dutch. Previously submitted files may be taken into account. The application consists of the following documents:

1. Application form

Candidates must explain their interest and prove their qualifications and competences in relation to the subject of the award. They must describe their doctoral scientific research and explain their application in light of the criteria in this call. They must specify the research concerned, explain its relevance to environmental policy and its impact, and state why they are eligible to win the award. The intended use of the prize must also be specified.

2. Annexes

Candidates must include a curriculum vitae, a summary of the conducted research, a motivation for participation and a portfolio of evidence-based documents supporting the application. The application is therefore completed by adding the following documents:

• Curriculum vitae of the candidate (brief summary)
• For joint submissions: curriculum vitae of each research member with a PhD
• Summary of the scientific research (maximum 1,000 words)
• Motivation of the candidate (maximum 1,000 words)
• Portfolio with documents supporting the application (publications, policy documents, articles, etc.). The portfolio provides all documents needed to support the application. It contains a number of relevant, evidence-based documents that demonstrate the quality of at least the scientific research and its impact on environmental policy in Flanders, seen from an international perspective.

The application form is available online via this website: https://forms.uantwerpen.be/en/imdo/prijs-rudi-verheyen/

Supplementary information that cannot be delivered electronically can be sent to the following postal address:

University of Antwerp

Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development (IMDO)

To the attention of the  IMDO chair

Campus Groenenborger/U.501

Groenenborgerlaan 171

B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium

Contact and further information

Inge Willems, IMDO

Phone: +32 (0)3 265 9623

E-mail: inge.willems@uantwerpen.be