Announcing the GCAP Food-Water Interface Seed Grants

Background

The Global One Health Academy’s Grand Challenges Addressing Program (GCAP) is intended to address wicked problems that demand an interdisciplinary approach. GCAPs allow us to harness the full spectrum of expertise that NC State offers, with the goal of facilitating innovation, generating transformative solutions, securing extramural funding, and establishing powerful partnerships to address a critical societal issue.

Our first GCAP, GCAP-AMR, focuses on interdisciplinary research to combat the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance at the human animal-plant-environment interface. We’re excited to announce our second GCAP on innovations at the interface of food and water, including all facets where emerging plant diseases or global food security intersect with water, sanitation, and health. To accelerate knowledge advancement in this area, the Global One Health Academy is investing $80,000 to support seed grant opportunities for interdisciplinary research at the Food-Water Interface.

Award Information

There are two awards available through this call: Launch Projects and Pilot Projects.

Launch Projects | Deadline: Friday, August 15, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
Launch Projects are intended to be projects that will lead to external grant submission within a short time window. Launch Projects will be supported up to $50,000. Proposals for existing projects that have preliminary data and/or are at a more advanced stage are welcome for this award, although incorporation of new partners or research directions that enhance One Health and interdisciplinary perspectives are strongly encouraged.

It is anticipated that 1 award will be made at this level, although an additional award may be possible depending on the amount requested for individual competitive proposals. Total research funds available for Launch Projects are $50,000.

Pilot Projects | Deadline: Monday, September 15, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
Pilot Projects are intended to be projects involving new collaborations and/or new research directions. Pilot Projects will be supported up to $15,000. Proposals from early career faculty and exploratory projects are especially encouraged for this award.

It is anticipated that 2-3 awards will be made at this level, depending on the quality and number of proposals received, as well as the amount requested for individual competitive proposals. Total research funds available for Pilot Projects are $30,000.

For both projects, GOHA invites applicants to submit proposals for a variety of activities that support interdisciplinary research at the food-water interface. We welcome research proposals stemming from all disciplines, including the natural sciences, veterinary medicine, engineering, social sciences, education, and policy. For both award types, project activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Collection and analysis of data
• Hiring a common graduate or undergraduate student
• Organizing and holding research-focused workshops, seminars, or symposia
• Working groups that support idea generation, white papers, or review articles

All awarded funds must be spent by June 30, 2026.

Eligibility

We welcome proposals from NC State faculty from any disciplinary background. It is required that proposals be collaborative and interdisciplinary, with at least two colleges represented amongst the research team. All proposals must include at least one PI who is a GOHA Affiliate Member. Proposed projects can be focused on any research topic at the interface of food (including emerging plant diseases or global food security) and water (including water, sanitation, and health). Proposed projects should integrate across the two areas of food and water rather than focusing on either singly. GOHA recently facilitated a faculty workshop that identified general areas where food and water intersect, as depicted in the figure below. This One Health mapping of the food-water interface is not necessarily exhaustive.

Competitive proposals will bring strong interdisciplinary perspectives to the research question and will clearly demonstrate the use of a One Health approach (i.e., acknowledges the interconnectedness of human, animal, plant, and environmental health, and investigates a question at the intersection of multiple of these domains).