VREF invites applications for research grants to support projects that will be implemented 2023 under the new VREF program “Walking as a Mode of Transport”. This Call is the first one in the new program.
Deadline for submission of applications is 15 September 2022.
VREF has recently launched a new initiative for funding research and education on walking as a mode of transport (hereafter referred to as the “Walking program”). The objective of the program is to strengthen international research and research capacity on walking as a mode of transport in ways that can contribute to more equitable access and sustainable mobility in urban transport. The program also seeks to build a broad, international and interdisciplinary community of learning which encompasses both researchers and other stakeholders in this area, as well as to support and contribute to new knowledge among “next generation” scholars in walking research. Finally, an additional aim of the program is to strengthen research capacity on walking as a mode of transport in the Global South.
An important point of departure for VREF’s initiative are the indications that despite its ubiquitous presence in everyday life (particularly in the Global South), walking as a mode of transport has not received extensive research or policy attention to date. In addition, while walking has been a research topic in certain academic contexts for many years, work on walking as a mode of transport has not yet developed into a cogent research direction, area or subject in itself.
The Walking program will encompass research and other initiatives that focus on walking both in itself and as part of a travel chain that also includes other modes of transport, such as public transport.