The Cabot Institute Seedcorn Fund (formerly known as the Innovation Fund) allows us to support bold, ambitious, and impactful ideas that transcend disciplinary boundaries.

This call invites new ideas from our research community – those that might not receive funding from traditional sources, but which show real intellectual or practical promise.

Applicants benefit not only from the funding to deliver their project, but also the support from Cabot Institute staff to communicate and develop their ideas. Crucially, these projects are focussed on creating something new, from new connections across disciplines to new solutions for society.

We do a lot with a little

With £30,000 of donations, this year’s Seedcorn Fund has supported young researchers to develop their careers, facilitated new projects amongst award-winning scientists, pump-primed future research proposals, established global networks, and supported real-world impacts.

Find out more about the Seedcorn Fund projects that have been supported by donors like yourself.

New videos show the impact of the Seedcorn Fund

This series of videos highlights three inspiring seedcorn-funded projects that cross disciplinary boundaries and have meaningful impact beyond their original scope.

Waves of Change

Professor Daniela Schmidt, Dr Camilla Morelli and Sophie Marsh, freelance animator, discuss their project on inspiring youth climate change action in Cornish coastal communities.

Developing autonomous drones for conservation

Professor Tom Richardson, Professor Matt Watson and Dr Sam Penney, Bristol Zoological Society, discuss their work on developing autonomous drones for conservation, with a focus on Kordofan giraffe in Cameroon.

Heat stress and women's health

Dr Eunice Lo discusses the interdisciplinary work on heat stress and women's health that was supported by the Seedcorn Fund.

Click here to find out more about our Climate Change and Health research programme in collaboration with the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research.