International Research Seed Funding

The Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) will be accepting submissions this spring for the 2026 International Research Seed Funding—culminating with an award of $20,000.

The goal of the International Research Seed Funding initiative is to assist talented researchers in developing projects/ideas to a level that would secure additional, more significant, funding—in conjunction with CVU. Research proposals should directly relate to the tall building typology and/or urban habitat, but can come from any topic/discipline. The proposals should have the potential to improve tall buildings and cities from a wide perspective. A non-exhaustive list of possible research topics is provided in the “Roadmap on the Future Research Needs of Tall Buildings,” produced by CVU in conjunction with UNESCO and CIB, and available here.

The ideal final objective of the CVU 2026 International Research Seed Funding is to produce an official CVU Research Report publication, much like those available here.

The competition deadline has passed.

Please note: The CVU 2026 International Research Seed Funding initiative is open to research professionals, while the CTBUH International Student Research Competition is aimed specifically at student applications. It is therefore not possible to submit a proposal to both programs.

Coming Soon

The evaluation of proposals will be guided by the CVU Expert Peer Review Committee, with guidance from the funding sponsor. The committee reflects a multi-disciplinary group of tall building/urban experts from around the world with established research and publication records as well as tall building experience in varying fields. After a first round evaluation by the Expert Peer Review Committee, the top five proposals will be reviewed by a jury representing the Seed Funding Sponsor and CVU representatives. CVU reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards.

Full details of the CVU 2026 International Research Seed Funding initiative, including submission requirements, criteria, procedures, etc. will be posted in late spring of 2026.