This third GEO Mountains Small Grants Call 2026-2027 welcomes proposals that address mountain monitoring, data, and information, with priority given to projects in the following mountain regions: Andes, Central Asia, East Africa, South Caucasus, and Hindu Kush Himalaya. Projects that consolidate the ‘state-of-the-art’ or promote transformative research capabilities for sustainable mountain development are particularly encouraged.

The Global Network on Observations and Information in Mountain Environments (GEO Mountains) is a Work
Programme Initiative of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), co-led by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and
the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAC). GEO Mountains connects research and mountain observations
networks to enhance the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of data and information pertaining to
environmental and socio-economic systems in mountain regions worldwide.

In this context, and thanks to the support from the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC) via the
Adaptation at Altitude Programme, we are launching our third Small Grants Call (2026-2027) for projects that
focus on addressing mountain monitoring, data, and information, with priority given to projects in the following five
mountain regions: Andes, Central Asia, East Africa, South Caucasus, and Hindu Kush Himalaya.

As the MRI commemorates its 25th Anniversary in 2026, projects that contribute towards the MRI’s objectives, for
instance in consolidating ‘the state-of-the-art based on 25 years of scientific advances, research, syntheses, data,
and information’ or in promoting ‘transformative research capabilities for sustainable mountain development’, are
particularly encouraged, especially those that also contribute to the existing work and objectives of relevant MRI
Working Groups.

Depending on the quality and merit of the proposed projects, support for up to two projects per region is
envisaged, with a contribution of up to CHF 10’000.00 per project, granted on a competitive basis. Ideally, project
proposals leverage resources from other projects or funding sources to support the project’s objectives, thereby enhancing
the project’s outputs, outcomes, and impact. Project duration is up to 12-14 months, and all projects should conclude
no later than 1 August 2027. Below is a (non-exhaustive) list of the types of projects that could be supported:

• Compilation and development of databases, programmes, and/or tools to describe, access, visualise,
  combine, analyse, and/or apply geospatial datasets corresponding to mountain regions.
• Mountain data rescue or digitisation projects, with publication of the resultant digital data for open online
  access (e.g. via Zenodo or similar open data repository).
• Curation and preparation of novel mountain datasets for publication or for sharing online and/or in peer-reviewed data journals (e.g. ESSD, Scientific Data, etc.).
• Mountain data evaluation or inter-comparison projects.
• The integration of various types of mountain data with data-driven, physics-based numerical models, or
  scenarios, to answer key scientific, practical, or policy-relevant questions.
• Education, training, or capacity development activities related to the data lifecycle (including campaign
  planning, infrastructure specifications, data collection, data transmission, quality assurance, documentation,
  storage, and dissemination).

Some useful resources are available via the GEO Mountains General and In Situ Data Inventories. Others include
the GEO Knowledge Hub and other data resources offered by other GEO Work Programme Activities. All projects
should follow the GEO Data Sharing and Data Management Principles. Further details on eligibility and funding
conditions are provided in the Annex: General Eligibility and Funding Conditions.

Proposals must be submitted via this online form. Please ensure all requested information is provided, as
incomplete submissions will not be forwarded for evaluation.

Deadline: 20 February 2026, 23:59 CEST.

Key dates and milestones:

• Call for GEO Mountains Small Grants 2026-2027 opens: 27 November 2025
• Deadline for proposal submission via this form: 20 February 2026, 23:59 CEST
• Confirmation of successful applications: by 1 May 2026
• Projects start: 1 June 2026
• Projects end, with deliverables completed: 1 August 2027
• Showcasing of project outputs and outcomes: September – December 2027

For any questions, please contact: geomountains@mountainresearchinitiative.org.

Download the full call for general eligibility and funding conditions.