The RSA is delighted to announce the first tranche of Start-Up Grant awardees from the 2025 round. The Start-Up grant is an initiative designed to strengthen research capacity in emerging economies. The scheme supports early-stage projects led by regional and urban researchers who are members of the RSA in Bands C and D, helping them develop original research agendas with international relevance.
Start-Up Grant Awardees Announced
The RSA Research Committee has confirmed the following grants, awarded to researchers whose projects span Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia:
Folasade Jokotade Odekunle (Bells University of Technology, Nigeria)
Project: Leading with Vision: Women Shaping the Future of Urban Development through Strategic Foresight in Urban Planning
The research will investigate how women, as leaders and decision-makers, can employ foresight methods to shape more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban futures across three Local Government Areas (LGAs) drawn from each senatorial zone of Ogun State.
Carlos Cadena (EAFIT University, Colombia)
Project: Adapting Together: Voices of Community-Based Climate Adaptation in Medellín
Focusing on local experiences of climate adaptation, this research amplifies community perspectives on resilience and collective action in an urban Latin American context.
Xiaofeng Liu (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou)
Project: Uneven Frontier Urbanization: Policies, Territorialization, and Ecological Consequences in China’s Southwestern Border Towns
This research aims to examine how national policies, particularly those linked to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), reshape border territories in Southwest China and Southeast Asia, and how this process reveals deeper dynamics of territorial governance and ecological oversight.
Oladayo Ramon Ibrahim, (Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Nigeria)
Project: A Spatial Analysis of Heat Waves and Urban Planning in Ikorodu, Lagos, Nigeria
The study will use remote sensing, GIS mapping, and urban studies to identify critical zones suffering the most heat stress in Ikorodu, Nigeria, and provide actionable recommendations for urban planning to mitigate extreme heat effects.
Shaista Falak (University of Technology Sarawak (UTS), Malaysia)
Project: Left Behind: Understanding Barriers to STEM Education Among the Penan Community in Sarawak
This project examines whether Sarawak’s landmark free STEM tertiary education policy will meaningfully benefit the Penan community by investigating their awareness, readiness, and structural barriers to access, and by generating community-informed evidence to support more inclusive policy implementation.
Yatu Mou (East China Normal University, China)
Project:The Paradox of Infrastructure-Led Development in Sri Lanka: Geopolitics and State Capacity
This study explores how large-scale infrastructure development intersects with geopolitics and state capacity, shedding light on development trajectories in South Asia.
Takudzwa Mutize (University of the Free State, South Africa
Project: University Towns as Engines of Urban Development: A Pilot Study on Leveraging Knowledge Spillovers in South African Cities
This project explores how selected university towns in South Africa—specifically Stellenbosch, Bloemfontein, and Makhanda—can serve as models for understanding the role of universities in driving local urban development, innovation, and economic opportunity.
Diana Prelorenzo, (National Institute of Public Health, Mexico)
Project: Shaping Health Infrastructure to Address Regional Inequalities in Breast Cancer Care
The pilot study will establish an inventory of medical resources in Mexico, with the specific aim of assessing how the uneven availability of such resources contributes to regional disparities in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer.
Régis Dandoy (Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador)
Project: Decentralization and Indigenous Issues in Ecuadorian Regional Party Manifestos
This project examines how regional political parties in Ecuador address decentralisation and indigenous concerns, offering insights into representation, governance, and identity politics.
Noela Mahmutaj (University of Tirana, Albania)
Project: Western Balkans between the EU and Russia
This project aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the geopolitical landscape in the Western Balkans, with a particular emphasis on EU integration and Russia.
The RSA looks forward to seeing the outcomes of these projects, including academic publications, policy-relevant insights, and strengthened networks.