Thursday, December 11, 2025
Five promising scale-up projects have been selected for the 2024-2025 Healthy Society Program funding round. The funding is intended to implement successful initiatives on a larger scale, with the aim of achieving broad societal impact.
The Healthy Society Program is a collaboration between Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities, Medical Delta, and the Province of Zuid-Holland to promote a healthy society.
A new funding round will follow in 2026. Project consortia can apply for a €50,000 grant for projects with a maximum duration of two years. The deadline for submitting a project proposal is December 15, 2025, at 9:00 AM. More information and the application form are available here.
VR Acceptance: Innovative Care for Young People
Within the Healthy Society Program theme 'Growing Up Happy and Resilient: Focus on Transitions,' researchers from Leiden University and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences are collaborating with the Municipality of Rotterdam and welfare organizations Indigo and Youz on an accessible and innovative Virtual Reality intervention based on SHINE-VR. In co-creation with young people, this technology is being adapted to support them when growing up with a loved one with mental health issues or an addiction. The intervention helps strengthen resilience, self-compassion, and acceptance.
MenoPressure Personalized
Within the theme 'Personalized Solutions for Healthy Behavior', the successful Blood Pressure Challenge is being specifically adapted for peri- and postmenopausal women. Researchers from Leiden University of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, and Erasmus MC are collaborating with 'VrouwenHart' and the Health Coach Program to further develop an accessible program that aligns with diverse cultural, social, and health literacy levels, thereby reducing health inequalities.
Healthy Neighborhoods Through Participatory Action Research
The theme 'A Healthy Physical and Social Living Environment for Everyone' focuses on living environments that better reflect residents' experiences. Researchers from
Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam and Delft University of Technology are collaborating with the Municipality of Dordrecht and GGZ ZHZ to involve residents of the Wielwijk and Crabbehof neighborhoods in Dordrecht as co-researchers through community-based participatory action research. This approach will be scaled up to other neighborhoods in Zuid-Holland to achieve sustainable improvements and stronger social networks.
USE-IT! Community Model in Rotterdam-Zuid and The Hague Zuid-West
Within the Healthy Society program's theme 'Organization and Governance of the Healthy Living Environment', the successful USE-IT! model from Birmingham is being scaled up to Rotterdam-Zuid and The Hague Zuid-West. Researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, and the Erasmus Initiative Vital Cities and Citizens are collaborating with the Municipality of The Hague and the Tarwekracht Foundation to involve residents in healthy living environment research from the outset. Residents will receive training in interview and creative research methods and will apply their skills in ongoing neighborhood projects. This creates research projects that better align with their world and strengthens intercity collaboration.
Access to healthy, plant-based food
Within the theme 'Healthy food and food environment', researchers from The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) are collaborating with the RIVM Healthy Living Desk and various companies to scale up proven nutritional education programs and implement them at schools and universities in the provinces Zuid- and Noord-Holland. Data on the impact on attitudes, behavior, and awareness are collected and shared. The results form the basis for further scaling up, with the aim of raising awareness of healthy, sustainable food among a broad audience.
