The LDE GMD Seed Fund is dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary and interuniversity collaboration in research, community engagement, and impactful initiatives. The diverse and high-quality applications received from across the LDE universities for this second edition demonstrate a strong collective commitment to advancing scholarship and encouraging dialogue on critical issues related to migration and diversity. We are pleased to announce the selection of five projects for the 2025–2026 funding round, awarded across three funding streams: Community Fund, Event Fund, and Research Fund. These projects embody the collaborative and innovative spirit that the LDE GMD Seed Fund is designed to support.
Community Fund
Designing Intersectional Inclusion: Co-designing Inclusive Workplaces with the Queer People of Colour (QPOC) Community
This project addresses the lack of intersectional awareness in current workplace inclusion discourse. Current policies often fail to include marginalised groups, particularly the QPOC community. Building on the main applicants' ongoing work with Workplace Pride (WP) People of Colour (POC) Community, we use a power-balanced participatory design (PD) approach1 to create a safe dialogical space. Through this, we aim to co-create inclusive workplace strategies with QPOC workers, LDE scholars, and DEI practitioners. We pilot the PD approach in the workplace inclusion discourse and aim to foster a more interdisciplinary, inclusive workplace community. Ultimately, the insights gained from this pilot will establish a foundation for a broader research agenda that links social design with topics such as intersectional inclusion and workplace support for QPOC individuals and queer migrants.
Interdisciplinary Team
- Alex Huang (Erasmus / ESSB)
- Ingrid Mulder (TU Delft / Human-centred Design)
- Laura den Dulk (Erasmus / ESSB)
- Jojanneke van der Toorn (Leiden / Social and Organisational Psychology)
- Masuma Shahid (Erasmus School of Law)
- Ajay Jagadeesh (TU Delft / CEG)
- Workplace Pride Foundation POC Community
- QuEUR – EUR Pride Network
- TrueU – TU Delft Pride Network
Event Fund
Beyond Remittances: Diasporic Aid and Care in Times of Crises
This project fosters a collaboration across disciplines, career levels and backgrounds by bringing together academics from Development Studies (ISS-EUR) and Cultural Anthropology (Leiden University). For the proposed research theme (diasporic engagements), critical development scholars bring expertise in policy analysis that goes beyond structural and institutional approaches. Cultural anthropologists’ ethnographic insights provide in-depth contextual understanding and sensitivity to cultural practices, identities, and transnational networks. This interdisciplinary synergy enriches the research by combining macro-level perspectives with micro-level lived experiences, ensuring both practical relevance and cultural nuance, essential for migration-related governance interventions.
Interdisciplinary Team
- Gabriela Villacis (ISS)
- Haya AlFarra (ISS)
- Francesca Sofia Selano (Leiden)
- Zeynep Kasli (ISS)
- Radhika Gupta (Leiden)
Research Fund
Crossing Boundaries: Enhancing Ethnographic Approaches in Research on Migration and Diversity
Migration and diversity are multifaceted social phenomena that intersect the legal, political, social, economic, and cultural domains. Ethnographic methods have played a vital role in capturing the lived experiences of migration and diversity, offering grounded insights that are otherwise underexplored. Scholars working with ethnography—whether in sociology, anthropology, law, public administration, history, social studies, or management studies—engage with different theoretical frameworks, methodological traditions, and epistemologies. This diversity enriches the field, yet risks perpetuating disciplinary fragmentation. To stimulate inter-disciplinary and cross-faculty collaboration, we recently launched the Ethnography Incubator@EUR. Building on this experience, we aim to organise an event to bring together migration and diversity ethnographers across LDE institutions.
Interdisciplinary Team
• Mieke Kox (Erasmus School of Law)
• Thomas Swerts (ESSB)
• Lieke van der Veer (TU Delft)
• Laura Cleton (ESSB)
• Hannah Kay (ESSB)
• Carola Vasileiadi (ESSB)
• Nanneke Winters (ISS)
• Roy Huijsmans (ISS)
• Zeynep Kasli (ISS)
• Marhabo Saparova (ISS)
• Malika Ouacha (RSM)
• Marlou Schrover (Leiden History)
• Maartje van der Woude (Leiden Law School)
• Nicolien de Gier (Leiden Law School)
INCLUDE – Investigating Institutional Constraints & Leveraging Underrepresented Diversity: Experiences Through Micro-Moments of the Migrant Student Journey
This project tests whether higher education truly equalises by examining how institutional structures—not students’ cultural backgrounds—turn cultural and social capital into assets or barriers. Drawing on cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory, we map formal & informal institutional processes in LDE universities to identify critical micro-moments of inclusion and exclusion for migrant-background students. Our two-step approach yields actionable insights for LDE GMD to redesign governance tools and strategies, transforming universities into genuine engines of inclusion.
Interdisciplinary Team
• Chintan Kella (RSM)
• Lidwine Spoormans (TU Delft)
• Yumna Asaf (EUR IDEA)
• Kate Kirk (Leiden University / EUR)
Architecture, Diplomacy, Mobility, Identity: Policies of Migrant Integration in Practice. The case of Chinese migrant communities in Serbia and the Netherlands.
This project explores the integration of Chinese migrant communities in Serbia and the Netherlands, revealing how national policies and local perceptions shape their experiences. In Serbia, strong historical ties with China create a supportive environment for integration, exemplified by the Chinese Cultural Centre, which acts as a cultural hub and enhances diplomatic relations. Conversely, the Netherlands enforces stricter immigration policies that prioritise assimilation, often viewing Chinese migrants with suspicion. This contrast highlights the tension between local integration expectations and China's influence over its diaspora. By examining the gap between official narratives and the everyday realities migrants face, the project aims to empower these communities by amplifying their voices and experiences and shedding light on the complex dynamics of migration governance and integration.
Interdisciplinary Team
• Aleksandar Staničić (TU Delft Architecture)
• Jovan Pešalj (Leiden Humanities)
• Vincent Chang (Leiden Humanities)
Congratulations to the awarded project teams! In the coming months, we will feature blog posts and share event updates of awarded seed fund projects. Stay tuned to the GMD news to learn more about the projects.