Are you working on today’s nature-society challenges, while also reimagining the systems that caused them? 

Join us for a 12-month journey that supports visionaries whose work doesn’t always fit into neat boxes, and more often than not, falls through the cracks. Edges of Possibility, the second cohort of the Exploration Co-Lab by Unearthodox, is a new model of support that encourages radical thinking and risk-taking, and offers deep allyship for innovators whose work flows across conventional boundaries.

About the Edges of Possibility Open Call

Innovation is often associated with segmented approaches, speed, measurability, and scale. But the societal challenges we face are systemic, not isolated, and we know that systemic transformation demands slow, relational, and deeply contextual work. It requires new patterns of attention, through people willing to hold the questions differently. It requires experimentation at the edges of change, defining and redefining what is possible. 

This type of work often falls outside of traditional support systems. And the consequence is significant: transformative innovations often remain invisible or under-resourced when they are most needed.

This open call addresses this directly. 

We have created a space that supports ideas capable of radically changing the way we care for nature, including people, and we are looking for the bold leaders, the edge-walkers, the systems thinkers, who possess the capacity to navigate complexity. If you are challenging systemic barriers to conservation and exploring what could make our existing systems more just and regenerative, we invite you to apply for our 2026 Exploration Co-Lab: Edges of Possibility.

Edges of Possibility Open Call Timeline

What we offer

• Grant funding: CHF 10,000 to help move your idea into action.
• Access to a shared pool of up to CHF 60,000 in non-financial but tailored support, including:
  • Peer learning and shared exploration: uncovering new pathways for radical transformation.
  • Individualised coaching and expert guidance.
  • Strategic positioning for yourself and your idea.
  • Defining and measuring success.
  • Systems and futures thinking.
• 12-month journey: Beginning in January 2026, join a cohort of innovators in an online environment dedicated to systemic transformation, connection, and wellbeing.
• Visibility and amplification: Your work will be showcased through Unearthodox’s communication channels, helping to expand your reach and impact.
• Community and collaboration: We practice deep allyship and will connect you with a global network of systems innovators, mentors, and network weavers.

Who is this call for? 

This programme is designed for those who are curious, courageous, and deeply relational. Individuals who value participation, trust, and empathy, who think critically and creatively about the nature-society challenges of today and tomorrow, and who co-create new pathways for systemic change. This call is for you if:

• You are an innovator with an early-stage idea already in motion at the intersection of environmental and societal change, who is likely navigating uncertainty or actively shaping your direction.
• You are seeking a space for radical experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, a decolonised innovation ecosystem, and an environment where care (not profit) is the currency.
• You are in an active phase of ideation, research or experimentation, and you want to explore new ways of measuring change and success, and will benefit from customised support.

If this sounds like you, even if your journey has been quiet, messy, internal, or nonlinear until now, we invite you to apply. 

We especially welcome underrepresented voices from the global majority and historically excluded communities. Edges of Possibility embraces diversity across age, gender identity, location, and background. The programme is conducted in English and open to all who share a commitment to reimagining systems for a just, vibrant, and regenerative future.

We Invite You To Consider:

1. What future is your idea helping us to push towards? And away from?
2. How does it encourage people to see, act, connect, or live in new ways?
3. How does it challenge current systems and norms, to help all life on Earth thrive together?
4. What conditions might this transformative work need in order to flourish?
5. What deeper purpose connects you and others working in this space, on this type of problem?

This Programme Is Not Designed For:

• Projects that focus only on surface-level symptoms.
• Projects that prioritise speed, growth, or profit above purpose.
• People who seek individual support without interest in participating in collective learning.
• Projects or approaches that reinforce dominant or extractive systems.

Further information

Please find the FAQs here.

You can also view the full Terms & Conditions of the Open Call here.

For any other questions, please contact colab@unearthodox.org.

Related research: Rethinking Innovation with the Post Growth Institute

Real change doesn’t arrive neatly packaged. It emerges through deep relationships, long-term commitment, and the courage to hold space for the unknown. Rather than asking, ‘what’s the next big idea?’, we ask generatively: ‘what kind of ecosystem makes lasting change possible?’ We explored this in our recent report with the Post-Growth Institute, “Nurturing Innovation: Weaving containers with care and courage for collective change”.

Special Thanks to our Supporters 

The 2026 Exploration Co-Lab benefits from Unearthodox core funding and additional support from the Mercator Foundation Switzerland. We sincerely thank our supporters and invite new partners to join us. 

For partnership opportunities, please contact sofia.papadakaki@unearthodox.org.

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For any other questions, please contact colab@unearthodox.org.