Currently 5 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies taking place in India, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Many are open to applicants of any nationality; check each entry for residency and citizenship requirements. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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NOTE: this is a climate-and-democracy funder rather than an arts or technology programme; relevance to creative or tech practice depends on whether political leadership is a genuine driver of the proposed model. The Resilient Futures Call is a co-funded initiative by the Better Politics Fund, the European Climate Foundation, Naia Trust and the Vibe Fund supporting non-partisan initiatives working at the intersection of democratic political leadership and climate resilience globally. Total available funding is USD 700,000 across two streams: Ideation Grants (open call, this entry) and Incubation Grants (nomination only, up to USD 50,000, for approaches already proven beyond early testing; nominees are contacted directly and there is no way to apply). WHAT IS FUNDED, across three areas: (1) Pathways, helping climate scientists, advocates and affected communities work more effectively with political and governance decision-makers so that evidence and local knowledge shape policy and policy is carried through at every level of government, from town councils to national parliaments; (2) Leadership, programs integrating a critical climate lens into democratic leadership development, strengthening ethical communication, policy design, implementation and strategic coalition-building, including pipelines for leaders from underrepresented backgrounds; (3) Cross-Sector Leadership, backing leadership on energy, housing, transport, food, security, health and conservation, and helping reform political systems and institutions so leaders and new ideas in these areas can succeed. The funders want work where political leadership is a key driver of change, not a side effect. WHO CAN APPLY: organizations, networks, collectives or individuals anywhere eligible. No need to be a registered charity and no need to be based in a priority country, though it strengthens regional fit. ELIGIBILITY CHECK (all must be yes): the idea is new or early-stage (organization under 12 months old, or a new pilot from an older organization; established programs with a strong track record are not right for an Ideation Grant); it aligns with at least one of the three funding areas and with regional priorities; it is non-partisan (no parties, candidates or campaigns); the applicant is based in an eligible location. PRIORITY COUNTRIES: Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa); Asia (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand); Europe (France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, UK); Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname); Pacific (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu). CANNOT FUND, for legal and operational reasons, individuals and organizations in: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Burkina Faso, China, Cuba, DR Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Palestine (Gaza), Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, the United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine (Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson). NOT FUNDED: physical infrastructure such as solar panels or climate infrastructure where political leadership is not a driver of the model; research, accountability scorecards and policy-gap mapping (the funders support the leaders and institutions who act on evidence, not the generation of it); public awareness campaigns without a political leadership dimension; anything affiliated with a political party or candidate; corporate sustainability or ESG initiatives; outside-pressure advocacy campaigns that push governments on emissions targets without building new leadership capacity; citizens' assemblies or deliberation projects with no link to political leaders or institutions acting on the outcomes; transparency or open-data initiatives that do not feed into political or institutional decision-making; watchdog or investigative journalism without a direct link to strengthening political leadership or institutional response. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: innovation (a genuinely new idea, method or audience); impact potential; strategic clarity (a credible plan connecting activities to the intended outcome); financial clarity; regional fit; leadership (motivation, experience and rootedness in local context). PROCESS: fill out the short application form before midnight CET on 4 September 2026. There is no second full proposal stage. Every application is acknowledged; all are screened and shortlisted, and a Grantmaking Council of eight regional experts across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Pacific reviews the shortlist and makes recommendations. Shortlisted applicants are asked for supporting documentation for due diligence, sometimes including a short call. Feedback is only given to shortlisted applicants; no reply by December 2026 means the application was unsuccessful. INFORMATION SESSION: online 17 August 2026, two sittings at 8:00 CET and 16:00 CET, registration on the call page. Questions: resilientfutures@betterpolitics.foundation.
Counterstructures is Mozilla Foundation's cultural R&D residency, in which creative technologists prototype alternatives to dominant tech systems: cultural artifacts, installations and tools that question and reframe them. Each edition operationalises the findings of a regional participatory assembly into thematic tracks; the Delhi edition, hosted by Khoj International Artists' Association, works from Mozilla's assemblies with G5A in Delhi and Mumbai and runs on two tracks. RETAINING CULTURAL AUTHORITY asks what happens when oral, embodied or community-held knowledge is converted into datasets and machine-readable forms, which cultural materials become visible to AI systems and which do not, and how communities can retain authority over what is digitised, interpreted, reused or deliberately kept private. REMEMBERING AND THINKING WITH MACHINES asks where thought resides when people think with machines, at what stage human judgment enters the system, and what cultural or professional knowledge is lost when judgment is standardised through automation. Proposals may respond to one or both tracks and can take many forms, but must critically counter the questions the tracks raise rather than simply illustrate them. WHAT RESIDENTS DO: prototype an artifact, installation, system, artwork or tool for public exhibition; take part in listening, reading, workshops and facilitated critique, testing ideas with peers and community members; write a 750-word report on the project's development and insights for the Counterstructures report and online archive; and present the work publicly. WHO IT IS FOR: creative technologists and multidisciplinary artists using technology as a medium for cultural inquiry, bringing critical perspectives and research-driven practice. Experience with AI can be early-stage or advanced, but SOME PROFICIENCY WITH CODING IS REQUIRED. ELIGIBILITY: this Delhi edition is open to Indian nationals only. Earlier editions ran with tiat in San Francisco (responding to Hollywood's 8 Rules for AI) and with Rhizome in New York, whose residents showed at the New Museum. APPLY through the Mozilla Foundation form at https://mozillafoundation.tfaforms.net/f/khojresidency; the guiding principles for the call are set out in the form. Deadline 13 September 2026.
SAFL, described as South Asia's first research and capacity-building lab for navigating powerful AI, is hiring more than one Research Fellow. Its foundational work is supported by Schmidt Sciences and the Future of Life Institute among others. THE ROLE: original research carried from an open question to a finished result. The lab wants people who can take a question nobody has answered, choose a method that fits it, do the work and write up a result others can check, working closely with the research leads and with room to shape their own agenda and the wider one. RESEARCH AREAS, two broad tracks; you need to be deep in one and able to speak to the others. Managing AI Risks: technical AI governance and policy (the frameworks advanced AI needs and the technical artifacts they depend on, covering evaluation standards, incident reporting, logging and provenance, attribution methods, liability and accountability, and turning technical evidence into standards Indian and international bodies can adopt), and AI security and alignment research (the safety and security of AI systems themselves, including AI and cybersecurity and the security of systems AI is deployed on top of, such as India's digital public infrastructure). Societal and Economic Impacts: the economic impacts of AI on labour, growth and public finances with attention to India and other developing economies, plus psycho-social effects. BAR: at least 3 years of hands-on research experience, described as the lab's most senior research bar, though exceptional people without that experience are encouraged to apply and junior/internship versions exist. HONEST WARNING FROM THE POSTING: 'The work is demanding, and we mean that plainly.' Priorities change as the field changes; output goes to funders, government bodies and outside researchers. Not a role with fixed scope or settled routine. RELATED OPENING: SAFL is also hiring a Scientific Communicator, plus an Organisation Operations Specialist, a Special Projects Fellow and a general expression of interest. DEADLINE: none published; rolling.
A science communication and information-design role at SAFL, South Asia's first research and capacity-building lab for navigating powerful AI, whose foundational work is supported by Schmidt Sciences and the Future of Life Institute among others. THE ROLE: turn the lab's research into clear writing and visuals for funders, partners, policymakers and the public. You read technical and policy work on AI and explain it in plain language without losing the substance. NOTE THAT A LARGE PART OF THIS ROLE IS VISUAL: building slide decks and visual maps that show what the lab works on and how the parts fit together, used for fundraising and partner updates. You work closely with the research and leadership team. WHAT THEY WANT: ideally 2 to 5 years of relevant experience, though the posting says a strong body of work can stand in for years. You do not need to be a known voice in the field; you do need to write clearly, learn their research quickly and care about getting it right. WHAT YOU WOULD BE EXPLAINING: technical AI governance and policy (evaluation standards, incident reporting, logging and provenance, attribution, liability), AI security and alignment research including the security of India's digital public infrastructure, and the societal and economic impacts of AI on labour, growth and public finances in India and other developing economies. HONEST WARNING FROM THE POSTING: 'The work is demanding, and we mean that plainly.' You will often be the first person to put new research into words a non-expert can follow, priorities shift as the field shifts, and the work goes straight to funders, government partners and the public. Not a role with fixed scope or settled routine. DEADLINE: none published; rolling.
Rest of World is in the third year of its Labor x Tech program, underwritten by the Ford Foundation, commissioning reported stories on the changing nature of work at a moment of upheaval: AI tools and robotics reshaping professions at every rung of society, from self-driving cars replacing drivers to humanoid robots working alongside nurses; lay-offs across the tech industry; and the gig work model continuing to reshape traditional employment. The programme's premise is that this moment needs documenting now, in stories that help prepare society for what comes next. WHAT THEY COMMISSION: reported stories of 800 to 1,000 words from around the world on this beat, at a fee of USD 1,000 per story. WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR, based on previous years: how new technology is transforming existing industries in unique ways and creating unexpected new pockets of employment; how technology is leading to significant job gain, job loss, and government responses to those trends; whether large demographic shifts are following the adoption of new technology or the arrival of new industries; how workplace technology is changing workplace dynamics; how new industries and tools are changing workers' incomes; and the expansion of the gig work model alongside the threats of automation. EXAMPLES of the kind of story they hope to commission, all previously published by Rest of World: workers in Chinese data factories teaching humanoid robots boring tasks; entry-level tech workers describing the AI-fuelled jobpocalypse; Microsoft and Google claiming their data centres create thousands of jobs while their permit filings say otherwise; AI helping judges close cases quickly and lawyers open them quickly; tech workers fuelling a mini baby boom in Taiwan's Silicon Valley; Dubai's robotaxi ambitions coming for human drivers; and the job brokers who run the lives of the migrant workers staffing Taiwan's chip plants. ELIGIBILITY NOTE: the programme is unable to commission reporting in India or from writers based in India for this series. HOW TO PITCH: send 2 to 3 paragraphs laying out the nutgraf of the proposal and explaining how the pitch fits the editorial mission of the programme. Indicate what sources will be used, whether any pre-reporting has been completed, what reporting has already been done on the topic at other outlets, and what the story contributes to the discourse. Pitches go to laborxtech@restofworld.org. Pitching is open on a rolling basis; no closing date is stated.