The Impossible Projects podcast series invites you into an ongoing conversation about the future of research funding and how we can fund what truly matters. Building on an open call for Impossible Project Ideas, the series explores the limits of today’s funding system and 5 bold ideas that point beyond it. Join us as we rethink what counts as knowledge, who gets to produce it, and what new ways of funding could make possible.
Context of Impossible Projects
In May 2025, the New Ways of Funding team launched an experimental open call for Impossible Project Ideas. The aim: not to fund the research itself, but to collect and explore the ideas and experiences of researchers, artists, and innovators working at the edges of the current funding system. In response, 37 researchers (or research teams) – in the broadest sense of the definition – each submitted a 3 minute audio pitch of their “unfundable gems. In the autumn of 2025, 5 ideas were selected in a way that, together, could highlight a variety of systemic constraints and could provide the best learning opportunity for KIN and NWO through their exploration.
6 podcasts
The podcast series consists of one introduction episode and one podcast for each idea.
- Episode 1 — Rethinking What’s Possible
Introduction to Impossible Projects. This opening episode dives into why and how new ways of funding research need to be explored, setting the stage for a discussion on how existing funding models shape the knowledge we produce and what we risk by sticking to them. - Episode 2 — Knowledge for Whom?
Featuring Adaptieve Intelligentie voor iedereen by Mattijn van Hoek and Ton Botterhuis. This episode explores how AI and emerging technologies could democratise science by transforming who creates, accesses, and benefits from knowledge. - Episode 3 — Beyond Project Thinking
Featuring Port as a Pulse by Dr. Lucy Gilliam and Tanner Tuttle. The discussion focuses on moving past short-term, project-based funding toward place-based, long-term research that grows from communities and ecologies. - Episode 4 — The Mavericks
Featuring Transition Income by Ad Vlems and Monique Vissers. This conversation examines how we can better support transition pioneers and “mavericks” who challenge academic conventions and push boundaries across systems and disciplines. - Episode 5 — Creativity, Curiosity and Collaboration
Featuring Choir of the Sea by Remco de Kluizenaar. The episode explores how artistic practices can reshape research, questioning what counts as science and how art-science collaborations can open new pathways for funding and imagination. - Episode 6 — Including, Opening and Adapting
Featuring Designing the Otherwise by Irene Luque Martín. This final episode reflects on how feminist, decolonial, and indigenous perspectives could transform how we value and fund knowledge, advocating for more plural, open-ended, and community-led approaches to research.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the affiliated organisations or institutions.
Listen to the podcasts
On the podcast page, we have listed all the 6 episodes, including a description, involved people, links, and relevant connections mentioned in the episode.