This funding opportunity was published on: 21 January 2026

The SEA DREAM Programme, implemented by the SEAMEO Secretariat in partnership with the Wellcome Trust and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has launched its funding initiative to support collaborative and interdisciplinary research addressing Southeast Asia’s most pressing health challenges:

The DREAM 4 Health Call for Proposals 2026 aims to establish high-impact research consortia that unite organisations and institutions across Southeast Asian countries and beyond, with a strong emphasis on engaging research institutions from Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in the region. These consortia will work together to address critical national, regional, and global health priorities and create an equitable research environment. 

Through this call, SEA DREAM seeks to foster equitable and sustainable research collaboration by linking emerging and established research organisations, promoting balanced development and a stronger, more connected Southeast Asian research ecosystem.

Our Objectives

The SEA DREAM Programme will fund regional consortia to produce excellent and outcome-focused discovery and translational research that addresses existing and emerging national and regional health priorities. SEA DREAM will enable the development of research excellence through:

• Generating impactful research: SEA DREAM will fund ‘excellent’ science and research which is responsive to regional health priorities and that translates into real-world solutions, policies, and interventions. SEA DREAM will support discovery and translational research that addresses national and regional health research priorities and emerging issues, including under-served areas of research, across horizontal and vertical topics, and encourage innovation and multi-disciplinary research.
   
• Nurturing leadership: SEA DREAM research consortia will provide research career pathways to develop research talent and promote research leadership within Southeast Asia. SEA DREAM seeks to expand opportunities for early- and mid-career researchers and associated research staff, build mentorship relations, provide career transition opportunities and foster the next generation of competitive research leaders. 
   
• Fostering regional collaboration: SEA DREAM aims to support and build equitable partnerships that leverage regional expertise and enable the sharing of resources to achieve common goals. The programme will support cross-border collaboration – both through its overall design and through targeted consortia funding – to strengthen research linkages and generate impact at scale. By connecting leading and emerging research institutions, SEA DREAM aims to facilitate joint agenda-setting, resource-sharing, and learning. Through these efforts, SEA DREAM aims to foster a collaborative and innovative regional research environment.
   
• Strengthening research ecosystems: SEA DREAM will fund research consortia that promote inclusive research culture and foster a supportive research environment conducive to innovation and excellence, thereby accelerating discovery, supporting inclusive growth and long-term sustainability of the research ecosystem, and delivering solutions of regional and global relevance. 

Research Consortia proposals are strongly encouraged to address all SEA DREAM objectives.

How to Apply

All DREAM 4 Health 2026 applications can only be submitted through the SEA DREAM Application Portal.
For more information, read our guideline on how to Managing Application Portal.
 

Contact Details

For general information and inquiries, please email info@sea-dream.org 
For grant-related questions, please email grants@sea-dream.org 
You may also reach us by phone at +66 (0) 2 391-0144 ext. 506​​