On the initiative of KickCancer, a Foundation of public interest established in 2017 whose mission is to cure children with cancer, max. 2 KickCancer Clinical Investigator Grants (KCIG) will be granted in 2026 in the field of paediatric haemato-oncology in Belgium.

Main features 

• The KCIG intend to allow clinicians to devote half of their working time to carry research activities in paediatric haemato-oncology and provide a substitute to perform the clinical duties. 
• The grant amounts to a maximum of EUR 70.000/year (on-call duties and overhead excluded) to support the hiring of a substitute for the clinical duties.
• In addition to the EUR 70.000/year, an amount of max. EUR 10.000/year will be available as compensation for other costs (bench fees) associated with the Grant.
• The KCIG duration is 2 years renewable 4 times max. upon the positive evaluation of a biennial progress report. Former grantees are entitled to reapply an unlimited number of times.
• The Grant must effectively start max. 12 months after the official starting date set to 1^st October 2026. The effective start of the Grant corresponds to the hiring date of the grantee substitute.

Eligibility criteria 

• Eligible projects encompass any basic (hypothesis-driven) or translational research project or active participation in international clinical trials groups.
• Eligible applicants must:
• Hold a recognized academic degree of Medical Doctor at the deadline of the call.
• Be employed in one of the eligible organizations and commit to at least 80% FTE at the official start of the KCIG.
• Hold a specialty in haemato-oncology (ending with reference code #698 under the RIZIV/INAMI nomenclature of healthcare services) and/or be (or commit to become) affiliated to the Belgian Society of Paediatric Haematology Oncology (BSPHO) at the official start of the KCIG.
• Eligible organisations encompass any university hospital attached to a university in Belgium, provided that they have a paediatric haemato-oncology department, as defined by the Royal Decree of April 2, 2014.
• The KCIG cannot be combined with the FNRS clinical researchers’ mandates.

Call timeline 

• Opening of the call: 1^st December 2025
• Call deadline: 2^nd March 2026
• Panel meeting: 28^th May 2026
• Start of the Grant: 2^nd October 2026

How to apply? 

Questions about the KCIG should be addressed via email to Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser..