A new funding programme boosts AI in international organisations

Humanitarian organisations often must plan medical supplies months in advance ¡ª under uncertain conditions and with highly fluctuating demand. Medicines need to be available in crisis regions, but at the same time, they must not be allowed to expire unused. Finding this balance is therefore a constant logistical challenge for organisations such as the external page International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A planning tool developed at ETH Zurich has helped the ICRC calculate demand more precisely since 2024. The tool has reduced inventory levels by 24 percent and helped save several million Swiss francs. Now, the International Geneva AI Innovation Programme (IGAIP), based at ETH Zurich, is funding further similar projects.

Closing the gap to AI applications

While artificial intelligence advances rapidly, many UN and other internation organisations lack access to sovereign compute, applied AI research capability, and reusable digital components. The IGAIP funding programme addresses this gap and is now open for project proposals. The deadline for proposal submissions is end of 17 May 2026.

IGAIP runs in the context of the UN-ETH-Partnership and is anchored within the external page International Computation and AI Network (ICAIN), an ETH-led global initiative that broadens access to AI research. The programme aims to lower barriers to advanced AI capabilities¡ªincluding compute, models, data, and expertise. It will fund projects focused on applied, sovereign AI to help UN organisations and other international organisations based in Geneva deliver their mandates more effectively. Possible projects could include early warning systems, multilingual LLM applications, and operational workflow tools.

Fostering collaboration between research and international organisations

Successful projects will be funded with a budget of 150,000 to 350,000 Swiss Francs with a max. project duration of 18 months. Projects must apply as a team consisting of at least one main applicant from an ICAIN member institution ¨C e.g. ETH Zurich, external page EPFL, external page NTU Singapore, external page Data Science Africa, and the external page ELLIS network ¨C , and at least one partner from a UN entity or another  international organisation based in Geneva. The collaboration between research and practice is intended to ensure co-development and adoption.

Two matchmaking workshops will be offered to support collaborations between applicants from ICAIN member institutions, and UN entities and other international organisations. More information, including comprehensive proposal guidelines and submission details are accessible via the external page ICAIN website.