#3 Call for Research Proposals 2022

Faculty and (post-doctoral) researchers of the CIVICA universities (Bocconi University, CEU, EUI, Hertie School, SNSPA, Sciences Po, SSE and LSE) are invited to submit proposals for new collaborative research projects and/or proposals for seed funding to apply for larger grants at a later stage. We welcome proposals related but not limited to one of CIVICA’s four core themes:

• Societes in Transition, Crises of Earth
• Democracy in the 21st century
• Europe Revisited
• Data-Driven Technologies for Social Sciences.

Projects from the fields of economics, business studies, and political economy are strongly encouraged.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage innovative research and foster new cooperation between CIVICA’s partner universities.

The application deadline is 19 September 2022, 12:00pm (CEST).

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Eligibility, funding and deliverables
Themes
Application process
Application form
To apply

Who can apply?

Collaborative research projects - each proposal should be developed and submitted by a research team consisting of members from a minimum of two CIVICA universities. We strongly encourage applications from teams comprised of three or more CIVICA partner institutions. Faculty and (post-doctoral) researchers from CIVICA universities are eligible to apply. Principal Investigators (PIs) must be permanent faculty at a CIVICA university at the time of submitting the application; other team members should have contractual relationship with a CIVICA university until the end of the project. Research teams can also include non-CIVICA members, but only CIVICA faculty and researchers are financed. 

What types of projects are eligible?

All types of collaborative research projects are eligible, but we encourage links to one of the four CIVICA research themes, or a combination thereof. We strongly encourage projects from the fields of economics, business, and political economy. We encourage projects that are cross-cutting thematic boundaries. Only innovative, new research will be considered.

Projects that look for seed funding in the initial phase of a long-term project are also welcome. These types of proposals should be clear about how they will lead to a fully-fledged research project and to a larger grant. The goal of seed funding is to encourage projects to apply to European funding institutions (like Horizon Europe), but the door is also open to those who wish to apply to national or other international research grants instead.

How will the proposals be evaluated?

Submitted applications will be evaluated by the ‘Permanent Design Team’ (PDT) of CIVICA.

The PDT consists of vice-presidents for research and/or senior faculty of the eight CIVICA universities. Formal grant decisions are made by each CIVICA partner following the decision of the PDT. Rejected applications may only receive informal feedback on request.

The selection committee evaluates proposals on various dimensions: scientific quality, contribution to CIVICA’s effort for integrated research, feasibility, budget, and the diversity of involved partners.

How much funding is available?

This call is financed from CIVICA Research's Horizon 2020 funds and CIVICA partners' own resources. CIVICA partner universities have different capabilities in the extent of financing research projects under this call. To find out more on available funding, contact your local grant coordinating unit (see Application process).

What expenses are eligible?

All expenses directly related to research projects are eligible, provided that they are realistic and in line with the expected results. They must be identifiable and verifiable and comply with the principle of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency. They may cover primarily personnel specifically hired for the project, travel, and individual cost items as per Horizon 2020 rules. Recurring institutional costs, including personnel costs (overhead, faculty salaries), are not eligible. 

For details on what specific expenses are eligible, and how much CIVICA funding is available at your university, please contact the grant units at your respective universities before submitting the application (the list of contact persons at each CIVICA partner is in the section Application process). Adequate supporting documents to prove the costs may be requested.

How long should projects last?

Projects can officially start on 17 October 2022. The spending deadline is 1 November 2023, the latest, due to CIVICA budgetary constraints.

What are the deliverables for selected projects?

The PDT should receive a short summary report from the project leader by the spending deadline.

The summary report should provide information on activities as outlined in the proposals, and the names of who was involved in those activities. Summary reports might be published on the CIVICA website: therefore, Pls are requested to signal if any part of the summary report is confidential, and should not be made publicly available. Throughout the funding period, the PIs and their teams should provide a brief description of the project, to be published on the CIVICA website.

Application process and more information

All applicants should use the application form, available at the bottom of this page. 

Applications need to be submitted electronically to research[at]civica.eu by the set deadline:

Monday, 19 September 2022, 12:00pm (CEST)

For more information on the financing, please write to your local grant/research support unit.
For more information on the substantive aspects of the call, please write to research[at]civica.eu. 

Timeline

• 20 June 2022 – Call for Proposals announced
• 19 September 2022 – Application deadline
• 23 September 2022 – Formal eligibility check completed
• 10 October 2022 – Announcement of winners on the CIVICA website
• 1 November 2023 – Spending deadline

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Faculty and (post-doctoral) researchers of the CIVICA universities (Bocconi University, CEU, EUI, Hertie School, SNSPA, Sciences Po, SSE and LSE) are invited to submit proposals for new collaborative research projects and/or proposals for seed funding to apply for larger grants at a later stage. We welcome proposals related but not limited to one of CIVICA’s four core themes:

• Societes in Transition, Crises of Earth
• Democracy in the 21st century
• Europe Revisited
• Data-Driven Technologies for Social Sciences.

Projects from the fields of economics, business studies, and political economy are strongly encouraged.

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Applying to CIVICA grants consists of the following steps:

1. Members of the applying research team are to contact their respective grant coordinating units (e.g. ACRO in CEU, Research Development in LSE, etc.) in the planning stage of the application to enquire about funds available for CIVICA partners at each university, and about formal requirements and eligible expenses. In other words, applying consortia will be required to submit cost calculations separated by CIVICA partners with their applications.
   
   List of contact persons at each CIVICA partner:
    

   Bocconi University	Claudia Piccioni, claudia.piccioni[at]unibocconi.it
   CEU	Eva Vas, vase[at]ceu.edu
   EUI	Zeineb Mazouz, Zeineb.Mazouz(at)eui.eu
   Hertie School	Enora Palaric, palaric[at]hertie-school.org
   SNSPA	Mihai Paunescu, mihai.paunescu[at]politice.ro
   Sciences Po	Guillaume Plantin, guillaume.plantin[at]sciencespo.fr Elsa Bedos, elsa.bedos[at]sciencespo.fr Marinela Popa-Babay, marinela.popababay[at]sciencespo.fr
   SSE	Jelena Angleis, jelena.angelis[at]hhs.se
   LSE	Dorota Rejman, rescon[at]lse.ac.uk

   
    
2. Research teams are required to prepare one single joint application (including the separate cost calculations) and submit it to CIVICA’s ‘Permanent Design Team’ (PDT). The project must have an acronym. The application requires a filled-out Application Form linked below, named with the project acronym in a Word or PDF format, and sent to research[at]civica.eu.
   
   Through a Single Review Process, the PDT will select projects on merit and inform the grant units in universities concerned. The PDT will also check whether the application meets the formal criteria set in the application guidelines. If one CIVICA partner finds that its part of the budget does not meet the criteria, applicants are consulted to fix any error.
    
3. Following the decision by the PDT, grant coordinators at partner universities will formally decide on the financial aspects, in line with the decision of the PDT and within the limits of their available CIVICA funds.
    
4. Grant units of CIVICA partners inform the PDT. The PDT announces winners. Members of winning consortia contract with their respective universities for funding.

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Download a PDF of the Call for Proposals>>

Download the application form>>

All applications should be submitted electronically to research[at]civica.eu by Monday, 19 September 2022, 12:00pm (CEST)