Fourth call for Research Proposals 2024

Fourth call for Research Proposals 2024

Faculty and (post-doctoral) researchers of the CIVICA universities (Bocconi, CEU, EUI, Hertie School, IE University, SNSPA, Sciences Po, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, SSE and LSE) are invited to submit proposals for new collaborative research projects and/or proposals for seed funding to apply for larger grants. The aim of the initiative is to encourage new, innovative research and foster new cooperation between CIVICA’s partner universities. Projects should be related by not limited to CIVICA’s four thematic priorities:

Projects from the fields of economics, business studies, and political economy are equally welcome. 

The application deadline is 2 June 2024, 23:59pm (CEST).

  • Who can apply?
  • What types of projects are eligible?
  • How will the proposals be evaluated?
  • How much funding is available?
  • What expenses are eligible?
  • How long should projects last?
  • What are the deliverables for selected projects?
  • Application process and more information
  • Timeline
  • Application process
  • List of contact persons at each CIVICA partner institution

Collaborative research projects - each proposal should be developed and submitted by a research team consisting of members from a minimum of three CIVICA universities. (In case of a tie, projects involving more CIVICA partners are given preference.) 

Principal Investigators (PIs) are senior or permanent faculty (or the functional equivalent at the home institution) at one of the CIVICA universities at the time of submitting the application. Team members can include postdocs and non-permanent faculty as long as they have contractual relationship with a CIVICA university until the end of the project. Research teams can include non-CIVICA members, too, but only CIVICA faculty/researchers are financed.

All types of collaborative research projects are eligible, but we encourage links to one of the four CIVICA thematic priorities, including economics, business studies, and/or political economy approaches. We encourage projects that are cross-cutting thematic boundaries. Only innovative, new research ideas 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 the seed funding is to encourage projects to apply to European funding institutions (Horizon, etc.) but the door is also open to those who wish to apply to national or other international research grants instead.

Previous CIVICA project teams can also apply with new projects, building on their previous projects/findings. For this, their previous CIVICA-funded project must be finished by the time of the application.

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 ten CIVICA universities. Formal grant decisions are made by each CIVICA partner following the decision of the PDT. Rejected applications may only receive informal feedback. 

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

This Call is financed from CIVICA’s Erasmus+ funds (except for LSE which is self-funded), and partners’ own resources. Each CIVICA partner university has a different budget for this call and can finance its own faculty to a different extent. Budget plans should detail costs per institutions participating in a project. To find out more on available funding and eligibility, contact your local grant coordinating unit (the list of contact persons at each CIVICA partner is attached). 

All expenses directly related to research projects are eligible, provided they are realistic and in line with the expected results; primarily personnel specifically hired for the project, travel, and individual cost items as per Erasmus+ funding 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 grant units at your respective universities before submitting the application. Adequate supporting documents to prove costs may be requested. Local rules may apply.

Projects can officially start on 30 June 2024.  

The spending deadline is 31 May 2026.   

By the spending deadline the PDT should receive from the PI(s) a short summary report. The summary report should provide information on activities as outlined in the proposal (including steps to larger grants, if relevant); and names of who was involved in those activities. PIs 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 PI (and his/her team) should provide a brief description of the project to be published on the CIVICA website. Local conditions may apply for SGH researchers.

All applicants should use the application form

Applications need to be submitted electronically to research[at]civica.eu with the subject line "Application - Fourth call for research proposals" by the set deadline:

2 June 2024, 23:59pm (CEST)

For more information on the substantive aspects of the call, please write to your grant coordinator or to: research(at)civica.eu.

  • 31 March 2024 – Call for Proposals announced 

  • 2 June 2024 – Application deadline 

  • 7 June 2024 – Formal eligibility checks completed 

  • 21 June 2024 – Announcement of winners on the CIVICA website 

  • 31 May 2026 – Spending deadline

Applying to CIVICA grants consists of the following steps:

Step 1 – Members of the applying research team are to contact their respective grant coordinating units (e.g. ACRO in CEU, Research Development Team 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. 

Step 2 – Research teams are required to prepare one single joint application (including the separate cost calculations) and submit it to research(at)civica.eu before the deadline. The project must have an acronym.The submitted file must be named the project acronym (e.g. “EUFUTUR.doc” or “EUFUTUR.pdf”).  

Through a Single Review Process, CIVICA’s Permanent Design Team (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. PIs may be requested by the PDT to modify their budgets.

Step 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. 

Step 4 – Grant units of CIVICA partners inform the PDT. The PDT announces winners. Members of winning consortia contract with their respective universities for funding. 

How to apply

Please fill in this application form and submit it to research(at)civica.eu with the subject line "Application - Fourth call for research proposals". 

The deadline for applications is 2 June 2024, 23:59pm (CEST). 

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