Call for Research Proposals 2022 #2

Call for Research Proposals 2022 #2

Applications have closed.

Faculty and (post-doctoral) researchers in CIVICA universities (Bocconi University, CEU, EUI, Hertie, LSE, Sciences Po, SNSPA, SSE) are invited to submit proposals for seed funding to apply to larger grants.

Project ideas should be related but not limited to CIVICA’s four research themes:

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

The aim of the initiative is to help innovative research projects to take off the ground and foster new cooperation between CIVICA’s partner universities.

Jump to:

Who can apply?
What types of projects are eligible?
How will the proposals be evaluated?
How much money is available?
What expenses are eligible?
How long should projects last?
What are the deliverables for winning projects?
How to apply and application form
Timeline
The application process

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 (2) CIVICA universities.

We strongly encourage applications from teams comprised of three (3) or more CIVICA partner institutions.

Faculty and researchers (post-doctoral or other) from CIVICA universities are eligible to apply.

Principal Investigators (PIs) must be permanent faculty at one (1) of the CIVICA universities 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 include non-CIVICA members, too, but only CIVICA faculty/researchers are financed.

What types of projects are eligible?

We welcome projects that look for seed funding in the initial phase of a long-term project. 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 Europe, etc.), but the door is also open to those who wish to apply to national or other international research grants instead.

All types of collaborative research projects are eligible, but we encourage links to CIVICA’s four research themes. We encourage projects that are cross-cutting thematic boundaries.

Only innovative, new research ideas will be considered.

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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 (8) 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:

  • innovation
  • coherence
  • likelihood of leading to successful grant application
  • contribution to CIVICA’s effort for integrated research.

How much money is available?

Total budget for the call is c.€200,000. It is financed from CIVICA’s Erasmus+ funds 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.

To find out more on available funding, contact your local grant coordinating unit.

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What expenses are eligible?

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+ 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.

How long should projects last?

Projects can officially start on 1 March 2022.

The spending deadline is 1 September 2022, the latest, due to CIVICA budgetary constraints. 

What are the deliverables for winning projects?

By the spending deadline, the PDT should receive from the project leader: a short summary report, or a fully-fledged research project grant application, if available.

The summary report should provide information on activities as outlined in the proposal; names of who was involved in those activities; and a description of what further steps (larger grant applications) will take place.

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 PI (and his/her team) should present their project to one of CIVICA’s research theme groups or in the form of a CIVICA Webinar if the project is not in a priority area.

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How to apply and application form

Applications have closed.

All applicants should use the application form, which is available at this link>>   

Applications need to be submitted electronically to research(at)civica.eu by 12:00 pm (CET) on 17 January 2022.

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

Timeline

  • 30 November 2021 – Call for Proposals announced
  • 17 January 2022 – Application deadline
  • 16 January 2022 – Formal eligibility checks completed
  • 1 March 2022 – Announcement of winners on the CIVICA website
  • 1 September 2022 – Spending deadline

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The application process

Applying for 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 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.

     

    List of contact persons at each CIVICA partner:

     
    Bocconi University Claudia Piccioniclaudia.piccioni(at)unibocconi.it
    CEUNoemi Anna Kovacskovacsn(at)ceu.edu
    EUIZeineb MazouzZeineb.Mazouz(at)eui.eu
    Hertie SchoolNikolas von Hoffmannhoffmann(at)hertie-school.org
    LSEDorota Rejmanrescon(at)lse.ac.uk
    Sciences PoGuillaume Plantin
    Elsa Bedos
    Marinela Popa-Babay
    guillaume.plantin(at)sciencespo.fr
    elsa.bedos(at)sciencespo.fr
    marinela.popababay(at)sciencespo.fr
    SNSPAMihai Paunescumihai.paunescu(at)politice.ro
    SSEGoran Lindqvist goran.lindqvist(at)hhs.se

     

  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.

  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>>

Banner photo: namtipStudio Shutterstock