GUIDANCE FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS

Transcription

1 ANNIVERSARY FUND of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank GUIDANCE FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS (February 2018)

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 The Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank 3 2 Strategy and funding structure 4 3 Formal application requirements 6 4 Cofinancing and research partnerships 8 5 Application procedure 9 6 Eligible expenses and global budgeting 11 7 Decision-making 16 8 Contact 18

3 1 The Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank Set up by resolution of the General Meeting on April 27, 1966, to mark the 150 th anniversary of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), the Anniversary Fund (officially Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research and Teaching ) has ever since served as a facilitator and promoter of research. True to the founding goal of creating a facility of long-term and general value, the Anniversary Fund has over time provided 775 million of funding in support of some 10,000 research projects (as per January 2017). The motivation for launching the Anniversary Fund was to raise the amount spent on R&D in Austria as a share of GDP in a bid to realign domestic R&D spending with the ratios achieved by leading OECD countries. The OeNB in fact played a pioneering and visionary role in providing funding support for research in Austria since the government s policy framework for supporting domestic research was not written into law until the fall of Today, support provided by the OeNB Anniversary Fund for basic research projects in the fields of Economics, Medical Sciences as well as Social Sciences and Humanities is a key pillar of domestic research funding. The Anniversary Fund essentially targets smaller to medium-scale projects and the next generation of young scientists, since most of the funding is earmarked for employing young scientists, thus providing a meaningful and significant complement to other research funding programs. The OeNB Anniversary Fund constitutes an institutional link between the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and the scientific community that is intended to foster relationships, enhance engagement and catalyze cooperation in research. The Anniversary Fund epitomizes the OeNB s commitment to its overall social responsibility for maximizing the potential for research and scientific innovation in Austria, and thus for strengthening Austria s attractiveness as a business location. 3

4 2 Strategy and funding structure 2.1 Strategy The Anniversary Fund is committed to supporting (application-oriented) basic research in the fields of Economics, Medical Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities in Austria Research proposals that directly or indirectly pursue commercial objectives are not eligible for funding. Hence, research projects that are profit-oriented will not be considered The proposals selected by the Anniversary Fund are primarily intended to advance young scientists in pre-doc and post-doc research careers The Anniversary Fund supports the principles of freedom of research and independence of research. At the same time, researchers are expected to observe the principles of scientific integrity and good scientific practice. 2.2 Funding structure Designed to support high-quality research projects in the fields of Economics, Medical Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, the Anniversary Fund allocates funding subject to the following benchmarks (percentage of total funding to be allocated to individual disciplines in each funding approval meeting): Economics focus areas (subject to review) Economics Medical Sciences Social Sciences Humanities 20% of total funding 20% of total funding 30% of total funding 15% of total funding 15% of total funding Maximum funding request 200,000 Maximum funding request 125,000 Maximum funding request 150,000 Maximum funding request 125,000 Maximum funding request 125,000 Figure 1: Funding structure of the Anniversary Fund Interdisciplinary research proposals are to be submitted for the main scientific discipline to which the research interests are related. In borderline cases, the Anniversary Fund has the right to overrule the allocation of individual projects to a specific discipline Funding requests must be for no less than 50,000 and for no more than 125,000, with higher caps applying for research proposals in medical sciences ( 150,000) and economics focus areas ( 200,000) Funding is made available only for proposals for future research The focus areas in the field of Economics are subject to regular revisions to be endorsed by the Governing Board and the General Council of the OeNB. New focus areas and corresponding guidance will be published on the OeNB s website in a timely manner. 4

5 STRATEGY AND FUNDING STRUCTURE In the field of Medical Sciences, disease-oriented or patient-oriented clinical research proposals are eligible for funding whereas medical/natural science research proposals without clinical aspects are not. The relevant definitions used by the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) apply. In particular, clinical research excludes projects involving the study of human cells that cannot be traced to identifiable patients. Research proposals involving animal testing (according to Section 2 (1) Animal Experiments Act Tierversuchsgesetz 2012) are not eligible for funding, either. 5

6 3 Formal application requirements 3.1 General requirements Research proposals will only be considered for possible financial support if all formal application requirements are met. In particular, the proposals must be complete and comply with form requirements, and the deadline for electronic receipt of the proposals must be met. 3.2 Requirements for applicants Project funding is provided only to individuals ( natural persons ) seeking to conduct a research project of which they are in charge ( ad-personam projects under the terms of Section 26 of the University Act Universitätsgesetz 2002). Institutes, institutions or companies are not eligible for funding Eligible applicants include researchers who have completed doctoral studies or PhD programs in the given field or hold a professorship in the discipline of the proposed project and who can provide evidence of relevant scholarly activity in that discipline. Relevant evidence must be submitted upon demand The salary of applicants is to be financed, in full or in part, from the allocated funding. In line with the rules of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), eligible applicants must have been ordinarily resident in Austria for at least three of the past ten years at the time when the application is submitted, or applicants must have been engaged in research activity in Austria for at least two consecutive years preceding the submission of the application. Relevant evidence must be submitted on demand Research proposals may be submitted only by individual applicants who must also be the sole managers of the project. In other words, project management cannot be shared by several persons For each funding approval meeting, only one research proposal will be considered per applicant If applicants are still awaiting a response from the Anniversary Fund regarding an application for funding, they may not submit any further research proposals Managers of ongoing Anniversary Fund projects are not eligible for submitting a new application until the pending project is closed in scientific and financial terms Applicants must inform the Anniversary Fund about applications made to, and any grants awarded by, other financing institutions from the application date until a decision has been made on the research proposal. If another financing institution approves funding for such a research proposal, the Anniversary Fund reserves the right to withdraw its funding commitment in case of overlaps Applicants are supposed to provide free expert opinions for the Anniversary Fund on demand. 6

7 FORMAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS 3.3 Requirements regarding the location of research activities Research proposals must be routed through an Austrian research institution. Hence, private individuals who do not intend to conduct their proposed research activities at a university or nonprofit research institution are not eligible To be eligible, research institutions must be Austrian institutions that serve the public interest, are not for profit (e.g. university institutes and clinics, nonprofit organizations and nonprofit enterprises) and have an adequate research infrastructure for ensuring the implementation of internationally competitive basic research projects in the given discipline Research proposals must be aligned with the main research areas of the research institution. The infrastructure available as well as national and international networks of the research institution must provide adequate support for the research project The proposed scientific research activities must be carried out predominantly in Austria. This requirement is met in all cases in which the applicant and the scientists paid from the project funds are employed by an Austrian university or nonprofit research institution under Austrian jurisdiction during the duration of the proposed research project or if such employment is guaranteed in writing To evidence the research institution s agreement, a project data sheet must be signed by an authorized official of the research institution upon the start of the project. It is therefore essential for applicants to clarify the feasibility of the research proposal and the relevant framework conditions in advance. 3.4 Project duration and deadlines Successful research proposals will be funded for a maximum of four years, subject to a single no-cost extension beyond the original project end date (i.e., there will be no extra funding) The project closure documentation (final accounts, final report, summary of research evidence for the OeNB s website) is to be delivered to the Anniversary Fund within two months of project completion at the latest. Otherwise, the Anniversary may cancel the last funding instalment in full or in part, or even reclaim all funding. 7

8 4 Cofinancing and research partnerships 4.1 Basic principles The Anniversary Fund promotes international, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. Successful research proposals are intended to support national and international cooperation in research as well as scientific engagement with research partners. Therefore, the Anniversary Fund will also consider research proposals for cofinancing (see 4.2) or research partnerships (see 4.3). 4.2 Cofinancing Research proposals are eligible for cofinancing if applicants can provide evidence that they will be independent in their research and that complementary cofinancing has been secured. 4.3 Research partnerships Research partnerships are understood to refer to scientific cooperation between two or more research institutions. The main research institution may pass on some funding to cooperation partners, the idea of partnerships being that they will add meaningful scientific value to a given project The requirements defined by the Anniversary Fund for research proposals must be met by all cooperation partners (especially with regard to nonprofit orientation). The research activities are to be carried out mainly at the (main) research institution specified in the application, which must account for more than 50% of the project costs Foreign cooperation partners may receive no more than 10% of the allocated funding. The main research institution must make a case for sharing allocated funds and seek prior approval from the Anniversary Fund The project manager and the cooperation partners are to sign a cooperation agreement no later than the project start date. A corresponding template is available on the OeNB s website The project manager s (main) research institution must bill the expenses for collaborative research projects with a financial accounting program, such as SAP, that ensures a transparent project-related cash flow and proper audits of the project finances The Anniversary Fund cannot be billed for any taxes and charges that may arise when sharing funds with cooperation partners. 8

9 5 Application procedure 5.1 Research proposals may be submitted only through the OeNB s website. Applicants will be guided through the template on the website. 5.2 Submitting a research proposal involves entering the following data into the online template: Contact details of the project manager and the research institution Project team (to be specified as known) The project title in easily accessible language (in German and English, no more than 100 characters including spaces) The scientific project title (in German and English, no more than 100 characters including spaces) Project description (in German and English) o research priority (no more than 1,000 characters including spaces) o scope of the research proposal (no more than 1,500 characters including spaces) o o research methods applied (no more than 1,000 characters including spaces) up to 5 relevant papers published by project team members with regard to the research proposal (no more than 1,500 characters including spaces) Category and discipline Project duration (no longer than four years) Keywords (no more than 255 characters including spaces) Project cost breakdown and other funding by third parties National and international reviewers (no more than 3) who are highly likely to be biased or to have conflicts of interest (negative list with contact details) 5.3 In addition, an outline is to be submitted (maximum file size of 5 MB): No layout specifications Upload in PDF format In German or English (English is mandatory for medical research projects) Length of total document (must not be exceeded): o no less than 15 pages o no more than 25 pages The outline must provide the following information: o current state of research o objective of own research (research interests or hypotheses) o description of the envisaged methodology o work plan, timetable, budget plan o list of project team publications with relevance for the research proposal o key resume details for project team members (CVs cannot be uploaded) o brief indication of organizational units involved in the research project (research institute, working group, or the like) 5.4 If applicable, the following documents are to be submitted: A bid and mandatory alternative bid for outsourced work, equipment to be purchased, materials costs and surveys for items costing 10,000 or more including VAT (applicants have to ensure that the bids are valid on the date of the funding approval meeting). If a second bid cannot be obtained for good reason, this has to be communicated to the Anniversary Fund. 9

10 APPLICATION PROCEDURE Information to be provided by associations: o up-to-date association charter o up-to-date list of board members o up-to-date extract from the register of associations Information to be provided by nonprofit enterprises: o up-to-date articles of association o up-to-date extract from the company register Information to be provided for medical research projects: o Ethics Commission clearance (if applicable); upload only the final and still relevant finding of the Ethics Commission Information to be provided for projects to be cofinanced by the Anniversary Fund: o commitments of cofinancing institutions (if available; otherwise these documents are to be delivered later) 5.5 Research proposals in Economics Focus Areas must include a brief outline (not more than 500 characters including spaces) that explains the relevance of the research topic for the focus area. 5.6 For successful research proposals in the field of Medical Sciences the final, positive finding or clearance by the Ethics Commission is required, which must be provided no later than the start date of the project. 5.7 The following documents are to be submitted upon acceptance of a research proposal: Offers and mandatory competitive bids for services to be outsourced, purchases of equipment and materials as well as surveys, for amounts exceeding 10,000 incl. VAT (per expense item). If a second bid cannot be obtained for good reason, this has to be communicated to the Anniversary Fund. 10

11 6 Eligible expenses and global budgeting 6.1 Basic principles All allocated funding must be used economically, efficiently and in line with global budgeting rules Global budgeting provides for full flexibility in the use of allocated funding subject to the rules defined by the Anniversary Fund. Within the framework conditions, project managers may reallocate funds at any time, without communicating these changes to the Anniversary Fund and without seeking prior approval Global budgeting is conditional on a 75%-25% model. This means that at least 75% of the allocated funding must be used for Staffing costs whereas Other costs may only account for up to 25% of the allocated funding. This precondition is binding upon submission of the project proposal To be recognized by the Anniversary Fund, all the expense items billed must have been incurred during the project s term Transfers of project funds abroad are capped at 10% of the allocated funding and require prior approval by the Anniversary Fund on a case-by-case basis Staffing costs and Other costs must be billed separately by project managers. For further guidance, see the (exhaustive) list under 6.2 ( Staffing costs ) and 6.3 ( Other costs ) and the (illustrative) list under 6.4 ( Non-eligible expenses ). 6.2 Staffing costs (min. 75% of allocated funding) The staffing costs relevant for billing are the rates that prevailed at the time when the costs were incurred. Salary increases (according to collective wage agreements, etc.) are to be covered from the allocated funding. No additional funds can be made available by the Anniversary Fund for such increases Staffing costs may be billed at the following (maximum) rates: Post-doc staff (employment contract for max. 40 working hours per week) o to be reimbursed in line with collective wage agreements or works agreements, or up to current staff cost rates (gross standard personnel costs and gross salaries) applied to post-doc staff by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) o The (gross) personnel cost rates the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) applies to senior postdocs do not qualify as maximum expenses allowed. Pre-doc staff (employment contract for max. 30 working hours per week) o to be reimbursed in line with collective wage agreements or works agreements, or up to current staff cost rates (gross standard personnel costs and gross salaries) applied to pre-doc staff by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 11

12 ELIGIBLE EXPENSES AND GLOBAL BUDGETING Undergraduate staff (employment contract for max. 20 working hours per week) o to be reimbursed in line with collective wage agreements or works agreements, or up to current staff cost rates (gross standard personnel costs and gross salaries) applied to undergraduate staff by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) o Research grants to graduate students must not exceed 440 per month and student, which is in line with the provisions of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Non-research staff (employment contract for max. 20 working hours per week) o to be reimbursed in line with collective wage agreements or works agreements (mandatory) Service/work contracts o All service/work contracts have to be made in writing. o Given the inherent intransparency of service and work contracts about the use of funds, individual contracts are capped at 20,000 (including VAT if applicable). o Expiring employment contracts must not be followed up with a service/work contract that exceeds the limit defined for precarious employment. o As a rule, service/work contracts for foreign contractors are limited to 10% of the funding volume and are subject to prior approval by the Anniversary Fund on a case-by-case basis. o By definition, work contracts require the production of specific deliverables. Service/work contracts (additional income) o All service/work contracts are to be made in writing. o Project staffing costs that qualify as additional income beyond full-time equivalents must not exceed 5,000 (including VAT if applicable). o Additional incomes beyond full-time equivalents may be paid, in particular, for research quality assurance, the provision of essential expertise, for managing handover when a team member leaves and for training new team members. o Additional incomes beyond the full-time equivalent paid to project managers are not eligible for funding Funding by the Anniversary Fund does not cover overtime pay, bonuses, premiums, commissions, pay for outstanding leave not taken or other extraordinary payments As a rule, additional incomes and secondary occupations (e.g. teaching assignments) are not eligible for funding. An exception to this rule are expenses for Service/work contracts (additional income) listed under Taking into account hours worked, overpayment is possible up to the rates applied by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Work/service contracts may account for no more than one-third of staffing costs. 6.3 Other costs (max. 25% of allocated funding) All other types of eligible expenses that do not qualify as Staffing costs are considered to be Other costs. All Other costs are subject to ex post plausibility checks by the Anniversary Fund Other costs are eligible for funding in line with the following framework conditions: 12

13 ELIGIBLE EXPENSES AND GLOBAL BUDGETING Equipment costs o Expenses for basic equipment usually provided by research institutions are not eligible for funding. o If expenses for tools and equipment required upon acceptance of the research proposal exceed 10,000 including VAT, at least two bids must be obtained; if a second bid cannot be obtained for good reason, this has to be communicated to the Anniversary Fund before the purchase. o Tools and equipment costs may also include rental costs, whereas the costs of commissioning, servicing, repair and depreciation are not reimbursed. o As a rule, purchases of tools and equipment from foreign suppliers may account for no more than 10% of the allocated funding and are subject to prior approval by the Anniversary Fund on a case-by-case basis. o Ownership of all tools and equipment is to be transferred to (added to the inventory of) the research institution upon project completion at the latest. Materials costs o If the cost of materials required upon acceptance of the research proposal exceeds 10,000 including VAT, at least two bids have to be obtained; if a second bid cannot be obtained for good reason, this has to be communicated to the Anniversary Fund before the purchase. o Expenses for materials also include compensations for trial or test persons. o As a rule, purchases of materials from foreign suppliers may account for no more than 10% of the allocated funding and are subject to prior approval by the Anniversary Fund on a case-by-case basis. Travel costs o Travel costs incurred for research visits, fieldwork, expeditions, etc., are only funded for project team members. o In addition to the project manager, project staff includes any members of the project team that hold employment contracts and are funded by the Anniversary Fund. o Only second class train travels and economy class flights will be reimbursed. o Refunds for taxi fares and business travel in your own car will be handled restrictively and require the production of appropriate evidence. o Accommodation expenses are capped at 150 per person and night (including all taxes, fees and charges). o Conference attendance costs and fees are reimbursed if participation serves to generate peer evaluation of project results (e.g. through presentations), evidence of which must be provided. o The reimbursement of other travel-related allowances is to be made in line with the applicable collective wage agreement or works agreement. Travel and subsistence costs are to be calculated based on the federal travel expenses framework (Reisegebührenvorschrift des Bundes). o Travel expenses must be declared for each research trip. Costs of outsourcing project activities (subcontracting) o If the costs of outsourcing project activities (subcontracting) required upon acceptance of the research proposal exceed 10,000 including VAT, at least two bids have to be obtained. If a second bid cannot be obtained for good reason, this has to be communicated to the Anniversary Fund before activities are outsourced. 13

14 ELIGIBLE EXPENSES AND GLOBAL BUDGETING o As a rule, outsourcing to foreign subcontractors is limited to 10% of the allocated funding and subject to prior approval by the Anniversary Fund on a case-by-case basis. Project website o The Anniversary Fund encourages the launch of a dedicated project website for effective communication and publication of selected publications, conference papers, etc. o Support received from the Anniversary Fund shall be acknowledged on the website. o Funding for the development and maintenance of a project website is capped at 2,500 including VAT. Printing and publication costs o To make the project s outcome accessible for further research activities, the Anniversary Fund supports the dissemination of research results (contributions to printing costs, reimbursement of open access fees, etc.). Printed publications in which the research results are to be published must have an ISBN number. o The support received from the Anniversary Fund has to be acknowledged in all publications originating from the project. o The funding of printing and publication costs is capped at 2,500 including VAT. Presentation of final project results o The Anniversary Fund supports project managers in presenting and disseminating the final project results in a cost-effective manner in a local setting. o This includes the cost of renting suitable rooms, catering costs and printing costs for material to be distributed at the event. Travel expenses of participants are reimbursed if they actively contribute to the event (e.g. as speakers or panelists). o Support received from the Anniversary Fund shall be acknowledged in the course of project presentations. o Funding for the presentation of final project results is capped at 2,500 including VAT. Account management fees charged on the project account Contributions to the cost of HR administration are reimbursed up to a maximum amount of 14 per person and month. 6.4 Non-eligible expenses The following expenses, in particular, are not eligible for funding: Overheads: o It is up to the research institution to provide basic office equipment and other state-of-the-art research infrastructure that is required to perform internationally competitive basic research in the given discipline. 14 All costs related to an early termination of employment (pay for outstanding leave not taken, etc.) Rent for office space Internal project workshops Cost of printing (diploma, master s, doctoral or habilitation) theses

15 ELIGIBLE EXPENSES AND GLOBAL BUDGETING Training or seminar costs Meetings and conferences (see travel costs for exceptions) 15

16 7 Decision-making 7.1 Basic principles To facilitate planning, all funding decisions (see 7.3) will be communicated promptly to applicants in writing There is no legal right to project funding. Research proposals may be rejected without comment. 7.2 Two-stage decision-making process The Anniversary Fund of the OeNB invites applications twice a year (2 submission deadlines). i. Submission deadline in March (decision made in December of the same year) ii. Submission deadline in September (decision made in June/July of the following year) The Anniversary Fund carries out a formal examination of applications based on the requirements published in this guidance. All formally adequate research proposals received in time are registered and passed on to expert panels for preselection. The preselection by expert panels (stage 1) involves a review subject to different criteria (e.g. priority of the research topic, quality of the research proposal) depending on the scientific discipline. The aim is to produce a short list of proposals that qualify for peer review. Reviewers will use a structured review form to prepare their reviews (stage 2). In selecting reviewers, the Anniversary Fund strives to achieve a reasonable balance between Austrian and foreign reviewers. After a qualitative evaluation of the reviews received, the expert panels prepare a recommendation on the projects to be funded for the OeNB s decision-making bodies. The recommendations for funding also include project-specific proposals for the volume of funding. After another overall assessment of the funding recommendations by the Governing Board of the OeNB with the involvement of the General Council and its Anniversary Fund subcommittee, funding decisions are taken in a funding approval meeting on the basis of at least two reviews per project. Figure 2: Two-stage decision-making process Immediately after the announced date of decision-making, the projects approved for funding are published on the OeNB s website and the funding notifications are dispatched to the applicants by conventional mail. Figure 2: Two-stage decision-making process 16

17 DECISION-MAKING 7.3 Possible decisions Research proposals may be accepted or rejected in the following forms and stages: Acceptance of the application Rejection of the application for formal reasons Rejection of the application in the preselection stage by the expert panel Rejection of the application after peer review Rejection of the application subject to a resubmission option Rejection of the application for lack of sufficient reviews Successful research proposals are allocated a specific amount of funding subject to relevant conditions, if applicable. Successful projects may be launched on the first day of the month following the date of approval at the earliest and must start within one year of the approval of funding. Otherwise the funds approved are forfeited Project proposals that were rejected for formal reasons may be resubmitted to the Anniversary Fund as a rule Project proposals that were rejected by the expert panel during the preselection stage are barred from resubmission to the Anniversary Fund Shortlisted project proposals that did not receive funding approval are barred from resubmission to the Anniversary Fund Project proposals that were considered to be excellent but did not receive funding approval for lack of funds may be invited for resubmission. This applies to research proposals that stand a realistic chance of receiving funding approval in the next funding approval meeting. In that case, the overall initial assessment is retained and at least one new, additional review is obtained for the final decision in the second funding approval meeting If fewer than two reviews are received (insufficient number of reviews), a resubmission option may be offered provided the review obtained implies that the proposal stands a realistic chance of receiving funding approval in the next funding approval meeting. In that case, the assessment of the initial review is retained. If no review was received for an application, applicants are granted a resubmission option for one of the next funding approval meetings as a rule. 17

18 8 Contact Address Oesterreichische Nationalbank Controlling and Research Funding Division ANNIVERSARY FUND Otto-Wagner-Platz Vienna, Austria Phone (+43-1) (Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon) fonds@oenb.at 18