Research Seed Capital (RiSC) Call for Applications 2017 The Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK) is supporting high-risk projects by outstanding junior researchers at the beginning of their career. The program is intended to support unconventional but promising projects outside the mainstream. The Research Seed Capital shall lay the groundwork for larger innovative third-party funded projects (e.g. DFG Emmy Noetherprogram, DFG Heisenberg program, Volkswagen Foundation Freigeist-Fellowship, ERC Starting Grants). The University of Freiburg will submit up to four proposal with a maximum duration of two years to the MWK. Usually the decision by the MWK takes six weeks after the selection meeting of the rectorate. Candidates should contact the Science Support Centre (see below for contact details). 1. Eligibility Eligible are junior researchers with a maximum of eight years of independent postdoctoral research experience (periods of parental commitment will be taken into account with one year per child) and junior professors. The applicant must be employed at the University of Freiburg for the duration of the funding period. Proposals from the Faculty of Medicine are accepted; the matching funds have to be provided by the faculty (see below). 2. Type, extent and amount of funding The MWK will provide up to 50,000 per project for up to two years under the condition that the University will contribute with a complementary financing of the same amount. Up to 25,000 per project of this complementary financing will be provided by the rectorate of the University of Freiburg. The Faculties are free to increase the University s share with uncommitted funds and by doing so raise the amount of funding by the MWK. The funding may be used for research personnel, assistants, consumables, traveling expenses, workshops, and investments. Please note that you cannot apply for funding to finance your own position. 3. Submission Please follow the guidelines described in the Guide for Applicants. Please send your application by email in PDF and MS-Word compatible format by September 15, 2017 to Dr. Bjoern Goldammer, Freiburg Research Services: bjoern.goldammer@frs.uni-freiburg.de, phone: 0761 203-4858. SSC, 14.07.2017 1/1
Research Seed Capital (RiSC) Guide for Applicants Call for Applications 2017 Outstanding junior researchers at the beginning of their career can apply for funding for high-risk projects. The program is intended to support unconventional but promising projects outside the mainstream. The RiSC-Funding shall lay the groundwork for larger innovative third-party funded projects (e.g. DFG Emmy Noether program, DFG Heisenberg program, Volkswagen Foundation Freigeist- Fellowship, ERC Starting Grants). The application should not be longer than ten pages and should have the following structure: Part A: Basic Data 1. Funding program RiSC 2. Applicant Name, department, telephone no., fax, email, cost centre ( Kostenstelle ) For applicants with temporary positions: length of employment contract (date) Please indicate if you are a young researcher. (I.e. researchers who have not more than eight years of independent research experience or junior professors. Parental commitment will be taken into account with one year per child.) The applicant must be employed at the University of Freiburg for the duration of the funding period. Please note that you cannot apply for funding for your own position. 3. Short title of research project 4. Academic field and area of specialization This information will be used to select the reviewers. 5. Proposed period of funding Beginning and end of project (format: Month DD, YYYY); duration in months. The research project must be conducted at the University of Freiburg. 6. Information on the applicant / Qualification 7. Brief description of the research area / Summary of the project General information for the rectorate / State Ministry for Research, Science and the Arts either in German, or in English with a German translation (½ page). 8. Prospects of the research project in the applicant s area of research and within the context of the department or the university s key research areas 9. Short explanation, why no other funding program is suitable SSC, 14.07.2017 1/3
10. Proposed funding / budget Please explain, referring to the financial, human, technical and other resources of your work group, why each of the proposed personnel, materials, and investments is necessary for completing your project plan. Indicate the concrete use of each item within your research project. Please describe the concrete area of responsibility of all personnel to be hired with project funding, making reference to your project plan. If your faculty wants to raise the complementary financing by contributing with free funds (see call description), please enclose a letter by the dean confirming this financial commitment. Please also enter each item of the proposed funding into the following table: Personnel research associate (E13) research assistant student assistant other personnel 2018 2019 2020 (no. of positions or (no. of positions or (no. of positions or Total personnel expenses Consumables and Travel: Total expenses per year: TOTAL PROJECT EXPENSES: University of Freiburg: Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts: Part B: Project Description 1. Current state of research Please provide a concise description of the current state of research on the topic of your project and only in direct relation to your concrete project. The description should provide the justification for your own project. Please explain the relevance of your own work in relation to previous research and indicate which questions you wish to make a contribution to answering. 2. Preliminary research Please provide a summary of the most important preliminary research you have already conducted. References to scholarly publications should have a direct bearing on the project. Please limit the list of your own publications to the ten most important publications. SSC, 14.07.2017 2/3
3. Objectives and project plan / Detailed account of your planned work and the intended results Please describe your research program and your research objectives. You must describe and justify your methods and planned procedure. Please include a work plan and schedule. The quality of your project plan is of critical importance for the evaluation of your project. 4. Materials and personnel Please describe the available materials and personnel in your existing research environment. 5. Cooperation partners (no RiSC-funding) Information on Co-PIs (no personnel) Part C: Additional Information and Enclosures 1. Continued funding Please describe your plans for securing continued funding after the start-up funding through RiSC has come to an end. Try to be as specific as possible. The Freiburg Funding Portal provides information on suitable funding programs and formats: https://www.ffp.uni-freiburg.de/. The team at the Science Support Centre is also available to assist you (https://www.frs.uni-freiburg.de/abteilungen-en/ssc-en/team-en?set_language=en). 2. Other information Have you been awarded third-party-funding in the past? Please list the funded projects (title, year, funding organisation). 3. Enclosures All applicants should include a current profile from the research database as a separate attachment. Please note that it is only possible to receive funding within the context of the program if the applicant s research profile is documented on the university s research database. The URL is: https://www.frs.uni-freiburg.de/forschungsdb-en/forschdb-indexen?set_language=en. Please enclose a brief CV. In case your faculty is contributing to the complementary financing, please enclose a confirmation letter by the dean. SSC, 14.07.2017 3/3
Research Innovation Fund & RiSC Personnel Costs (total labour cost including social security and other contributions) Salary level Postdoctoral researcher TV-L E13, 100% Doctoral researcher TV-L E13, 100% Costs per year 68,400 64,800 TV-L E9, 100% 58,400 TV-L E8, 100% 51,000 TV-L E6, 100% 47,400 Assistant with degree (Master, M.A., diploma) Assistant with degree (B.A.) Assistant without degree 21,000 15,000 13,500 SSC, 14.07.2017 1/1