Open initiative 2010 (open)

13 January 2010

ERA-Chemistry is pleased to announce the 2010 ’Open Initiative’ to fund transnational collaborative projects in the broad field of curiosity-driven chemical research.

ERA-Chemistry (www.erachemistry.net) is a consortium of 14 research funding organisations from 12 European countries with the goal to develop and implement joint bottom-up European funding programmes. After two successful thematic calls in 2005 and 2007, since 2008 the ‘Open Initiative’ aims now at stimulating excellence in chemical research through competition and cooperation without any thematic restriction. Six of the ERA-Chemistry Partners participate in this year’s ‘Open Initiative’. It is planned to issue this call each year in January. Please find some more detailed information about the Open Initiative here.

Chemists who are eligible to apply for financial support from any of the participating funding organisations are cordially invited to apply jointly within a chemistry-related subject. A list of the respective organisations including contact details is given below. Joint projects of two applicants located in two different countries must comprise novel and ambitious ideas in curiosity-driven chemistry. The scientific level of the projects should be high in international comparison. Although the scientific quality of the proposals is the decisive criterion, joint projects must also demonstrate a clear added value to the applicants’ cooperation over and above what could be achieved individually.

There will be a two-stage procedure involving pre-proposals and full proposals. All pre-proposals must be submitted via the electronic application system for this call not later than 23 February 2010. All proposals will be subject of a joint peer-review and a joint decision process of the funding organisations involved. Successful applicants from the pre-proposal stage will be invited to submit their comprehensive, more detailed full proposals not later than 23 July 2010.

Each applicant may request funding for individual grants according to national rules and national general conditions. For further details please contact your participating funding organisation. Joint projects will be funded for three years starting not later than spring 2011.

Guidelines for applicants, guidelines for reviewers and the instructions for the electronic application system will soon be provided here, as well as on the websites of the participating funding organisations:

Pre-proposal stage:
* Pre-proposal form
* Guidelines for Applicants
* Guidelines for Reviewers
* Web Portal Instructions

The full-proposal stage:
* Full-proposal form
* Guidelines for Applicants
* Guidelines for Reviewers
* Web Portal Instructions

Austria: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)
Contact: Dr. Bettina Löscher, e-mail: opencall-at[@]erachemistry.net
link to the FWF website

Belgium: Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)
Contact: Freia Van Hee, e-mail: opencall-be[@]erachemistry.net
link to the FNRS website

Germany: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG)
Contact: Dr.-Ing. Georg Bechtold, e-mail: opencall-de[@]erachemistry.net
link to the DFG website

Hungary: Országos Tudományos Kutatási Alapprogramok (OTKA)
Contact: Dr. Árvácska Sárpátki, e-mail: opencall-hu[@]erachemistry.net
link to the OTKA website

Ireland: Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET)
Contact: Dr. John Denari, e-mail: opencall-ie[@]erachemistry.net
link to the IRCSET website

Spain: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)
Contact: Victoria Sanz Montemayor, e-mail: opencall-es[@]erachemistry.net
link to the MICINN website


For questions relating to the online application system:

ERA-Chemistry Call Secretariat: OTKA, Hungary
Contact: Paula Sarpatki, e-mail: opencall-secr[@]erachemistry.net



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