On the basis of their long-standing cooperation and the respective Memorandum for Understanding the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) have opened the possibility for funding of joint German-Russian projects in all areas of basic research for the period of 2020–2022.
These joint proposals have to be based on a close interaction between the German and Russian research teams and should present joint project goals and a joint work plan with balanced contributions from all project partners. Proposals without strong interaction between the partners should be submitted as separate proposals in the standard funding schemes of DFG and RFBR.
At the DFG the proposals in this call are submitted in the funding scheme “Sachbeihilfe/Research Grants” and will be reviewed in competition with all other proposals in this scheme. It is important to note that there are no separate funds available for these efforts, proposals must succeed on the strengths of their intellectual merit in competition with all other proposals in the funding scheme “Sachbeihilfe/Research Grants”. All proposals will be reviewed by both organisations separately. The results of the review process will be shared between the agencies. Support will be granted for those proposals where both DFG and RFBR recommend funding.
Proposal preparation and submission
- The eligibility to submit a proposal follows the regulations for the programmes for the funding scheme “Sachbeihilfe/Research Grants” at DFG side (DFG form 50.01). This includes the duty to cooperate (“Kooperationspflicht”) within Germany for members of non-university institutions with permanent positions.
- Proposals shall be written in English and must be submitted to both organisations in parallel in accordance with the proposal preparation requirements of each side, respectively. For German groups this means submission via the DFG elan system according to the guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01).
- All German applicants are requested to use the “Joint Project Description Template” instead of form 53/01-03/18 as for the reviewers the information about the added value of international cooperation is an important point. For the Russian applicants, the competition documentation for an open public competition to receive grants from the RFBR should be consulted.
- For submission via the DFG elan system German partners should select under “Call for Proposals” the “RFBR-DFG-19/20”. In the elan system please go via Proposal Submission – New Project – Individual Grants Programme. In the field “Proposal for a Research Grant” click the button “Start online form” – “Continue”. There you will find the call.
- The proposal must include a description of the full proposed research programme and research team and must describe the total resources for the joint project (that is, the funds requested for both the Russian and German groups). In the electronic elan system it is only requested to fill in the German budget, because only applicants in Germany can receive funding from DFG. For the project description please use the “Joint Project Description Template”. This document will be the basis for the review process at DFG as well as at RFBR to ensure that both sides will judge the project on common grounds.
- Additional documents as CVs of the principal investigators (PI) from both sides must be uploaded following the rules of each organisation respectively. Please note that the reviewers on both sides will need the full information on the PI from Germany as well as from Russia.
- For German partners – please note that if you are using the elan system for the first time, you need to register prior submitting your application with your complete personal and address details by 27 February 2018 at the latest.
In accordance with the full proposal target date of RFBR (4 March 2018) and the fact, that on this date the DFG Head Office is closed, proposals to the DFG should be submitted not later than 7 March 2019. The next call for the funding period of 2021–2023 is foreseen for late 2019.
