The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) announced their cooperation in funding science and research across borders and to jointly support the international mobility of U.S. Early Career Researchers. This agreement will encourage, develop and facilitate research opportunities in Germany for U.S. Early Career Researchers funded in the framework of the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) of the NSF. Starting in 2015, DFG and NSF intend to continue their collaboration on faculty early career development for a period of five years.
The collaboration is intended to enable U.S. researchers supported by the NSF CAREER awards to undertake research visits with German research teams in DFG-funded projects. NSF CAREER awardees may join DFG-funded projects for single and long term (e.g., six to twelve months) or multiple short-term visits that aggregate to an agreed upon minimum (e.g., six months). The maximum visit duration is limited to twelve months.
For the U.S.-based Principals Investigators, the regular submission deadlines for the CAREER programme apply as described in the NSF solicitation (for the fiscal year 2015, the deadline for CAREER supplements is 30 June 2015). A separate agreement between the U.S. researcher and the DFG will not be concluded. CAREER awardees will continue to receive NSF funding during the period of the visit to Germany, and their salaries will be covered according to the CAREER award terms and conditions. Through this collaboration, the NSF will also provide support for travel expenses. In case of a long-term visit (six months or longer), travel expenses of accompanying family members will also be covered by the NSF.
The host institution in Germany will cover the following costs:
- Subsistence costs on a per diem basis, or any other applicable modality, commensurate to the level of experience of the individual visiting CAREER awardee.
- Any other eligible costs incurred during the visit of the U.S. researchers that are directly related to the DFG project. Such costs will be covered by the then already awarded DFG grant to the host institution and therefore have to be eligible within the guidelines for the use of funds of the DFG grant (“Verwendungsrichtlinien”). The maximum amount of the DFG grant may not be increased.
The following types of DFG-funded projects can host NSF CAREER awardees: Coordinated Programmes (e.g., Collaborative Research Centres, Research Units, Priority Programmes, DFG Research Centres, Research Training Groups), Graduate Schools and Clusters of Excellence of the German Excellence Initiative, and the Emmy Noether Programme. Visiting U.S. researchers will be incorporated in the research teams of the host institution as guest scientists. A listing of eligible research teams, together with a reference to the publishable description of their respective DFG-funded projects, is available in GEPRIS, the DFG’s database providing information on current DFG-funded research projects.
All researchers funded by the DFG within the individual grants programme have the possibility to invite U.S. researchers to join their DFG-funded projects, irrespective of the collaboration of DFG and NSF on faculty early career development. In order to invite U.S. researchers to join such projects, a supplemental proposal may be submitted to the DFG.
Eligible research teams to host NSF CAREER awardees
Coordinated Programmes:
- Collaborative Research Centres: www.dfg.de/sfb/en/
- Research Training Groups: www.dfg.de/gk/en/
- Priority Programmes: www.dfg.de/spp/en/
- DFG Research Centres: www.dfg.de/fzt/en/
- Research Units: www.dfg.de/for/en/
- Clinical Research Units: www.dfg.de/kfo/en
Excellence Initiative:
- Clusters of Excellence: www.dfg.de/en/excellence-initiative/exc/
- Graduate Schools: www.dfg.de/en/excellence-initiative/gsc/
Further Projects:
- List of independent junior research groups funded under the Emmy Noether Programme: http://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/suche/projekt/ENP?language=en
- A complete listing of DFG-funded research projects is available in GEPRIS (German Project Information System): http://gepris.dfg.de/en/
Contact
Contact persons at the DFG:
- Dr Rainer Gruhlich,
International Affairs,
phone: +49 228 885-2388,
rainer.gruhlich(at)dfg.de - Dr Suzanne Zittartz-Weber,
Research Centres,
phone: +49 228 885-2304,
suzanne.zittartz-weber(at)dfg.de
Contact persons at the NSF:
- Dr Henry Warchall,
CAREER Coordinating Committee,
phone: +1 703 292-4861,
hwarchal(at)nsf.gov - Dr Maija Kukla,
International Science and Engineering (ISE),
phone: +1 703 292-4940,
mkukla(at)nsf.gov
