As member of the Heads of the Research Councils of the G8 states (G8 HORCS) and the Belmont Forum, a high level group of the world’s major and emerging funders of global environmental change research, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) participates in two multilateral calls for proposals in water and coastal research. These calls will support interdisciplinary and collaborative projects of multinational research teams up to three years bringing together researchers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Scientific Theme 1: Freshwater Security
This theme aims at research addressing the coupling of natural and anthropogenic systems operating on the multiple scales of water stress as well as the complexity of the associated decision making processes in managing regional water security. In regionally based research projects one or both of the following work packages should be tackled:
- identification and characterisation of the interactions between natural processes and human practices that govern water budgeting in selected regions
- development of approaches that support the evolution of resilient communities/regions through improved seasonal forecasting of droughts, taking into account natural and socioeconomic drivers identified in the above work package
Scientific Theme 2: Coastal Vulnerability
The focus of this theme is on the vulnerability, resilience and adaptation options of coastal societal, managed and natural systems to multiple drivers. This may be within different environments, e.g. estuaries, deltas and bays, and in areas of different societal development. Projects should address either one or both of the following work packages:
- characterisation of natural processes and human interactions that govern coastal vulnerability and resilience
- development of predictive frameworks and adaptive coastal management strategies that support the evolution of resilient coastal communities
Submission of proposals will follow a two-stage process with pre-proposals and full proposals. All proposals should consist of partners from at least three of the participating countries and must bring together natural scientists, social scientists and research users.
Proposals are selected in a joint review process by the participating funding organisations. All administrative procedures will be synchronised. Funding of the participating researchers from German universities and research institutions is provided by DFG according to its terms and conditions for project funding.
Important dates: The closing date for submission of pre-proposals is 20 July 2012. The submission of full proposals ends on 20 December 2012.
Further information
For further details as to the scientific themes, principles of funding, selection criteria, the procedures of submitting proposals and closing dates please contact the Belmont Forum website. Please also read the guidelines and refer to the relevant National Annex before submission.
Contact information for Germany
- For the freshwater security theme:
Dr. Ute Weber, Programme Director, DFG
Phone: +49 228 885-2760
E-Mail: Ute.Weber(at)dfg.de
- For the coastal vulnerability theme
Dr. Johannes Karte, Programme Director, DFG
Phone: +49 228 885-2319
E-Mail: Johannes.Karte(at)dfg.de
