interdisciplinary research projects

Source: https://www.ugent.be/en/research/funding/bof/iop/overview.htm Parent: https://www.ugent.be/en/research/funding

The budgets for interdisciplinary research projects enables a consortium, consisting of two professors, to establish a joint interdisciplinary research project.

*Nederlandse versie*

Start and duration

• Period: 4 years
• Funding: maximum €420.000. The funding can be used for personnel, operational and/ or equipment costs
• Start project: 1 October 2022

Specifications

• The budgets for interdisciplinary research projects have a standard duration of 48 months. The objective is to enable a consortium, consisting of two professors, to establish a joint interdisciplinary research project. Promoters, with a different field of research, work together on the same research topic, which is studied from different perspectives;
• Through an interdisciplinary research project, financial support can be granted for personnel, operating and/or equipment costs. The project has a duration of 48 months. This amounts to a budget of maximum €420.000;
• This call will be launched every two years;
• Only proposals with a clearly and unarguably interdisciplinary and concerted nature will be taken into consideration for funding. The concerted nature of the project is reflected by the fact that the research must be carried out in an integrated way and cannot be divided into two monodisciplinary lines of research which are each supervised by one of the promoters. This needs to be clearly indicated in the project proposal.

Who can apply?

A consortium of 2 promoters with a different research field can apply for an interdisciplinary research project.

• The first named promoter shall act as spokesperson

• Both promoters are connected to Ghent University and belong to one of the following categories on the deadline of this call:

• a member of the professorial staff (Zelfstandig Academisch Personeel)

• a visiting professor with at least a research assignment
• a senior assistant, senior lector, assistant professor, associate professor, full professor or senior full professor within the integration framework at Ghent University who holds a PhD degree

One (or more) copromoters (only postdoctoral researchers) are allowed.

The call is not open to:

• Holders of Methusalem-funding.
• GOA projects ending after 31 December 2023: Promoters of a GOA with an end date after 31 December 2023 cannot apply for an interdisciplinary research project.
• Interdisciplinary research projects: promoters of a BOF interdisciplinary research project awarded in 2020 (starting date 1 October 2020) cannot apply for a new interdisciplinary research project.

A promoter can be involved in only one application for an interdisciplinary research project.

If a promoter retires before the end of the project, it is obligated to mention a co-promoter who will take over.

• The co-promoter must then meet the conditions for promotership.

Criteria of evaluation

Preselection: in the first phase, the level of interdisciplinarity of the proposals is evaluated. The following criteria are used:

1. The disciplines and the kinds of expertise that are brought together in the proposal are dissimilar from one another. For both disciplines, a broad definition rather than a narrow one must be given.
2. The input of expertise, knowledge and methodology from both disciplines must be equally essential in order to carry out the proposed research. The research project can only be carried out in an integrated, concerted way and cannot be split up into two separated research lines. One discipline cannot be an auxiliary science for the other.
3. The results of the interdisciplinary research lead to new scientific insights in both disciplines or contribute to the development of a new field of study.

In a second phase the preselected interdisciplinary projects as such are evaluated using the following criteria:

• scientific criteria for the project proposal:

• Innovative nature of the project

• Well described research objectives and methodology

• Coherence of the project

• criteria concerning the quality of the research consortium

• Evidence of the "state of the art" knowledge in both fields of research
• Expertise and competence of the promoters in their respective fields of research
• Coherence of the proposed consortium
• International scientific recognition of the promoters
• Output based on former research, with special attention for publications with international visibility and PhDs.

How to apply

• The project proposals must be submitted via the online application GISMO: https://gismo.ugent.be.

Attention: the module for interdisciplinary research projects will be available from 8 December 2021

• Choose the module "Project" and "Create new application"
• project proposals can be submitted in either Dutch or English
• please read the call documents available at the bottom of this webpage carefully and use them as guidance when submitting your application

Deadline

• deadline: 24 February 2022, 17:00 (Belgian time)

Results

The applications will be evaluated by a special evaluation committee for interdisciplinary research, which will give advice to the Research Council.

This evaluation will take place in 2 steps.

1. Preselection based on the level of interdisciplinarity > results online on 18 May 2022
2. Final selection based on the scientific value of the project proposal and the quality of the consortium > results online 16 June 2022

Contact

Research Department\ Research Co-ordination Office - Special Research Fund

E BOF@ugent.be

Call

• Call 2022 (word) /call 2022 (pdf)

Scientific report

Within one year after the end of the project Final report, has to be sent electronically to BOFapplication@UGent.be. Both promoters are included in the e-mail, either as sender or in copy.