DFG and AEI Launch Lead Agency Pilot for Joint German-Spanish Research Projects
Three-year research grants are offered for bilateral projects in the areas of psychology, mathematics, atmospheric science, oceanography and climate research.
In line with its activities in the interest of research, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation) maintains partnerships and relations with a large number of partner organisations on all continents, including the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigatión (AEI – State Research Agency of Spain).
As part of their cooperation, the DFG and AEI are now launching a pilot for a joint Lead Agency Procedure for joint projects between researchers in Germany and Spain. The pilot is intended to encompass two calls.
In this first pilot call, the DFG will act as the lead agency and will be responsible for the review and evaluation process. After successful completion of this first pilot call, a second call with the AEI as the lead agency is envisaged.
In the current pilot call, Spanish-German research teams are invited to submit joint research proposals in the following research areas:
- Psychology
- Mathematics
- Atmospheric Science, Oceanography and Climate Research
There are no separate funds available for this joint call. Instead, the call follows the general funding lines and budget of the AEI funding line ‘Proyectos de Colaboración Internacional‘ (PCI – International Collaboration Projects) and the DFG’s Research Grants Programme (Sachbeihilfe). Proposals will be evaluated in competition with other proposals within these funding programmes.
On the German side, application is open to researchers working at German research institutions who have completed their research training (generally a doctorate). German researchers from non-university research institutions may only submit proposals together with a partner from a German university.
On the Spanish side, applications are open to non-profit research organisations such as universities, public research organisations, technology centres and other private non-profit institutions that carry out R+D+i activities in Spain. Principal Investigators must demonstrate experience in projects funded by the AEI or others such as ERC Grants, H2020 projects and Horizon Europe. A maximum of two Spanish partners/Principal Investigators are allowed to apply for funding from the AEI in the same proposal.
Research funding is provided for up to three years and covers project-related personnel and material costs in line with the DFG Research Grants (Sachbeihilfe) and the AEI PCI (Proyectos de Colaboración Internacional) guidelines. The DFG will finance the German research partners, while the AEI supports the Spanish partners.
The DFG acts as the lead agency in this call. As a first step, proposals must be submitted to DFG by the German Principal Investigator. The Spanish partners are required to submit a copy of the proposal to the AEI within seven days after submission of the proposal to the DFG.
The deadline for the submission of proposals to DFG is 25 October 2023.
(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)