HERA Joint Research Programme “CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS”

1. HERA Joint Research Programme “CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS” I. General Facts Julia Boman, Science Officer, Humanities and Social Sciences Unit, European Science Foundation

2. Pooling national and European funding: research funding organisations in 18 countries and the European Commission • 18,5M € available for Humanities-led research in “Cultural Encounters” • Supporting excellent collaborative research across borders and beyond the state-of-the-art • Supporting knowledge exchange with non-academic audiences • 1 Handling Agency for the centrally managed selection process: European Science Foundation

3. HERA JRP Board Applicants, Project Leaders’ Group International Review Panel Handling Agency

5. Collaborative Research Project Collaborative Research Project Individual Project Individual Project Programme Budget Handling Agency More CRPs Individual Project More IPs

6. HERA Joint Research Programme II. Proposal Preparation and application process

7. Proposals must follow the prescribed format and be submitted before the deadline of 4 May 2012, 14:00 CET/13:00 GMT • At least 3 eligible researchers (Principal Investigators) in 3 participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom • Maximum budget per project: € 1M • Maximum project duration: 36 months • All applicants and budget items must be eligible according to the National Eligibility Rules (see www.heranet.info)

8. At least three PIs from three participating countries in a project. • Each PI leads research activities at his/her institution. • One of the PIs also functions as the Project Leader (PL) of the project. • Each PI must be eligible according the rules of their national funding organisation. • There can be more than one PI from the same country in one proposal (provided they are based at different institutions). • Only one PI from the same institution in one proposal. • You may act as PI in more than one proposal.

9. PL is a senior researcher with a solid experience of managing collaborative research projects. • PL submits the proposal on behalf of the whole project team. • PL is the contact point between the Handling Agency and other Principal Investigators. • You may act as PL in one proposal only. If the funding is granted, the PL host institution will: • distribute the funds to other PI’s host institutions; • take responsibility for proper financial management of the grant; • take responsibility for all reporting duties.

10. Non-academic APs – stakeholders in the cultural, heritage or educational sector, media, or creative industries, who may provide significant added value and valuable insights to the project from the user’s perspective. • APs are encouraged to participate in an advisory and collaborative capacity to help explore the knowledge exchange potential of the proposed research. • APs must be self-funded; only their travel and subsistence costs can be covered from the project budget.

11. Your application must be written in English. • Access the online application system via the link on www.heranet.info and enter the following details: • Proposal title, acronym, keywords and abstract; • Contact details of the applicants. • Upload the filled out application template containing: • A short description of the project; • CVs of the Principal Investigators; • Estimated budget in Euros; • Letters of commitment from non academic Associated Partners, if applicable.

13. What research question(s) does the CRP seek to answer? • In what way is the project original and/or innovative? • What are the objectives of the CRP? • By what methods will the research question(s) be tackled? • How are the skills of the partners complementary? • What is the added value in tackling your research question(s) from a trans-national perspective? • How will partners work together? What management and coordination structures are proposed? • What is the significance of the research question(s)? How will these contribute to the “Cultural Encounters” theme? • What is the potential impact of the proposed research to both academic disciplines, and relevant stakeholders and user communities? • How will the CRP engage in knowledge exchange or active dissemination engaging user communities and audiences outside academia?

14. The HERA partners encourage researchers to follow the rules of good research practice as outlined in The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, such as: Fairness in providing references, Giving credit to collaborators, Honesty in communication, etc. To download the publication: http://www.esf.org/publications.html

15. HERA Joint Research Programme III. Selection Process

16. 1st stage: Outline Proposals • Outline Proposals are evaluated by the international Review Panel; • Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit Full Proposals. • 2nd stage: Full Proposals • Each Full Proposal is evaluated by at least three external expert referees; • Rebuttal by applicants: applicants are invited to submit comments on referee evaluations • The international Review Panel evaluates and ranks Full Proposals • The HERA JRP Board makes final funding decisions

17. 9 Feb 2012 Launch of the Call for Outline Proposals 4 May 2012Deadline for the submission of Outline Proposals Jun 2012 Review Panel: selection of Outline Proposals Jul 2012Invitation for the submission of Full Proposals Oct 2012Deadline for the submission of Full Proposals Oct-Nov 2012 Peer review of Full Proposals Dec 2012 Rebuttal by applicants (one week) Jan 2013Review Panel: ranking of Full Proposals Feb 2013HERA JRP Board meeting: funding decisions Feb-Jun 2013Contract negotiations Jun 2013Start of Collaborative Research Projects Jun 2016 End of Collaborative Research Projects

18. The Review Panel members are leading humanities scholars appointed by the HERA JRP Board. • 24 members in the Outline Proposals stage. • At least 12 members in the Full Proposals stage. • Conflict of Interest guidelines are applied throughout the selection process. • The names of the Review Panel members will be published after the Call for Proposals is launched. • The Review Panel members must not be contacted by applicants! All questions about the selection should be directed to the Handling Agency.

19. Potential for research excellence • Novelty and originality of research • Qualification of the applicants and coordination structures proposed • European added value of collaboration • Relevance to the theme “Cultural Encounters”, including potential impact of the proposed research beyond academia

20. Call for Proposals • National Eligibility Rules • FAQ • Glossary • Application template All documents are available online at www.heranet.info

21. Read all the guidance documentation published on the HERA website www.heranet.info. • Verify the eligibility of the applicants and budget items according to the National Eligibility Rules. • Contact the HERA office or your National Contact Point, if you have questions. • Make sure you understand the evaluation criteria. • Describe your project idea (incl. objectives, methodology, collaboration and potential impact) within the given space of 2000 words! • Arrange face-to-face meetings with your project partners when writing the proposal to ensure coherency of ideas. • Use clear and straightforward language. • Upload your proposal well ahead of the submission deadline!

22. for more information For more information: visit www.heranet.info or contact us at: hera@esf.org Julia Boman, Science Officer, Humanities and Social Sciences Unit, European Science Foundation