Call for Mobility Plus Project Proposals 

Identification information

Legal framework

The call is based on the Agreement on Scientific Cooperation of the year 2018 between the Czech Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as “CAS”) and the University of Memphis (hereinafter referred to as “UofM”), and in accordance with art. 2 par. 2 of the Act No. 283/1992 Coll., on the Czech Academy of Sciences, as amended, and art. 3 par. 2 of the Statutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Basic definition 

Objectives

• Improvement of scientific cooperation between both Parties;
• Stimulation of involvement of early career researchers and PhD students;
• Supporting research teams aspiring to cooperate on large international projects in the future;
• Enabling the use of methodology, infrastructure and equipment for the mutual benefit of both institutions.

Eligibility criteria

Project proposals from all research fields are accepted. 

Maximum project duration is 3 years, i.e. 36 months; extension beyond this period is not permitted.

Project proposals can be submitted:

• On the Czech side by the CAS Institute;
• On the US side by researchers approved by the UofM. 

In case applicant submits more than one project proposal within one call, only one of them can be funded.

Only two subsequent projects realized by the same research teams can be funded.

Applicant submitting a project proposal following a running project with the same team shall justify the need for a continuing project and describe outcomes of the running project. This shall be stated in the Project Proposal form in the part “Description of the project”. 

Research team

Each research team consists of:

• One principal investigator (senior or junior researcher);
• One or more co-investigators.

Research team members are divided into four categories:

• Senior researchers (8 or more years after receiving PhD at the time of submission of the project proposal);
• Junior researchers – postdocs (less than 8 years after receiving PhD at the time of submission of the project proposal);
• PhD students;
• Others (e.g. undergraduate students, engineers, technicians).

On the Czech side:

• All members shall be employees of the CAS Institutes.
• Out of the whole team, at least 1/3 shall be junior researchers or PhD students.

On the Partner side: 

• See the US call for proposals

Financial provisions

Financial contributions shall be calculated and provided in compliance with the valid national legislation and internal regulations of the partner organisations.

Up to three (3) 3-year mobility projects shall be selected for funding.

On the Czech side:

• Financial contribution shall be provided by the CAS towards the costs of the Czech research team.
• The maximum financial contribution shall be CZK 300,000 per mobility project per year.
• Eligible costs:
  • Mobility costs (travel and living expenses);
  • Research costs directly related to the project implementation (consumables, services, small equipment, and networking – workshops, conferences etc.).
• Min. 50 % of the requested financial contribution shall be used to cover mobility costs and shall be maintained on the project level as well as yearly.
• Non-eligible costs: personnel, large equipment (exceeding CZK 80,000), overheads.
• The course of project implementation will be monitored through annual and final reports including use of financial means, justification of costs and possible transfers between categories.

On the Partner side (for information only):

• The maximum financial contribution for UofM researcher teams is $12,500 USD per joint mobility project per year.
• Eligible costs are: 1) Mobility costs (maximum 50% per year): travel, living expenses; 2) Research costs (minimum 40% per year): consumables, services, small equipment, software, international communication & data exchange (e.g. phone, cloud storage,virtual meeting, and postage, etc.).
• Non-eligible costs are: personnel, capital equipment (exceeding $5,000 USD), overheads or indirect costs.
• Projects will be monitored through annual and final reports submitted to the Office of Research Development. Any requests for budget transfers between categories or changes in personnel must be approved in advance by the Office of Research Development. 

Project proposal submission

Project proposals shall be submitted in parallel to both partner organisations.

On the Czech side:

• Project proposals in Czech or English shall be complete and submitted within the stated deadline exclusively via the “KIS” online application.
• The applicant is requested to register in the KIS online application using the following link https://kis.avcr.cz/kis2/oms/register and fill in a project proposal. After finishing the proposal, the applicant shall forward it through his KIS account to the Director of the respective CAS Institute for approval. The Director shall approve the proposal by submitting the project proposal to OMS KAV ČR (Division of International Cooperation, Head Office of the CAS) via his KIS account. Bear in mind that all project proposals shall be submitted by the CAS Institute Directors by 12 June 2023.
• Proposals submitted in any other way may be rejected on formal grounds.

By submitting project proposal, the applicant:

• Agrees to processing of personal data contained in the project proposal pursuant to the relevant Czech legislation;
• Declares that the information he/she stated is accurate, true and complete and that he/she is aware that if otherwise they will face all the legal consequences;
• Declares that, if approved, he/she will during the realization of the project follow:
• The Code of Ethics for Researchers of the Czech Academy of Sciences;
• The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity;

On the Partner side (for information only):

• Project proposals must be submitted to the UofM, Office of Research Development via e-mail: Researchdev@memphis.edu by the stated deadline. The proposal application form, a University of Memphis budget spreadsheet and budget justification that details sources of required matching funds must be submitted for consideration. These forms and additional explanations will be available at: Internal Funding Development - Division of Research and Innovation - The University of Memphis

Evaluation and Selection

Consists of two-step process:

• At the national level, each partner organisation evaluates submitted proposals based on its internal rules and prepares a ranking list.
• At the international level, both partner organisations exchange their ranking lists, merge them, negotiate the final ranking and approve the proposals selected for funding. Total number of projects approved for funding is dependent on the financial possibilities of both partner organisations.

Criteria for evaluation of project proposals

• Scientific and formal quality:
  • Quality of project implementation (concept, approach, methodology, time schedule, outcomes);
  • State-of-the-art;
  • Innovation potential and perspective to broaden knowledge;
  • Expected mutual benefits for both research institutes;
  • Potential of project results and its possible outreach.
• Quality of research teams.
  • Justification of collaboration needs;
  • Competence and qualification of research team members;
  • Level of involvement of junior researchers and PhD students;
  • Research teams’ complementarity;
  • Previous cooperation.
• Appropriate project budget.

Evaluation of the final report

The project results and outputs will be evaluated. For definition of results see  the Methodology for Evaluating Research Organisations and R&D&I Purpose-tied Aid Programmes (2017+)

Schedule

Please be aware that the date of the call and of the deadline for project submission might differ on the US side! Principal investigators, therefore, should be sure that their counterpart submits a matching application by the relevant deadline.

Contact persons