This call invites research performing or research funding organisations, universities, academies and learned societies as well as research-related associations, publishing houses, labs and think tanks to partner with the European Science Foundation in the creation of new ESF Research Conference Series. If you are a scientist interested in submitting a proposal for an individual research conference, refer to our Call for Research Conference Proposals.
Call for Partnerships
Please note that this Call is now closed.
ESF Research Conference Series are usually created for an initial period of 2-6 years, with 2-5 annual conferences focussing on a specific scientific area. ESF Research Conferences Series are conceived, branded and financed in partnership with high-level European research organisations and universities. The scientific area and location of each series is suggested by the partner, aiming to showcase their excellence in their particular field of expertise. Individual conference topics within each series are suggested by the scientific community, usually through an annual call for conference proposals run by the European Science Foundation.
This call invites research performing or research funding organisations, universities, academies and learned societies as well as research-related associations, publishing houses, labs and think tanks to partner with the European Science Foundation in the creation of new ESF Research Conference Series. For further information on the ESF Conference Scheme, please click here.
Q&A Session (Closed)
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Strategic Alignment:
ESF Conferences aim to contribute to the strengthening of a globally competitive European Research Area as laid-out in the ESF-EUROHORCS Science Policy Briefing ‘EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and their Road Map for Actions’
(see http://www.esf.org/publications.html).
Aims:
- Identifying emerging and strategically important topics by addressing questions raised by the scientific community
- Strengthen the link between science and society; foster exchanges with politics and the private sector
- To develop the research careers of Young and Early Stage Researchers
- Showcase regional excellence of European research, research performing organisations and universities through funding partnerships
- Connecting European research to the world
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicants must be research performing or research funding organisations, universities, academies or learned societies, as research-related associations, publishing houses, labs or think tanks (either privately or publicly funded) with legal status, situated in or collaborating with ESF Member Organisation countries (see http://www.esf.org/about-us/79-member-organisations.html). Both individual organisations and consortia of collaborating organisations can apply.
- Applicants must have proven expertise and excellence in the scientific field suggested for the conference series
- The suggested scientific focus must address gaps in the range of topics covered by existing ESF Research Conference Series.
Funding Available
- Up to 4 new series of 2-5 annual conferences will be funded for an initial period of 2 years, to be extended by a maximum of 4 additional years, pending a successful review
- The maximum ESF contribution is 40% of the total budget and EUR 20.000 per conference per year.
Further information can be found in the programme guide PDF (110KB) Last Updated 27 August 2010
How to Apply
This call is organised in two stages. First, we invite interested organisations to submit a detailed letter of intent (LOI). Secondly, selected organisations will be asked to develop the LOI into a full proposal.
1. Letter of Intent:
The objective of the Letter of Intent is to provide a detailed description of the proposed research conference series and the participating organisations. While funding contributions have to be described, no formal commitment has to be included at this point. All LOIs have to be submitted electronically by the application deadline to blipps[at]esf.org, using the LOI template, the accompanying programme guide and Annex1-Venue RFP (if necessary):
Partnership LOI template Doc (108KB). PDF (73KB) Last Updated 8 July 2010
Programme Guide PDF (110KB) Last Updated 27 August 2010
Annex1-Venue RFP PDF (141KB) Last Updated 8 July 2010
LOI Structure:
1. Part A: Organisation(s)
2. Part B: Aims and Objectives of the Conference Series
3. Part C: Implementation and Operations
4. Part D: Funding and Support
5. (Annex 1: Venue RFP)
2. Full Partnership Proposal:
If your organisation is invited to submit a Full Partnership Proposal, you will receive a detailed feedback report from the first evaluation round. You will be asked to integrate this feedback into the proposal text and elaborate on points highlighted in the feedback. In addition, documentation concerning the legal status, financial capacity and formal commitment of your organisation has to be included. Partnership proposals are to be submitted by the deadline to blipps@esf.org, containing the following documents:
- Updated Letter of Intent, taking into consideration the feedback received from ESF
- Legal Entity Form(s)
- Formal Funding and Support Commitment(s)
Templates will be provided with the invitation to submit a full proposal.
Key Dates
Summer 2010 | Eligible organisations are invited to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), using the Partnership LOI Template Doc (108KB) PDF (73KB) |
19 Sept. 2010 | Submission Deadline for the Letter of Intent (LOI) |
24 Sept. 2010 | Complete LOIs will be reviewed on eligibility and suitability by the ESF Conferences Unit. A suitability report will be issued for all eligible LOI. Full criteria and weighting see programme guide. |
27 Sept. 2010 | LOIs and suitability reports are transferred to scientific experts, appointed by the ESF Standing Committees (SC) for scientific evaluation. The experts will draft a funding recommendation to be endorsed by the SC. |
15 Nov. 2010 | On the basis of the suitability report and the funding recommendation, the ESF Chief Executive will invite selected proposers to submit a full proposal. |
01 Dec. 2010 | Deadline for the submission of full partnership proposals |
Dec – Jan 2011 | Review of full proposals, site inspections |
February 2011 | Selected proposers will be invited to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with ESF for conference series starting in 2012 and 2013. |
Further Information
- Programme Guide PDF (110KB)
- Partnership LOI template Doc (108KB) and PDF (73KB)
- Annex1-Venue RFP PDF (141KB)
- General Information about the ESF Research Conferences
- Existing Research Conference Partnerships
Contact
Benita Lipps | Acting Head of Unit, ESF Conferences
European Science Foundation | 149 avenue Louise, Box 14 | B-1050 Brussels
Tel.: +32 (0) 2533 2020 | Fax: +32 (0) 2538 8486 Email : blipps[at]esf.org
A printable PDF version of this webpage can be downloaded here. |
ESF provides the scientific, administrative and technical secretariat for COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).