Should I submit an outline application?
No. There is no outline stage for this competition.

What topics/subject areas are covered by the Programme?
The Programme is open to applications on any topics within the social sciences that demonstrate an international framework for research collaboration. Projects need not be European in their topic focus.

Who is eligible to apply?
Normal national funding agency eligibility rules apply. Applicants should check their national requirements. Only one Individual Project per EUROCORES Funding Organisation may be included in any Collaborative Research Project. Where national rules allow multiple applicants, one applicant must be identified as the Principal Investigator. The others should be listed as Project Members; they may come from different institutions if national rules permit.

What should be the duration of the project?
This will depend on national funding arrangements, but Project Leaders should aim to ensure that the Individual Projects in the collaboration have common start and completion dates, except if the nature of the individual contributions to the Collaborative Research Project justifies different dates.
The duration of a project is three to five years depending on national systems.

What happens if my application exceeds the given word limit?
You should respect the word limits carefully, since we cannot accept applications that exceed them.

How many Individual projects (IP) should we have?
The collaboration must have at least three Individual Projects in different signatory countries. The maximum number of Individual Projects is not specified, but it should be justified on grounds of scientific coherence and the feasibility of managing the collaboration.

What happens if one of the Individual Projects is not funded?
The collaboration must be funded in at least three signatory countries. However, if the scientific coherence of the collaboration is likely to be affected by the rejection of one or more of the Individual Projects contributing to the larger collaboration, the Collaborative Research Project may no longer be viable. If the Project Leader’s Individual Research Project is not approved for national funding, whereas the Collaborative Research Project does qualify, the participants should agree among themselves who will lead the collaboration and inform the ESF accordingly.

What happens if Individual Projects are highly rated, but the collaboration does not reach the threshold of at least three positive funding decisions?
In some cases where the collaboration does not reach the threshold for the ECRP Programme, funding organisations may be prepared to consider highly rated Individual Projects for resubmission under national award schemes. Applicants should check the situation with their national funding bodies.

Who can be Associate Partner?
A scientist who is leading an Associate Project within a Collaborative Research Project (minimum of three signatory countries) is called an “Associate Partner”. Associate Partners can be based in any country worldwide and must be self-financing.
An Associate Partner cannot act as a Project Leader but is eligible for support from the EUROCORES networking funds.

Are central funds available to cover the cost of the collaboration?
No central funds are available to cover the cost of the collaboration. All relevant costs should be factored into the budgets of Individual Projects (for example under travel and subsistence for meetings), in line with national funding rules.

How much can applicants apply for?
No upper or lower limits have been set for Collaborative Research Projects as a whole, but the amounts requested by Individual Projects must fall within national limits for project funding. The cost of the project should represent value for money and be proportionate to the nature of the project proposed.

How will projects be reviewed?
The peer review process will be operated at the European level and will be overseen by a Management Committee composed of representatives of national councils or funding organisations that are signatories to the programme. Each Collaborative Research Project will be reviewed by four international scientific experts in the relevant fields of research. The ESF Secretariat will pass on the reviewers’ reports to national funding organisations, which will make decisions about the Individual Projects that they are prepared to support.

What are the review criteria?
Reviewers are asked to use the following criteria when commenting on proposals: originality (potential contribution to knowledge), research design and methods, competence and expertise of applicants, added value from the collaboration, value for money and planned outputs. The overall objective is to fund scientifically excellent research.

When will we know the outcome of proposals?
Each funding organisation will reach its decision by February 2008, and applicants can expect to know the outcome and receive feedback by the end of that month.

What are the reporting requirements?
Award holders will be required to submit an annual progress report to the ESF Programme Co-ordinator. In addition to national Final Reports, a common report on the CRP by the Project Leader will be required 6 months after the end of the Collaborative Research Project and will be peer reviewed.

Does the limit of 1500 words of Individual Projects include the annexes?
No, the annexes are additional documents with their own limits. An annex with references should not exceed 1 side of A4. An annex with technical details, if appropriate, should not exceed 2 sides of A4.

Which costs of a CRP are covered by the EUROCORES support contract?
Once the Collaborative Research Projects (CRPs) of an ECRP programme have been funded, a programme can implement networking activities across the funded CRPs through science meetings such as workshops, conferences etc.
The costs for these networking activities may be covered by the budget of the EUROCORES Support Contract. EUROCORES networking funds only cover activities involving more than one CRP.
Networking within a CRP has to be covered out of the national budget. Networking funds also do not cover research or exchange visits by individual scientists.