Fill out a proposal

Go to “My proposals and roles” in the top menu and click on the incomplete proposal. The proposal is organized in seven chapters (as tabs):

• Basic Information
• VRG Leader & Proponent
• Host and Partner Institution(s)
• Work Programme
• Integration of the Proposed Group Leader
• Budget
• Uploads

Basic Information

To be filled out by the potential VRG Leader. When entering the scientific disciplines, fields will be suggested as you type.

You have to suggest five reviewers and can optionally exclude up to three reviewers (not entire insti-tutions / departments; please take care that these persons do not have a conflict of interest with the potential VRG Leader / the proponent; for more details, please refer to the Call Specifications. The information provided is only visible to WWTF and jury members. Do not include persons at Austrian institutions as the proposals will be reviewed internationally only.

VRG Leader & Proponent

To be filled out by the potential VRG Leader. This chapter contains the data of the main applicants of the proposal (i.e. potential VRG Leader and proponent). The VRG Leader and the proponent can input and edit information. Please note that only the VRG leader can submit the proposal.

First of all the potential VRG Leader has to invite him*herself to the proposal by clicking “I am the VRG leader” or entering and authorizing the details. Also go to the section "My Proposals and Roles", click under the section “My roles” on “Vienna Research Group Leader” and complete the section as well as refresh it from the profile. Your role is now approved and complete.

Then return to the proposal where the prospective VRG Leader should describe his/her career steps so far as well as highlights of recent work. Information in which groups the VRG Leader has been working up until now should be added. Please note that WWTF takes unconventional research careers into consideration, therefore non-scientific landmarks in the career might be added as well. The (scientific) leadership potential (based on previous experience in and outside the academic context;  vision how you want to lead and manage the prospective group in Vienna) as well as the motivation for applying to this position must also be given.

Furthermore, you must add and invite the proponent to the project. The proponent is the scientist at the Vienna host institution responsible for the coordination of the proposal and will support the ap-plicant at every stage of the application. He*she is also responsible for the integration of the applicant in case of funding.

Make sure that you provide this information early on. Once the VRG Leader and the proponent are added, the future host institution in Vienna will automatically be added to the “Budget” chapter!

Host and Partner Institution(s)

To be filled out by the future Viennese host institution and the VRG Leader. The future host institution (specific department/group) should be outlined. It should be more than a general description. The motivation of the host institution to bring the proposed VRG Leader to Vienna must be added.

You can add further partner institutions. Note that these institutions must be different to those of the proponent and his/her host institution (their institutions are added automatically in the system) and are substantial in the project (receiving or giving (monetary) contributions/funds). By entering an additional institution here, you have the option to allocate budget to this institution in the “Budget” chapter. This is particularly relevant in case of a cooperation with a researcher at this institution.

Optional: Insert information about the wider research network here and describe additional institu-tions with which the VRG Leader intends to collaborate.

Work Programme

To be filled out by the potential VRG Leader:

• Please provide a concise scientific abstract. This will be used to ask reviewers if they regard the proposal as within their scope of expertise.
• The work programme must be uploaded as a single PDF file with a maximum of eight pages (including references). It includes 1) the state of the art in the proposed field and scientific challenges in the next years as well as 2) the research plan. Give a concise review of the sub-ject of research, of the state of the art in the proposed scientific field and the scientific chal-lenges the potential VRG Leader wants to address. Formulate the concrete research ques-tion(s) you would like to address and specify the objectives to be achieved and the theoreti-cal and methodological approaches. Try to outline your work programme as concretely as possible and give the jury a clear picture that you know which work packages to start with. A clear vision and outline of future research are expected. The file may include figures, charts, etc. Please use the template provided. Also make clear how your research fits the call topic (as stated in the Call Specifications).
• Please also upload a GANTT chart outlining your project (1 page).
• Ethical considerations: Please argue why / why not your proposed project contains poten-tial ethical aspects. Please follow the research ethics guidelines of your host institution. If the planned project requires ethical approval, it is the obligation of the potential VRG Leader to acquire it as soon as it is needed. Please describe in the online submission shortly the neces-sity of an ethical approval, the process of acquiring it and possible challenges.
• Open science statement: Please explain your intentions about providing access to publica-tions and to shareable research data (e.g. sharing, accessibility, metadata, sustainability, ownership). For more information refer to the Open Science Policy.
• Disclosure of other applications for funding: Applicants agree to provide full information in all related matters. The project cannot be subject to double funding. If you mark the check box “yes”, please also insert more information in the textbox. WWTF reserve its rights to check for double funding with other funding organizations.
• Relevant references: List the key publications representing the state of the art in the respec-tive research area. Please be aware of the maximum of 20 references. Mark the 10 most relevant references by clicking on the check box “Most relevant”. Please note that this is not your personal publication list (your personal publication list should be included in the CV).
  • The system can import publication data from external databases, e.g., by DOIs. For PubMed: use the number of pubmed.gov. For arXiv, use only the numbers without “arXiv:”
  • Use a uniform reference style. If you import references through the database lookup, please use the style of the imported reference for the references entered manually.

Integration of the Proposed Group Leader

To be filled out mainly by the future Viennese host institution: 

Please describe the selection process for the proposed VRG Leader (search process, princi-ples of selection and criteria applied). If there was a search committee, briefly describe its role, the persons involved, and the search criteria applied. Please include gender main-streaming / affirmative actions here.

Female scientists in Austria are clearly underrepresented in leading positions which is, among other reasons, due to gender biases in selection procedures. It is a goal of WWTF and of the Austrian scientific community to overcome these biases. What measures were applied to attract women as potential group leaders? Please describe your institution’s policy to avoid gender biases.

As stated in the Call Specifications, active recruitment procedures with the aim of finding potential VRG Leaders of the Viennese university/research institution are mandatory. Please indicate via the check box if this has been done. Please indicate in what journal(s) the ad has been published, and which further channels have been used. Upload one job announcement (as PDF) as an example. The uploaded file is for WWTF office only.

Describe the contractual relationship with the potential VRG Leader and her/ his status within the host institution during the whole funding period. It is important that the prospective host institution in Vienna provides a clear-cut career plan for the candidate. As stated in the Call Specifications, please explain in detail the steps leading to a tenured position (for example the process of receiving a “Qualifizierungsvereinbarung” including time frames). These details will be the foundation of contractual negotiations in the case of funding.

The host institution is obligated to conduct an interim evaluation of the potential VRG Lead-er. This evaluation should take place in the middle of the Vienna Research Group funding pe-riod, but not later than at the beginning of the fifth year. An international element in the evaluation is necessary (e.g., the involvement of a reviewer from abroad). The publication record and the research profile must be subject of the interim evaluation. Further aspects might be included by the host institution. Please describe here your concrete schedule and the planned evaluation process. Please note that the interim evaluation should be orga-nizedorganized together with WWTF as specified in the Call Specifications.

WWTF is convinced that long-term perspectives for researchers are a prerequisite to hire ex-cellentexcellent researchers. What is the long-term career perspective of the potential VRG Leader (e.g., path to full professor) after the funding period? Please describe the host institution’s structures and policies for achieving this. What is the host institution’s strategy for a long-term perspective/tenure track? What is the prospective development of the group after the funding period?

What measures are taken for the integration of the potential VRG Leader into the insti-tute/department of the host institution and between other partners like universi-ties/universities/facilities/departments/institutes? What support will the potential VRG Leader receive up-on arrival (administration, housing, onboarding, …)? How will the access to administrative resources be organized?

Budget

To be filled out mainly by the potential VRG Leader. For details about eligible costs, indirect costs and in-kind contributions, please refer to the Call Specifications. All institutions added in the chap-ter “VRG Leader & Proponent” will be listed automatically in the budget table. All figures are in €.

Planning of personnel costs

The VRG Leader will be inserted automatically.

Before you can start the calculations about personnel, you must add a row for every person by clicking “Additional persons”.

Please click the funding source (WWTF, in-kind, WWTF & in-kind) and then add the average yearly time commitment for each project year. The column with the years (“Y1, Y2, …”) will be automatically updated as soon as you have entered the project duration in “Basic Infor-mation”. Finally, for those persons where WWTF funding is requested, fill in the salary corre-sponding to a 100% employment in the first project year. This is the “Brutto-brutto-Jahresgehalt”, i.e., gross yearly salary including all expenses for the host institution as well. Please be aware of the Austrian labour cost system. For the potential VRG-candidate: please inform yourself what your actual salary will be beforehand! The total funding applied for each person will then automatically be calculated including a 6% annual salary increase. At the bottom right you will see the total personnel costs applied for from WWTF.

Note: Please be aware that the wage for “Studentische Mitarbeiter*in” (i.e. Diploma student etc.) is calculated by FWF with 20 hours and a “Doktorand*in” (i.e. PhD student) with 30 hours per week.

If you want to include a pay raise of the potential VRG Leader, you have to add another row to depict the pay raise.

Planning of non-personnel costs

Please provide a concise description of costs per cost category/institution as well as the funding ap-plied for. Click “add another row” to include another cost factor. Please be as specific as possible (e.g., list devices etc.)! You can use the same categories multiple times! More information about cost categories can be found in the Call Specifications.  The sums will be automatically calculated and provided in the table “Cost overview” and “Budget per region”. At least 80% of the requested funding must be allocated to the region “Vienna”. Up to 20% may be allocated to other partner(s). Please also note that in general about 70-80% of the WWTF funding needs to be spent in the first phase of the VRG project (years 1-5).

Furthermore, please fill in the text boxes:

Please shortly describe the envisioned group. How will the group be set up? Which posi-tions/qualifications are needed and when to conduct the research?

Briefly describe the equipment and consumables needed to successfully perform the group’s research. Describe the availability and accessibility of the infrastructure and equipment. What will be funded by WWTF, what will be provided by the host institution?

Please indicate by clicking the check box that you are aware of the host institution’s overhead policy (max. 20%).

Please describe the monetary and in-kind contributions in detail. Please be aware that the monetary and in-kind contributions are the contributions from the host institution only and must exceed the minimum requirements stated in the Call Specifications.