CLUE+ Grant Writing Call 2023

Practical Information

• Funding amount

  This CLUE+ grant, of max. € 7.500,-, will allow you to fund replacement of education tasks, in order to prepare for an application in a larger call. The calls to participate in can be either programmatic (e.g. Horizon Europe, NWA, NWO Large) or individual ones (e.g. NWO Open Competition, NWO Innovation scheme, ERC). Max. two proposals will be granted.

• Assessment criteria CLUE+ calls

  For the CLUE+ calls the following criteria will be used for the assessment of the applications.

  Cooperation researchers

  Involvement of researchers from at least two CLUE+ affiliated research clusters or departments and of at least one CLUE+ member.

  Interdisciplinarity

  Applications must refer to activities (e.g. research, valorisation) with an interdisciplinary character.

  Links to CLUE+ programmes and VU profile theme Connected World

  Applications must be related to one of the CLUE+ research programmes and/or the VU profile theme Connected World. For more information regarding the CLUE+ programmes please visit our website (link naar webpagina programma’s).

  For more information about the VU profile theme Connected World please visit the website.

  Assessment criteria

  Applications will be assessed on the basis of the following three criteria: quality, innovative nature, and scientific impact.

  Diversity

  Society, and with it our university community, is home to a wide variety of genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, cultures, ways of thinking and religions. CLUE+ is committed to diversity when organizing events and activities. For more information about diversity at VU, please visit: https://www.vu.nl/en/about-vu- amsterdam/mission-and-profile/diversity/ index.aspx

  Sustainability

  CLUE+ wants to contribute to a sustainable world. If an application involves international travel, we therefore ask applicants to reflect on the following questions:

  (1) Is international travel necessary or are there online alternatives?

  (2) How can the negative environmental impact of travel be minimised?

  CLUE+ will only approve travel expenses under the following conditions:

  • Travel is for the purpose of an international meeting lasting more than three hours.
  • Public transportation is used if the travel time by public transportation is six hours or less, or if the travel time by public transportation is shorter than or equal to the travel time by plane.
  • A motivation is given for why physical presence at an event is required and/or whether the researcher for whom funds are requested will combine the trip with other work activities.
  • If travel time to an event or activity by public transportation does not exceed eight hours, public transportation should be used.
  • If travel time to an event or activity by public transportation is no more than two hours longer than travel time by plane, public transportation should be used.

• Application guidelines

  Applications must contain the following documents:

  • Cover letter (max. 1 page A4).
  • Abstract for publication on the CLUE+ website (max 100 words, including names of researchers and one image, free of rights and is at least 1200 pixels width);
  • A draft proposal of max. 3 pages. The draft proposal should contain:
    • The name and deadline of the call you want to participate in.
    • Central aims and objectives of the project
    • Challenge (scientific/societal)
    • Strategy/methodology
    • Innovativeness
    • Impact (scientific/societal)
    • Identification of call(s)
    • Required expertise/composition research group
  • Letter of consent from the Head of Department in case of replacement funding. (When you apply for replacement funding during the time that you are preparing your grant application, a letter of consent is required from your Department Head regarding the time you want to be replaced.)
  • A budget overview. The budget overview must be submitted in an excel sheet and the following information has to be mentioned.
    • All costs made for the project;
    • All income made by the project (like conference fees etc.);
    • The total requested amount;
    • Matching (in kind) is mandatory.
    • If your budget contains wages paid for employment (for someone else), the amount requested must include the salary on super gross level (super bruto niveau) and the KDM costs for the specific person. Please contact the financial controller and/or the HR advisor of your own faculty/department for these costs. The employment and the cost allocation must be done by the Department Head or the involved Chair.
    • All costs have to be made within the year the application has been granted.
  • The financial administration of the funding is the responsibility of the applicant(s). Therefore a WBS element on which the funding can be booked is mandatory when applying for funding. If you have no WBS element you can contact your Business controller of your faculty, the head of your department or the chair where you belong to make arrangements to use an existing WBS element. Without a WBS element or a remark that the WBS element will be arranged the application can’t be reviewed.
  • At least one member of CLUE+ and at least two CLUE+ research programmes, faculties or departments have to engage in the application. Successful applications also require an explicit relationship to the VU profile theme “Connected World”.

  All applications should be addressed to the CLUE+ policy officer, Rita van der Schriek-Hermans and sent to clue@vu.nl. The required document must be sent in one pdf. As soon as all documents have been received, the applicant will be sent an acknowledgement of receipt.

• Employment student assistants/research assistants/replacement

  When you apply for funding for the employment of a student/research assistant or the replacement of your educational task please keep the following in mind:

  1. The employment and the cost allocation must be done by the Department Head or the involved Chair;
  2. The salary has to be on super gross level (super bruto niveau) and includes the KDM costs for the specific person. For more information regarding these costs please contact the financial controller and/or HR advisor of your own faculty/ department.
  3. When you apply for funding for replacement for your educational tasks during the time that you are preparing your grant application, a letter of consent is required from your Department Head regarding the time/fte you want to be replaced.
  4. Please contact the financial controller and/or HR advisor on time, so you have the costs mentioned at bullet 2. in time.

• Final (financial) report

  The applicant is required to send a final report and overview of the costs incurred within six weeks after the project has ended.

  Guidelines final report:

  The final report is in English and consists of min. two A4 pages. In the report you give a short description of what you have done with the grant you received from the institute. The final report can be sent to the CLUE+ policy officer, Rita van der Schriek-Hermans via e-mail: clue@vu.nl.

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