2015 Joint Call for proposals between
Department of Science and Technology, India (DST) and
Austrian Science Fund, Austria (FWF)
Based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Scientific and Technological
Cooperation between the Department of Science & Technology, (DST) Government of the
Republic of India and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) signed in October 2011, both sides
invite Indian and Austrian scientists / researchers to submit proposals for Joint Research
Projects in the area of non-profit oriented scientific research under the DST-FWF
cooperation.
1. Eligible scientific fields:
All scientific disciplines of Natural Sciences with exception of the Life and Health Sciences:
 Technical Sciences
 Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics
 Computer Sciences
 Theoretical Physics, Astrophysics, Experimental Physics
 Organic and Inorganic Chemistry
 Earth Sciences (including climate research)
2. Timeline:
15. December 2014
31 March 2015
April – October 2015
November – December
2015
from January 2016
onwards
Call opening, call documents available on DST and FWF website
Closing date for applications
Eligibility Check, peer review/evaluation done separately by DST
and FWF
Joint Funding Decision
Release of funding, Start of Joint Projects
FWF – DST 2015 Call for Joint Projects
3. General remarks:
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Support for the national research grant of the joint research project would be in
accordance with the national regulations and the guidelines of DST/FWF.
Proposals seeking support only for mobility of scientists/ training programmes will not be
considered.
The proposals will be evaluated independently on both sides by a peer review system on
the basis of scientific quality, merit of the scientific cooperation and on the
composition/complementarity of the project teams.
DST and FWF do not earmark funds for international cooperation with any country. All
proposals will be processed competitively within the funding mechanisms of the
DST/FWF.
The evaluation of the proposals received to this call for proposals shall be administered
according to the standard procedure of each side, while the final funding decision shall
be made jointly by DST and FWF given the availability of funds and the result of the
evaluation on each side. Only if both FWF and DST approve the respective proposals, the
Joint Project may be funded.
No matchmaking and partnering services are offered by DST/FWF
4. Eligibility criteria:
India:
The researchers/ scientists/ faculty from recognized universities, deemed universities, public
funded research institutes/laboratories are eligible to submit the collaborative proposals to
the joint call for proposals. The composition of the project team should not exceed three.
The participation/ involvement of Ph.d students is highly encouraged.
Austria:
Eligibility criteria strictly follow the general FWF Funding Guidelines published at
http://www.fwf.ac.at/fileadmin/files/Dokumente/Antragstellung/Einzelprojekte/p_applicati
on-guidelines.pdf.
Any aspects of a research project that go beyond basic research (results of relevance to
society, to the environment or to the economy) may be mentioned, although they play no
part in the assessment of whether the project should be funded. Any scientist or researcher
working in Austria who possesses the qualifications, available capacity, and the
infrastructure necessary to carry out the project submitted is eligible.
The applicant's qualifications to carry out the work should be demonstrated by publications
in internationally recognised journals (the number of which should correspond to the stage
the applicant has reached in his/her career). Given the international review process, the FWF
normally expects international and/or peer-reviewed publications that are recognised
outside of German speaking countries and regions. Any exceptions must be justified. No
particular academic title is needed, nor is Austrian citizenship required. However, projects
must be carried out in Austria or have to be based at an Austrian research institution.
Applications for projects may only be submitted by individual natural persons. Applications
from institutes, institutions or companies are not permitted.
FWF – DST 2015 Call for Joint Projects
“Independent researchers” (Selbstantragsteller) are also allowed to apply. “Independent
researcher” means a project leader whose salary is to be paid from the funding provided for
the project. The prerequisite for such an arrangement is that either the researcher's main
residence must have been in Austria for at least three of the past ten years at the time when
the application is submitted, or the applicant must have been working continuously as a
researcher in Austria for at least two consecutive years preceding the submission of the
application.
5. Administrative and proposal information:
Only joint proposals for duration up to three years from applicants based in India and Austria
are eligible. The projects sanctioned for 3 years shall not be considered for any kind of
extension (with or without additional funds).
A joint application is to be submitted simultaneously to DST and to FWF and consists of a
joint application form, the separate formal documents and enclosures as required by DST
and FWF, and a joint project description.
The joint project description (not more than 20 pages) should contain a working plan,
distinguishing the tasks of the involved Indian and Austrian research groups and how the
cooperation will be organised. It is expected that the national parts of the project are closely
integrated so that one part could not be carried out without the other, with relevant
scientific input from both sides. For the requested budget, separate information for the
Indian and Austrian sides is necessary. Both budgets should be shown in a diagram in order
to get an overview at a glance. The applicants should also describe the added value of the
cooperation, i.e. the special benefit resulting from the cooperation of Austrian and Indian
groups. Furthermore the costs need to be carefully justified and derived from the working
programme. The application should include a short presentation of the project partners,
explaining his/her special contribution to the project and his/her competencies.
Additionally to the (max. 20 page) joint project description, a scientific CV (no more than
three pages per person) and a list of scientific publications in the last 5 years (most notably
project relevant) and a separate list of the 10 most important scientific publications in the
PI’s entire career to date must be included.
Identical versions of the proposals should be sent to both DST and FWF according to the
national requirements (see part 7 submission of proposals).
At DST, the requirements for the call and the application forms which should be used can be
downloaded here: www.dst.gov.in under “What is New” section of the home page.
At FWF, the requirements for the call and the application forms which should be used can be
downloaded here: http://www.fwf.ac.at/de/forschungsfoerderung/fwfprogramme/internationale-programme/joint-projects/
Applicants at FWF should also consult the “information sheet for bilateral programs - Joint
Projects” for further details and instruction:
http://www.fwf.ac.at/fileadmin/files/Dokumente/Antragstellung/Internationale_Programm
e/i_infosheet_jp.pdf
FWF – DST 2015 Call for Joint Projects
6. Financial information:
The maximum project duration is 3 years. The eligible funding is defined by the relevant
national regulations for individual research projects of the respective PIs. The financial
support can include personnel costs for project co-workers (PhD students, Post Docs etc.),
minor equipment/ accessories, material costs, and mobility / travel costs, etc. The travel
costs for mobility of the researchers under the approved project, shall be financed according
to the principle that the sending side bears the international travel related expenses (i.e.
international air-fare from place of work in home country to the place of work in host
country, visa fee, overseas medical insurance etc.) while the receiving side will provide the
local hospitality as per the existing norms of the receiving side. All other project / research
costs to be incurred by respective sides in the respective territory shall be borne by
respective sides.
The local hospitality norms pertaining to exchange visits are as below:
a) Indian scientists visiting Austria
The Indian project participants shall be paid EUR 26.40 per day as per-diem allowance plus a
well-furnished guest house/ hotel accommodation.
b) Austrian scientists visiting India
The Austrian project participants shall be paid Rs /- 2500/- per day as per-diem allowance
plus a well-furnished institutional guest house/ hotel accommodation subject to max of Rs.
4000/- per day if the accommodation is not available at the host Institute.
The two parts of the joint project are financed separately by the respective national funding
agency. The respective costs thus have to be applied to DST and FWF according to their
individual administrative requirements.
Specific funding rules for funding, India
For applicants at DST the financial support is available basically for mobility of scientists/
researchers. Normally 2 visits (up-to 30 and 60 days each) per year from each side for a total
duration of 3 years would be allowed. One visit is defined as one visit by a scientist/expert to
partner country. Only one visit per year will be permitted for each participating scientist.
Only one research proposal from one researcher shall be considered at a time.
Additional incremental funding on account of scientific manpower (one JRF/SRF/RA etc.);
chemicals/consumables (max up to Rs. 5.0 Lac1 per year); minor equipment/ accessories
(max of Rs. 5.0 lac) etc. is also available under the scheme from Indian side. However,
support for capital equipment is NOT available under the scheme.
It is expected that up to 5 projects shall be supported against this call.
Specific funding rules for funding, Austria
The FWF does not specify a limit or maximum amount of funding per project. Typical (sub)
projects amount to approximately 0.3 Mio. € with a maximum project duration of 3 years.
Exaggerated costs may represent a reason for rejecting an application, even one that is
1
Lac: 100.000 Rs
FWF – DST 2015 Call for Joint Projects
scientifically excellent. For scientists funded by the FWF, the funding is limited to “projectspecific costs“, i.e. personnel, consumables, animals, subcontracts, equipment, travel,
documentation that are essential to carry out the project and that go beyond the resources
made available from the research institution’s so called “infrastructure”. The FWF does not
finance infrastructure or basic equipment at research institutions.
7. Submission:
Generally the applications have to be submitted in the prescribed format and in accordance
to the rules of the respective national funding agency. The project proposals completed in
all respect must be received by both sides latest by the 31 March 2015 (postmark).
Specific submission rules, DST
Proposals submitted unilaterally shall not be considered. Advance copies, incomplete
applications and loose proposals shall not be accepted.
The Indian project partner may submit the original copy of the application to:
Mr. R K Sharma, Director (Scientist-E)
International Bilateral Cooperation Division
(Room No 18 D, Adm. Block)
Department of Science and Technology
Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road
New-Delhi-110 016 (E-mail: [email protected])
along with a soft copy of the application as email attachment in ms-word or pdf-format only.
Kindly send the soft copy only in a single soft file. Please do not send scanned copies of the
application as signature are not required on the softcopy of the application.
Specific submission rules, FWF
The Austrian partner may submit the application which must strictly follow the general rules
as outlined on page 2 of the guidelines for Stand Alone Projects, “how should applications be
submitted” see
http://www.fwf.ac.at/fileadmin/files/Dokumente/Antragstellung/Einzelprojekte/p_antragsri
chtlinien.pdf
to:
FWF
Sensengasse 1
1090 Wien / Vienna
Austria
All documents must be submitted to FWF as hard-copy as well as on an electronic medium.
FWF – DST 2015 Call for Joint Projects
8. Evaluation:
The evaluation will be carried out separately by DST and FWF.
FWF
More information on general principles of decision making procedure at FWF can be
downloaded here:
http://www.fwf.ac.at/en/research-funding/decision-making-procedure/decision-makingprocedure/
DST
The technical evaluation at Indian side shall be carried out by DST through peer comments
followed by technical grading by Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) based on the
following criteria1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Scientific merit and novelty of the proposal,
Complementarity of the partners from both sides;
Justification for foreign collaboration;
Expected outcomes/ deliverables from the project
Competence and track record of the project team
From Administrative angle, the project is also liable for rejection if the Indian applicant has
already on-going (max of 2 ) collaborative projects with any country under schemes of
International Division of DST and/or have NOT completed the project completion formalities
wrt the projects earlier sanctioned to the applicant.
9. Decision:
The final decision shall be taken jointly by DST and FWF. Only if both funding organisations
approve to fund a joint project, the project can be financed.
10.Contact Persons:
DST
FWF
Mr. Raj Kumar Sharma
Director (Scientist-E)
IBC Division
Department of Science & Technology
Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road
NEW DELHI-110016
Tel: 011-26567373, 26962819 Extn 244
or 26590244 (direct dialing)
Fax :- 011-26862418
[email protected]
www.dst.gov.in
Ms. Beatrice Lawal
FWF
Development and ‘Strategy – International
Programs
Sensengasse 1
1090 Wien / Vienna
Austria
Tel: +43 (0)1 / 505 67 40 – 8703
Fax: +43 (0)1 / 505 67 39
[email protected]
www.fwf.ac.at
FWF – DST 2015 Call for Joint Projects