International consortium projects
Would you like to conduct joint research with scientists from abroad? Research projects in international collaborations can be funded by various funding bodies. The most important funding body for researchers from Germany is the European Union.
Application and innovation-oriented international collaborative research can be funded by ministries and the EU as well as through joint calls for proposals from various funding bodies. The calls for proposals have fixed submission deadlines and are subject-specific - whereby the topics of the various funding bodies are complementary. As a rule, at least three, and often significantly more, participants are involved in the projects. The participation of international and non-academic members is usually necessary. Details can be found in the specific call texts.
Funding profile
Collaborative projects are the "classic" consortial research and innovation projects in Horizon Europe (especially in Pillar II/clusters), in which several partners work together on a topic advertised in the work program. The aim is to address pressing societal challenges (e.g. climate, health, digitalization).
Typical actions are
- RIA (Research and Innovation Action): new findings/technologies, more research-oriented.
- IA (Innovation Action): closer to demonstration/market uptake.
- CSA (Coordination and Support Action): Coordination/networks/support, generally without an R&D core.
The current calls for proposals can be found in the Funding and Tenders Portal. Collaborative projects are aimed at a wide range of stakeholders - universities, non-university research institutions, companies (incl. start-ups and SMEs), public institutions, NGOs and other organizations from Europe and associated countries, as well as some third countries.
Scope
Usually 100% of the project costs plus 25% overhead for universities.
Eligibility to apply and deadlines
As a rule, organizations with legal capacity from EU member states and associated countries are eligible to apply. The submission deadlines are specified in the work programs and are published with specific cut-off dates in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Special features
The Project Development and Management department will assist you with project preparation and the search for suitable EU tenders.
Selection procedure
Applications are submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal on the basis of the respective work programs and call texts; as a rule, one-stage or two-stage full proposals with a fixed structure are required. The selection is made in a competitive, international review process based on uniform criteria - excellence, impact, quality and efficiency of implementation - whereby only the best-rated projects are selected for funding and then contractually anchored in a grant agreement with the EU.
Funding profile
The ERC Synergy Grant is aimed at groups of two to a maximum of four Principal Investigators (PIs) who want to jointly tackle a research problem that is so ambitious that it cannot be addressed by a single person or team alone. Funding is provided for bottom-up, open-topic projects in all fields of research in which the PIs contribute complementary skills and resources and demonstrate an "outstanding intrinsic synergetic effect".
Scope of funding
Synergy Grants can comprise up to 10 million euros (plus 4 million euros for large-scale equipment or similar) for a period of up to six years.
Eligibility and deadlines
A group of two to four PIs with a competitive track record appropriate to their career stage are eligible to apply; there are no specific formal criteria for academic training. The research will be carried out at one or more public or private host institutions in an EU Member State or associated country (one PI person may come from an institution outside the EU/associated countries), and all HIs must commit in writing to provide support. Applications can only be submitted in response to a Call for Proposals; the ERC publishes calls annually and complete applications (forms, research proposal, annexes) must be submitted via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by the relevant deadline, although deadlines cannot be postponed.
Selection procedure
There is a simple submission of the full proposal, followed by a three-stage evaluation including interviews; the procedure is specifically tailored to complex synergy projects and works without pre-defined technical panels. International reviewers evaluate the applications exclusively according to the criterion of "scientific excellence" in relation to the project, the PIs and the synergy.
Special features
The Project Development and Management department will support you in preparing your project and searching for suitable EU calls. Further general information on ERC Grants can be found here.
Funding profile
The DFG format "Initiation of International Collaboration" serves to initiate new scientific collaborations with foreign partners, not to implement already established joint projects. The modules available for this purpose are project preparation workshops, trips abroad and guest stays; traditional conferences, grants in kind or scientific networks are explicitly reserved for other programs.
Scope of funding
Funding is available for trips abroad by German researchers, guest stays by foreign partners in Germany (up to three months in each case) and project preparation workshops; the modules can be combined if they are closely related in terms of time. The funding runs for a maximum of 12 months from the date of approval, within which all measures must be implemented, and can be co-financed by foreign partner organizations if necessary.
Application eligibility and deadlines
Doctoral researchers working in the German academic system are eligible to apply; for members of non-university research institutions, supplementary regulations apply in the information sheet. There are no application deadlines: applications can be submitted at any time.
Selection procedure
Proposals are submitted electronically via the DFG portal elan using the specific forms and information sheets for the program. The review process follows the regular multi-stage DFG procedure: written peer review, evaluation by review boards and subsequent funding decision by the responsible DFG bodies/main committee on a competitive basis.
Funding profile
Interreg is an EU cohesion policy funding instrument for European territorial cooperation that supports cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation projects so that national borders do not hinder the development of regions. In defined cooperation areas (e.g. border regions between Germany and neighboring countries), national, regional and local partners work together on projects in areas such as the environment, mobility, innovation, social issues and good governance. As TU Dortmund University is not located in a classic border region supported by Interreg funding line A, members of the university are more likely to be located in Interreg B funding lines, which support transnational cooperation, or funding line C, which supports cooperation networks to improve the effectiveness of existing instruments for regional development.
Scope
Interreg is mainly funded by the ERDF and provides around €8.05 billion across the EU for 2021-2027; the local programs (e.g. Interreg Greater Region, Interreg Germany-Nederland) have their own budgets in the double-digit or triple-digit million range. Funding is provided proportionately for project-related costs - typically personnel, investments/infrastructure, material costs, events, communication and project management - with co-financing rates of up to 80%, supplemented by national/regional own funds.
Application eligibility and deadlines
As a rule, legal entities in the respective cooperation area (e.g. local authorities, universities, research institutions, associations, NGOs) that work together in cross-border consortia are eligible to apply; Interreg explicitly targets joint programs, projects and networks of national, regional and local actors. The application deadlines are set by each Interreg program itself and published via calls for projects; there are therefore no uniform deadlines, but rather program-specific, sometimes multi-stage deadlines.
Selection procedure
Project applications are submitted in accordance with the requirements of the respective program - usually electronically via portals such as JEMS - and checked in terms of form and content by the Joint Secretariat or the managing authority. Funding decisions are made by monitoring/selection committees of the programs, which consist of program partners from the participating countries and select eligible projects according to defined criteria (e.g. contribution to program priorities, cross-border added value, quality and budget appropriateness).