The IGFAE Strategic Research Program (SRP) funded by the Maria de Maeztu (MdM) grant includes an action to stimulate new ideas and multidisciplinary and/or collaborative research among different members of the Institute:
8.1.2 IGNITE PROGRAM. The Institute will launch two calls during the MdM period to facilitate the definition of specific projects to develop the SRP. Absolute priority will be
given to new ideas with high potential to make them ready for external funding. These
seed grants will contribute to open new research lines aligned with the strategy of the
Institute. Interdisciplinary research will also be favored.[Action 8.1.2, taken from the MdM original proposal]
Herevy the first call for the IGFAE Ignite Program with the aim to identify new projects to be funded by Institute with potential to open new lines in the future. As stated in the MdM original proposal, absolute priority will be given to new ideas.
Description of the program
This program will fund projects proposed by members of IGFAE that could also include external collaborators. The maximum amount of funding from the MdM allocated to this call is 250.000 Euros that will be distributed among different projects after evaluation. Each individual project has a maximum contribution of 100.000 Euros that have to be properly justified by the end of the MdM period (June 30th, 2021). Projects that receive a good evaluation but that cannot be funded in the present call could be considered for funding when additional resources become available for the Institute.
Projects will be presented by an individual or team of IGFAE researchers. One IGFAE researcher will, in any case, act as Principal Investigator (PI). Any member of IGFAE holding a PhD degree can act as PI.
The teams may be participated by non-IGFAE members, in particular from, but not restricted to, other Singular Centers from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and CESGA. The participation of the non-IGFAE members should be justified by providing expertise needed for the project but not present at IGFAE. In this case, although co-funding of the project is not required, it will be positively considered.
Application procedure
The proposals consisting in a maximum of 4 pages plus a budget table should contain:
- brief description of the idea
- justification of its novelty and/or the multidisciplinary nature within IGFAE
- description of the team
- methodology and timeline
- potential for external funding after the seed grant
The budget must contain a description of the expenses by categories (personnel, instrumentation, travel, visitors, etc.). Only expenses eligible by the MdM project can be funded in this call.
The proposal plus the budget table, both in PDF format, should be sent to calls@igfae.usc.es by the deadline of June 30th, 2019.
Evaluation and timeline
A committee will be formed to evaluate the proposals that can also ask the opinion of external referees. Members of the IGFAE Scientific Advisory Board could be contacted to provide advise at any step of the process.
The evaluation will be based on the novelty of the proposals within the IGFAE scientific agenda and their quality and potential to receive external funds and open future new lines in the Institute. In case several proposals are considered to be equally suitable for funding, priority will be given to those presented by non-tenured staff (Ramon y Cajal and Global Talent group leaders).
The evaluation and communication of the results will be done in a maximum of 30 days after the deadline of the call. After the results are communicated, PIs will have 5 days to accept the grant. The acceptance of the grant will mark its starting date.
