Apply

Applications for the Collaborative Research Grant are no longer being accepted at this time.

Eligibility

• Applications must contain a single project to be carried out with a team of 2-3 researchers.
• All team members must have a PhD, or be expected to receive a PhD in the next 6 months (in any scientific discipline) at the time of application.
• Ideally, all team members should plan to be based in the Ecology of Animal Societies Department at the University of Konstanz / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior for the duration of the project. Teams with one or more members at other institutions are also welcome to apply, however salary for external team members cannot be covered by the grant.

Application

Teams should work together to produce one application per team. The application should be emailed as a single PDF document with subject “Collaborative Research Grant Application” to livingingroups@uni-konstanz.de. One team member should serve as the contact person who is responsible for submitting the application. The grant application should contain the following documents, in the order specified below:

Cover letter explaining the motivation of the researchers to pursue the project, and how the project was developed.

Research proposal composed of the following sections:

• Abstract (max 300 words)

• Background and Motivation (max 500 words): Why is the research topic important? Please describe the current state of knowledge in this area and what gap the proposed research will fill.

• Research plan (max 1500 words): How will the research be carried out? This section should contain a detailed description of the aims of the research and the methods by which these aims will be achieved. Please also include a rough timeline of the project.

• Impact and innovation (max 300 words): What is novel and important about the proposed research? How will the results advance scientific knowledge?

• Team structure (max 500 words): What will each researcher contribute to the collaboration? How will the collaboration be structured? Please also include information on how authorship will be determined within the team as well as the structure of any data sharing agreements.

• Need for collaboration (max 300 words): What is gained by collaborating on the proposed research, or why could the project not be done by a single individual?

• Risk assessment (max 300 words): Identify the likely risks to your project’s success. Describe how you will mediate them, and what your back up plan will be if the riskier aspects of your project do not succeed.

• Works cited (not included in word counts)

Research budget, listing projected research costs to carry out the proposed research.

CVs for all team members

References: Please provide contact information for 2 professional references for each team member. Reference letters are not required at the application stage, however please let your referees know that we may contact them.

Letters of support in cases where additional resources beyond those of the applicants will be provided by external sources (e.g. data, access to field sites, etc.)

Indication of where you heard about us will help us improve the administration of this program in the future. This information will not be used in the assessment of your application.

Timeline

Applications are due on January 15, 2020. On-site interviews for selected teams will take place April 2-3, 2020, and final decisions will be made subsequently. Expenses related to the interviews will be covered.

Project start dates can range from June 2020 to June 2021 (see FAQ for more information).