Masaryk University Žerotínovo nám. 617/9, 601 77 Brno, Czech Republic T: +420 549 49 1111, E: info@muni.cz, W: www.muni.cz GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 2022 call GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 2/7 Content Aim of support............................................................................................................................................ 2 Candidate’s profile..................................................................................................................................... 2 Submitting a proposal................................................................................................................................ 3 Evaluation procedure................................................................................................................................. 3 Funding rules............................................................................................................................................. 5 Project implementation, interim and final report ........................................................................................ 6 Links and documents for download........................................................................................................... 6 Contact details........................................................................................................................................... 6 Aim of support The main aim of MUNI Award in Science and Humanities (hereinafter referred to as “MASH”) is to bring excellent and successful external researchers to Masaryk University and to offer them such conditions that they are motivated to stay, work for Masaryk University and to attain exceptionally high-quality research results on the long-term basis. Top research teams shall become a stable part of MU thanks to the employment of persons with transformation potential. A MASH holder shall be employed full-time at Masaryk University and the primary place of work performance shall be Brno. The holder of this prestigious grant shall be expected to represent Masaryk University and proactively contribute to the future direction of research conducted at MU for the entire duration of the grant holder’s engagement at MU, i.e. also after the completion of the MASH grant project. The call is open to applicants from all fields of Social Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Life Sciences. Candidate’s profile MASH is intended for applicants who were not employed by MU in their main employment for the period of 5 years preceding the deadline of the call. • An applicant is an ERC grant holder or a leading researcher in the R4 career stage according to the European Framework for Research Careers: o Has an international reputation based on research excellence in their field; o Demonstrates critical judgment in the identification and execution of research activities; o Makes a substantial contribution (breakthroughs) to their research field or spanning multiple areas; o Develops a strategic vision on the future of the research field; o Recognises the broader implications and applications of their research; GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 3/7 o Publishes and presents influential papers and books, serves on workshop and conference organising committees and delivers invited talks. Submitting a proposal The proposal form in pdf including all annexes must be entered in the Project Management Information System (PMIS) at the latest on the deadline date. The files entered shall be submitted for evaluation. If the applicant is not affiliated with MU, the proposing person shall be the main contact person at the economic unit (ECU) for the given application (e.g. head of the unit, project support officer etc.). Documents (machine readable pdf files): • The MASH form containing: • Current professional CV of the applicant • Description of the research plan • Motivation letter • Declaration of the ECU of its readiness to hire the applicant and create conditions for independent research on the prescribed form* • Optional annex: Decision on the award of the ERC or another prestigious individual grant / Evaluation Summary Report, or an evaluation of another individual grant project • Approved cover sheet – a pdf file generated from the PMIS * The ECU’s declaration shall be part of the approval process at the main ECU in the PMIS – entered as an annex of the proposal for the cover sheet approval (by approving the cover sheet, the head of the ECU declares its readiness to hire the applicant and create conditions for independent research). The application shall not contain the budget – the applicant shall obtain a predetermined amount in this competition. The applicant shall submit all the documents in English. Additional information and documents may be requested during the evaluation procedure (e.g. the ERC application form, detailed specification of the applicant’s key requirements etc.). Evaluation procedure The submitted application shall be evaluated against the following criteria: Criterion Weighting in % Professional profile of the applicant based on the submitted CV (an ERC application is taken into account) 60 GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 4/7 Criterion Weighting in % Research plan and its coherence with MU research 20 Potential asset for Masaryk University based on the submitted motivation letter 20 Formal inspection shall be made by the RMU Research Office under the supervision of the Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies. In this stage, the Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies after consultation with selected experts from the university shall have the right to exclude applications that fail to meet the requirements for MASH applicants. 1st evaluation round Based on the standardized keywords specified in the proposal, the domain guarantor shall select from the internal database at least 3 evaluators for each application. Based on the evaluation reports, the domain guarantors, or an expert panel approved for the given domain by the Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies shall prepare the ranking list in each domain (Life Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, Physical Sciences and Engineering). If there are ambiguities (e.g. an extremely high or low evaluation by one evaluator), the guarantors shall ask for additional information from the evaluator concerned. The domain guarantors in a meeting with the Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies shall select candidates with the best evaluation in the respective domains, who shall be invited to the 2nd evaluation round. 2nd evaluation round Invited candidates shall be interviewed by the evaluation board, whose members are: Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies, domain guarantors and invited experts. The candidates present their research plan proposal. The board suggests selected candidates for MASH and MASH JUNIOR grants based on evaluation reports of the previous rounds and the interview. A larger number of MASH JUNIOR applications may be approved to the detriment of MASH, and vice versa (both calls have common allocation of funds). The Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies shall inform the MU management of the competition results in their session. The Rector of MU decides on awarding the grants in the MASH and MASH JUNIOR competitions pursuant to the recommendation of the evaluation board. GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 5/7 Funding rules For the period of the project implementation, a MASH holder shall be employed full-time at Masaryk University and the primary place of work performance shall be Brno. GAMU financial support shall be used toward the settlement of costs immediately related to the MASH holder’s research plan. Annual budget: CZK 5 million / calendar year1 Duration of funding: 5 years Eligible costs • Personnel costs (wages, bonuses, agreements to complete a job (DPP) and agreements to perform work (DPČ) of persons directly involved in the research activities necessary for the research plan investigation) • Scholarships • Consumables • Investment • Low-value tangible and intangible assets • Services • Local and international travel • Publication and application costs • Additional costs or expenses (projects may include a share in common operating costs corresponding to the Joint Operating Costs (JOC) coefficient for the given economic unit in the year concerned in accordance with MU Instruction for determining the proportion of administrative overheads and system of applying overheads to projects, as amended) Ineligible costs • Costs not eligible for institutional support toward long-term conceptual development (e.g. refreshments) The drawdown of funds must comply with the rules for the drawdown of funds of institutional support. The grant shall be provided as non-investment funds. Each ECU shall arrange an exchange for investment individually. Purchase of investment and necessary transfers among the respective items of the eligible costs are possible after the consultation with the relevant finance office of the ECU. The amount that has not been spent in the given year may be transferred to the Special Purpose Fund (SPF) in the maximum amount of 5% of the funds awarded for the year concerned. It applies that if the 1 If the employment starts or is terminated during the year, the amount shall be proportionately adjusted. GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 6/7 funds in the SPF are not spent in the following year, the beneficiary is obliged to return the funds not used. The SPF cannot be created in the last year of the project investigation. The approved financial support shall be allocated to a specific economic unit in the form of an adjusted schedule of institutional support in accordance with the Budget Implementation Schedule submitted by the investigator. The economic and administrative resources of the projects shall be identical to the economic and administrative resources of the units where the researcher and his/her team work (now or in the future), and these units shall also bear common operating costs of the project. Both the professional and administrative coordination of the project shall be the responsibility of the MASH grantee. Project implementation, interim and final report The project is implemented in three stages (months 1 to 24; 25 to 36; and 37 to 48). The investigator shall submit the Budget Implementation Schedule before the start of the project. The interim report / final report including an approved cover sheet must be entered in the PMIS always within 60 days after the end of the relevant stage. The interim / final report (in Czech or English) contains a list and a brief description of the achieved results. The interim report is assessed by the Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies and the GAMU guarantor for the domain concerned. Interim and final report forms are accessible in the IS. In case of serious shortcomings in the performance of the project, as ascertained on the basis of the interim report, the project funding may be suspended by a decision of the Rector of MU. The project completion shall include a final public lecture in which the grantee shall summarize the main results of his/her engagement at MU so far, and outline the idea of further career at the university (the final lecture is part of the GAMU final conference which is held in the last quarter of each calendar year). Links and documents for download GAMU website IS Document Server PMIS Directive Application Form Declaration of ECU Interim Report Final Report Contact details Grants Office RMU Research Office GAMU – Research Support Programme MUNI Award in Science and Humanities 7/7 Žerotínovo nám. 9 Brno 601 77 Iveta Daňhelová danhelova@rect.muni.cz +420 549 49 3864