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 JUNIOR
2023 call
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Content
Aim of support............................................................................................................................................ 2
Candidate’s profile..................................................................................................................................... 2
Submitting a proposal................................................................................................................................ 2
Evaluation procedure................................................................................................................................. 3
Funding rules............................................................................................................................................. 4
Project implementation, interim and final report........................................................................................ 6
Links and documents for download........................................................................................................... 7
Contact details........................................................................................................................................... 7
Aim of support
The main aim of MUNI Award in Science and Humanities JUNIOR (hereinafter referred to as “MASH
JUNIOR”) is to create conditions for timely achievement of research autonomy of highly promising
researchers shortly after Ph.D.; acceleration of career advancement of talented scholars; easier
preparation of prestigious grant proposals; enhancement of “brain circulation”.
Successful project applicants must have clear potential to succeed in the European Research Council
(ERC) competition. A significant aspect of this type of grant support is the motivation of workplaces to
invest in extraordinary scientific talent.
A MASH JUNIOR holder shall be employed full-time at Masaryk University and the primary place of
work performance shall be Brno. A MASH JUNIOR holder must submit an ERC grant application
to the European Commission, or commence implementation of an ERC grant at MU within 2 years
after the MASH JUNIOR project starts.
A MASH JUNIOR holder is offered CZK 2 million / year for the period of 3 years (with the possibility of
extension by another 2 years).
Candidate’s profile
The competition is open to internal as well as external applicants provided that the applicant’s labour
relation with MU did not exceed 12 of the 36 months preceding the deadline of the call (taking into account
career breaks). An eligible applicant is a junior researcher who obtained the Ph.D. degree no earlier than
8 years before the deadline of the call, taking into account career breaks.
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 MU for
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the given application (e.g. head of the unit, project support officer etc.). The proposal is submitted when
a cover sheet is aprooved.
Documents (machine readable pdf files):
• The MASH JUNIOR form (motivation letter, CV, brief description of the research plan)
• 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 (for
instance MSCA) / Evaluation Summary Report, or an evaluation of a highly-rated ERC application
or another individual grant project
* The 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. B2 form
of the ERC application, detailed specification of the applicant’s key requirements etc.).
Evaluation procedure
The submitted application shall be evaluated against the following criteria:
Criterion Weighting
in %
Credibility of the career plan of the applicant and significance of MASH JUNIOR award for
the career plan
(based on Motivation Letter)
30
Coherence and credibility of the research plan presented by the applicant
(based on Research Plan)
30
Applicant’s potential for research growth at Masaryk University (potential for obtaining an
ERC grant)
(based on CV and track-record)
40
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 JUNIOR applicants.
1st evaluation round
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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.
Funding rules
For the period of the project implementation, a MASH JUNIOR 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 JUNIOR
holder’s research plan.
Annual budget: CZK 2 million / calendar year1
Duration of funding: 3 years (with the possibility of extension by another 2 years – a follow-up project)
1
If the employment starts or is terminated during the year, the amount shall be proportionately adjusted.
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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
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 JUNIOR grantee.
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Project implementation, interim and final report
The project is implemented in two stages (months 1 to 24; and 25 to 36).
The investigator shall submit the Budget Implementation Schedule before the start of the project.
The interim report / final report must be entered in the Project Management Information System (PMIS)
always within 60 days after the end of the relevant stage.
The interim report (in Czech or English) contains a list and a brief description of the achieved results and
the updated Budget Implementation Schedule. 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.
A MASH JUNIOR holder shall submit an ERC grant application to the European Commission, or
commence implementation of an ERC grant at MU within 2 years after the MASH JUNIOR project
starts. In case the requirement for submitting an ERC grant application in the first two years cannot be
met (grade C in one of the previous calls), this shall be mentioned in the interim report and the grantee
shall submit the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) and a plan for a repeated submission of an ERC
proposal.
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.
In case the MASH JUNIOR grantee wishes to apply for the project extension by another 2 years (a followup
project), he/she may submit a proposal for extension in the last (or next-to-last) year of the
implementation (depending on the times of project implementation and GAMU calls). The proposal shall
be submitted within the framework of the current MASH JUNIOR competition call.
The consent of the ECU head is necessary for the proposal to be included into the evaluation process.
The follow-up project commencement is contingent on a successful completion of the original project.
The successful completion means:
- approval of the final report by the board composed of the guarantors and Vice-rector for
Research and Doctoral Studies.
If the MASH JUNIOR grantee applies for the follow-up project, the board composed of the guarantors
and Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies shall issue a recommendation or rejection as part of
the evaluation of the final report.
The final decision on supporting the follow-up project shall be made in the process of evaluation of
proposals submitted in the current call.
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The main criterion for the decision to award the follow-up grant is the benefit of continuing financial
support from GAMU for further outstanding career development of the grantee (e.g. another ERC grant
application in case of a favourable evaluation of the previous one), further details to be published in the
current call.
If the follow-up project grant is awarded, the MASH JUNIOR grantee shall prepare the final report for the
follow-up project. The final report including an approved cover sheet must be entered in the PMIS within
60 days after the completion of the follow-up project. An interim report is not submitted.
The project completion (after the 3rd year; or the 5th year in the case of a follow-up project) 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
host declaration
Interim Report
Final Report
Contact details
Grants Office
RMU Research Office
Žerotínovo nám. 9
Brno 601 77
Iveta Daňhelová
danhelova@rect.muni.cz
+420 549 49 3864