Step by step - Your first proposal

1. 1.Basics

   Which funding organisation and which funding format is best suited to your idea? Does the application come in one or two stages? Are there submission deadlines? What are the submission modalities: digital only or digital & by post? Please contact the Research Support office for guidance.

2. 2.Networks

   Talk to colleagues and/or mentors about your project for tips and advice and opportunities for cooperation.

   If relevant for your project: contact researchers you'd like to cooperate with during your project, both at the University of Kassel and outside, e.g. as possible guest researchers guests or fellows, being hosted as a guest researcher yourself, collaboration for certain parts of the project (workshops, use of equipment, etc.).

3. 3.Documents

   Download all the application documents from the funding organisation's website and read them thoroughly. Make a list of all documents you'll need to submit with your proposal. Does the funder want a full proposal right away, or should you send an outline or a pre-proposal first? This will determine the scope and effort involved. If necessary, register now in the funding organisation's application portal and fill out your profile there.

   If you don't have one yet: create an ORCID profile and make sure it's complete.

4. 4.Draft

   Prepare a first draft of your proposal, starting with the central research question and breaking it down into individual parts. Based on this, create a rough draft of the work programme.

5. 5.Approvals

   Will you collect data? If so, how and where? Talk to the Research support office about potential prerequisites regarding data protection and ethics approvals for your research.

   Does your application entail receiving approval from the university for submission? Clarify very early on with the Research Support office which signature(s) may be needed and how to obtained them.

6. 6.Budget

   Create a first draft of the project budget, preferably with the help of the Research Support office and/or the unit for third-party funding management.

7. 7.Feedback

   Ask colleagues and/or the Research Support office for feedback on your draft proposal. The main issue is often the big picture: can others understand what you intend to do and how you want to achieve your research goal(s)? Is the work programme built in a logical way? Do work programme and budget match? Have you addressed the cross-cutting topics adequately?

8. 8.Research data

   Physics or philosophy, music or material sciences, architecture or agricultural sciences: you will generate data in your project. Whether it's just a few hundred megabytes with your own considerations, or many terabytes with measurements, videos etc., you must demonstrate in your grant application that you will manage these data adequately. Contact the Research Data Service for advice.

    

    

    

    

9. 9.Letters

   Do you need the university's consent or approval for your project proposal (e.g. employer's declaration if you are applying for your own position as PI) or a letter of support or similar? Are LOIs necessary for collaborating with researchers from abroad? The Research Support office can advise you and, if necessary, help you obtain the necessary signatures.

10. 10.Curriculum vitae

    Many funding organisations give out mandatory templates or specify the format for CVs. The Research Support office advises on how to make efficient use of the available and often very limited space. If at all possible, include your ORCID number in your CV.

     

     

     

     

11. 11.Abstracts

    An abstract or summary and suitable keywords in German and/or English are often required in the application portals. Both are used by the funding organisations to identify suitable reviewers, i.e. they are an important factor for the success of your application. Find out about the required length and prepare the summary(s) and keywords well prior to submission, as they may need several rounds of editing.

12. 12.Submission

    If at all possible, submit a day or two before the deadline, provided there is one at all. Unfortunately, portal crashes still happen.

    Save the confirmation of submission (if available). Many funders (DFG, BMBF etc.) also require an additional signature on paper by post: get this on its way immediately after submitting online.

    For DFG proposals: e-mail your Elan submission confirmation to dfg-meldung[at]uni-kassel[dot]de. This fulfills the obligation to notify the DFG liaison officer.

     

     

     

     

13. 13.Queries

    Check your emails regularly in case there are any direct queries or requests for changes from the funding organisation. Your application can only proceed to review once all formalities are correct.

14. 14.Patience

    Decisions often take 6 to 9 months at the DFG, 6 to 8 months at Humboldt, 3 to 7 months at the BMBF and other federal ministries, 3 to 6 months at the EU (can be viewed in the portal via "Follow-up"), etc.

15. 15.Results

    Accepted – congratulations! It's mostly the administrative unit for third-party funding management who will now continue to support you with entering the funding contracts and setting up the project.

    Rejected – statistically much more likely than getting a project accepted. The Research Support office provides help with interpreting the reviews and plans for resubmission.