HERA Cultural Encounters Information Sessions – Application Process (Edinburgh and London March 2012) Lucy Parnall AHRC

1. HERA Joint Research
Programme
Cultural Encounters
Information Sessions
Lucy Parnall
AHRC

2. Joint Research Programme
Key Facts
• Pooling national and European funding: research funding
organisations in 18 countries and the European Commission
• 18,5 M € available for Humanities-led research in “Cultural
Encounters”
• Supporting excellent collaborative research projects (CRP)
• Supporting knowledge exchange with non-academic audiences
• 2 stage assessment with Outline Proposals
• 1 Handling Agency for the centrally managed selection process:
European Science Foundation

3. HERA JRP timeline
9 Feb 2012 Launch of the Call for Outline Proposals
4 May 2012 Deadline for the submission of Outline
Proposals
Jun 2012 Review Panel: selection of Outline Proposals
Jul 2012 Invitation for the submission of Full Proposals
Oct 2012 Deadline for the submission of Full Proposals
Oct-Nov 2012 Peer review of Full Proposals
Dec 2012 Rebuttal by applicants – PI response (one
week)
Jan 2013 Review Panel: ranking of Full Proposals
Feb 2013 HERA JRP Board meeting: funding decisions
Feb-Jun 2013 Contract negotiations
Jun 2013 Start of Collaborative Research Projects
Jun 2016 End of Collaborative Research Projects

4. Assessment Process
– 1st stage: Outline Proposals
• Outline Proposals are evaluated by the international Review
Panel;
• Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit Full Proposals.
– 2nd stage: Full Proposals
• Each Full Proposal is evaluated by at least three external
expert referees;
• Rebuttal by applicants (PI response): applicants are invited
to submit comments on referee evaluations
• The international Review Panel evaluates and ranks Full
Proposals
• The HERA JRP Board makes final funding decisions

5. Eligibility
• Proposals must follow the prescribed format and be
submitted before the deadline of 4 May 2012, 14:00
CET/13:00 GMT
• At least 3 eligible researchers (Principal Investigators) in 3
participating countries:
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland,
Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom
• Maximum budget per CRP: € 1M
• Maximum project duration: 36 months
• All applicants and budget items must be eligible according
to the National Eligibility Rules (see www.heranet.info)

6. Principal Investigators
• At least three PIs from three participating countries in
a project.
• Each PI leads research activities at his/her institution.
• One of the PIs also functions as the Project Leader
(PL) of the project.
• There can be more than one PI from the same country
in one proposal (provided they are based at different
institutions).
• Only one PI from the same institution in one proposal.
• You may act as PI in more than one proposal.
• You must meet AHRCs criteria of Principal Investigator

7. Project Leader (PL)
• PL is a senior researcher with a solid experience of
managing collaborative research projects.
• PL submits the proposal on behalf of the whole project
team.
• PL is the contact point between the Handling Agency
and other Principal Investigators.
• You may act as PL in one proposal only.
If the funding is granted, the PL host institution will:
• distribute the funds to other PI’s host institutions;
• take responsibility for proper financial management of
the grant;
• take responsibility for all reporting duties.

8. Other Staff - UK
– Co-Investigator
– Research Assistant
– PhD Students (must be complementary but stand
alone)
– Other staff as needed eg co-ordinator/admin
support
– Co-I’s etc can not be listed as investigators in
application form but can be mentioned in text
– Academic staff must meet AHRC’s eligibility
criteria

9. Non Academic Partner
• Non-academic APs – stakeholders in the cultural,
heritage or educational sector, media, or creative
industries, who may provide significant added value
and valuable insights to the project from the user’s
perspective.
• APs are encouraged to participate in an advisory and
collaborative capacity to help explore the knowledge
exchange potential of the proposed research.
• Time of APs must be self-funded; only their travel and
subsistence costs can be covered from the project
budget.

10. Outline Proposals - Application
Format
• Your application must be written in English.
• Access the online application system via the link on
www.heranet.info and enter the following details:
– Proposal title, acronym, keywords and abstract;
– Contact details of the applicants.
• Upload the filled out application template containing:
– A short description of the project;
– CVs of the Principal Investigators;
– Estimated budget in Euros;
– Letters of commitment from non academic Associated
Partners, if applicable.

11. Short Description of CRP
(Max 2000 Words)
• What research question(s) does the CRP seek to answer?
• In what way is the project original and/or innovative?
• What are the objectives of the CRP?
• By what methods will the research question(s) be tackled?
• How are the skills of the partners complementary?
• What is the added value in tackling your research question(s)
from a trans-national perspective?
• How will partners work together? What management and
coordination structures are proposed?
• What is the significance of the research question(s)? How will
these contribute to the “Cultural Encounters” theme?
• What is the potential impact of the proposed research to both
academic disciplines, and relevant stakeholders and user
communities?
• How will the CRP engage in knowledge exchange or active
dissemination engaging user communities and audiences outside
academia?

12. Finances
• Each partner costs on their own rules; no matter
the country is ‘leading’
• For UK follow FeC rules
• Budget must be in Euros
• Outline budget is an estimate; can change
• For budget table:
– Enter in 80% Figure (except students)
– Combine estates and indirects for the overheads line
– For students – enter 100% of costs stated in guidance
(do not count towards researcher FTE)

14. Outline Proposal
Assessment Criteria
• Potential for research excellence
• Novelty and originality of research
• Qualification of the applicants and coordination
structures proposed
• European added value of collaboration
• Relevance to the theme “Cultural Encounters”,
including potential impact of the proposed
research beyond academia

15. What to do to succeed
• Read all the guidance documentation published on the
HERA website www.heranet.info.
• Verify the eligibility of the applicants and budget items
according to the National Eligibility Rules.
• Contact the HERA office, your research office or your
National Contact Point, if you have questions.
• Make sure you understand the evaluation criteria.
• Describe your project idea (incl. objectives, methodology,
collaboration and potential impact) within the given space
of 2000 words!
• Don’t forget why does your project fit ‘Cultural Encounters’
• Arrange face-to-face meetings with your project partners
when writing the proposal to ensure coherency of ideas.
• Use clear and straightforward language.
• Upload your proposal well ahead of the submission
deadline!

16. Relevant documents
• Call for Proposals
• National Eligibility Rules
• FAQ
• Glossary
• Application template
All documents are available online at
www.heranet.info

17. Who to contact?
Application Process etc
Julia Boman hera@esf.org
UK Eligibility Queries
Lucy Parnall l.parnall@ahrc.ac.uk
Kelly Sidgwick k.sidgwick@ahrc.ac.uk
Thanks to Julia Boman at ESF for draft slides