Call for proposals

The administration and infrastructure expenditure allowance (VIAP) is calculated upon approval by the MWK. Please only enter the direct project costs in the cost plan.

Material investments may not exceed two percent of the total amount of funding requested. In absolutely exceptional cases, an extraordinary justification must be agreed in advance with the MWK. Under no circumstances may the planned investment be considered part of the basic equipment.

The staff costs are calculated on the basis of the staff costs rate 2025 of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture.

The applicants can make an individual distribution. This allocation is allowed to include a deviation of +/- 10 percent of the total funding amount between the first and second funding period.

Institutions can be involved in more than one application and can also act as project leaders for different applications.

No, a local site concentration is not a problem. Please note, that a consortium of at least three independent institutions must be guaranteed.

No, an application submitted by three institutes or departments of a higher education institution is not eligible. This also includes affiliated institutes. External partners with a headquarters outside of Lower Saxony also do not count in the application count and can only act as external partners.

In principle, institutions with a location in Lower Saxony are eligible to apply. In this regard, please consult the Climate Research Centre Lower Saxony in advance.

Yes. Federal institutes based in Lower Saxony are eligible to apply and can also act as project leaders.

Citizen science groups, industrial partners and public partners are considered as external partners. Non-scientific institutions based in Lower Saxony can participate with up to two percent of the total funding requested. A detailed justification of the use of funds is required.

For non-scientific institutions based outside Lower Saxony, the criteria stated in the call for proposals apply.

You can find the DFG checklist for the data management plan here.

No, there are no underlying form templates. Equality and diversity are to be assessed as substantive points in the application and formulated in accordance with it.

The following information must be included in the appendix:

- Financing plan
- Data management plan
- Bibliography
- Work plan
- Calendar
- Endorsement by the management of the project leader's university/research institution
- Letters of intent from external partners

- Declaration of the project leader to collaborate with the office and to take on the role of spokesperson for the Lab.

No, the bibliography does not count towards the page count and can be listed in the appendix. The DFG guidelines for bibliographies can be found here.

Yes, a legally binding signature of the university/research institution leading the project is required.A digital signature of the spokesperson is sufficient.

Informal approval from the management of the applicant university/research institution is sufficient. No additional substantive justification is required.