Information for Researchers, No. 85 | October 23, 2023

UNAM-DFG Funding Opportunity for Joint German-Mexican Research Projects

Second joint call for German-Mexican research projects in all fields of research, including social sciences and the humanities

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) are pleased to announce the second call for proposals to fund joint German-Mexican research projects in all fields of research (including social sciences and the humanities).

Funding within this initiative is available for collaborative research projects involving researchers from Germany and from UNAM. Proposals for joint German-Mexican projects have to be submitted in parallel by the researchers in Germany and at UNAM to their respective funding organisation according to the organisations’ respective format and regulations.

The proposals for German-Mexican research projects have to be submitted by the researchers from Germany to the DFG according to the following rules:

Researchers may apply for a funding period of up to three years.
Researchers in Germany must submit their proposals under the DFG’s Research Grants Programme in compliance with the guidelines outlined in DFG form 50.01 (see link below). This includes the eligibility criteria for applicants to be funded by the DFG.
The scientific content of the proposals submitted to the DFG and to UNAM should be identical.
The joint proposal should contain an abstract, the scientific description, the goals and tasks as well as the justification of the requested cost items according to DFG form 54.01 (see link below).
Researchers in Mexico and Germany must submit their proposals to UNAM and the DFG, respectively, by 16 February 2024.

In addition to the guidelines of the DFG, the following considerations have to be taken into account:

The projects should be at a high scientific level in international comparison.
Although the scientific quality of the proposals is the decisive criterion, applicants should demonstrate how bringing together researchers based in Germany and at UNAM will add value and advance research. It is expected that each partner will substantially contribute to the common project. Teams should ensure there is a plan for effective delivery and coordination of research across the partners.
There are no separate funds available for this initiative; proposals must succeed based on the strengths of their intellectual merit and teams in competition with all other proposals in the funding programme “Sachbeihilfe/Research Grants”.
Funding of the joint research projects is contingent upon positive assessment by both funding organisations. Joint German-Mexican projects will be co-funded by UNAM; unilateral funding of only one part of a project is not possible.

Allowable costs

All requested cost items must be in accordance with the respective national administrative regulations. At the DFG, only costs for the German share of the projects are eligible. At UNAM, only costs for the Mexican share of the projects are eligible according to the regulations of UNAM. The “Guidelines Research Grants Programme” (DFG form 50.01, see link below) and the respective modules apply for applicants to be funded by the DFG.

Submission

Applicants for a bilateral collaborative project under this call must submit their joint proposal to their respective funding organisation. Mexican principal investigators (PIs) at UNAM submit their documents to UNAM, German PIs to the DFG, following the formal requirements of their respective funding organisation. All documents must be written in English. Please note that the documents submitted to the DFG and to UNAM must not differ with regard to the scientific content of the proposal and with regard to the applicants involved. Proposals that arrive late and/or do not fulfil the national requirements will not be considered. No legal entitlement can be derived from the submission of a project description.

At the DFG, all proposals must be submitted through the DFG´s electronic proposal processing system elan by 16 February 2024. After logging in, please use the link “Proposal for a Research Grant” in the Proposal Forms column (Proposal Submission > New Project > Individual Grants Programme > Proposal for a Research Grant). Please select “MEXICO UNAM 2023 – Joint Research Grants” to tag your proposal for this specific call.

If you are using the DFG’s elan system for the first time, please note that you will need to register before using the system. Registration must be completed by 9 February 2024 in order to submit a proposal. Allow at least two business days to process your registration.

Specific instructions for applicants from Germany
Applicants to be funded by the DFG are required to fulfil the eligibility requirements of the DFG´s Research Grants Programme. This includes the duty to cooperate (“Kooperationspflicht”) within Germany for members of non-university institutions with permanent positions. Please note that any duty to cooperate for DFG applicants at non-university research institutions can only be fulfilled through cooperation with a partner at a German university. For more information, see the corresponding guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01 and 55.01, see links below).

Please prepare the proposal according to the guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01, see link below).

While via elan, only the budget figures for the German applicant(s) have to be provided, the proposal itself should contain not only the German budget part but also a budget overview for the Mexican part so as to provide comprehensive information to the reviewers. In the proposal submitted by the German applicant(s) to the DFG, an academic curriculum vitae for all Mexican PIs should be submitted to complete the reviewers’ information.

Note that only Germany-based applicants should be entered as “applicants”. Country partners (and potential further international partners) should be entered as “cooperation partners”. Employees whose positions are requested for funding should not be assigned to this category.

Specific instructions for applicants from UNAM

Applicants from UNAM are kindly requested to conform to all the requirements listed in the UNAM call for proposals that is published on the UNAM website (see link below) and to submit their documents to PAPIIT-DGAPA.

Timeline and notification of results

Call opening: 23 October 2023
Call closure: 16 February 2024
Assessment of results: expected until October 2024
Communication of results: from November 2024 onwards
Approximate beginning of funding: from January 2025 onwards

Funding will be provided according to the funding rules (incl. reporting) of the respective funding organisation.

Grant holders are requested, where possible, to keep their project components synchronous and initiate their grants in a timely manner.

Equity and diversity

The DFG strongly welcomes proposals from researchers of all genders and sexual identities, from different ethnic, cultural, religious, ideological or social backgrounds, from different career stages, types of universities and research institutions, and with disabilities or chronic illness.

Good research practice

Please note that according to a resolution of the DFG General Assembly, as of 1 August 2019, DFG funding may only be awarded to institutions that have implemented the guidelines laid down in the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Good Research Practice in their own regulations in a legally binding manner. This means that also for international proposals, funding from the DFG can only be received if the guidelines for safeguarding good research practice (see link below) have been implemented by the German applicant´s institution. If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the Research Integrity Team at the DFG Head Office (see contact below). Further information regarding the implementation can be found on the Research Integrity website (see link below).

Further Information

General information for German principal investigators on research grants may be found at:

www.dfg.de/research_grants

Guidelines on the Duty to Cooperate:

www.dfg.de/formulare/55_01

To submit a proposal to the DFG, please follow the Guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01) and the ”Proposal Preparation Instructions – Project Proposals” (DFG form 54.01) under:

Further general information on elan:

DFG´s Review and Decision Process:

Arriving at a decision in individual grants programmes:

www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/individual_grants_programmes/arriving_decision

DFG’s data protection notice on research funding:

Please note the DFG’s data protection notice on research funding. If necessary, please also forward this information to those individuals whose data will be processed by the DFG due to their involvement in your project: