BiodivERsA and Water JPI
Joint Call for Research Proposals on “Conservation and Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems and their Biodiversity, Including a Focus on Aquatic Systems”
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) as a partner of BiodivERsA is pleased to announce the launch of the 2020–2021 joint call with Water JPI for research proposals on the topic “Conservation and Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems and their Biodiversity, Including a Focus on Aquatic Systems”.
This call will cover the following three non-exclusive themes:
- studying the biological and biophysical processes at stake for conservation/restoration, and their interactions
- assessing trade-offs and synergies between targets, benefits and policies for conservation and restoration
- knowledge for improving the effectiveness and upscaling of conservation and restoration actions
This joint call includes a focus on freshwater aquatic systems but all environments (i.e. terrestrial, freshwater and marine) are eligible.
A two-step application procedure will be used in this call. Proposals (in English language) must be submitted electronically. Instructions regarding submission, eligibility, and evaluation criteria and other relevant information are available in the official call announcement on the BiodivERsA and Water JPI websites (see below).
The closing date for pre-proposals is 7 December 2020, 16:00 CET (local time in Brussels). The nature of the evaluation at the first step (pre-proposals stage) will depend on the number of pre-proposals received. If a very large number of pre-proposals is received, a first scientific evaluation of pre-proposals will be organised and the deadline to submit full proposals will be 3 May 2021. Otherwise, only an eligibility check of pre-proposals will be performed and the deadline to submit full proposals will be 15 March 2021. The actual deadline to submit full proposals will be communicated by the end of December 2020 on the BiodivERsA and Water JPI websites.
To be eligible, research consortia will have to include participating organisations from minimum three different countries participating in the call, including at least two from EU Member States or EU Associated Countries. Proposals have to be exclusively written in English.
The research proposals will be evaluated across the following criteria:
- Step 1 (in the case a large number of pre-proposals is received and an evaluation of pre-proposals is performed): 1) fit to the scope of the call, 2) scientific excellence (with a focus on novelty of the research proposed), and 3) societal and policy impact
- Step 2: 1) excellence, 2) quality and efficiency of the implementation, and 3) impact (including societal/policy relevance and approaches to stakeholder engagement)
For both steps, it is also expected that the international added value of the projects is clearly demonstrated. The detailed list of evaluation criteria to be used for this call is available in the call documents (see below).
31 funding organisations from 27 countries are planning to join this call and have reserved – together with the European Commission – a total amount of over 20 Million Euro. Their participation in the call will be confirmed very soon.
Tentative list of participating countries
Austria, Belgium, Brazil (excluding some states), Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal (including Azores), Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia
Save the date: An information webinar will be organised on the 27 October 2020, from 14:00 to 15:30 CET (local time in Brussels) to answer all your questions about this call (registration link see below).
Further Information
BiodivERsA and Water JPI websites (regularly updated):
Call documents:
BiodivERsA’s Partner Search Tool or the Water JPI Researchers Forum on LinkedIn (to look for a partner or a project to join):
BiodivERsA Stakeholder Engagement Handbook (for more information on stakeholder engagement in funded projects):
BiodivERsA Policy Guide (for more information on policy relevance of research proposals, and for engagement of policy-stakeholders):
To participate in the information webinar on 27 October 2020, please register here:
DFG’s privacy policy and data protection notice on research funding:
If necessary, please also forward this information to those persons whose data the DFG processes because they are involved in your project.
Information for German applicants
Eligibility rules and regulations for German funding organisations (DFG and BMBF/PT-DLR):
Pre-proposals shall be submitted via the BiodivERsA EPSS system only and NOT via elan. Full proposals shall be submitted via EPSS AND via elan.
The elan system (for submission of full proposals only) can be accessed at:
Information on elan with special relevance for this call will be made available on DFG’s BiodivERsA website for the full-proposal stage. Please check this information before starting to prepare your full-proposal:
Contact
DFG Head Office
- Gaby Rerig,
Life Sciences II,
phone +49 228 885-2406,
gaby.rerig@dfg.d - Tanja Zdebel,
Life Sciences II,
phone +49 228 885-3105,
tanja.zdebel@dfg.d
DLR-PT (DLR Project Management Agency)
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.
DLR Projektträger, Bereich Umwelt und Nachhaltigkeit
(DLR-PT manages this call on behalf of BMBF, the second German funding agency that is involved in this call.)
- Dr. Oliver Dilly,
phone +49 228 3821-1470,
oliver.dilly@dlr.d - Dr. Rainer Sodtke,
phone +49 228 3821-1561,
rainer.sodtke@dlr.d
Call Secretariat
- Patricia Vera and Maja Kolar:
BiodivRestore.cs@aei.gob.e
Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)
Calle de Torrelaguna, 58 bis. 28027, Madrid, Spain
BiodivERsA Secretariat
- Claire Blery:
claire.blery@fondationbiodiversite.f - Cécile Mandon:
cecile.mandon@fondationbiodiversite.f
French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB)
195 rue Saint Jacques, 75005 Paris, France
Water JPI Secretariat
- waterjpisecretariat@agencerechercche.f
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
50 Avenue Daumesnil, 75012 Paris, France