Consortium application

Project collaboration or consortium?

Researchers and research teams may collaborate through normal project collaboration. In this case, the parties apply for funding for their projects independently, and the cooperation is described in each party’s research plan. Applications that involve this kind of project collaboration are reviewed as separate applications.

Applicants for research funding may also be consortia composed of a number of research projects working at different sites. A consortium is a fixed-term body of individual sub-projects that work under a joint research plan with a view to generating greater added value through systematic collaboration than through normal project collaboration. After the funding period has ended, the consortium PI shall submit a scientific report on behalf of the whole consortium.

In international joint calls, consortium applications can be considered only in cases when a research team working in Finland has close collaboration with another team working in Finland, in addition to a foreign partner. In these international calls, the Academy normally funds only the Finnish parties of a consortium by granting funding to the Finnish sites of research. The Academy’s international partner provides funding to the foreign parties of the collaboration.

Submitting a consortium application

A consortium application is submitted by the principal investigator (PI) of a consortium, who is selected by the consortium. Besides a joint research plan and an abstract, the consortium application shall also include lists of publications by and curricula vitae for the PIs of the consortium sub-projects. The research plan shall detail the competence and responsibilities of the parties as well as the added value the consortium is expected to generate. In addition, the consortium research plan shall include a cost estimate (budget and funding plan) for the consortium, specified by sub-project. In two-stage calls, only the consortium PI submits a letter of intent for the consortium.

All consortium parties submit their own applications in which they present a cost estimate and funding plan, a mobility plan and the partners of their sub-project. Each consortium party shall request a commitment from its site of research. The cost estimate and the funding plan must be as realistic as possible. They must follow the cost coefficients (indirect costs, indirect employee costs, effective working hours) used by the site of research in question.

The consortium application and the applications of consortium sub-projects are addressed to the same research council at the Academy. A consortium application is processed as one application and the funding decision is made by a research council or sub-committee at the Academy.

Applicants may concurrently submit an application only to one of the following calls: Academy Project (incl. consortium application as the PI of a consortium or consortium sub-project), research post as Academy Research Fellow or Postdoctoral Researcher. If one and the same applicant submits more than one application for these funding opportunities, only the first application received from that applicant will be reviewed.

Appendices to consortium application

When preparing a consortium application, you shall follow the Academy’s general guidelines (if not otherwise stated).

1. Letter of intent, appendices (e.g. first application round of research programme calls), online application with the following appendices:

• plan of intent for consortium, no more than six pages (see guidelines below)
• curricula vitae for consortium PI and PIs of consortium sub-projects, no more than four pages/PI. (The curriculum vitae for the consortium PI is appended under “Personal data/CV”, other curricula vitae under “Appendices”.)
• lists of publications by consortium PI and PIs of consortium sub-projects. Clearly indicate the ten most important publications (in each list) in terms of the research plan.

2. Full application, appendices (e.g. Academy Project, second stage of research programme calls)

2.1  Application by consortium PI

• online application, indicating the consortium code, consortium parties with contact details, public description of the consortium and an abstract (see guidelines below) as well as a cost estimate (funding plan and budget), mobility plan and partners for the consortium PI’s own project.

Appendices to application by consortium PI:

• research plan drafted in line with consortium guidelines, no more than 15 pages
• curricula vitae: the online system links the consortium PI’s own curriculum vitae automatically to the application. The curricula vitae for the PIs of the consortium sub-projects are appended to the application as normal appendices. The maximum length of a curriculum vitae is four pages.
• lists of publications by consortium PI and PIs of consortium sub-projects. The length of the lists is not limited. Clearly indicate the ten most important publications (in each list) in terms of the project.
• statement by an ethics committee or the Committee on Animal Experimentation (if relevant)
• progress report on all Academy-funded research projects headed by the consortium PI and the PIs of the consortium sub-projects that have not submitted final reports, combined as one document
• statement by a Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation, if relevant, confirming that the applicant’s project is affiliated with the strategic centre and justifying the significance of the project for the strategic centre’s operations
• invitation by foreign university or research institute, if the research or part of it will be conducted abroad.

2.2  Application by PI of consortium sub-project

• online application, indicating the sub-project’s cost estimate (budget and funding plan), mobility plan and partners
• no appendices.

Drafting an abstract and appendices to consortium application

Below you will find guidelines on how to draft a consortium abstract, plan of intent and research plan. These differ from the appendices to an individual application. For guidelines on how to draft other appendices, see our website at Appendices.

1. Abstract for consortium

The abstract (i.e. the summary of the research plan) is written only on the application of the consortium PI. It provides an overview of the scientific content and costs of the project. The application will be reviewed by international experts, and the abstract shall therefore describe the following aspects:

• name and site of research of consortium PI
• names and sites of research of PIs of consortium sub-projects
• name and abbreviation of consortium
• summary of key aspects of the research plan: objectives of research (incl. added value expected from consortium collaboration), research methods and material
• funding period, amount of funding (specified by sub-project) applied for from the Academy and estimated total costs.

2. Plan of intent for consortium

The Academy normally requests a plan of intent in two-stage calls (e.g. research programme calls). The plan of intent shall be no more than six pages and it shall have the following structure:

• name of applicant
• title of research project
• site of research
• justification for why the research project fits in with the call and its objectives
• background and objectives of research
• added value generated by consortium
• description of research team
• most important research methods applied by the research project
• expected results, and scientific and societal impact
• national and international cooperation
• timetable for research.

The plan of intent is appended to the application in the online services. Name the attachment file as follows: yoursurname_intent_abstract.

3. Research plan for consortium

The research plan of a consortium differs from the research plans of other types of applications. The maximum length of the consortium research plan is 15 pages (Times New Roman, 12 pt or equivalent). The research plan shall include the following information:

1. Name of consortium PI and PIs of consortium sub-projects and their sites of research, name and abbreviation of consortium

2. Background

• significance of research nationally and internationally
• previous research relating to the topic (in brief) and how the proposed research project links to it
• how the consortium project links to other research by the PIs of the consortium sub-projects or their teams.

3. Objectives

• research objectives
• hypotheses
• justifications for how the proposed research fits in with the call and its objectives, if the call has a specific objective (e.g. research programme calls)
• added value expected from consortium collaboration.

4. Research methods and material, ethical issues

• research methods to be used, described so as to explain how they contribute to answering the research questions/confirming hypotheses or supporting the chosen approach
• research material
• materials management plan (incl. electronic material): 1) how the research material will be obtained; 2) how it will be used; 3) how it will be stored and protected; 4) how its subsequent use will be facilitated; and 5) how the rights of ownership and use will be allocated
• ethical issues (e.g. ethical governance  procedures, informed consent, anonymity of subjects) and research permits or information on pending permit applications
• risk management: critical points, alternative ways to implement the project.

5. Implementation: timetable, budget, distribution of work

• timetable for consortium research
• cost estimate (budget and funding plan) of each consortium sub-project and justification for costs by type of expenditure. Costs that do not pass through the books of the site of the research shall not be included in the total project costs.
• distribution of work: names, tasks and salary costs (with justification) of persons working on consortium projects, including an estimate of the working hours (max. 1.5 months/year) used by PI of each consortium sub-project on his or her own project. If the names are not known, enter N.N.
• if funding (max. 12 months) is applied for to cover the salary of the PI of a consortium sub-project working on the project, give clear, research-specific reasons for the funding
• salary plan for PIs of each consortium sub-project, covering the funding period, if the PI does not have a permanent employment relationship.

6. Researchers, research environment, mobility

• competence of team members of consortium sub-projects
• sites of research and any tangible support they offer the project, including available equipment
• key national and international collaboration and distribution of work in terms of the consortium (“Partners” on the application)
• other partners (e.g. Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation), type of cooperation, description of how the project will benefit from this cooperation (“Partners” on the application)
• use of international and national research infrastructures, description of how the project will benefit from this use (“Infrastructures” on the application)
• justification for mobility: how the visits or work periods elsewhere contribute to research plan implementation.

Under “Mobility” on the application, give a detailed description of any mobility within the project: to and from Finland or between organisations in Finland (objectives and duration of visits and whether the visits have already been agreed).

7. Researcher training and research career (when the funding applied for goes to a research team)

• researcher training, including arrangements for instruction and supervision
• doctoral studies within the consortium’s research teams
• promotion of research careers of researchers to be hired
• promotion of gender equality.

8. Expected research results, possible risks

• expected scientific and societal impact
• potential for scientific breakthroughs and for increasing the capacity for renewal of science and research, identification of risks
• applicability and feasibility of research results
• publishing of research results and raising the awareness among potential end-users, the scientific community and the general public.

9. Key literature or bibliography

The research plan is appended to the application in the online services. Name the attachment file as follows: yoursurname_research plan.

How to draft a consortium application online

The consortium PI starts drafting a consortium application by logging in to the Academy’s online services and selecting the call in question (‘New application’) under ‘Open calls’. First select the language of the application and then ‘Application of consortium PI’. Enter the name and abbreviation of the consortium and the system will create a numeric code for the consortium. Under ‘Consortium parties’, enter the other parties of the consortium and send them a message with the consortium code and the research council to which the consortium sub-projects shall also address their applications. After this, the PIs of the consortium sub-projects can start drafting their applications in the online services by selecting ‘Application of other consortium party’ under the call in question and by entering the consortium code they have been sent.

All appendices of the consortium application are appended to the main application of the consortium PI. The consortium sub-projects submit their online application without appendices. The cost coefficients (indirect costs, indirect employee costs, effective working hours) used by the site of research of each consortium sub-project are applied to the application of that particular sub-project.

In the application of an international consortium, it is the Finnish responsible party that is indicated as the PI who will submit the main application of the consortium. The other Finnish parties submit sub-project applications. On the application, each consortium party enters the cost estimate (budget and funding plan) for its sub-project.

The application of the consortium PI and the applications of the consortium sub-projects shall be submitted online by the set deadline. The consortium PI will receive a message after the PIs of the consortium sub-projects have submitted their applications in the online services. The deadline is non-negotiable. The application of the whole consortium can be processed only if the applications of all consortium sub-projects have been submitted by the deadline. The deadline is non-negotiable. The composition of a consortium cannot be changed after the deadline.

The application of the consortium PI and the applications of the consortium sub-projects are submitted to the research council to whose scope the application best pertains. The research council makes a funding decision for the whole consortium and allocates the funding to the host organisation of each consortium party. In the review of applications pertaining to the scope of two or more research councils, the Academy requests (if relevant) expert reviews from fields other than that of the primary research council.

Decision by Vice President for Research, 27 February 2012; specification concerning reporting, 2 August 2012