Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025

Today’s complex societal challenges rarely, if ever, exactly fit into the framework of one single area of expertise or one single specialism. It is, therefore, of great importance that academics, in consultation with one another, look beyond the borders of their own domain and discipline when looking for the solutions to these challenges.

In order to stimulate this and to celebrate their 100-year anniversary, the Gratama Foundation has made a grant available of €100,000 through the GUF: the Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025.

The grant is intended for an interdisciplinary project that aligns with the main faculty and University research themes.

Application procedure

An application should be supported by one of the Faculty Boards and every application should involve at least one member or former member of the Young Academy Groningen (YAG).

Applications may be submitted to the GUF until 1 September 2024. Any questions can be sent to the GUF board at guf@rug.nl.

In the autumn of 2024, the Gratama Foundation, together with the GUF, will make a selection from the received project proposals. The awarding of the Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025 will take place during a special meeting with the Board of the University in February 2025.

Below, you will find information on: (1) the selection and conditions, (2) the structure of applications and how to submit, (3) the costs covered by the grant, and (4) the assessment criteria and the time frame.

1. Selection and conditions

The GUF Board makes a preselection from the applications, taking into account the following conditions:

• The project is demonstrably in line with one of the main UG research themes and has an explicitly interdisciplinary character.
• It is possible to involve academics from several faculties in the project, of whom at least one is a member or former member of the YAG.
• Applicants must have a paid appointment of at least 0.4 FTE at the UG or University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG).
• An applicant may not be involved in more than one project proposal.
• Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered. This also applies to incomplete applications and applications that do not satisfy the conditions.

2. What structure should the proposal follow and how should it be submitted?

The applicants must submit a complete project plan. Applications may be submitted in Dutch or English.

The application should comprise:

A. A summary in Dutch that is understandable to the general public (maximum 250 words).
B. An elaborate project description of maximum 2500 words, excluding references, and at most three illustrations (tables/graphs/images).
Please use the below structure:

1. Name of the project
2. General outline of the project, including its academic importance
3. Problem statement, goal of the project, central research question, and expected outcomes
4. Research design and methodology.
   

C. A clear planning/time frame with a starting date – not before 1 January 2025 and not after 1 July 2025, duration maximum 3 years.
D. Budget of the project with a clear explanation as to why this project in particular benefits from this grant so well.
E. An institutional guarantee from a Faculty Board.
F. CVs from the applicant members of the project team, summarized in maximum 2 A4 pages.

3. Which costs will be covered by the grant?

Costs that will be covered by the grant are:

• Both material and staffing costs. Please note that it is important to submit a clear specification of the costs without provisional sums or unclear estimates.
• Only the immediately necessary costs of a project, without overhead surcharge. Staffing costs should relate to the staff carrying out the work and could include exemption from teaching duties.
• Article processing charge of open access publications, provided the costs are well motivated.
• If laboratory tests can be done internally, no more than the cost price should be budgeted.

4. Assessment criteria and time frame

The applications will be assessed by the GUF and the board of the Gratama Foundation based on the following criteria:

• Academic importance and interdisciplinary and innovative character of the project
• Clarity of the problem statement and the methodology
• Ambition and interdisciplinary composition of the project team and quality of the CVs
• Feasibility in terms of costs and planning
• An adequate budget: this criterion is a necessary precondition. If the budget is unclear or comprises non-subsidizable items, the GUF may decide not to take the proposal in consideration.

All applications will be discussed in a meeting of the GUF Board at the end of September 2024. The applicants of maximum the three best-assessed projects will be requested to hold a presentation for (a delegation of) the Board of the Gratama Foundation and a delegation of the GUF Board on 22 November 2024. In the week of 16 December 2024, the project team that will receive the Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025 will be confidentially informed via their applicant members and it will be announced to the general public during the award ceremony in February 2025.

Applicationform Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025