FWO - Large-scale research infrastructure - call 2023

Research

Funding organisation:

Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen

What?

The FWO bi-annual call for Large-Scale Research Infrastructure is currently open. 

Research infrastructure comprises all facilities and sources that promote the performance of cross-border and strategic basic research across all scientific disciplines. Besides scientific infrastructure, this includes collections, natural habitats, corpora and databases (including digital opening up).

Project period: 4 years, renewable with a maximum of two years. 
New for this call: Large-scale research infrastructure is defined as research infrastructure with a total subsidy amount excluding co-financing of at least EUR 1.000.000 (including the non-refundable portion of VAT).

Acceptable costs:

• Equipment: Costs for research investments, i.e. the costs of purchasing and connecting the research infrastructure or purchasing the components for the construction of the planned research infrastructure, including the non-refundable portion of VAT. This also includes the upgrading, i.e. the substantial improvement of existing research infrastructure;
• Personnel costs for the development and construction of the research infrastructure. This also includes the personnel costs for upgrading the research infrastructure and the costs for the operational or maintenance personnel once the infrastructure is up and running;
• Operational costs consist of maintenance costs over the entire depreciation period, i.e. the costs arising from maintenance agreements or research infrastructure upgrades and equipment repairs.

Funding percentage: 70% of the subsidisable costs. In order to stimulate cooperation between centers of knowledge and between centers of knowledge and third parties, this percentage can be increased to:

• 90% of the subsidisable costs if the proposal is made by research groups from more than one subsidy-eligible body and if it is demonstrated in the application file that all applicants account for at least half of the amount they would have to pay if the remaining 10% of the subsidisable costs were proportionately distributed. This is to emphasize that there must be a real contribution and commitment from all applicants and that it is not simply a formal construct.
• 100% of the portion of the subsidisable costs is to be funded by the university or university college itself if at least 25% of the qualifying costs are borne by a body other than a university or university college.

Who?

Eligible organizations:
A research group or research groups at a Flemish university, at higher education institutions in charge of scientific research, and a strategic research center (IMEC, VIB, Flanders Make, VITO, …):
a partnership agreement between the above bodies; or a partnership agreement between at least one of the aforementioned bodies and one or more third parties.

Application?

• Submission of applications through the FWO e-portal
• internal deadline is identical for all Flemish Universities: September 11, 2023. Please make sure that both budget issues, as well as the consortium composition, are settled. 
• Deadline submission of final project proposal by UHasselt (OBI): September 18, 2023 at 5 PM
• Announcement of results: March 2023

Regulations?

• Guidelines on funding and co-financing of large-scale research infrastructure
• FWO Regulations on large-scale research infrastructure

Deadline intern

11.09.2023, 18.09.2023

Contact Hasselt University?

E-mail ilse.das@uhasselt.be

Tel. +3211268098