FAQ R&I Funding Portal

Before you can start an application, you have to register here for the R&I Funding Portal.

In the menu, choose Applications > BOF > New application. Choose a project name that best describes the project for your own reference. Select the call for which you want to apply and click ‘Create’.

The creation can take some time because, depending on the project type, one or more templated Google Documents will be created for your application.

You will be the owner of the application. An owner is not necessarily a project member.

The overview (Applications > BOF > Overview of applications) shows all applications for which you are owner or a project member. The list is sorted chronologically in descending order based on the last modified timestamp.

When you create an application, it will be in Draft state. 
When you start the submission process, it will enter the state Submitting.
When all approvers have approved the application, it will be automatically submitted and it will enter state Submitted.
When you cancel an application, it will enter the state Canceled.
An application in Draft or Submitting state will automatically enter Expired state when the deadline of the call expires.

The state of your application is shown next to each application in the overview of applications and on the detail page of each application.

Project members will have two distinct types of roles. The first is the project role, which defines their responsibilities within the project itself (e.g., applicant, promoter, co-promoter). The second is the application role, which specifies their function in the context of this application process (e.g., viewer, contributor).

Depending on the type of application, specific project members and roles are required to submit a valid proposal. Please ensure your team includes at least the following:

• Incoming mobility
  • a guest (from a partner organisation)
  • a receiving promotor (UHasselt ZAP member)

• Outgoing mobility
  • an applicant (internal UHasselt staff: from postdoc level onwards)
  • a promoter (UHasselt ZAP member who has approved the stay abroad)

Note that if you're applying for outgoing mobility as a ZAP member, you need to register yourself both in the role of promoter as well as applicant.

Project members can be added in the section ‘Project members & roles’ of the tab ‘General’ on the detail page of your application.

You can search for a member using the search box. Please first choose whether you want to add an UHasselt employee or an external person. If you cannot find an external person, you can add the external person by providing a first and last name and an email address.

Each project member will receive an email regarding their participation. An external project member without a R&I Funding Portal account will be invited to create one. 

If you are part of the project team, you will need to add yourself as a project member. If you are both the applicant and promoter, you will need to add yourself twice, i.e., once for each role.

Yes, please remember that simply creating the application as the Owner is not enough. You must also explicitly add yourself as a Project Member in the appropriate role to ensure you have the correct permissions and are included in the project team.

The person who initiates the application automatically becomes the Owner. As the owner, you are the only person that can initiate the submission process and you are responsible for resolving any validation issues when starting the submission process. If you wish to transfer this responsibility, you can assign ownership to another project member using the 'Transfer' action, which is accessible via the vertical dots (⋮).

The owner is responsible for the submission of the application. When the owner starts the submission process in ‘Edit’ mode, the approvers can still modify the application and in doing so it might no longer satisfy the validation criteria. In that case the owner has to resolve the validation errors and resubmit the application. The owner will receive an email notification when it is required to take this action.

Yes, in the context menu (via the vertical dots: ⋮) of an application, choose ‘Transfer’.

Yes, an external project member with a R&I Funding Portal account will see your application in Overview of applications. If the external project member has been given Contributor rights on the application, the external project member will also be able to edit it.

An external project member without a R&I Funding Portal account is invited to create one when the external project member is added to the list of project members.

When you transfer the ownership of an application to someone else, it implies that that person will be responsible for submission, validation of errors etc. Should you not have listed yourself as part of the research team, this also implies that you will no longer be able to see the application.

Links to the templated Google Documents you need to complete for your application are available in the tab ‘Forms & documents’ on the detail page of your application.

You don't need to manually save your work in the Google document. Just like any other Google Doc, all changes are automatically saved in real-time as you type.

Depending on the project type, some project members will need to approve the application before it is submitted. Approvers may approve the application in arbitrary order. 
When all approvers have approved the application, it is automatically submitted unless the application has validation errors. These errors can occur when approvers have modified the application after the owner started the submission process. In that case, the owner will receive an email notification to resolve the validation errors.

Yes, you can initiate the submission process in edit mode to sign and approve the application early. This allows project members to provide their approval while keeping the form open for further updates.
However, it is essential to coordinate with your project team to ensure at least one member is responsible for finalizing all data before the deadline. Once all project members have given their approval, the application will be officially submitted and finalized.

Proposals submitted through this portal are stored securely within the institution’s IT-managed Google Drive environment. We understand that research ideas are both valuable and sensitive; therefore, we handle your data with the following protections:

• Restricted Access: Access is strictly limited to the submitting researcher(s), authorized reviewers, and designated IT administrators (for technical purposes only).
• Intellectual Property: Your proposal content remains your exclusive intellectual property.
• Confidentiality: Your work will not be shared beyond the formal review process without your explicit knowledge or consent.

The Event Log provides a detailed overview of all activities within your application. It tracks which actions were performed, by whom, and the exact date and time they occurred.

The Audit Log tracks specific changes made to the data within your application. It records which values were modified and by whom, providing a clear overview of all edits for accountability and verification purposes.

You start the submission process for the application by clicking ‘Submit’ in the context menu (via the vertical dots: ⋮) of the application. Possible validation errors are shown. Also the list of project members that have to approve the application before it is submitted is shown.
After solving possible validation errors, click ‘Submit’. You will have the option to put the application in Read-Only mode or in Edit mode. 

Each approver will receive an email notification to approve the application.

Yes, you can cancel the submission process of an application by clicking ‘Cancel Submission' in the context menu (via the vertical dots ⋮) of the application. Existing approvals will be removed and all approvers will receive an email notification. The application will return to Draft state.

Yes, you can withdraw an application that is in Draft state by clicking ‘Cancel’ in the context menu (via the vertical dots ⋮) of the application. To withdraw an application that is in Submitting state, first cancel the submission process of the application, then click 'Cancel' to withdraw your application.