Programmes and projects
Research projects
Calls
	Schedule

The Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, Tivolska cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana, pursuant to Article 9 of the Rules on the Procedures of the (co)financing and Monitoring of Research Activities Implementation (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 23/09), Articles 12 and 13 of the Rules on (co-)financing basic, applicative and postdoctoral research projects (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nos. 73/06, 23/09 and 41/09), in conjunction with Article 12 of the Research and Development Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nos. 22/06-UPB1, 61/06-ZDru-1 and 112/07), based on guidelines of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology for allocation of budget funds to research priorities within the call for proposals to receive co-financing for research projects for 2011 – call in 2010, no. 410-28/2010/2 of 7 July 2010, and based on the Methodology for assessing applications for co-financing of research activities in 2010 – Sections A-D, no. 6319-1/2010-1 of 31 March 2010, 21 June 2010 and 20 September 2010, hereby publishes

Call for proposals to receive (co)financing for research projects in 2011 – call in 2010

1. Name and address of the budget user
   Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, Tivolska cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana (hereinafter: the Agency).
    
2. Subject matter of the Call
   Subject matter of the Call for proposals to receive (co)financing for research projects in 2011 (hereinafter: the Call) is (co)financing of research projects:
   1. big and small basic research projects and big and small applicative research projects;
   2. postdoctoral basic and applicative research projects and postdoctoral projects for businesses.

Scientific fields of the Call for proposals to receive (co)financing for research projects and the planned annual funds:

The annual funds of the call equal € 22,300,000.00.

Allocation of co-financing funds in 2011 in line with the Call shall take into account the distribution of funds by scientific field that will roughly preserve the fund ratios between scientific fields from 2010 (table).

The priority fields set by the Scientific Council of the Agency (hereinafter: the SCA) relate to big research projects.

The applications for big projects, which are included based on the score in the list of projects selected for co-financing, will be discussed by a panel, which will decide, with regard to alignment with the priorities, whether the selected big project will be co-financed as a big or as a small project.

The Agency may select one big applicative project for the following topical priorities:

• First priority set: information & communications technology – ICT (includes computer and information sciences)
• Second priority set: advanced (new) synthetic metal and non-metal materials and nanotechnologies
• Third priority set: complex systems and innovative technologies (including process management technologies)
• Fourth priority set: technologies for a sustainable economy (energy and environmental technologies, technologies for more rational use of energy, for use of new and renewable energy sources, for safe and healthy environment, for sustainable construction, for providing and controlling quality of the environment (soil, forest, water and air), food, health and products etc.)
• Fifth priority set: health and life science and interdisciplinary research in natural & technical sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical sciences and humanities and social sciences related to the quality of life and protection of the environment.

The Agency may select one big project in the following fields:

• basic scientific project lead by an extraordinary and established Slovenian researcher
• basic scientific project lead by an extraordinary and established Slovenian researcher, who has been working abroad for at least five years and is returning to Slovenia

At least 10% of postdoctoral projects shall be selected within each field, and at least 50% of projects in technical sciences and at least 25% in other fields shall be applicative. At least 15% of selected projects shall have younger researchers in charge (up to 7 active years after receiving doctoral degree).

3. Entities that can apply to the Call

The call may be entered by a legal entity or natural person listed in records of data on implementers of research & development activities (hereinafter: the Agency Records) and meeting the conditions prescribed by the Research and Development Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nos. 22/06-UPB1, 61/06-ZDru-1 and 112/07, hereinafter: the Act) and the Rules on (co-)financing basic, applicative and postdoctoral research projects (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nos. 73/06, 23/09 –             Rules on the Procedures of the (co)financing and Monitoring of Research Activities Implementation – and 41/09, hereinafter: the Project Rules). Research projects co-financed by the Agency and complying with the framework programme of research and technological development activities of the EU shall be open to research entities from the EU, provided such entities finance their part of the research from their own funds. The applicants may enter such entities as collaborating research teams.

4. Objectives of the Call

Objective of the Call is to select:

1. big (basic and applicative) research projects;
2. small (basic and applicative) research projects;
3. postdoctoral basic and applicative research projects; and
4. postdoctoral projects for businesses entered by enterprises and intended foremost for the flow (transfer) of young doctors of science to the business sector and implemented so that the researcher may after receiving the doctoral degree obtain additional research experience and knowledge in the business sector.

5. Conditions

The conditions for selection of research projects are set in the Methodology for assessing applications for co-financing of research activities in 2011 (calls in 2010) – Section A-D, no. 6319-1/2010-1, of 31 March 2010, 21 June 2010 and 20 September 2010 (hereinafter: the Methodology), the Project Rules, the Rules on criteria for evaluation of qualifications of project leaders (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 41/09; hereinafter: the Project Manager Rules) and the Rules of indicators and criteria for measuring scientific and technical efficiency (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nos. 41/09, 86/09 and 56/10). All listed documents are a constituent part of the documentation of the Call and are published at the Agency's website.

The research project is implemented by the project team (hereinafter: the Team) comprising the team manager, researchers and expert and technical assistants.

Postdoctoral projects are performed by a single postdoctoral researcher meeting the conditions for implementation of such projects.

The project managers and the Team shall have available capacity to implement research projects (the maximum permitted capacity is 1700 hours annually or 1 FTE) and shall be employed as researchers in the research institution implementing the project or have the status of a private researcher.

The project manager shall have at least 170 available research hours annually, with the exception of managers of public research institutions. Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, a project manager can be a retired researcher with 0 hours, who meets all other conditions for a project manager and has outstanding scientific achievements. A project lead by a retired researcher shall not exceed € 50,000 annually.

The conditions related to available capacity and employment shall be verified upon contract signing. The contract shall be signed within three months following the decision of the Management Board of the Agency on the project selection. An individual researcher can be a candidate in the Call as the manager of only one research project. A researcher may become a candidate for the manager of a new project if she or he was on 9 November 2010 the manager of no more than two basic research projects or no more than two applicative research projects or at the same time one applicative and one basic research project. A researcher who has already been the manager of one postdoctoral project cannot enter any other postdoctoral research project.

The SCA has determined the limit value of the sum A1+A2+A3 which the project managers must have in the application for each field separately - the values for 2010 are:

Big basic project:

A1+A2+A3 = 11 natural and technical sciences

A1+A2+A3 = 10 medical sciences and biotechnology

A1+A2+A3 = 6 social sciences

A1+A2+A3 = 5 humanities

Basic project and big applicative project:

A1+A2+A3=5.0 natural sciences

A1+A2+A3=5.0 technical sciences

A1+A2+A3=2.5 medical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences and geology

A1+A2+A3=3.5 biotechnology and biology

A1+A2+A3=2.0 social sciences and clinical medicine

A1+A2+A3=2.5 humanities

A1+A2+A3=4.0 interdisciplinary

Applicative project (including basic project if not more than 7 years have passed since the project manager received the doctoral degree):

A1+A2+A3=3.0 natural sciences

A1+A2+A3=3.0 technical sciences

A1+A2+A3=1.5 medical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences and geology

A1+A2+A3=2.5 biotechnology and biology

A1+A2+A3=1.5 social sciences

A1+A2+A3=2.0 humanities

A1+A2+A3=3.0 interdisciplinary

Applicative project if not more than 7 years have passed since the project manager received the doctoral degree:

A1+A2+A3=2.5 natural sciences

A1+A2+A3=2.5 technical sciences

A1+A2+A3=1.0 medical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences and geology

A1+A2+A3=2.0 biotechnology and biology

A1+A2+A3=1.0 social sciences

A1+A2+A3=1.5 humanities

A1+A2+A3=2.5 interdisciplinary

A third of project team members for basic and applicative projects for all fields must meet the condition: A1+A2+A3=1.

(Basic and applicative) project managers can also apply with a lower overall score A1+A2+A3 if they prove their excellence with achievements within A".

For postdoctoral applicants:

If the postdoctoral applicant has used the parental leave – with one year accounted per one child – the age limit shall be raised above 35 for the period of the actually used leave. Equally applies to documented sick leaves exceeding three months. A postdoctoral applicant shall receive the doctoral degree by 9 November 2010.

A postdoctoral applicant shall be employed by the applying institution or must be employed by the applying institution by the date of contract signing for the project at least for the duration of the postdoctoral project.

The Call specifies two sizes of basic and applicative research projects, namely:

1. small projects with the annual finance of roughly € 100,000. The applicants, notably in social sciences, mathematics and clinical medicine, can apply projects of € 50,000 as a small project. The number of such projects cannot exceed 10% for all fields combined.

Calculated as project research hours, that would mean roughly 3620 annual hours of the price class A (1810 for projects of € 50,000), 3210 annual hours of the price class B (1610), 2810 annual hours of the price class C (1400) or 2520 annual hours of the price class D (1260); and

2. big projects with the annual finance of roughly € 200,000.

Calculated as project research hours, that would mean roughly 7240 annual hours of the price class A, 6420 annual hours of the price class B, 5620 annual hours of the price class C or 5040 annual hours of the price class D.

The applicants entering a big project shall specify in the application form to which part of the project proposal the increased funding relates (Stage II – Item 14 of the application form: supplement to the research project proposal if the applicant enters a big project).

Basic or applicative big projects shall also:

1. applicative projects:

• include at least three Slovenian research organisations different by type (with regard to the status (research institute, university and an enterprise);
• include a foreign participating partner (with no financial obligations); and
• prove co-financing.

2. Basic projects:

• include at least two Slovenian research organisations different by type (with regard to the status (research institute, university or an enterprise);
• include a foreign participating partner (with no financial obligations).

Each project (€ 100,000 and 200,000) shall include the applicant and at least one participating research institution which will together perform at least 20% of the project value. If the project has been approved in the amount of € 50,000, the applicant may exclude or reduce the share of participating research institutions which must be stated upon application – Stage II, Item 14 (with specification of the share of participating research institutions).

The scope of basic postdoctoral projects and postdoctoral projects for businesses is 1700 annual research hours (1 FTE) of the price class B and of applicative postdoctoral projects 1275 annual research hours (0.75 FTE) of the price class B.

If the project team comprises several project sub-teams in different research institutions, the applicant can be only that research institution which employs the research project manager. The applicant shall have an agreement regulating mutual rights and obligations signed with other participating institutions.

The applicant shall mark in the application form whether the contents of the research project proposal are deemed business secret.

The Agency obtains and calculates quantitative assessments for individual assessment elements (A1 and A2 scores) and for individual scientific fields specified in the Methodology. The Agency will use data entered in the SICRIS (COBISS) database and the Agency Records (A1 and A2 scores) as at the date of conclusion of the Call to calculate quantitative assessments.

The Agency obtained data for calculation of funds of other users based on the Methodology (A3 score) directly from research institutions (hereinafter: the RI) for all project managers who are members of programme research teams. The Agency will take into account for members of programme groups only data entered in the ARRS-RPROG-VPETOST/2010 form on which competent persons vouched for data accuracy with their signature.

Research project managers not being members of any programme group shall enter data on funds of other users in the ARRS-RPROG-VPETOST-D/2010 form published on the Agency’s website and send it by e-mail to vpetostprogram@arrs.si by 9 November 2010, 12 noon. A printed and signed form shall also be sent via regular mail to:

Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia
Tivolska cesta 30
1000 Ljubljana

Also by 9 November 2010, 12 noon. The Agency will take into account data from those forms only if the candidate is a member of no programme group.

6. Application to the Call

The Call will be carried out in two stages. All applicants enter Stage I of the Call by a short application using the ARRS-ZV-JR-Prijava/2010-I form.

Application to the Call is made by an application form using the ARRS-ZV-JR-Prijava/2010-I form on the Agency’s e-Forms web portal https://www.arrs.gov.si/eObrazci/. The portal can be used by researchers entered in the Agency Records, administrators of the e-Forms portal in the RI, authorised persons representing the RI and additional users. There are two ways of logging in the e-Forms web portal:

• using a digital certificate (SIGEN-CA, SIGOV-CA, NLB-CA, POSTArCA or HALCOM-CA);
• using username and password (researchers can obtain password on the e-Forms portal by themselves, other users get it from the administrator of e-Forms in the RI or the Agency).

A detailed explanation of the procedure of logging in and obtaining password is enclosed hereto.

The application form is simultaneously filled in Slovene and English – it needs to be filled in both languages.

7. Assessment criteria

Evaluation conditions, criteria and indicators for assessing project proposals are specified in the Project Rules, Project Manager Rules and Indicator and Criteria Rules, and the assessment method in the Methodology.

Project proposals are assessed in a two-stage procedure:

Stage I

1. Preliminary selection

The SCA based on an analysis of the five-year production of Slovenian researchers by research field (particle physics subfield is taken into account separately in physics) and accounting for the available funds for research fields determines researchers who can automatically enter the second round of assessment. Those researchers are informed on the possibility of automatic entry in the second round of assessment upon publication of the Call and if they send an application to the Call, they will only enter the project’s title and fill in administrative data on their application form for the first stage. If they do not submit an application until conclusion of the Call, they cannot enter Stage II of the assessment. The SCA selects researchers based on the classification by order of the sum of assessments A1 + A2 + A3 in the list within a field. All selected researchers must have scores in category A' and the total score of A1+A2+A3 at least equal to the condition for applying a basic project. Scores for A1 and A2 from the SICRIS database have been calculated as at 20 September 2010.

The number of thus selected researchers roughly equals 50% of the number of projects entering Stage II. Interdisciplinary research and post-doctoral projects have no preliminary selection.

2. Selection through the Call

The Agency will use assessments from the assessment procedure to classify projects as A or B category.

A category: projects included in the A category are determined from projects within a field by descending scores B₁ + B₂ + B₃. The A category also includes postdoctoral projects where the applicant has entered a project at a research institution other than that of his current employment. The A category projects have not yet been selected for financing. A project must have the B1+B2+B3 score of at least 15 (threshold) to be considered for the A category.

B category: Projects included in the B category are those not included in the A category. The B category projects are rejected. The B category includes all projects with the score B₁ + B₂ + B₃ less than 15 and other projects not included in the A category.

Stage II

The Agency calls upon the applicants included in the second stage of the project selection (A category) to submit within three weeks on the ARRS-ZV-JR-Prijava-2010-II form (hereinafter: the Stage II Application Form) the supplemented research project proposals on the e-Forms portal.

The project composition is included in the Stage II Application Form. The project composition from the Stage II Application Form cannot be changed upon contract signing.

The applicants entering projects with an enterprise as the Implementer, co-implementer or co-financing the project shall, in accordance with the Rules on state aid in research & development, no. 007-6/2009-8 of 17 June 2009, submit filled in form for granting state aid, ARRS-ZV-JR-Prijava/2010-II-DP.

8. Amount of the Call

The planned annual amount for the call is € 22.3 million Allocation of co-financing funds in 2011 in line with the Call shall take into account the distribution of funds by scientific field that will roughly preserve the fund ratios between scientific fields from 2010.

The Call will be implemented in line with the funds earmarked in the budget of the Republic of Slovenia and the Agency's budget.

The Agency will finance basic projects up to 100% of eligible project costs. The Agency will finance applicative projects up to 75% of eligible project costs. The applicants entering applicative projects shall cover at least 25% of eligible project costs from other interested users and submit evidence on project co-financing (agreement on co-financing) for the entire period of project implementation with regard to the research hour price in the beginning of financing. If enterprises enter an applicative project independently (with no public research institution), they do not have to submit evidence of project co-financing but must disclose their share of co-financing in financial reports.

With regard to the load of researchers with research hours financed from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia, the Agency will in line with the Decree on criteria and standards for allocating resources for the implementation of the National Research and Development Programme (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nos. 74/04, 32/05, 26/06, 80/07, 89/08 and 102/09) finance individual researchers with regard to the share of employment for research, up to a maximum of 1700 research hours annually. The minimum annual workload of a researcher per project is 17 hours. A participating RI shall contribute at least 170 hours in the project implementation period where the minimum scope of a participating RI in a year shall be 170 hours. The number of hours of a participating RI during the project implementation can be 0 hours in a year.

9. Duration of research projects

The planned start of (co)financing of project implementation is 1 June 2011.

The Agency will (co)finance selected projects up to three years except for postdoctoral research projects which will be (co)financed for two years. The selected research project will be allocated an annual number of research hours, meaning determining the annual number of research hours for all years of project duration in the Call.

10. Selection of research projects

10.1. – Stage I

The applications will be assessed by the procedure and method set by the Project Rules and the Methodology.

The working body will prepare a draft project list to be included in Stage II of the selection (A category, see Item 7 of the Call) and the draft project list to be rejected in Stage I of the selection (B category), and submits them to the SCA for discussion.

The SCA will adopt the draft financially evaluated priority project list of the A category to be included in Stage II of the application selection and the draft project list of the B category to be rejected after Stage I of the selection. The draft decision is submitted for adoption to the Management Board of the Agency.

10.2. – Stage II

The panel prepares the draft priority project list and submits it to the SCA for discussion. The SCA prepares the draft financially evaluated priority list for project selection after Stage II of the assessment and submits it for approval to the Management Board of the Agency. The Management Board also decides on any complaint against the decision on selection of research projects.

11. Method, form and deadline for application submitting – Stage I

11.1. Submitting the application form with a digital signature

The application to the Call is made and submitted by an application form using the ARRS-ZV-JR-Prijava/2010-I form on the Agency’s e-Forms web portal. A submitted application shall be complete, if it contains both digital signatures (authorised person of the RI and the research project manager). The applications must be submitted by Tuesday, 9 November 2010, 12 noon.

We advise the applicants not to submit applications on the last day of the set period because the server may overload.

11.2. Submitting the application form without a digital signature

If the applicant and/or the research project manager have no digital signature, the application form will be submitted in electronic form unsigned (on the Agency’s e-Forms web portal) with the application status “Submitted – not digitally signed” and in print, including an authentic signature of the authorised person of the RI and the research project manager and the stamp of the RI.

Both electronic and printed form of the application shall be completely the same in terms of contents.

Printed applications shall be submitted in closed envelopes marked “DO NOT open – CALL FOR PROJECTS” and obligatory marking of the application (ARRS-ZV-JR/2010-I /...) with indication of the field on the envelope (a field from Item 7 of the application form) and name and address of the applicant, sent to the address:

Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia
Tivolska cesta 30
1000 Ljubljana

Timely applications shall be those submitted in print or electronically by the deadline. An application shall be timely if submitted to the Agency’s e-Forms web portal (with status “Submitted”) or received in the mail room of the Agency by Tuesday, 9 November 2010, 12 noon. Timely shall be also applications sent by registered mail from Slovenia by 9 November 2010, 12 noon (postal stamp).

11.3. Completeness of applications

An application shall be complete if submitted in the prescribed form on the applicable form (Item 11.1 – electronic, Item 11.2 – electronic and printed) and containing all data as prescribed herein. Incomplete applications shall be handled in accordance with the Rules on the Procedures of the (co)financing and Monitoring of Research Activities Implementation (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 23/09).

The committee for opening applications shall disregard untimely and incorrectly marked applications, which will be returned unopened to the sender.

12. Applications opening date

The committee for opening applications will open all timely delivered and properly marked applications at the registered office of the Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, Tivolska cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana, on Thursday, 11 November 2010, 10 a.m.

13. The deadline by which the applicants will be informed on the Call’s results

The applicants will be informed on the projects rejected after Stage I of the selection by the end of January 2011. The applicants will be informed on the project selection after Stage II of the selection in May 2011.

14. Method, form and deadline for application submitting – Stage II

The application submitting procedure will be similar to Stage I. The applicants entering Stage II will be informed in writing on the method, form and deadline of submitting application forms.

15. Place, time and person where interested parties can obtain documentation of the Call

15.1. Documentation of the Call is available on the Agency’s website (http://www.arrs.gov.si/sl/razpisi/).

15.2. Any additional information related to the Call can be obtained by interested parties on the Agency’s website http://www.arrs.gov.si and the Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, Tivolska cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana, and telephone number 400 5960 Vanja Rodič, Almira Bremec, Tina Valenci and Mateja Gašpirc).

Number: 6316-3/2010/2
Date: 27.09.2010

Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia
Dr. Franci Demšar

Director

(Published in the Official Gazette of the RS, no. 76/2010 dated 1 October 2010.)

Documentation of the Call:

• Sample of the Application Form for Phase:
  • ARRS-RPROJ-JR-Prijava-2010-I-Vzorec.pdf (format Acrobat, 134KB)
     
• Sample of the (tripartite) Contract:
  • SL-EN-ARRS-TP-NL-2011.doc (format Word, 90KB)
  • SL-EN-ARRS-TP-NL-2011.pdf  (format Acrobat, 134KB)