Programmes and projects

Research projects

Calls

      

The Slovenian Research Agency, Bleiweisova cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana, based on Article 32 in connection with Article 12 of the Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act (ZZrID) (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 186/21), Articles 10 and 13 of the General Act on Procedures for Financing, Co-financing, Evaluating and Monitoring the Implementation of Scientific Research Activities (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 166/22) and based on the Methodology for the assessment of applications in the procedures for the (co-)financing of scientific research activities No. 6319-5/2022-5, as of 9 January 2023, hereby publishes the

Public call for the (co)financing of research projects in 2023

1. Name and registered office of the ARRS

Slovenian Research Agency, Bleiweisova cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana (hereinafter: ARRS).

 

2. Subject of the Call

The subject of the Public call for the (co-)financing of research projects in 2023 (hereinafter: the Call) is the (co-)financing of research projects:

  1. small basic research projects (hereinafter: basic projects) and small applied research projects (hereinafter: applied projects);
  2. post-doctoral basic research projects (hereinafter: post-doctoral basic projects) and post-doctoral applied research projects (hereinafter: post-doctoral applied projects);
  3. small basic research projects – Dr. Aleš Debeljak Programme (hereinafter: basic projects - AD Programme);
  4. major basic research project (hereinafter: major projects).


3. Amount of funds for the Call

The estimated annual amount of funding for the public call is €30,000,000.00.

The estimated annual amount of funding for the realisation of items 2.a and 2.b of this public call is €24,800,000.00. When allocating funds for the (co-)financing of research projects as part of the implementation of the public call, the distribution of funds is considered by scientific discipline per annum so that the ratio of resources among scientific disciplines in 2023 is approximately the same as the ratio in 2022.

The estimated annual amount of funding for the realisation of item 2.c of this Call is €1,200,000.00.

The estimated annual amount of funding for the realisation of item 2.d of this Call is €4,000,000.00.

The public call will be realised in view of the funding resources available in the budget of the Republic of Slovenia and the ARRS.

3.1. Distribution of approximate annual funds in the amount of €24,800,000.00 per scientific discipline

 

Scientific disciplines Ratio of funds in 2022 (in %) Ratio of resources in the Call (in %)
Natural Sciences and Mathematics 21.0 21.8
Engineering 26.9 26.0
Medical Sciences 14.0 14.2
Biotechnical Sciences 11.7 12.1
Social Sciences 11.0 10.9
Humanities 15.4 15.0
TOTAL 100.0 100.0

Information about the capacity of research fields is published on the ARRS website.

Approximately 10% of the funding for each scientific discipline is allocated to interdisciplinary studies. When applying for interdisciplinary projects, applicants must state which strategic objective of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union their research project proposal is following:

1. Green transition;
2. Digital transition.

The strategic objectives, defined by the ministry, responsible for science, are presented in the proposal of Council Recommendation on a Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe (COM/2021/407), in the presentation of the European green transition at the European Commission website and in the report of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) "The twin green & digital transition: How sustainable digital technologies could enable a carbon-neutral EU by 2050". The research represents the scientific basis for technological solutions for the green transition and digitalisation, the impact of the green transition and digitalisation on the functioning of society and social activities, human health, and the protection of natural and cultural heritage.

3.2. Amount of (co-)financing

Basic and applied projects will be (co-)financed in the approximate annual amount of €100,000. The applicant may also submit an application for a project at the reduced amount of €50,000 annually.

Calculated in terms of effective project research hours, this equates to approximately 2753 hours annually in Price Class A (1377 for projects valued at €50,000), 2464 hours annually in Price Class B (1232 for projects valued at €50,000), 2173 hours annually in Price Class C (1086 for projects valued at €50,000), 1960 hours annually in Price Class D (980 for projects valued at €50,000), 1788 hours annually in Price Class E (894 for projects valued at €50,000) or 1644 hours annually in Price Class F (822 for projects valued at €50,000).

Basic projects - AD Programme will be financed in the approximate annual amount of €100,000. Calculated in terms of effective project research hours, this equates to approximately 2753 hours annually in Price Class A, 2464 hours annually in Price Class B, 2173 hours annually in Price Class C, 1960 hours annually in Price Class D, 1788 hours annually in Price Class E or 1644 hours annually in Price Class F.

The scope of a post-doctoral project is 1700 effective research hours annually (1 FTE) in Price Category B.

Major projects will be (co-)financed in the approximate annual amount of €500,000. Calculated in terms of effective project research hours, this equates to approximately 13767 hours annually in Price Class A, 12318 hours annually in Price Class B, 10865 hours annually in Price Class C, 9800 hours annually in Price Class D, 8940 hours annually in Price Class E or 8220 hours annually in Price Class F.

The ARRS will finance up to 100% of eligible project costs for basic projects, post-doctoral basic projects, basic projects - AD Programme and major projects. The ARRS will finance up to 75% of eligible project costs for applied projects and post-doctoral applied projects. The amount of co-financing of an applied post-doctoral project by the ARRS shall amount to 1275 effective research hours annually (0.75 FTE) in Price Class B.

The applicant of an applied project or a post-doctoral applied project must ensure that at least 25% of eligible project costs are covered by other interested users and submit proof of the project’s (co-)financing (a (co-)financing agreement) for the entire period of the project’s implementation in view of the value of the effective research hours at the start of (co-)financing. The projects cannot be (co-)financed by research organisations that are entered into the records of scientific research activity operators (hereinafter: RO Records), except for companies. (Co-)financing can only be in the form of money.

A (co-)financer of an applied project may also be a co-implementer of the same applied project, not exceeding 10% of the scope of the project, (co-)financed by the ARRS. If the applicant is a (co-)financer of an applied project, the above mentioned limit does not apply to the applicant.

In view of the number of effective research hours (co-)financed from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia, the ARRS will, in accordance with the provisions of the Decree on the scientific research funding from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia (Official Gazette of the RS, Nos. 35/22 and 144/22), (co-)finance an individual researcher in view of the ratio of employment options for research, but no more than 1700 effective research hours per annum. The minimum annual workload of a researcher per individual project is 34 effective hours of research work. The participating research organisation must collaborate with at least 170 effective hours of research work during the period of the project’s implementation, whereby the minimum amount of the research organisation's collaboration is 170 effective hours of research work per annum. During the project’s implementation, the number of effective hours of research work rendered annually by the participating research organisation can be 0.

 

4. Entities who are eligible for application to the Call

The call is open to research organisations entered into the RO Records as well as private researchers entered into the register of private researchers, which are kept by the ARRS, and that meet the requirements set out in the Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act and the General Act on Procedures for Financing, Co-financing, Evaluating and Monitoring the Implementation of Scientific Research Activities (hereinafter: the General Act). Only research organisations can apply for the basic projects – AD Programme and major projects.

If there are several providers of scientific research activities collaborating on a project, the applicant is the parent research organisation. A parent research organisation is the research organisation that submits the application for the research project, is listed first on the application form and employs the leader of the research project upon signing the agreement on implementation and (co-)financing of the scientific research activities. Research projects which are (co-)financed by the ARRS and comply with the framework programme of research and technology development activities of the EU shall be open to research entities from the EU, whereby the said entities (co-)finance their own part of research using their own funds. The applicants may register these subjects as participating research groups.

 

5. Objectives of the Call

The objective of the call is to select for (co-)financing:

5.1. Basic and applied projects and post-doctoral (basic and applied) projects

Within each discipline, at least 12.1% of the funds must be allocated to post-doctoral projects for the realisation of items 2.a and 2.b of this public call. At least 30% of funding for projects in the engineering sciences, at least 15% in the biotechnical sciences, and at least 5% in the social sciences, natural sciences and medical sciences must be allocated to applied projects. From funds, approved for the realisation of items 2.a and 2.b of this public call, at least 24.2% must be allocated to projects carried out by young doctors (maximum 7 years after the year of defending their doctoral dissertation), at least 24.2% must be allocated to projects carried out by middle generation researchers (maximum 15 years after the year of defending their doctoral dissertation), and at least 24.2% must be allocated to projects carried out by other researchers (more than 15 years after the year of defending their doctoral dissertation)

No more than 10% of projects amounting to €50,000 can be approved for all the disciplines in total (particularly in clinical medicine, mathematics and social sciences). Projects amounting to €50,000 are usually assigned to applications that are at the bottom of the list of approved applications.

In the medical sciences, clinical research must demonstrate the participation of healthcare institutions/educational establishments in at least 30% of research hours. For each project application where the applicant chooses to conduct research in the field of clinical medicine, the applicant must specifically justify that it is a clinically oriented project, and that the justification will be verified and confirmed/rejected by an international panel as part of the assessment process. At least 50% of funding in the field of medical sciences must be allocated to clinical research.


5.2. Basic programmes - AD Programme

As a rule, two top ranked projects in the assessment are selected for (co-)financing per research discipline, whereby they cannot belong to the same field within the discipline.

In case the project submitted for consideration for the AD Programme is not selected for (co-)financing, it can be submitted for consideration for (co-)financing of basic projects in line with the rules applicable for the selection of these projects.


5.3. Major projects

Major projects are basic projects that must include at least two Slovenian ROs of a different type (with regard to their status, i.e. research institution, university or independent higher education institution, or company) and include a minimum of two disciplines. The candidates for (co-)financing will comprise:

  • two best rated major projects from primarily natural science;
  • two best rated major projects from primarily engineering science;
  • one best rated major project from primarily medical science;
  • one best rated major project from primary biotechnical science;
  • one best rated major project from primarily social science;
  • one best rated major project from primarily humanities.

Major projects are not to be submitted under the agreement with the Hungarian agency NKFIH and under the WEAVE agreement with the Austrian agency FWF, the Polish agency NCN, the Swiss agency SNSF, the Croatian agency HRZZ, the Flemish agency FWO, the Czech agency GAČR and the Luxembourg agency FNR.

 

6. Requirements

Terms and conditions for the participation of basic and applied projects, post-doctoral basic and applied projects, and major projects in the public call are set out in the Research and Development Activity Act, the Methodology for the assessment of applications in the procedures carried out by the ARRS for the (co-)financing of scientific research activities (hereinafter: the Methodology), in the General Act, and in the Criteria for demonstrating internationally comparable research results and the period of eligible internationally comparable research results for the research project leader and programme, No. 007-5/2022-3 as of 16 May 2022, (hereinafter: criteria for the project leader). All listed documents are published on the ARRS website.

The requirements for participation in the call for basic projects – AD Programme are laid out in the Methodology.

The requirements for participation in the Call must be met on the closing date of the Call, unless otherwise determined by this Call.

6.1. Requirements for major projects, basic and applied projects and post-doctoral (basic and applied) projects

6.1.1. Basic requirements for applicants and project leaders

The Call applicant must be an eligible applicant in accordance with item 4 of the Call.

Major, basic and applied projects are to be carried out by a project group comprising a project leader, researchers, and professional and technical associates. If the project group comprises several project subgroups at various research organisations, the applicant must have a signed agreement with the other participating research organisations on the regulation of mutual rights and obligations. The relevant condition must be fulfilled at the time of signing the agreement on (co-)financing and implementation of the scientific research activities.

The participating research organisation must collaborate with at least 170 effective hours of research work during the period of the project’s implementation, whereby the minimum amount of the research organisation's collaboration is 170 effective hours of research work per annum. During the project’s implementation, the number of effective hours of research work rendered annually by the participating research organisation can be 0. If the project is granted €50,000, the applicant can exclude or reduce the share carried out by the participating research organisations and must state this on the application for the public call – Item 25 of the application form (indication of the share of participating research organisations).

The applicant of an applied project or a post-doctoral applied project must ensure that at least 25% of eligible project costs are covered by other interested users, with whom a written agreement on (co-)financing must be concluded. The relevant condition must be fulfilled at the time of signing the agreement on implementation and (co-)financing of the scientific research activities.

The project leader must have a researcher record number, which means that he or she must be entered into the RO Records or into the register of private researchers. For a project leader without an assigned researcher record number, the applicant must fill out the ARRS-ZOP-02-2021-01 form and submit an accompanying statement on the intention of employment.

Researchers who have received a negative grade on a final report for a project in which they were a project leaders during the period of three years prior to the starting year of the public call cannot apply as a project leaders on this call.

A researcher whose project application, of which he or she was a project leader, was given a lower number of points than the amount defined as the overall threshold for the sum of all scores, as specified in Article 71 or 72 of the General Act or Article 99 or 100 of the Rules that were in force before the General Act was adopted, in a previous call may not apply to the public call as the leader of a project.

Only researchers who are project leaders for a maximum of one project (co-)financed by the ARRS during the period of one year after the deadline for the submission of the application, including projects with an extended deadline for project conclusion in accordance with Article 81 of the General Act or Article 104 of the Rules that were in force before the General Act was adopted, may apply as project leaders under this call. Target research programmes and projects referred to in item 3 of Article 3 of the General Act and Article 103 of the General Act, new projects, and also the projects referred to in Article 102 of the General Act that are (co-)financed in an amount that equals less than €50,000 annually, shall not be taken into consideration regarding the limitation from the previous paragraph.

A post-doctoral project can only be carried out by one researcher - a post-doctoral researcher. Post-doctoral researchers fulfil the post-doctoral project leader requirements if no more than three years have passed since they defended their first doctorate (i.e. the doctorate was defended in the period of 1 January 2020 to the end of this call). A post-doctoral researcher shall have defended his or her doctoral dissertation by 28 February 2023. If a post-doctoral researcher utilises their parental leave under the parental protection insurance, the time period following the year of doctoral defence is extended beyond the three years for a period of one year per child. The same applies to documented absences due to sick or injury leave, other types of absence provided for in the regulations on health insurance, longer than six months.

Researchers who have already carried out a post-doctoral project or have received funds from the “Researchers at the start of their career/Raziskovalci na začetku kariere” call may no longer register a post-doctoral project.

A researcher fulfils the condition for a young doctor if, on the closing date of the public call, no more than seven years have passed after the year of defending his or her doctoral dissertation (the period of defending the doctoral dissertation from 1 January 2016 to the end of this call).

A researcher fulfils the condition for a middle generation researcher if, on the closing date of the public call, no more than fifteen years have passed after the year of defending his or her doctoral dissertation (the period of defending the doctoral dissertation from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2015).

A researcher may apply as leader for only one research project within the Call.
 

6.1.2. Additional conditions for applicants submitting projects under the agreement with the Hungarian agency NKFIH and under the WEAVE agreement with the Austrian agency FWF, the Polish agency NCN, the Swiss agency SNSF, the Flemish agency FWO, the Croatian agency HRZZ, the Czech agency GAČR and the Luxembourg agency FNR

6.1.2.1. Additional requirements for applicants who submit projects under the agreement with the Hungarian agency NKFIH

Pursuant to an agreement with the Hungarian agency NKFIH, the applicant may submit projects in collaboration with Hungarian researchers (researchers who work in Hungarian research organisations), whereby the ARRS acts as the “lead agency” and performs the project review. Hungarian researchers shall submit the application together with the Slovenian researchers, as well as send the application documentation to NKFIH as required by the said agency. The joint project may only be (co-)financed if the project is (co-)financed by the ARRS and NKFIH. In the case of (co-)financing by the NKFIH, the volume of NKFIH funds must be less than the volume of the Slovenian part. Projects submitted under an agreement with the NKFIH may only be basic projects as defined in point 2.a of the public call.

6.1.2.2. Additional conditions for applicants submitting projects under the WEAVE agreement with the Austrian agency FWF, the Polish agency NCN, the Swiss agency SNSF, the Flemish agency FWO, the Croatian agency HRZZ, the Czech agency GAČR and the Luxembourg agency FNR

Under the WEAVE agreement with the Austrian agency FWF, the Polish agency NCN, the Swiss agency SNSF, the Flemish agency FWO, the Croatian agency HRZZ, the Czech agency GAČR and the Luxembourg agency FNR, applicants can submit projects in collaboration with Austrian, Polish, Swiss, Flemish, Croatian, Czech, and Luxembourg researchers (researchers working in Austrian, Polish, Swiss, Flemish, Croatian, Czech, and Luxembourg research organisations), where the ARRS acts as a "leading agency", which reviews the project. Slovenian researchers can submit an application together with:

  • Austrian researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the FWF as required by the FWF,
  • Polish researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the NCN as required by the NCN,
  • Swiss researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the SNSF as required by the SNSF,
  • Flemish researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the FWO as required by the FWO,
  • Croatian researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the HRZZ as required by the HRZZ,
  • Czech researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the GAČR as required by the GAČR, and
  • Luxembourg researchers who simultaneously submit the application to the FNR as required by the FNR.

Slovenian researchers can also submit applications in cooperation with researchers from two countries listed under item 6.1.2.2. of this public call who simultaneously submit the applications to the partner agencies as required by the partner agencies. Regardless of the above, it is not possible to submit an application in cooperation with Czech and Croatian researchers (participating agencies GAČR and HRZZ) and in cooperation with Flemish and Czech researchers (participating agencies FWO and GAČR).

Projects submitted under an agreement with the listed partner organisations may only be basic projects as defined in point 2.a of the public call.

Should the degree of success of public call applications (number of applications selected for (co-)financing in relation to the received applications) exceed 20%, then pursuant to the agreement between the partner agencies, the applications ranking lower than applications that are among the 20% of applications (taking into account the percentage of the value of the application evaluation ratio in relation to the highest possible evaluation of an individual application), shall not be included in the selection for (co-)financing. The Multilateral Lead Agency Agreement allows the option of the agencies mutually agreeing to also (co)finance projects that have been positively evaluated in the evaluation procedure but failed to meet the agreed threshold.

6.1.2.3. Common provisions for applicants submitting a project under agreements with partner agencies

Submission of a joint project consists of a joint scientific description of the project, which describes the scientific contributions of individual partners. Cost estimates must be provided separately for each national part of the project and must follow the guidelines of the (co-)funding partner agency. Should the joint project be approved, the project parts will be (co-)financed by the ARRS and the partner agency(-ies) in accordance with their regulations.

Following the completion of the assessment procedure, the ARRS informs the partner agency(-ies) of the assessment procedure results, and the partner agency in turn, after consideration by its decision-making bodies, provides confirmation of the ARRS decision or a reasoned rejection. Each partner agency shall inform the applicants of its national part of the joint project regarding the outcome of the assessment procedure.

If the entry conditions of one of the participating agencies are not met, the application will be deemed to have been rejected by all participating agencies.

6.1.3. Available capacities and employment

The project leader and the members of the project groups must have available capacities as regards FTE to carry out the research project (the maximum permitted capacity for full-time employment is 1700 effective research hours or one FTE) and must be employed by the RO that will carry out the project, or have the status of private researcher. Upon signing the agreement on implementation and (co-)financing of the scientific research activities, the project leader must have at least 170 effective research hours (0.1 FTE) available annually. A project group member (except for young researchers, doctoral students, financed from other sources, retired researchers, and PRO heads who may participate in the project with 0 effective hours of research work) must, on the starting day of project implementation, participate with at least 34 effective research hours (0.02 FTE) available annually.

The agreement must be signed no later than three months from the date of adopting the decision on the selection of application. If there is a delay in the start of (co-)financing, the agreement will be signed no later than six months from the date of adopting the decision on the selection of application. The project leader must be employed in at least a 20% full-time capacity at the research organisation in the Republic of Slovenia carrying out the research project.

 6.1.4. Research performance of project leaders

Research project leaders must hold a doctoral degree and comply with the following conditions, stated with the minimum values for each parameter. Researchers with young doctor status must fulfil the requirements for young doctors where expressly required.

Quantitative grades for each evaluation factor (A1 and CI) and for each scientific discipline defined in the methodology are obtained and calculated by the ARRS. To calculate the quantitative grade, the ARRS will use the data entered into the SICRIS (COBISS) databases and the ARRS records on the closing date of the call (A1) or on the day of the last data capture in the SICRIS (COBISS) database prior to the closure of the call (CI).

For the purpose of evaluating bibliographic criteria of a researcher's research performance (calculation of quantitative assessments), researchers themselves must, through an authorised library, timely enter the researcher's record number from the RO Records, into the normative record for the author in the CONOR.SI normative database.

6.1.4.1. Requirements for leaders of basic and applied projects

  • Achieved requirements regarding citations and a minimum number of points for scientific publications as laid out by Subchapters 1 and 2 of Chapter I of Article 1 of the criteria for project leaders,
  • A1/2 ≥ 400 or A' ≥ 200 or A" ≥ 50 or basic requirement,
  • A' > 0.

Basic requirements for project leaders candidates are: A1 ≥ A1 minimum, CI ≥ CI minimum and A3 ≥ A3 minimum.

Requirements for A1 minimum, CI minimum and A3 minimum for each discipline and field are listed in the table below. The field is listed if it is considered an exception and therefore has different requirements than the discipline. For fields that are not listed, the requirements for the discipline are applicable.

  1. Grade A1
  1. A1 minimum is as follows:
     
Discipline/Field A1 minimum
Natural Sciences, Engineering, Medical Sciences, Biotechnical Sciences, Social Sciences, Archaeology, Geography 0.50
Humanities, Law, Ethnic Studies 1

 

  1. For project leaders with young doctor status, the A1 minimum is set out in the following table:
     
Discipline/Field A1 minimum
Natural Sciences, Engineering, Medical Sciences, Biotechnical Sciences, Social Sciences, Archaeology, Geography 0.40
Humanities, Law, Ethnic Studies 1
  1. Pure citations
  1. The minimum number of pure citations, CI minimum, for project leaders is as follows:
     
Discipline/Field CI minimum
Humanities, Law, Ethnic Studies 1
Social Sciences, Archaeology, Geography 5
Mining and Geotechnology, Geodesy, Transport, Hydrology, Psychology, Sport 15
Engineering, Biotechnical Sciences, Mathematics, Geology 50
Medical Sciences, Biology, Computationally Intensive Methods and Applications, Chemical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Materials 100
Natural Sciences, Microbiology and Immunology, Biotechnology 200
  1. For project leaders with young doctor status, the minimum number of pure citations, CI minimum, is set out as follows:
     
Discipline/Field CI minimum
Humanities, Law, Ethnic Studies 1
Social Sciences, Mining and Geotechnology, Transport, Hydrology 5
Engineering, Mathematics, Geology, Forestry, Wood and Paper Industry, Plant Production and Processing, Geography 10
Natural Sciences, Medical Sciences, Biotechnical Sciences 20
  1. Other quantitative conditions

For project leaders, A3 minimum equals 0.

6.1.4.2. Requirements for post-doctoral project leaders

  • At least one scientific publication, as laid out in the methodology setting our research performance criteria,
  • A1> 0,
  • A' > 0.

6.1.4.3. Requirements for major project leaders

  • Achieved requirements regarding citations and a minimum number of points for scientific publications as laid out by Subchapters 1 and 2 of Chapter I of Article 1 of the criteria for project leaders,
  • A" ≥ 50.

6.2. Requirements for basic projects – AD Programme

  • On the closing date of the Call, the leader of the submitted project must have been living abroad for at least one year and must not be employed in the Republic of Slovenia. The requirement of living abroad for a period of one year is also considered fulfilled if the leader of the submitted project defended their doctoral dissertation abroad no more than one year prior to the closure of the public call.
  • On the closing date of the call, the leader of the submitted project must fulfil the requirement that no more than 15 years have passed since he or she defended their first doctorate(the period of defending the doctoral dissertation from 1 January 2008 to the end of this call).
  • The leader of the submitted project must be a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia on the closing date of the Call.
  • The leader of the submitted project must be listed as working on the research project they lead for at least 340 effective research hours annually (20% of 1700 effective research hours). Upon concluding the agreement on implementation and (co-)financing of the scientific research activities, he or she must be listed as employed for scientific research activities in a share of no less than 20%.
  • The leader of the submitted project must fulfil the requirements for leaders of basic projects.
  • In case an application is selected for (co-)financing, the researchers cannot submit a second project for consideration within the same or a similar mechanism, that is a mechanism for (co-)financing projects by researchers returning to the Republic of Slovenia from abroad.

 

7. Applying to the Call

Applications for the call are made by completing the ARRS-RPROJ-JR-Prijava/2023 form available on the ARRS web portal: Digital Forms. The portal may be used by researchers listed in the RO Records, administrators of the Digital Forms portal at research organisations, research organisation representatives, research organisation authorised representatives and additional users. Logging onto the Digital Forms web portal is possible with a user name and password. Researchers can obtain a password by themselves at the Digital Forms web portal; other users are assigned a password by the Digital Forms administrator at the research organisation or at ARRS.

On his or her application the applicant marks if the contents of the proposed research project is considered a trade secret according to the Trade Secrets Act (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 22/19).

The assembly of a project group is an integral part of the application. Project group members, whose most important research achievements are listed on the application, must participate in the project group at all times, unless their employment relationship with the applicant or contractor ends or in case of another similarly justified reason. For a change due to another similarly justified reason, the applicant or contractor must submit an application to the ARRS. Applicants who cannot foresee which researchers will be involved in the implementation of the project when submitting the application (mainly foreign post-doctoral students who have not yet concluded relevant contracts), only list them as part of the project content.

The applicants proposing projects in which a corporate entity is registered as an implementer, co-implementer or (co-)financer of the project will also have to submit a completed, signed and stamped ARRS-RPROJ-JR-Prijava/2023-DP Form for Granting State Aid pursuant to the Rules on State Aid for research activities, No. 007-7/2015-11, published on 8 April 2016, entering into force on 9 April 2016.

 

8. Evaluation criteria and indicators

The criteria and indicators for evaluating research projects are specified in Articles 71 and 72 of the General Act, and the criteria in the Methodology, chapter B. Research projects, point III. Assessment elements.

Criteria for research project evaluation are:

  • for basic projects, major projects and post-doctoral basic projects:
  • Scientific excellence of researchers;
  • Scientific excellence of application;
  • Quality and efficiency of implementation;
  • for applied projects and post-doctoral applied projects:
  • Scientific excellence of researchers;
  • Scientific excellence of application;
  • Quality and efficiency of implementation;
  • Social and economic impact.

Basic projects – AD Programme are evaluated according to the criteria and indicators for evaluating basic projects, as set out in Article 71 of the General Act.

The applicants proposing major projects must state in the leader's CV the organisational skills of the leader to lead major projects and their previous experience in leading such projects. 

 

9. Project evaluation

Applications of research projects, except for major projects, are evaluated by two reviewers.

Applications for major projects are evaluated by four reviewers. At least two of the reviewers must be from the primary discipline and one of them must be a reviewer-reporter. 

 

10. Research project duration

The anticipated beginning of the (co-)financing of project implementation is 1 September 2023, depending of the funds available in the budget of the Republic of Slovenia and the ARRS financial plan, as well as other objective circumstances that may affect implementation of the public call. Any changes of the expected start date of the (co-)financing of project implementation will be communicated to the applicants while the public call is in progress.

The selected applications are (co-)financed by the ARRS for up to three years, with the exception of post-doctoral research projects, which are (co-)financed for two years. The selected projects will be allocated an annual amount of research hours, and this number of effective research hours is applicable for each year of the project's duration as part of this Call. 

 

11. Selection of applications

Project applications with a total or individual grade that is lower than the limit set in the General Act and Methodology cannot be selected as (co-)financed applications.

By majority decision, the international panel shall adopt the draft priority application list for (co-)financing, which the external expert panel forwards to the Agency's Scientific Council (hereinafter: ASC) for consideration. The ASC adopts the draft priority application list for (co-)financing and forwards it to the ARRS Director for a decision. The ARRS Director adopts the decision on the selection of applications, with which he or she decides if an application is selected for (co-)financing or not.

Basic projects – AD Programme projects are selected for (co-)financing according to the following procedure:

  • Based on the proposal by the international panel, the external expert panel draws up a draft priority application list, starting with the two highest evaluated projects per research discipline, which must concern different fields within the discipline. In case all submitted projects within the discipline concern the same field, the selection for (co-)financing includes the two best rated projects concerning the same field.
  • If the draft priority application list contains fewer than 12 project submissions, the remainder of the funds for the public call (allocated for Item 2.c of the public call) is proportionately divided among those disciplines of the entire public call, to which two project applications were not listed within the scope of item 2.c of this public tender.
  • If a basic project – AD Programme is not selected for (co-)financing within this programme, it can be submitted for consideration for basic research projects in line with the rules applicable for the selection of these projects.
  • The international panel for each discipline including applications for (co-)financing basic projects - AD Programme that fulfil the requirements of the public call and have not been listed on the draft priority application list based on indents 1 and 3 of this paragraph, additionally proposes applications for the reserve list. The reserve list applications are to be considered by the ASC within the scope of its competences, adding to the draft priority project list up to the amount of the funds available for the public call (for Item 2.c of this public call), whereby the draft priority application list may include more than two projects per research discipline.
  • If the number of applications that meet the tender conditions and are not graded below the prescribed application selection threshold is equal to or less than the maximum number of possible selected applications in relation to the tendered funds, all applications for (co-)financing will be included in the selection.

Major projects are selected for (co-)financing according to the following procedure:

  • In case there are not enough applications for an individual discipline that, in accordance with point 5.3 of this public call, they could be included in the selection for (co-)financing in an individual primary discipline, applications in other primary disciplines that meet the terms and conditions of the public call and are not graded below the defined threshold for project selection, based on the achieved grade and up to the total number of major project applications in the call (8 applications).
  • If the draft priority application list contains fewer than 8 project submissions, the remainder of the funds for the public call (allocated for Item 2.d of the public call) is proportionately divided among those disciplines of the entire public call, to which two project applications were not listed within the scope of item 2.d of this public tender.

 

12. Legal remedies

An applicant may appeal to the decision of the ARRS Director on the application selection within 15 days of receiving the decision. The Management Board of the ARRS issues a decision on the appeal.

A filed appeal does not delay the signing of contracts with selected applicants.

 

13. Open access to reviewed scientific publications and web access to information about the research project

In accordance with Article 41 of the Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act, all reviewed scientific publications arising from the implementation of a research project must be published with open access. A reviewed scientific publication must also include information on the (co-)financer or (co-)financers and the project number in accordance with Article 82 of the General Act.

After the application is selected for (co-)financing, the applicant must create a website or subpage on their research organisation’s website dedicated to the project and enabling the dissemination of its results. The minimum requirements of the website content are: a description of the project’s content including basic information about (co-)financing, composition of the project group with links to data in the SICRIS system, the project phases and descriptions of their implementation, bibliographical references arising directly from the implementation of the project, as well as the Slovenian Research Agency’s logo and logos of other (co-)financers. Content included in the SICRIS system should be linked and need not be provided twice. The project presentation website must remain active for 5 years following the conclusion of the project. The implementer reports on the establishment of the website in the interim and final report on project results.

 

14. Means, form and deadline for application submission

The application to the public call shall be submitted in an electronic form with a qualified digital certificate via the electronic application system.

The application for the public tender may be submitted in the manner specified in point 14.1. of this public call (electronic application with a qualified digital signature) or, for justified reasons, in the manner specified in point 14.2. (in electronic form without a qualified digital signature and printed application).

Applicants are advised not to submit their applications on the final day before the closure of the Call, as the server may be overloaded.

14.1. Submitting applications using a qualified digital signature

The application must be completed and submitted using the ARRS-RPROJ-JR-Prijava/2023 application form available at the ARRS web portal: Digital Forms. A submitted application is deemed complete if it carries both digital signatures (the applicant’s representative or authorised person and the research project leader).

Applications must be submitted by 28 February 2023 at 2 p.m. An application using a digital signature shall be deemed timely if it is filled out and carries both digital signatures at the ARRS web portal Digital Forms by 28 February 2023 at 2 p.m.

 

14.2. Submitting applications without a qualified digital signature

If the applicant (representative or authorised person of the applicant) and/or project leader do not have a digital signature, the application can be completed and submitted in electronic form (digitally unsigned) at the Agency's portal Digital Forms (the ARRS-RPROJ-JR-Prijava/2023 Form) and in printed form, which must have the handwritten signature of the representative or authorised person of the applicant and project leader, as well as a stamp of the applicant.

Both forms of application, electronic without a digital signature and printed application, must be completely identical in content.

The printed application must be delivered in a sealed envelope marked “Do not open – application for the Public call for the (co-)financing of research projects in 2023 – application No. ______” and the name and address of the applicant to: Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije, Bleiweisova cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana.

An application without a digital signature shall be deemed timely if it is filled out at the Agency web portal Digital Forms by 28 February 2023 at 2 p.m. and arrives in printed form at the main office of the Public Agency for Research of the Republic of Slovenia by 28 February 2023 at 2 p.m. An application shall also be deemed timely if it is sent by registered mail in Slovenia by 28 February 2023 at 2 p.m. (the postmark will serve as proof).

 

15. Opening of applications

On 3 March 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at the registered office of the ARRS, the official person shall open all correctly marked applications submitted on time or record a list of applications received in the electronic application system.

Any applications not submitted on time or incorrectly marked shall be returned unopened to the applicant with an accompanying letter, except if the applicant cannot be identified by reading the envelope, in which case the application shall be opened.

 

16. Deadline for applicant notification on the outcome of the Call

It is foreseen that the applicants will be notified about the selection of applications for (co-)financing in August 2023.

 

17. Time, place and method of collecting the call documents by the interested parties

The call documents are available on the ARRS website (http://www.arrs.si/sl/razpisi/).

Links to public calls with partner agencies:

Information related to the call can be found on the ARRS website at http://www.arrs.si or obtained at the Slovenian Research Agency, Bleiweisova cesta 30, 1000 Ljubljana, weekdays during offcie hours.

Contact e-mail: razpis-projekti@arrs.si.

 

Number: 6316-14/2022-8
Date: 11 January 2023

 

Slovenian Research Agency
Prof. Dr. Mitja Lainščak
Managing Director
 

 

Legal basis:

Call documents:

  • Application sample:
  • Sample contract:
  • ARRS-TP-NL-2023.pdf (Acrobat format, ___KB)
  • Priloga1-pogodba-ARRS-TP-NL-2023.pdf (Acrobat format, ___KB)
  • Priloga2-pogodba-ARRS-TP-NL-2023.pdf (Acrobat format, ___KB)
  • Priloga3-pogodba-ARRS-TP-NL-2023.pdf (Acrobat format, ___KB) 
  • Form for granting state aid:
  • Assessment sheet sample:
  • The form for obtaining a researcher's record number: