Submissions Open: Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme (Denmark)

The Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme is designed to fund the exploration of novel research areas that demonstrate the potential to have a high level of impact, i.e. high risk/high-gain. Specifically, this programme aims to support fundamental research between technology readiness levels.

Goals

• Enable creative, novel, high-risk/high-gain interdisciplinary research
• Provide long-term support of interdisciplinary collaborations and research ideas
• Stimulate emerging research that spans across scientific disciplines and techniques
• Break down or overcome the barriers that hamper collaboration across disciplines
• Strengthen Danish research through internationalization

Focus Areas

• Medical Sciences
• Biotechnology
• Natural and Technical Sciences
• Health
• Sustainability

Funding Information

• Up to DKK 19.5 million over 4 years per grant.

Eligible Costs

• Salary for scientific and technical employees in time-limited contracts e.g., PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, assistant/associate professors, researchers/senior researchers, laboratory administrators. Salary will not be covered for applicants, co-applicants, or scientific personnel with time-unlimited contracts.
• PhD tuition fee up to DKK 80,000 per student per year (must be included separately).
• Equipment that is essential for the proposed project, and where justification of its use after completion of the project can be made.
• Operating expenses e.g., materials, consumables, data management, and services.
• Collaborative activities e.g., workshops, meetings, exchange, seminars, and other efforts directed at ensuring collaboration and synergy between the grant partners.
• Conference participation e.g., travel, accommodation, and registration for scientific conferences.
• Publication costs related to scientific publications originating from the project.

Ineligible Costs

• Commercial activities
• Overhead/indirect costs (such as rent, electricity, water and maintenance)
• Double funding of projects:
  • If the applicant has received funding for the proposed project from other sources, in part or in full, this must be accounted for in the budget, as no budgetary overlaps are allowed
  • If an identical or overlapping project proposal has been submitted to other funding institutions than the Foundation, it must be noted in the application
  • If the applicant receives funding for the project, or parts of the project, from other sources following submission of the application to the Foundation, the Foundation must be informed immediately

Eligibility Criteria

• The programme supports collaborations between 2-4 research groups (the main applicant plus 1-3 co-applicants). Proposals must demonstrate interdisciplinarity by including coapplicants from different disciplines or institutional departments. Disciplines does not refer to the education or formal position of the applicants, but rather their ongoing work expertise. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary consortium forming the application does not have to be new; applicants may have previously established research collaborations.
• The main applicant must have a minimum affiliation of 50% with a Danish university, hospital, or other non-profit research organisation (verified by the hosting letter). Coapplicants and their research groups can be based either in Denmark or internationally.
• Co-applicants should significantly contribute to the scientific advancement of the project and receive part of the funding (administered by the host institution). Ideally, all applicants should have the same level of obligation and commitment to the project.
• Collaboration with researchers in non-academic sectors is allowed, however industrial partner(s) cannot receive direct funding through this programme.
• Receiving the Exploratory Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme grant does not confer advantage in competing for the Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme.
• Applicants with ongoing NNF grants are eligible to apply, but the new grant period must not overlap with the existing one for the same or similar research.
• Main applicants may only hold one active Exploratory Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme or Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme grant at a time.
• A researcher may only submit one application per call as the main applicant. The researcher may participate as “co-applicant” on other applications within the same call, as long as the proposed research does not overlap.
• NNF prohibits duplication of funding for project-specific expenses. Applicants must provide a comprehensive account of any funding applied for or received for the project, or any component thereof, in the budget of the application.
• If the applicant receives partial or full funding for the project from other sources following submission of the NNF application, NNF must be contacted immediately.
• Proposals that closely fit the criteria of the other grant programmes available through NNF (e.g. project grants), are ineligible for funding through the Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme.

For more information, visit NNF.