Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) - cofund partnership

FWO participation and funding here target both the fundamental research (‘FO’) and Strategic Basic Research (SBO) funding channels, which implies that projects within both FWO channels may be eligible for funding. It should be strongly emphasised that the choice of funding channel depends on the type of research project one wishes to carry out (i.e. fundamental/exploratory in nature vs. strongly focused on future valorisation potential). Non-compliance with the specific requirements per funding channel may lead to ineligibility. 

Please note that this is assessed on an individual basis: European and/or international partners within the same consortium may freely choose their type of research. Only the ‘character’ of the subproject of the Flemish partner applying for FWO funding is relevant as far as FWO is concerned. 

For the fundamental research funding channel, the relevant regulations apply. For the SBO funding channel, the SBO regulations must be taken into account. The latter concerns projects with a primary economic and/or societal objective, of which valorisation is an essential and mandatory component.

Research proposals are submitted to the DUT Call Secretariat, using the available templates on the call page (under ‘Documents’) and the submission platform, and by consortia of European and international researchers, in accordance with the applicable procedures and eligibility criteria included in the above-mentioned call documents. There is also the option to use a ‘matchmaking platform’ to identify relevant consortium partners.

Where several Flemish institutions applying for FWO funding collaborate within the same consortium, only one joint form must be submitted containing all information on the Flemish parties involved, in accordance with the ‘regular’ projects. This is always done by the PI/supervisor, using their personal e-portal. 

The submission deadline is the same as the call deadline for pre-proposals. It is strongly recommended to contact the FWO administration about this no later than one week before submission, so that eligibility can be verified.

Within the framework of an international consortium, FWO supports at least three Flemish projects, with a maximum requested amount of EUR 250,000 (including overhead) per project, for 36 months. The FWO budgetary rules are also clarified in the ‘call document’ (see from p. 56 onwards). 

In addition to national/regional resources, the cofund partnerships under the Horizon Europe framework programme provide cofinancing from the European Commission. At the funding decision stage, based on the final ranking following international peer review, this may result in additional support and may enable additional projects, including for Flanders.

Some key points and deviations from the regular FWO participation framework to take into account:

• The natural ‘ecosystem’ for FWO projects lies within the ‘research-oriented approach’ (ROA), which aligns with the funding channels used by FWO (‘FO’ and ‘SBO’). IOA projects are not eligible.

• Participation in the European cofund partnerships does not interfere with ‘regular’ FWO project participation and is therefore not taken into account with regard to the maximum number of projects that may be applied for or be ongoing. An important caveat, however, is that one may participate in a maximum of 2 different projects/consortia per call, provided that they concern different topics (additionally, in this DUT context: only once as ‘main applicant/coordinator’).

• A different overhead arrangement applies to the fundamental and SBO funding channels, as clarified in the ‘call document’ (see from p. 56 onwards).

• SBO projects aimed at the development of a ‘spin-off’ are not eligible in this context. This possible route can therefore not be included in the FWO pre-registration.

• A ‘users committee or ‘advisory committee’ is not mandatory for an SBO project in this context.

• Projects have a maximum duration of 36 months and must be budgeted accordingly. Automatic extensions are not allowed within this participation framework. Consequently, Article 28 of the regulations for FWO research projects and Article 14 of the regulations for SBO projects are explicitly excluded.

• Researchers must hold an eligible appointment covering the full project duration (e.g. ZAP appointment for universities; doctoral degree required). This applies to both ‘FO’ and ‘SBO’ projects, and more specifically with regard to the emeritus arrangement (Article 10, §7): this is not applicable in this context. In practice, this means, among other things, that supervisors(-spokespersons) who obtain emeritus status during the project period are not eligible.

• Research teams applying for FWO funding may involve ‘stakeholders’ (e.g. cities/municipalities, interest groups, public and/or private organisations focusing on sustainable urban transition) as subcontractors in a research project, including for non-routine tasks. Contact FWO if additional information is required.

Researchers are strongly advised to contact FWO before submission regarding the eligibility criteria. This is to avoid the ineligibility of the Flemish researcher(s) individually, and of the consortium as a whole.