Overview of the BBSRC-DFG Application process
The BBSRC-DFG funding opportunity is comprised of two mandatory stages.
Stage one is the expression of interest (EOI) stage
The stage one is being managed by BBSRC on behalf of both agencies.
You should complete the stage one application using UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. Your application should address the following:
- outline the proposed research aims and address the relevance of the work to Integrative Microbiome
- provide a clear rationale behind the need for a German-UK collaboration and the choice of lead agency
- provide cost and staffing FTE estimates
- project duration (up to three years)
The agencies reserve the right to change the lead agency and to inform you accordingly during stage one.
To indicate that the proposal is to be considered under the lead agency management plan, you must preface your project title with ‘BBSRC-DFG’.
The application must meet:
- DFG eligibility and remit requirements see relevant DFG Review Boards
- BBSRC eligibility and remit requirements (Responsive Mode)
- scope of the funding opportunity
Participating DFG review boards are:
- review board 202 Plant Sciences
- review board 203 Zoology
- review board 204 Microbiology, Virology and Immunology
- review board 207 Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine
Applications will be reviewed by both agencies on a rolling basis. We therefore strongly recommend you submit your application ahead of the deadline. You will receive an outcome within 15 working days of submission.
Stage two is the full stage
The full stage is only open to you if you have been invited to submit following stage one.
All information and documentation should be submitted to the lead funding agency either through the UKRI Funding Service or DFG’s elan. Submissions will be managed as follows:
- proposals received via the Funding Service will be managed following our internal processes.
- proposals received via DFG’s elan will be managed following DFG’s internal processes.
For the purposes of managing the administration of the lead agency, full stage applications will be shared between our staff and DFG staff through our secure extranet.
Where BBSRC is the lead agency, once the full application has been submitted to us the German partner associated with the project must submit a copy of the proposal to DFG via DFG’s elan within one week after the closing date of the full proposals’ submission. This is to ensure that, if successful, a grant can be awarded by DFG to the German partner.
Where DFG is the lead agency, once the full application has been submitted to DFG no further information is required by BBSRC prior to the funding decision. The UK partner will be required to submit a copy of the proposal via the Funding Service if the proposal is recommended for funding so that UKRI can award a grant to the UK partner.
If you are invited to submit a research proposal, you will do so in accordance with the proposal preparation requirements of the lead agency. Detailed guidance documents including any additional forms required by the non-lead agency will be provided with the invitation to submit a full application.
A separate and additional budget form will be provided to provide justification of resources requested by the non-lead agency where relevant.
The proposal will be submitted by established programme deadlines or target dates determined by the lead agency.
The proposal should include descriptions of:
- the proposed research (in the UK and Germany)
- how the research aligns to integrative microbiome
- the rationale for a UK-German collaboration
- the UK and German research team
- the total resources for the joint project (that is, the funds requested from both the DFG and BBSRC)
To indicate that the proposal is to be considered under the lead agency management plan, you must preface your project title with ‘BBSRC-DFG’.
For projects involving human subjects or vertebrate animals, UK researchers must comply with UK requirements and German researchers must comply with German requirements. Researchers should consult our policies and DFG policies ahead of submission.
For UK applicants this includes but is not limited to UKRI’s policy on animal use in research. For German applicants this includes but is not limited to the Genetic Engineering Act and the Convention on Biological Diversity. If DFG is acting as partner agency (non-lead agency), a separate additional document must be provided to DFG with the relevant information (Chapter 4.1 Ethical or legal aspects of the project of DFG form 54.01).
For BBSRC, all full proposals must be submitted to BBSRC responsive mode 24RM1. We anticipate the full proposal closing date to be January 2024.
For DFG, all full proposals must be submitted to the specific board to ensure timely review for the 2024 fiscal year. The DFG board deadline will be confirmed via correspondence when the stage one applicant is successful.
We are running the funding opportunity on the new Funding Service. You cannot apply for this funding opportunity on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
If you do not already have an account with the Funding Service, you will be able to create one by selecting the ‘start application’ button at the start of this page. Creating an account is a 2-minute process requiring you to verify your email address and set a password.
If you are a member of an organisation with a research office that we do not have contact details for, we will contact them to enable administrator access. This provides:
- oversight of every Funding Service application opened on behalf of your organisation
- the ability to review and submit applications
Research offices that have not already received an invitation to open an account should email support@funding-service.ukri.org
To find out more about the role of research office professionals in the application process, watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
Submitting your stage one application
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application and should represent the proposed work of the entire consortia.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply:
- Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the ‘How to apply’ section on this Funding finder page.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Deadline
BBSRC must receive your stage one application by 10 October 2023 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Applications will be reviewed by both agencies on a rolling basis. We therefore strongly recommend you submit your application ahead of the deadline. Applications will receive an outcome within 15 working days of submission.
General text on processing personal data:
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your funding service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
We will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with DFG so that they can participate in the assessment process. For more information on how DFG uses personal information, visit DFG privacy notice.
Outcomes publication
We, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at awarded research grants.
If your application is successful, some personal information will be published via the UKRI Gateway to Research.
UKRI Funding Service: section guidance
Summary
There is no need to provide a summary at this stage. Complete this field with N/A.
Word count: 2
UK Applicants
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
- visiting researcher
- researcher co-lead
Only list one individual as project lead.
Section: Research area
Question: What three phrases best describe the science area, or areas, covered in your proposed research project?
Word count: 20
Section: Vision
Question: What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
- What is the topic of research including the academic and where relevant wider context?
- Is the proposal within the remit of our participating committees and DFG boards?
- Does the application clearly address the Integrative Microbiome scope of the funding opportunity?
Word count: 250
Section: Approach
Question: What are the specific objectives and how will you deliver the project?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
- are the objectives and methodology clearly described?
- are the potential outputs and outcomes well defined?
Some flexibility in objectives is permitted at stage two, subject to approval by the two agencies.
A brief list of references may be provided but is not required. Any references will be included in the word count.
Word count: 250
Section: German applicants
Question: Please provide the following details of the German applicants on this application:
- name
- institute
- job title
- email address
Word count: 100
Section: Team capability
Question: What is the contribution of the UK and German teams?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
- does the application clearly describe the role and the contributions of the UK and German teams?
- are you eligible for BBSRC and DFG support?
- Information on any other project partners or collaborators, including their role and contribution.
Your suggested choice of lead agency might be driven by factors such as:
- where the majority of the work is to be undertaken, for example. based on FTE estimates for the team
- background to the project, including prior work by you
- expected leadership or contributions to the project by the partners
Please note detailed eligibility checks will not be undertaken by us or DFG at this stage. It is your responsibility to ensure your team members are eligible for support. Please contact the respective agencies if required.
Word count: 150
Section: Resources
Question: What are the overall cost and staffing FTE estimates for the UK and German components of the project?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
- overall estimates for costings and staffing FTE
- clear separation of UK and German costings, in GBP and EUR respectively
- combined budget below maximum £1.6 million funder contribution
- a detailed calculation and breakdown of resources is not required at this stage
For example:
UK team:
Total cost estimate 600,000 GBP FEC, 480,000 GBP research council contribution
0.2 FTE time, 1.0 FTE PDRA, 0.5 FTE technician
German team:
Total cost estimate 300,000 EUR DFG contribution
1.0 FTE PDRA or 1.0 FTE doctoral researcher
Total funder contribution estimate
740,000 GBP, 853,000 EUR (exchange rate 1.153)
Word count: 200
Section: Lead agency
Question: State the proposed lead agency.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Identify the proposed lead agency, either BBSRC or DFG
Your suggested choice of lead agency might be driven by factors such as:
- where the majority of the work is to be undertaken, for example. based on FTE estimates for the team
- background to the project, including prior work by you
- expected leadership or contributions to the project by the partners
Word count: 10
Section: Lead agency rationale
Question: What is the rationale behind the choice of BBSRC or DFG as the lead agency?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
- is the rationale behind the choice of lead agency clearly articulated and well justified?
- does the application mention a specific BBSRC committee or DFG board?
Word count: 150
