Calls for Funding for Research Staff

4TU.Energy will connect and build upon the individual strengths of the 4TUs and facilitate coordination and collaboration among researchers in the field of energy. To further stimulate research activities and create more collaboration opportunities towards a carbon-neutral future, 4TU Energy provides the following funding which is open for calls:

(Note: The initiators of this network are TU Delft, University Twente, TU Eindhoven, and Wageningen University and Research; all proposals should include at least 2 out of 4 technical universities to boost the collaboration between 4 TUs)

Type 1: Community Activity funding

This call explicitly aims to support all activities that help in strengthening the 4TU.Energy community. Examples of what can be applied for are support for bringing together communities of researchers around a common research theme (e.g., through the organization of workshops and other joint activities), research collaboration (e.g., travel grants, joint labs), dissemination of joint research, creation of joint proofs-of-concept/demonstrators, visitors, executing joint experiments, hackathons to talent students or postdocs in our field, etc.

Type 2: Rapid Research funding

This call explicitly aims to stimulate research proposals that otherwise would be slowed down or not be started at all (e.g. seed funding to hire talented PhD/postdoc candidates in anticipation of other funding or to write a research proposal or preliminary study, extension of a PhD/postdoc contract for a few months, etc.)

For each application, there is a maximum of €25k available. The call for the first phase will open on 1st April and close until the funding budget is distributed.

The 4TU Energy instrument is aimed at lowering the threshold for 4TU researchers to collaborate and start research together within the Energy domain.

The intended result of the instrument is a proven successful collaboration between two researchers from 4 different technical universities.

The 4TU Energy call instrument can be used in any phase of an activity/research.

During the call phase, all applications will be reviewed and scored by the 4TU Energy Call Committee according to the requirements which are described in this document, by using a score form. Approved proposals get a maximum €25k, with the possibility of an adjusted amount.

As soon as the budget has been exhausted, we will communicate this via our website and no longer accept new applications.

If the last application that is approved exceeds the remaining budget, the amount provided will be limited to the resources available.

The funding should be spent within one year after it has been awarded.

·       One A4 page of report with photo and or video

·       Receipts/invoices on the real cost/spend

·       A short presentation for 4TU Energy public event

Please indicate in advance if a report or visual material is not allowed to be published in the format of news.  

In order to apply for funding, submit a proposal in the following format describing the five items mentioned below. The page limit is max. 1 page of A4.

(Note: info with * CAN be submitted in separate attachments.)

1. Who are the applicants?

State i) title and name, ii) position and function, and iii) affiliation (section/department & university) of the applicants. At least one contact person, for whom the email address and phone number are needed.

At least one of the applicants is an employee of one of the 4TU institutes. Exceptions (an employee that works at 2 of 4TU’s at the same time)  to this establishment requirement are possible, provided that activity in the field of 4TU Energy is stimulated.

*A copy of the employee page and contact info of the direct supervisor/manager of the employee.

A researcher can be the main applicant for one proposal only and can be a co-applicant in a maximum of two proposals.

2. What type of funding do you apply for?

State funding type 1) OR 2). Briefly describe the activity or research proposal.

Explain briefly the core idea and how it contributes to the goal of connecting 4TU and the research in the Energy field; what’s the role or function of each partner in the proposal.

A researcher can only apply once within a period of 6 months.

3. How much funding is requested?

The maximum amount of funding that can be requested is €25 k per proposal. The requested funding is expected to be in balance with the expected benefits for the 4TU.Energy community or research. If a proposal does not sufficiently substantiate the need for the budget applied for, a smaller amount may be awarded.

* A contextual breakdown of costs

Eligible costs examples are as:

•           Workshops

•           Travel cost

•           Visitors

•           Hackathons

•           VAT for external costs

•          Promotion event/materials

Ineligible costs include the following costs:

•           Living expenses out of the Netherlands

•           Costs related to the business premises

•           Costs for hours for staff costs working at any of the 4TU institutes

•          Equipment/software/hardware/devices which can be obtained through where you have been appointed

•          Matching in a grant application

•          Consultancy/service fee

4. Why is the funding needed?

Describe how the 4TU.Energy research community will be strengthened through your proposal and what the added value is of conducting this in 4TU Energy. The proposal has no direct relationship with other proposals funded already by the 4TU federation. Please state in case there are any other subsidies/contributions that will be added on top.

5. When will the funding be used?

Describe objectives and deliverables. Please provide a year agenda/plan* including timelines, start date, and estimated completion dates, a reasonable time window deviation is acceptable. The more specific your deliverables are planned, the higher chance your proposal will be funded.

Collaboration (25%); Contribution to the community or research (20%); Commitment of time and money (20%); The importance and urgence (20%); Innovative character(15%)

By submitting your proposal(s), your declarations on the following conditions are agreed:

• I / we declare that the information in the proposal(s) is correct and complete.
• I / we declare that during the implementation of the proposal(s), all activities and researches are in accordance with the law and regulations of where you are appointed.
• When data is enriched, it should be accumulated in accordance with the law and regulations of the country in which the data is collected.
• I / we declare that no subsidy will be obtained from other subsidy programs for the same proposal(s).
• I / we declare that if granted, 4TU.Energy (logo in the end) will be acknowledged for all relevant publication/presentation/report.

Applications can be submitted continuously from 1st April 2023.

Please submit the proposal conform the above format and the attachments in pdf file by e-mail to our coordinator Sha Lou (s.lou@tue.nl).

A confirmation email will be sent to you. Applications that do not meet the minimum requirements (e.g. eligibility criteria and proposal requirements stated above) will not be considered.

Proposals will be evaluated by the 4TU.Energy Call Committee.

The applicants will then be informed about the outcome of the application procedure by email latest within 2 months from the date of submission.

In case of minor changes, please consult our website before applying. The latest version is valid. No rights can be obtained to this document or earlier versions.

For any questions/remarks, please contact our coordinator:

Sha Lou – s.lou@tue.nl