Frequently asked questions about Centres of Excellence 2023
Who may form a Centre of Excellence?
Which state or public research institutions are positively evaluated in 2023?
Which private research institutions are positively evaluated in 2023?
Who can be the PI of a CoE?
Which projects qualify as “ongoing projects”?
Which projects qualify a research group for participating in a CoE?
Do starting and team grants qualify even though the amount shown in ETIS corresponds to annual payouts?
What are the requirements for the staff of a research group?
What are the development needs of the “Estonia 2035” development strategy?
What are the focus areas of the RDIE strategy?
What are the requirements for the statement to open an application?
What are the requirements for a guarantee letter from the institution for additional funding?
Who may form a Centre of Excellence?
A Centre of Excellence (CoE) may be formed by two state or public research and development institutions (one of which is the applicant). At least one research group from each institution must be included in the CoE. Altogether, at least three research groups must be included in the CoE. Different combinations are thus possible. For example, the third research group may also be from a private research and development institution.
Which state or public research institutions are positively evaluated in 2023?
The following state or public research institutions are positively evaluated in 2023: Institute of the Estonian Language, Estonian Literary Museum, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Estonian National Museum, Under and Tuglas Literature Centre, National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University, University of Tartu, National Institute for Health Development.
Which private research institutions are positively evaluated in 2023?
The following private research institutions are positively evaluated in 2023: BioCC OÜ, Cybernetica AS, Metrosert AS, Icosagen Cell Factory OÜ, Protobios OÜ, SA Estonian Business School, STACC OÜ, Tervisetehnoloogiate Arenduskeskus AS, Toidu- ja Fermentatsioonitehnoloogia Arenduskeskus AS.
The PI of the CoE must also be the PI of one of the participating research groups and they must have an ongoing research project.
Which projects qualify as “ongoing projects”?
Ongoing projects are projects with an end date on or after the CoE call opening date (23.05.2023) or projects which start on or after May 23, but where the funding decision is made at the latest on 15.09.2023 (deadline for applications). If the new (start date after May 23) project is not registered in ETIS on the application deadline, please include proof of the funding decision to the application.
Which projects qualify a research group for participating in a CoE?
To be eligible for participation in a CoE, the research group must have an ongoing project which meets the following criteria: To be eligible for participation in a CoE, the research group must have an ongoing project which meets the following criteria:
- The project must be registered in ETIS as a research and development project.
- The period of the project must be at least two years.
- The complete funding of the project must be at least 210,000 euros.
There are no requirements for the funder, but the project’s funding must be 210,000 euros as one whole from one funder. This means that the project cannot be combined from multiple smaller projects.
Do starting and team grants qualify even though the amount shown in ETIS corresponds to annual payouts?
Starting and team grants qualify if the period of the project is at least 2 years and the complete fundig at least 210,000 euros. Although, the amount shown in ETIS does not correspond to the full amount of the project, the Estonian Research Council is aware of the complete amounts of PSGs and PRGs and takes them into account.
What are the requirements for the staff of a research group?
Not all staff from the qualifying project must participate in the CoE. For example, if the qualifying project is a PRG project, you can choose which staff members from that project participate in the CoE. If necessary, you can add other members from positively evaluated research and development institutions to the research group.
What are the development needs of the “Estonia 2035” development strategy?
The nine development needs are population, health and life expectancy of people, society and opportunities, learning opportunities, business environment, biodiversity and the environment, cultural space and the living environment, security and safety, governance. Read more HERE.
What are the focus areas of the RDIE strategy?
The focus areas are digital solutions across all areas of life, health technologies and services, valorisation of local resources, smart and sustainable energy solutions, viable Estonian society, language and cultural space. Read more HERE.
What are the requirements for the statement to open an application?
The statement must contain the name of the CoE (in Estonian and English), an English summary, the PI of the CoE and participating partner institutions, keywords in English (3–6). It is not necessary to add confirmation letters from the partners to the statement, and everything except the name of the PI can be changed during the application process. The digitally signed statement is submitted according to the relevant institutional practices.
What are the requirements for a guarantee letter from the institution for additional funding?
A guarantee letter is needed when a research group has an ongoing project which ends in 2023. The letter should contain the following details: to which CoE’s which project the guarantee pertains, the period and the sum of additional funding. The digitally signed letter is submitted according to the relevant institutional practices.