Call 2020

There is no separate budget line for scholarships in the budget of team grants, but these are included among staff costs. The Council does not set any rates for scholarships; these are set by the institution according to law.

No, it is necessary to include only the workload that the PI and the member(s) of the senior research staff have at the institution according to their employment contract. During the implementation of the project the workload of the PI must be 1.0 except in justified cases with the approval of the Evaluation Committee. The minimum workload that the participants of the team project can have at the institution is 0.2 (one day per week). If applying for the team grant with the grant amount III or IV, then the research team has to include at least three members of the senior research research staff who are employed at the institution with the workload of at least 0.5. If applying for the starting grant with the grant amount III or IV, then the research team has to include at least one member of the senior research research staff who is employed at the institution with the workload of at least 0.2. The contribution of the PI and of the member(s) of the senior research staff has to be described in the application and it could be taken into account when evaluating the applications.

It is important to differentiate between dissemination that is aimed at the academic world (both within a particular discipline as well as among other disciplines) and at the public.

The need for disseminating the results of research projects is related to the expectations of the state and the society, aiming to make the research funded with public money more transparent and raise public awareness. Different mediums can be used for disseminating research findings outside academia – social media, websites, newspaper and magazine articles, books and textbooks, public appearances, and audiovisual aids. The dissemination of research findings helps people understand how research can have a positive impact on their life and on the society as a whole. It also encourages the creation of new forms of cooperation with other researchers and with enterprises and demonstrates the importance of high-quality research to decision-making and funding bodies.

NB! Please think about and describe how and to which target groups the research will be disseminated during the entire period of the project already in the application as well as if and which costs will accompany the dissemination activities.

It means that the applicants are required to consider and describe all ethical issues involved in the proposed project. The applicants have to consider the ethical risks of any procedure involving human participation, the collection and use of personal data, and animal testing. The description of the principles of research ethics must specify how the principles of voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity of the subjects will be followed as well as how such data will be stored and protected. More specific information can be found in the document “Guidelines for Completing Your Ethics Self-Assessment for Application of Personal Research Funding”.

The use of the research methods that require a review or approval from a specific ethics committee should also be clearly indicated in the application. If the project necessitates compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, the applicant has to mention whether he/she already has or has to obtain the due diligence declaration.

If no ethical issues discussed in the document “Guidelines for Completing Your Ethics Self-Assessment for Application of Personal Research Funding” arise during the implementation of the project, then this, too, has to be explained in the application.

In starting and team grant applications, students and skilled specialists (laboratory technicians, assistants, engineers, technicians, etc.) whose participation is essential for the implementation of the project can be included as the other staff members. It is not possible to include people with a doctoral degree and in the case of a starting grant also doctoral students as other members of the research staff.

The data management plan contains a detailed description of the data created during the project, and the processing, collection, storage of data. The PI of the funded project submits a data management plan approved by the institution within the first six months of the project. You can choose the form of the data management plan yourself. You can use the form on the ETAG website.

The postdoctoral fellow can neither be the PI or the member of the (senior) research staff of another research project funded by the Council. When it comes to receiving additional funding from other sources, then the Council does not impose any restrictions in this respect.

No, the applicant who has been awarded the doctoral degree by an Estonian R&D institution cannot apply for the postdoctoral grant to carry out the project in Estonia. If the applicant wishes to implement the postdoctoral project partially in Estonia, then it has to be highlighted in the application and its necessity has to be justified. It is also necessary to clearly indicate the time period(s) of staying in Estonia as well as the activities undertaken in Estonia (e.g., in the Gantt chart). In justified exceptional cases it is possible to implement the project in Estonia only partially, but no more than up to a limit of 50%.

Yes, in justified cases (e.g., in case of an interdisciplinary project) the postdoctoral fellow can have more than one supervisor. The CV of the co-supervisor(s) can be added as a separate file under the tab “Additional information”. The co-supervisor(s) will not be evaluated.

The researchers who work at other Estonian R&D institutions may also participate as the members of the (senior) research staff. Their remuneration and the research costs of the project shall be agreed upon between the PI, the institution, and the institution(s) where the members of the (senior) research staff are employed.

The Nagoya Protocol is a convention on biological diversity aimed at sharing the benefits arising from the access to and utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.

Guidance document on the scope of application and core obligations of Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the compliance measures for users from the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation in the Union was adopted on December 14, 2020.  Overview of conditions for applicability of the EU ABS regulation can be found in Annex 1.  Specific guidance on the concept of utilisation is presented in Annex 2.

It is important to be certain if the project necessitates compliance with the Nagoya Protocol before submitting the application. If human genetic resources will be used, then the Nagoya Protocol does not apply to the project. If it becomes apparent that the planned R&D activities are related to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and therefore necessitate compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, then it will be necessary to declare the due diligence declaration in the international database DECLARE. If such a project is funded, then the due diligence declaration has to be submitted to the Council in the final report at the latest. The due diligence declaration is necessary for gaining access to genetic resources. Should you wish to discuss whether your research and research objects necessitate compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, please contact a Research Funding Officer working at the Council or a contact person working at the Ministry of the Environment before submitting the application.

The PI of the team project may, in exceptional cases, have a less than a full-time employment contract at the institution. Changing the workload of the PI has to be agreed upon with the Council before submitting the request, which has to be confirmed by the institution, to the Council. What should be taken into consideration is that the Council may decide to continue funding the project at a lower rate if the workload of the PI has reduced.

The PI of the starting project may have a less than a full-time employment contract at the institution if he/she simultaneously works part-time for another employer in Estonia to achieve the objectives of the project (e.g., working simultaneously as a healthcare practitioner).

The PI of the starting project cannot be replaced. In justified cases, it is possible to request the replacement of the PI of the team project with a member of the senior research staff of the project. In order to do that, the PI and the institution have to submit a well-reasoned request to the Council.

Grant projects can be temporarily suspended upon receiving a justified request from the PI, which has also been confirmed by the institution. The request has to be submitted to the Management of the Council prior to the beginning of the suspension period (the start date and the expected end date in full months). It is not possible to suspend the project retrospectively. The PI can request the temporary suspension of the project in case of pregnancy, maternity or parental leave, compulsory military service, or in case of other exceptional circumstances for up to three years. The grant contract will be suspended for the temporary suspension period of the project.

Projekti vältel on üldjuhul võimalik taotleda üksnes grandi mahu vähendamist. Näiteks saab suure mahuga stardigrandi projektijuht taotleda grandi jätkamist väikse stardigrandi mahus, kui kaob vajadus (põhi)täitjate kaasamiseks vms. Samuti võib ETAG teha ettepaneku projekti jätkamiseks vähendatud grandimahuga, kui suure grandimahu tingimused ei ole täidetud. Ainsa erandina on võimalik taotleda grandimahu suurendamist juhul, kui taotleja soovi alusel eraldati talle esimesel aastal fikseeritud grandimahust väiksem summa. Sellisel juhul on tal võimalus järgmis(t)el aasta(te)l põhjendatud juhtudel taotleda grandi suurendamist tema projekti fikseeritud grandimahuni.

Yes, it can. The activities and direct costs of the project are to be described in the application for the first year of the project, but the distribution of the direct costs may change from year to year. The ratio of direct costs may be changed up to 20% (of the annual grant sum) without making a contractual amendment. If the changes exceed that, then the changes must first be agreed upon with the Council. The budget allocations may be transferred from one year’s budget to another year if this is in accordance with the accounting regulations of the institution.