Research Support and Third Party Funding

Collaborative proposals are usually made up of consortia of applicants at several locations (e.g. BMBF proposals, EU collaborative proposals), or of a group of project leaders at one location (e.g. Research Training Groups).

By completing their Doctorate, researchers meet the requirements to be able to submit their own third-party funding applications; in some programs specifically tailored to postdocs in the early qualification phase, researchers are already eligible to apply after submitting their dissertation. Knowledge of the funding landscape and experience in acquiring third-party funding are important foundations for an academic career and support (inter)national mobility, networking and academic independence.

An application for project funding can generally be submitted by anyone who has completed a Doctorate. Funding for individual proposals is available, for example, from the German Research Foundation (DFG), but also from the European Union ("Horizon Europe"), in particular in the area of excellent basic research from the European Research Council (ERC).

Finances

The staff in the External Funding section of the Finance Department are the  contact persons for budget planning.

Further information on applying for third-party funding can be found under  UOS internal.

Legal issues

The employees in the legal department are the  contact persons for legal questions and contract design.

University Library

Open Access

The  Open Access Officer of the University Library advises on publications.

Research data

The University Library's  research data officer advises on the management of data in day-to-day business or in relation to applications.

Technology Transfer Office (TIM)

The joint Technology Transfer Office of Osnabrück University and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences advises on projects in the field of application-oriented research with non-scientific partners. The TIM also advises on funding opportunities within the framework of the EU Structural Funds.  Directly to the Structural Funds Officer

In principle, all DFG funds, EU funds and foundation funds are LOM-eligible. Explicitly not LOM-eligible are funds from the state of Lower Saxony, such as the Lower Saxony advance funds of the Volkswagen Foundation. Further information on this can be found on the  pages of Administrative Service 3 Finance.

First of all, we are available for individual advice via all communication channels. We provide advice from the project idea to the final application. If changes need to be made to the content of your project during its term, we can provide advice on this. We regularly offer information events on applying for third-party funding as well as other themed events. The current dates of the events can be found on the  research funding website.

At Osnabrück University, it is possible under certain conditions to receive start-up funding for an application. This is financed via the so-called "research pool". Further information can be  found here. We also advise you to contact us directly in this regard.

This depends on the respective funding conditions of the third-party funding provider. Cooperation between several departments is likely to be required here. For the financial aspects, it is important to involve Administrative Service 3 at an early stage. For example, originally calculated personnel costs may turn out differently at a new location. If changes need to be made to the project description due to the new environment, we can provide support here.

We advise academics from all schools on identifying suitable third-party funding providers and selecting suitable funding instruments for a third-party funding project. We also provide support in the preparation of a proposal and are happy to provide feedback on its structure and content at any time. We are happy to provide feedback on a draft proposal at an early stage - work-in-progress. We always recommend having the courage to submit unfinished proposals for discussion.

Funding applications are often written in English, even at national level, as the respective review panels can be international. We are also happy to incorporate suggestions for the text structure into our feedback on the application text. What we do not offer is a translation of German-language drafts into English. Of course, we also offer all our consultations - individually or in workshops - in English if required.

For applications to the German Research Foundation, for example, there are - as with almost all third-party funding bodies - clear instructions on how to submit an application. As these are partly open to interpretation and cannot cover every individual case, part of our service is to provide an overview of common standards in the sense of best practice examples. In the area of research contexts (keyword: good research practice), the requirements for applications have increased in recent years. Important interfaces here include the  Equal Opportunities Office,  Research Data Management and the  Technology  Transfer Office.

With the pool for the advancement of women, Osnabrück University supports projects that contribute to gender equality. The aim is to reduce the underrepresentation of women and to promote promising projects in the field of women's and gender studies. This funding opportunity is explicitly - but not exclusively - aimed at young female researchers completing their Doctorate or Habilitation project. However, plans and projects for the actual implementation of Social Equity between women and men are also generally eligible for funding in the form of grants. Further information can be found on  the website of the Equal Opportunities Office on the pool for the advancement of women.

We recommend contacting us or Administrative Service 3 (Finance) as early as possible. Ideally, you should contact us at least three weeks before the application deadline so that there is sufficient time to clarify any questions. In reality, we often receive inquiries very shortly before the application deadline. We can manage that too. However, it is certainly best for everyone involved and ultimately for the quality of the application to allow sufficient time. The "Third-party funding handbook of Osnabrück University" contains further informative information. Please feel free to contact us.

The FIT newsletter provides current calls for proposals and information on research funding, the promotion of international scientific activities and the transfer of scientific results into practice. The key advantage of the service is the targeted selection options. As a subscriber, you can decide for yourself which content categories you are interested in: For example, you can select according to scientific fields or only have programs from certain sponsors sent to you. Osnabrück University researchers can find the link for free registration on the  FIT Newsletter research funding pages.