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Call for Applications - Constructive Advanced Thinking (CAT) Initiative 2021/22, CEU

Publish Date: Jun 06, 2021

Deadline: Sep 01, 2021

Goals

The aim of the CAT initiative is to foster networks of excellent early-career researchers dedicated to devise new ideas to understand and to tackle current or emerging societal challenges. Although the programme has a strong focus on the societal relevance of the projects, it is entirely blue-sky, bottom-up and non-thematic. CAT encourages a collaboration with stakeholders outside academia (industry, policymakers, NGOs…) who are willing to support or engage in innovative research initiatives.

In order to engage in fruitful discussions and mature their ideas, the groups will be given the opportunity to meet for short stays in different participating institutes, and to be put in contact with their fellows and local research communities.

With few guidelines and a very light application process, CAT is designed to maximize the creativity of research groups. This call has been incubated in the Network of European Institutes for Advanced Study (NETIAS) and also involves institutes beyond the network. The collaboration between twelve different institutes in different countries aims at giving these groups access to a great variety of high-level thinkers and researchers in order to go beyond the current frontiers of knowledge and to develop highly innovative ideas on how to address very complex societal issues.

Support

CAT will provide teamsof early-career researchers (three to five persons, possibly including a stakeholder) time and space for thought and discussion in the best research environments Europe has to offer. During a period of up to three years, teams will benefit from a series of short stays (i.e. between one and two weeks, two to three times a year, for a maximum of six stays) in the institutes participants of the 2021 call (see list below). Online meetings and digital research stays at the institutes are possible alternatives to onsite stays and can complete the work and time plan of CAT groups.

CAT will cover travel and accommodation expenses for the team meetings/short work stays in the participating institutes. CAT will not fund salaries or research related expenses.

The participating institutes will support the teams by connecting them with the most knowledgeable and experienced researchers on-site as well as digitally, and by helping them valorise the obtained results through their legitimating channels. During their stay, CAT teams will benefit from the institutes’ amenities and conviviality for work and exchanges. Discussions at the institutes will provide a unique sounding board for innovative ideas and will give valuable feedback.

Obligations for CAT groups

Given the rapidly changing circumstances of the global COVID-19 pandemic, rescheduling of the planned onsite meetings and extensions of the project duration are not encouraged. The selected groups will be asked to hold, at least, one onsite meeting and hold all planned meetings within three years. i.e. 2022-2025.

At mid-term, the continuation of the team’s work will be subject to approval after evaluation of a short progress report. At the end of their project, in addition to the organization of final meeting(s) presenting the results, the CAT teams will be expected to produce a final report in the form of a text, video, website or other media, that will be made public.

In keeping with the policies of the participating institutes, the researchers retain the intellectual property rights to their work.

Eligibility criteria

  • Your project must address emergent societal issues.
  • The Principal Investigator (team leader) must have a stable research position in a European (EU as well as UK and associated countries) higher education and/or research institution for the entire duration of the project.
  • S/he must have obtained a PhD between January 2012 and December 2020.     
  • No team member should have obtained his/her PhD before January 2012. Doctoral researchers may also participate.
  • There is no specific requirement for representatives of stakeholder organizations.
  • Each team should include participants from at least two different countries (current workplace, including non-European countries; any nationality).
  • The team of 3 to 5 persons (stakeholders included) must be fully constituted, with CVs of all members named in the proposal.

Applications

Please submit your application documents in English as PDF files. Applications should include the following materials:

(1)    a 300-word abstract;

(2)    a 3000-word max project proposal (references not included in the count) OR a video of 15 min max (in this case, please include the web link in the abstract), describing the team’s research question and how it plans to address it. The team’s motivation as well as the societal issues addressed and the interdisciplinary aspects of the project should be specified;

(3)    a work plan for the whole project duration, including meetings (tentative dates and possibly preferred hosting IAS) and activities with an indicative calendar;

(4)    a short description of the team

(5)    a PDF file with CVs for each participant and an indication of where they will travel from to the meetings; 

(6)    letters of support: at least two from academic researchers; additional letters from extra-academic stakeholders outside academia are encouraged.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.

Further Official Information

Link to Original

Similar Opportunities


Disciplines

Any

Study Levels

PhD

Eligible Countries

Albania

Andorra

Armenia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Kazakhstan

Kosovo

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Malta

Moldova

Monaco

Montenegro

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

San Marino

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Vatican City

Host Countries

Austria