Cooperation Development Research · 4th Call

• Any application must be submitted by the project coordinator within the deadline.
• Application templates and documents can be downloaded from the call's website: https://oead.at/koef/call
• Completed application documents – 1. Project proposal (word), 2. Project proposal (pdf), 3. Budget sheet (excel), 4. Appendix including Letters of Intent and CVs (pdf) – must be sent via email to kooperation-entwicklungsforschung@oead.at

Eligible as project coordinators and co-coordinator is any researcher with a minimum qualification of a PhD/doctorate affiliated with an eligible institution.

An eligible institution is any public university or research performing institution located in Austria or any state-accredited university or research performing institution in any country of the Global South classified as “least developed countries”, “other low income countries” and “lower middle income countries and territories” excl. India in the DAC-list of the OECD 2022/2023. Regional restrictions may apply.

Eligible as a project participant is any researcher enrolled in a PhD/doctoral programme or with a higher academic qualification, who is affiliated with an eligible institution.

An eligible institution is any public university or research performing institution located in Austria or any state-accredited university or research performing institution in any country of the Global South classified as “least developed countries”, “other low income countries” and “lower middle income countries and territories” excl. India in the DAC-list of the OECD 2022/2023. Additional regional restrictions may apply.

Funding can be only be provided for mobility costs, i.e. travel expenses and subsistence and accommodation costs during project-related travels.

Exception: Equipment and material (consumables) specifically relevant for the project can be covered up to a maximum amount of EUR 3.000,00 for the entire project duration.

For more detailed information, please consult the guidelines stipulated in KoEF Funding Framework and Eligible Costs (PDF).

Depending on the duration of the project the maximum funding amounts are as follows:

• 1-year projects: up to EUR 20.000
• 2-year projects: up to EUR 35.000
• 3-year projects: up to EUR 50.000

During the project implementation the budget cannot be reallocated except in response to a changed project environment (e.g. travel restrictions due to COVID-19). Any budget reallocation is subject to approval by OeAD.

All projects must submit a final scientific report and a final financial report.

Additionally, projects with a duration of 2 or 3 years must submit a mid-term scientific report and mid-term financial report. For details, please refer to the "Guidelines for Reporting" and "Financial Reporting". Detailed reporting schedules and requirements will be stipulated in the contract. 

The funding amount according to the contract will be divided and transferred in instalments at the project start, after approval of the mid-term report and after approval of the final report. The dates and amounts of the instalments will be stipulated in the contract. Generally, the following instalment schedule applies:

Projects with a project duration of 24 and 36 months:

• 1st instalment: 40 days after project start and returning of signed contract (up to 50% of funding amount)
• 2nd instalment: 40 days after evaluation of scientific mid-term report and mid-term financial report (up to 40% of funding amount)
• 3rd instalment: 40 days after evaluation of final scientific report and final financial report (up to 10% of funding amount)

Only actual expenses submitted with the financial reports and verified and approved by OeAD are subject to funding. Unused funds have to be returned to OeAD.  
 

Projects with a project duration of 12 months:

• 1st instalment: 40 days after project start and returning of signed contract (up to 80% of funding amount)
• 2nd instalment: 40 days after evaluation of final scientific report and final financial report (up to 20% of funding amount)

Only actual expenses submitted with the financial reports and verified and approved by OeAD are subject to funding. Unused funds have to be returned to OeAD.

The KoEF-Office at OeAD will check whether the formal requirements have been met:

• Application was submitted within the deadline by the project coordinator
• Complete application, including signatures
• Eligibility of institutions
• Eligibility of project coordinator, co-coordinator(s) and participants
• Compliance with financial regulations.
• All documents must be in English

Formally correct proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation group consisting of independent reviewers between January and April 2024. They will assess the project proposals individually and convey their reviews to the KoEF Office. The reviews will include of a scoring matrix (max. 100 points) and narrative assessments.

Evaluation criteria will be:

• Project design, quality of the project proposal and the partnership, contribution to the formation of the network (max. 50 points) | Sections 2-4, CVs, Letters of Intent, Budget Sheet
• Contribution to the SDGs, integration of gender and diversity perspective (max. 20 points) 
• Sustainability and application of results (max. 20 points)
• Risk management and cost-effectiveness (max. 10 points)

Ranking based on the average score of the reviews. If necessary, the OeAD appoints an advisory board made up of 5 experts for project selection. The list of selected projects has to be approved by the BMBWF.

The list of selected projects has to be approved by the BMBWF. This is envisaged to take place in May 2024.

Earliest possible start of the projects: June 2024.