Call 2023

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), which was celebrated in 1997, the City of Vienna established the Anniversary Fund of the City of Vienna for the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Mag. Daniel Löcker, Secretary General of the Anniversary Fund of the City of Vienna for the OeAW, and Univ.- Prof. Dr. Heinz Faßmann, President of the OeAW, are inviting you to submit project proposals to the Anniversary Fund.

Cities and urban areas are complex spaces of constant change. An increasing population density and a melting pot of lifestyles and cultures, changing work environments and technologies, gentrification, migration, climate crisis and mobility are only some examples of the profound, complexly intertwined processes converging in the space of a "city". In Austria and around the world they shape the reality of the lives of an ever-growing population. Vienna is a growing agglomeration and Austria's largest city. Taking Vienna as an example, the call aims to fund research on the challenges posed by a complex city.

Projects eligible for funding may address the following topics, including, without limitation:

• Urban infrastructure (e.g. traffic, transportation, communication)
• Geodata and visualisation
• Water/socio-hydrology
• Urban planning and architecture (e.g. urban transformation, ecological construction, city of short distances)
• Digitalisation and digital transformation
• Climate crisis
• Sustainability (e.g. alternative energy concepts, resource conservation)
• Resilience research

Research projects aimed to use existing data or designed as an addition to issues already pursued are also eligible for funding.

The call addresses scientists/academics with a research focus on natural sciences. Trans‑/Interdisciplinary integration of technical, environmental or social sciences as well as humanities is possible and desirable.

• 1 year

The budget for each of the projects is a maximum of EUR 90,000. The total amount available is EUR 250,000. The following direct costs may be applied for:

• staff costs (if applied for, including those for the project management). The Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable to the research institution will be used for calculating the staff cost rates. If no such Collective Bargaining Agreement exists, the cost rates of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) shall be used.
• costs for consumables
• other costs (e.g. fees for use of infrastructures, travel expenses)
• Overheads will not be paid.

• The project must be carried out at an Austrian research institution.
• A research institution may support multiple applications.
• Applicants must hold an academic degree.
• Each applicant may only submit one application.
• Several applicants may submit a joint application. The applicants will constitute the project management (principal investigators). One of the applicants must assume the role of application (project) coordinator. An appropriate gender balance should be ensured in the composition of the submitting group.
• Applicants are prepared to pro-actively contribute to the public presentation of the programme and take part in associated events.

Please submit your application to the following email address: programmmanagement(at)oeaw.ac.at  by 15 May 2023.

Applications must be made in English by submitting the following documents:

• application form, completed in full (name: project acronym_Proposal),
• budget sheet, completed in full (name: project acronym_Costs),
• Gantt chart (name: project acronym_Workplan)

Documents of all applicants involved, consisting of CV, list of publications and signed declaration of consent of the research institution (1 file per applicant, name: project acronym_(no.)_applicant's name).

Call for proposals

Call begins: February 2023

• All submissions which meet the necessary formal requirements for application (see application requirements) will be presented to an independent international jury.
• The jury will make an award recommendation on the basis of their expertise and other expert opinions obtained, if necessary.
• The award decision of the Board of the Anniversary Fund is expected to be made in the fourth quarter of 2023. Applicants will be notified promptly.

By taking part in this call applicants acknowledge that the related data and documents will be forwarded to experts. The data and documents will be forwarded for the purpose of evaluation of the application and decision-making with regard to the award of grants (see also the Data Protection Information of OeAW).

OeAW abides by the Guidelines of Good Scientific Practice of the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (OeAWI). All applications will be checked for plagiarism using Similarity (Turnitin). Violations of the rules of good scientific practice will result in immediate exclusion of the application.

• The selected projects must start not later than 4 months after transmission of the grant letter and will have a project term of 12 months. A funding agreement will be concluded with the principal investigators. Provided that no extra costs arise, the project term may be extended by up to 6 months in well-founded cases.
• Changes to the project plan and the project management require approval.
• After conclusion of the project a comprehensive final project report plus a statement of accounts for the funds used must be presented.