HRB/SFI Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (CoEN) Initiative; Frequently Asked Questions FAQs
This should be read in addition to the full call information detailed on www.coen.org
Q: Do Principal Investigators have to be permanent staff members or can senior post-docs apply?
Two issues apply (i) relates to the nature of the contract – applications are not limited to those on permanent contracts- individuals on contracts are welcome – but they must have a contract with a host institution for the duration of the grant award or assure the funders that they will be offered a contract for the period of the award if successful, and their application must be endorsed accordingly at application stage by the Host Institution (ii) relates to the track record and the experience of any applicant relative to the scale, the ambition and complexity of the proposed project – the seniority and experience of any candidate is assessed against the proposed project, which again is not at all related to the nature of the contract but completely linked to the CV of the candidate themselves.
Q: What will happen if Irish applications score high enough to get funded for more than two awards? Will SFI and HRB only fund 2?
The maximum amount that the HRB and SFI can award is €600,000 for researchers based in Ireland in shortlisted proposals, irrespective of the number of proposals shortlisted.
Q: Since €600,000 is available from Irish funds but prioritisation will be assessed internationally, is it possible for Irish researchers not to be funded if they do not rank sufficiently high in the international assessment.
Yes. The maximum €600,000 Irish fund will only be spent if researchers based in Ireland form part of a proposal that has been shortlisted for funding based on international peer review.
Q: If you can offer an area of expertise to this call is there a method of providing this information to all the centres of excellence e.g. something akin to the partnership searches offered by the Cordis website?
For this call there is no method of circulating a profile of your expertise. PIs based at participating centres should be contacted using the information given on the www.coen.org website.
Q: What is the overhead rate on an award successfully funded through this scheme?
The HRB-SFI will contribute to the indirect costs of the research through an overhead payment of 30% of Total Direct Modified Costs (TDMC excludes student fees, equipment and capital building costs).
The following are included in the overhead contribution: recruitment costs, bench fees, animal maintenance, software, contribution to gases, bacteriological media preparation fees, waste fees, bioinformatics access.
Q: Does the maximum contribution from HRB/SFI of €300,000 per proposal include overheads?
Yes, the maximum amount of €300,000 has to include overheads.
