This document provides information about applying for funding from the HERA Joint Research Programme on the theme of "Uses of the Past". Key points: - The programme pools €21 million from 23 European countries and the EU for humanities research projects involving at least 4 researchers from 4 eligible countries. - Applicants must submit an outline proposal by April 9, 2015 following the prescribed format. Successful applicants will then be invited to submit a full proposal. - Projects can be up to €1.2 million and 36 months. Proposals will be evaluated on criteria like relevance, excellence, innovation, impact, and European added value. - The

1. HERA Joint Research Programme
“Uses of the Past”
Application Process
Lucy Parnall
European Strategy and Development
Mangager, AHRC

2. HERA Joint Research Programme:
General facts
• Pooling national and European funding: research funding
organisations in 23 countries and the European Commission
• 21 M € available for Humanities-led research in “Uses of the
Past”, including 4 m € European Union Co-funding
• Supporting excellent collaborative research across borders
and beyond the state-of-the-art
• Supporting knowledge exchange with non-academic
audiences
• 1 Handling Agency for the centrally managed selection
process:

3. Relevant documents
• Call for Proposals
• General and National Eligibility
Requirements
• FAQ
• Glossary
• Application template + budget template
(Excel)
All documents are available online at
www.heranet.info

4. Eligibility
• Outline Proposals must follow the prescribed format and be
submitted before the deadline of 9 April 2015,
19:00 CET/18:00 GMT
• At least 4 eligible researchers (Principal Investigators) from
4 different participating countries:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• Maximum budget per project: € 1,2 M
• Maximum project duration: 36 months
• All applicants and budget items must be eligible according
to the National Eligibility Requirements (www.heranet.info)

5. Principal Investigators (PI)
• At least four PIs from four different eligible countries.
• Each PI leads research activities at his/her institution.
• One of the PIs (PI1 in your application) also functions as
the Project Leader (PL) of the project.
• Each PI must be eligible according the rules of his/her
national funding organisation.
• There can be more than one PI from the same country in
one proposal (provided they are based at different
institutions).
• Only one PI from the same institution in one proposal; per
institution there can be additional Project Members.
• You must meet AHRCs definition of Principle Investigator
• A PI may be part of one proposal only.

6. Project Leader (PL)
• PL is a senior researcher with solid experience of
managing collaborative research projects.
• PL submits the proposal on behalf of the whole project
consortium.
• PL is the contact point for the Handling Agency.
• A PL may act in one proposal only.
If the funding is granted, the PL host institution will:
• distribute the funds to other PI’s host institutions;
• be responsible for proper financial management of the
grant;
• be responsible for all reporting duties.

7. Other Staff - UK
– Co-Investigator
– Research Assistant
– PhD Students (Only 1 allowed, must be
complementary but stand alone)
– Other staff as needed eg co-ordinator/admin
support
Co-I’s can not be listed as investigators in application
form but can be mentioned in text

8. Non Academic Partner
• Non-academic APs – stakeholders in the cultural,
heritage or educational sector, media, or creative
industries, who may provide significant added value
and valuable insights to the project from the user’s
perspective.
• APs are encouraged to participate in an advisory and
collaborative capacity to help explore the knowledge
exchange potential of the proposed research.
• Time of APs must be self-funded; only their travel and
subsistence costs can be covered from the project
budget.

9. Outline Proposal templates

10. Description of the project
(max. 2000 words)
• What research question(s) does the CRP seek to answer?
• In what way is the project original and/or innovative?
• What are the objectives of the CRP?
• By what methods will the research question(s) be tackled?
• How are the skills of the partners complementary?
• What is the added value in tackling your research question(s)
from a European trans-national perspective?
• How will partners work together? What management and
coordination structures are proposed?
• What is the significance of the research question(s)? How will
these contribute to the “Uses of Past” theme?
• What is the potential impact of the proposed research to both
academic disciplines, and relevant stakeholders and user
communities?
• How will the CRP engage in knowledge exchange or active
dissemination engaging user communities and audiences outside
academia?

11. Finances
• Each partner costs on their own rules; no matter
the country is ‘leading’
• For UK follow FeC rules
• Budget must be in Euros
• For budget table:
– Enter in 80% Figure (except students)
– Combine estates and indirects for the overheads line
– For students – enter 100% of costs stated in guidance

12. Outline Proposal submission
Instructions available at
www.heranet.info

13. Selection Process: two stages
1st stage: Outline Proposals
• Outline Proposals are evaluated by the international
Review Panel;
• Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit Full Proposals.
2nd stage: Full Proposals
• Each Full Proposal is evaluated by at least three external
expert referees;
• Rebuttal by applicants: applicants are invited to submit
comments on anonymous referee evaluations
• The international Review Panel evaluates and ranks Full
Proposals
• The HERA JRP UP Board makes final funding decisions

14. Review Panel
• The Review Panel members are leading humanities scholars
appointed by the HERA JRP UP Board.
• ~30 members in the Outline Proposals stage.
• ~12 members in the Full Proposals stage.
• Conflict of Interest guidelines are applied throughout the
selection process.
• The names of the Review Panel members will be published
after the Call for Proposals is launched.
• The Review Panel members must not be contacted by
applicants! All questions about the selection should be
directed to the Handling Agency (hera@nwo.nl).

15. Selection Criteria for Outline Proposals
• Relevance to the theme “Uses of the Past”
• Potential for research excellence
• Novelty and originality of research
• Potential impact of the proposed research beyond academia
• Qualification of the applicants and coordination structures
proposed
• European added value of the collaboration

16. HERA JRP Organisational Structure
HERA JRP Board
Handling
Agency
International
Review
Panel
Applicants,
Project
Leaders’
Group

17. Timeline
January 2015 Launch of the Call for Outline Proposals
9 April 2015 Deadline for the submission of Outline Proposals
Jun 2015 Review Panel: selection of Outline Proposals
Jul 2015 Invitation for the submission of Full Proposals
Oct 2015 Deadline for the submission of Full Proposals
Oct-Nov 2015 Peer review of Full Proposals
Dec 2015 Rebuttal by applicants (one week)
Jan 2016 Review Panel: ranking of Full Proposals
Feb 2016 HERA JRP Board meeting: funding decisions
Feb-Jun 2016 Contract negotiations
Jun 2016 Start of Collaborative Research Projects
Jun 2019 End of Collaborative Research Projects

18. Research Integrity
The HERA partners expect researchers
to adhere to the rules of good
research practice as outlined in
The European Code of Conduct for
Research Integrity
- Fairness in providing references,
- Giving credit to collaborators,
- Honesty in communication, and
impartiality and independence.
To download the publication:
http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/Public_doc
uments/Publications/Code_Conduct_Rese
archIntegrity.pdf

19. What you should do to succeed:
• Read all the guidance documentation published on the
HERA website www.heranet.info.
• Verify the eligibility of the applicants and budget items
according to the National Eligibility Requirements.
• Contact the HERA office or your National Contact Point, if
you have questions.
• Make sure you understand the evaluation criteria.
• Describe your project idea (incl. objectives, methodology,
collaboration and potential impact) within the given space
of 2000 words!
• Arrange meetings with your project partners when writing
the proposal to ensure coherence of ideas.
• Use clear and straightforward language.
• Upload your proposal well ahead of the submission
deadline! Register in time!!

20. Funded Projects
Some differences to note
• Very limited flexibility on extensions/delayed
starts etc
• There are reporting requirements throughout
projects. Takes time to co-ordinate
• HERA projects are managed centrally

21. For more information:
visit www.heranet.info
or contact: hera@nwo.nl
Sander Steeman, Programme officer,
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
(NWO)

22. National Eligibility Contacts
Gemma Evans
Jessica Bacon
Lucy Parnall
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
E-mail: g.evans@ahrc.ac.uk; j.bacon@ahrc.ac.uk;
l.parnall@ahrc.ac.uk