TYPES OF PROJECTS

What types of projects can be applied for in GA UK?

Only scientific projects. The topic and goals of the project are chosen by the initiator/researcher himself, as well as the method of solution. The objectives of the project cannot be same as another project financed or proposed by GAUK or another grant agency. Project proposal can be submitted within three sections of Subject-Area Boards councils (social sciences and humanities; natural sciences; medical sciences), which are divided into other subgroups. Choice of section and group is entirely up to the project researcher. Project can also be submitted interdisciplinary. For interdisciplinary projects applicant can choose a sub-section and a group. (interdisciplinarity refers to sections, not different groups within a section).

What types of projects cannot be applied for in GA UK?

It is not possible to finance projects from GA UK aimed at organizing conferences, summer schools, workshops, symposiums or the preparation of concerts and exhibitions. (Exhibitions can be recognized as an output of GA UK, only if the output is also a professional catalog for the exhibition with citations and a description of the research process). The SVV competition is used to organize conferences.

Can projects be interdisciplinary?

Yes. The applicant shall state the main and secondary sections in the project proposal. Reviewer will secure opponents from both sections.

Can the topic of the project coincide with the topic of the dissertation / diploma thesis?

Yes. The topic of the project may be identical to the topic of the dissertation / diploma thesis. Dissertation can also be one of the outputs of the project.

APPLICATIONS

Since when can applications for new projects be submitted?

The opening of the competition is announced every year at the beginning of the academic year at the latest, by announcement from Rector of Charles University, where specific dates are mentioned. Applications for new projects are submitted through the GA UK application, roughly from October to mid-November. Applications are submitted in aggregate on behalf of the faculty to Rectorate.

What deadline should the researcher follow when submitting the application (request for continuation, final report or supplemented final report)?

It is necessary to follow the faculty deadline for submission, which is usually before the rector's deadline. Contact the clerk of the relevant grant / research department on your faculty.

Who can apply?

Applications can be submitted by master's or doctoral students enrolled at Charles University. The novelty is that from the 18th round of the competition (beginning of project in 2021), only those students who have not exceeded standard study period can submit applications. Interruption of study is not counted in the standard study period. However, the project can be completed even after exceeding the standard study time.

Only students who do not plan to terminate their studies during project should submit project applications. The proposed length of the project should comply with the expected length of study.

If the applicant terminates study during the selection procedure or in the period before the announcement of the results, project will be canceled.

Only one project can be solved in the role of the principal researcher. However, one person can be a member of other research teams (a maximum of three research teams at a time). Application monitors whether the specified number of projects is not exceeded.

Can a project proposal be submitted by a bachelor's student?

No, only a student enrolled in a doctoral or master's degree.

Is it possible to apply for project in master's degree programme and continue in doctoral degree programme?

Yes. The master's student can start solving project and continue solution as a doctoral student. In the period between end of the master's study and beginning of doctoral study (roughly about 3 months), he cannot perform any actual, f.e. financial, operations in connection with project. Once he becomes a full-time doctoral student at Charles University, he can fully continue working on the project.

Can a student apply if he / she has interrupted his / her studies?

No, the application is working with internal student register - the project cannot be even entered into application.

What to do in case of termination of study?

If the study is terminated during the project, the project may be terminated prematurely. Please announce premature termination of project at GA UK. It is also possible to request a change of the main researcher, ideally to a co-researcher from the team who will continue to solve project. Address request for a change of princial researcher to the University Grant Council. However, the change may or may not be approved.

Is it possible to draw funds even after termination of study?

No, it is not possible to draw funds after graduation. If unspent funds remain on the project, the faculty must return them to GA UK.

Who is part of the research team?

The team includes the principal researcher, supervisor and other co-researchers (students or academic staff).

The number of doctoral or master's degree students in the research team must be at least equal to the number of other members of the research team.

Who can be the project manager?

A member of the team is always the applicant's supervisor or another academic staff member, if the applicant is not studying in the doctoral study program, usually the supervisor of the diploma thesis. The supervisor can also be a doctoral student if he / she is employed at the faculty as an academic staff member, but only for a master's degree applicant.

The same supervisor can be listed for more than one project, the number is not limited.

Can a bachelor's student be part of a research team?

Yes, but according to the regulation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, stipends cannot be paid to him and he is not counted among the student members of the team.

Do team members have to be from the UK?

Team members must always have a relationship with the UK, either as students or staff. Persons who are not from the Charles University will be listed at the faculties as external collaborators, and in order to obtain a person's number, they must be introduced into the system by faculty officer of science department.

Can he be a team member from another faculty of Charles University?

Yes, financial transfers are handled by faculties themselves.

How big can the research team be?

The size of the team is not limited, but the number of doctoral or master's degree students in the research team must be at least equal to the number of other members of the research team (academic staff). A student in the bachelor's degree is seen as an employee within the research team of the GA UK project.

In the characteristics of the research team, it is necessary for the members listed in the table Research team to state their work commitment on the project.

Persons not listed in the table cannot be considered as team members and cannot be paid out of GA UK funds as team members. Such persons can be introduced, for example, into the Method of Solution and paid out from Other non-investment costs.

Always list in research team only valid persons who will work on project in a given year. If the project is accepted, you can change team within the annual reports.

How does the supervisor make recommendations?

For submitting application its necessary endorsement of supervisor.

Applicant shall establish supervisor in application using the personal number. Supervisor will receive an e-mail requesting a recommendation for your project. If the e-mail is incorrect, supervisor will not receive the request, but he/she can still enter his/her recommendation after logging in to the GA UK application using the personal number and password to the UK Web Applications.

Project recommendation is only possible via the GA UK web application. Any sending of project recommendations by mail or by e-mail is not possible.

We recommend that you submit supervisor only when the project proposal is complete. Beware, that if you insert the wrong person of supervisor during drafting project proposal, it cannot be replaced in the application. You must cancel the application and create a new one.

Is it possible to submit a project in another language?

The application offers a choice of Czech or English version. However, it is necessary to follow the choice of language in the chosen version of the application - it is not possible to fill in the text in Czech in English and in Czech in English; not even partially. Curriculum vitae in the English version of the application are filled in English only. In the Czech version of the application, CV’s are allowed in English (or Czech, Slovak, English). The University Grant Council recommends applying for projects in Section B (Natural Sciences) and Section C (Medical Sciences) in English.

What is a mandatory attachment to the application?

The obligatory part of the application is the curriculum vitae of the main researcher and the curriculum vitae of the project supervisor, including a list of a maximum of ten most important publications for the last 5 years. The CV of the project supervisor for medical and natural sciences must include the total number of citations and the h-index according to WoS. In the humanities and social sciences, the number of citations found in other databases, such as SCOPUS or ERIH, can be reported. DG UK recommends mentioning ORCIDs and / or Researcher IDs in particular in the leader's CV. The CV can also be attached in English.

If clinical trials are part of the project, the obligation to enclose the Consent of Ethics Committee in the form of an annex to the grant application. You will take care of this at the faculty. One approval by the Ethics Committee is permissible for several projects submitted by one site, but a copy of this approval must be included in each grant application. In the case of work with animals, the approved complete experimental project is submitted only for projects accepted for funding. Approved applications will be sent by the researchers to the scientific department of the faculty, where the documents will be registered.

How is the length of the project solution determined?

GA UK projects can be one-year, two-year or three-year. The applicant chooses the length when creating the application.

When to apply?

It is necessary to meet the faculty deadlines - the project is submitted to the faculty, then the faculty is submitted in bulk at GA UK.

How to save a pending application?

The application saves the pending application automatically.

FINANCE

What are the overall financial limits for the project?

A total of 300 thousand CZK per year.

Specifically, you will find all the limits of partial items in the Principles of the GA UK Operations.

I can't enter an amount in a certain item in the application - there is a zero or lower amount than I want to enter.

Make sure that you do not exceed the total project limit in the items already filled in (additional costs are automatically included in the total project limit). In such a case, the application reduces amount up to the permitted limit of 300,000 in other filled-in items.

What are the limits in the item "travel costs"?

None. There is no set amount of funding. Only the paths in connection with the solution of the project are covered, the condition is the active participation of the student. Long-term stays isn’t reimbursed.

Is it possible to request travel costs for academic and scientific staff from the team?

Yes, but only in very exceptional and well-justified cases.

Is it possible to pay for computer/IT technology from GA UK projects?

Yes, but only in justified cases.

Where are conference fees included?

Conference fees can be stated within other non-investment funds, or from travel costs - it depends on the practice at the faculty. It is covered only to the researcher who demonstrates active participation in the conference.

Is it possible to pay for participation in workshops, conferences, summer / winter schools from GA UK projects?

Workshops, conferences and summer / winter schools are reimbursed only in the case of active participation of the researcher (lecture, article in compendium, poster). The planned costs must be part of the application.

Is it possible to pay school fees or participate in courses or trainings from GA UK projects?

No, that's not possible.

What can be included in other non-investment costs?

ONN can include material costs (small long-term tangible assets, small long-term intangible assets: e.g. office supplies, laboratory materials, literature, computer technology, software that cannot be provided by the faculty, publication costs (including open access fees), services, conference fees, membership fees in professional societies).

Is it possible to pay membership fees in professional companies from GA UK projects?

Membership fees in professional societies can only be paid to the principal researcher who is in the doctoral study program. The planned costs must already be part of the application.

Can funds be drawn during the transition of the principal researcher from the master's form of study to the doctoral one?

In the period between the end of the master's study and the beginning of the doctoral study (about 3 months in time), neither the researcher nor any of the research team can perform any actual, eg financial, operations in connection with the project solution.

What costs cannot be claimed from the GA UK project?

Costs unrelated to the project solution;

costs, the price of which exceeds the usual price at the place and time;

long-term intangible assets and long-term tangible assets with a useful life of more than one year and a valuation higher than CZK 80,000 (see OR 41/2022);

computer technology in unjustified cases;

computer programs that may be provided by faculty;

costs of rewards or gifts for respondents;

training, courses and tuition;

preparation of concerts, exhibitions, conferences, etc.;

payment of travel and accommodation costs for arriving persons;

entertainment costs, representation costs;

conferences, workshops and summer / winter schools without active participation;

I have unspent funds left. What should I do?

Non-spent funds returns through the faculty back to GA UK.

RESULTS

When are results published?

Usually during April.

Whom should I contact and how should I proceed in the event of a grant project being awarded?

Please contact the clerk of the relevant grant / science department of your faculty, where you will sign the contract.

REQUESTS FOR CHANGES

Requests for changes should be sent to the Chair of the University Grant Council at gauk@ruk.cuni.cz or by post to GA UK, Ovocný trh 560/5, 116 36 Prague 1. The applicant must always provide a contact email or address where the written response should be sent. The request must include the reason for the change (why the change is necessary) and the purpose of the change. Always specify in detail how and why the funds will be used for the new item and why they will not be spent according to the original plan. For requests concerning budget changes, you may use this sample form (optional): request form in English. For other types of requests, this form can be modified accordingly.

All types of requests require the signature of both the principal investigator and the project leader.

Students from the 1st Faculty of Medicine, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, and Faculty of Science should not send requests directly to GA UK, but rather through the scientific offices of their faculties. If students from these faculties send a request directly, GA UK will inform the faculty, and the request may be returned. Even for students from other faculties, it is advisable to contact the appropriate grant/scientific department coordinator at the faculty. If the change is approved, the principal investigator should report it in the project continuation request or the final project report.

A decision on the request will be provided within 30 days.

Request for Budget Change

In addition to the specific amount, please include the new use of funds (e.g., from travel expenses to other non-investment resources for the purpose of purchasing specific project-related items). Also, specify why it is no longer necessary to spend the funds on the original item as planned. Individual budget items can be changed without a formal request according to Article 1, Section 6 of the contract, provided that the change in the relevant category does not exceed CZK 20,000 (this does not apply to transfers to personnel costs, where the limit is CZK 10,000).

Note: The amounts of individual changes are cumulative (it is not possible to make several changes of up to CZK 20,000 without a formal request if the total exceeds CZK 20,000). Any change in expenditure must also comply with the prescribed limits.

(Canceled as of January 1, 2023: Transfer of funds from the Travel Costs category in any amount without a request due to COVID-19.)

Request for a Change of Project Leader

The request must include the consent of both the current (original) and newly proposed project leader and the personal identification number of the proposed leader. A CV of the proposed leader and their email address must also be attached to the request.

Request for a Change of Principal Investigator

The request must include the consent of both the current (original) and newly proposed principal investigator and the project leader. Requests are evaluated individually based on the specific project and may not always be approved. A CV of the proposed principal investigator, their personal identification number, and email address must also be attached to the request. If the change is approved, it will be updated in the system by GA UK staff.

Request for a Change of Co-investigator

No formal request is required for a change of co-investigator. The principal investigator should report the change in the project continuation request or the final project report. The principal investigator can add the new co-investigator to the team using their personal identification number. If you plan to transfer funds to the new co-investigator, you must first reduce the funds allocated to the current co-investigator by the corresponding amount; otherwise, the funds cannot be transferred. The current co-investigator is then removed (terminated), and the new one is added (including the associated funds, if applicable). This process must be followed in the system; otherwise, the changes may not be implemented correctly.

Request for Project Suspension

A GA UK project can be suspended for the following reasons: maternity or parental leave, or long-term health issues. It is possible to request a suspension for a minimum of six months. In the case of a two-year suspension, a new request must be submitted after one year.

Procedure for Changing Faculties

If the principal investigator changes faculties, this must be reported to GA UK. The project record will be transferred to the principal investigator’s new faculty. The transfer of the project and funds to the new faculty is managed by the principal investigator in cooperation with the GA UK coordinators at both faculties.

Change of Project Goals

Changing the project goals is not permitted.

Is it possible to change the research team when creating the final report?

The research team in the last year of the solution cannot be changed in the application, the changes must be justified in the final report of the project.

What project number should be provided when writing change requests or acknowledging?

It is necessary to write the number of the grant project as stated in the application, do not use accounting numbers of the faculties or the contract numbers.

ANNUAL REPORT

What results should the annual report contain?

The report should contain a specific result - in the form of an attachment, the researcher will provide an abstract of the conference, poster, preliminary data, publication, patent. A manuscript or confirmation of acceptance for printing is also valid. Results must include affiliation and dedication (see below).

You should also rich comment on the drawing of funds - it is not enough just to state that the funds was or wasn’t drawn in accordance with the plan. If there is an non-spend funds, it is necessary to return these funds to GA UK and provide information in the application for continuation.

FINAL REPORT

Can I create a final report even if I am no longer a student?

Yes, it is possible to enter the application for another six months after graduation. If the login does not work, contact the "Advice Center".

How do I request a Postponed Rating?

Cannot apply. The decision on a possible postponement of the evaluation is fully in the competence of the project reviewer, who decides on his evaluation on the basis of the information provided in the final report, especially in the case of expected outputs.

What results should the final report contain?

The report should contain a specific result - in the form of an attachment, the researcher will provide an abstract of the conference, poster, preliminary data, publication, patent. A manuscript or confirmation of acceptance for printing is also valid. Results must include affiliation and dedication (see below).

You should also rich comment on the drawing of funds - it is not enough just to state that the funds was or wasn’t drawn in accordance with the plan. If there is an non-spend funds, it is necessary to return these funds to GA UK and provide information in the application for continuation.

AMENDED FINAL REPORT

How and when will I submit a amended final report after postponed evaluation?

Amended final report is submitted on the same date and in the same way as regular final reports.

Can I create a amended final report even if I am no longer a student?

Yes, it is possible to enter the application for another six months after graduation. If the login does not work, contact the "Advice Center".

OTHER

Where should I go if I need to return the project proposal, the request for continuation, the final report for editing?

In case of return, contact the clerk of the relevant grant / scientific department of your faculty - they can return the application / request for continuation or the final report for modifications, if they have not yet been submitted to GA UK.

Dedication - example:

The research was supported by the Grant Agency of Charles University (project no.).

Affiliation:

The official affiliation of Charles University is listed in the Measure of the Rector of Charles University No. 40/2021