Principles of Activities of the Grant Agency of Charles University

To implement: Article 3 (3) of the Grant Rules of Charles University

Date of effect: 1 October 2018

Article 1

Introductory Provision

These Principles of Activities of the Grant Agency of Charles University govern, in accordance with special legislation¹, the elements set out by the Grant Rules of Charles University (the “Grant Rules” and the “University”), and other details concerning the Grant Agency of the University (the “GA UK”).

Article 2

Distribution of Grant Financial Means

(under Article 4 (4) (d) and (e) of the Grant Rules)

1. For each section, financial means are allocated to grant projects from the grant financial means earmarked for the GA UK in the University budget in a calendar year such that the financial means cover the sum necessary for the continuation of the grant projects in the section and the financial means for new grant projects in the section under paragraph 2; the distribution of the means between the necessary financial means for the continuation of the grant projects and the financial means for new grant projects serves only as an indication for the Subject Area Board.

2. The amount of financial means for new projects in a section is calculated as the proportion of the financial means requested for new projects in the section to the total amount of the financial means requested for new projects in the current calendar year, multiplied by the amount of total financial means earmarked for new projects in the current calendar year. For the purposes of the calculation under the previous sentence, the total sum of the financial means requested for new projects in the section is limited so that the average amount of the financial means requested for new projects in the section may not exceed the average amount in the preceding calendar year multiplied by the quotient of the average amount of the financial means requested for new projects in all sections in the current calendar year, and the preceding calendar year, and the coefficient 1.1. For the purposes of the calculation under this paragraph, the total sum of the financial means requested for new projects does not include the financial means requested contrary to the Grant Rules or Article 5 (3).

3. The financial means to enable the work of the GA UK are stipulated as 4% of the grant financial means earmarked for the GA UK in the University budget in the given calendar year.

4. An application for a new grant project (the “project”) is evaluated in accordance with a contract between the University and the evaluator; the remuneration for a duly and timely delivered evaluator’s report may not exceed CZK 500.

Article 3

Criteria for the Evaluation of Applications and Requests; the Final Report

(under Article 7 (1) of the Grant Rules)

1. The statement of the dean of the faculty (Article 4 (2)) in which the applicant is enrolled concerns in particular the following:

2. An application for a new project² is evaluated by at least two evaluators, in particular according to the following criteria:

3. Subsequently, groups of projects are assessed by reviewers who focus primarily on the project and the correctness of evaluators’ reports, and where the reports are contradictory they usually request a new report. Reviewers attend the evaluation meeting of the Subject Area Board, reporting on the projects and on the final ranking of projects.

4. An application to continue a project is not assessed by evaluators. Groups of projects are assessed by reviewers who inform the Subject Area Board about the correctness of expenditure and the project outputs, in particular publications. The Subject Area Board may propose to the Grant Council of the University that a project be terminated also in cases (Article 6 (6) (c) of the Grant Rules) where the project has so far delivered, inconsistently with the project application, very limited or no research outputs, or where gross misconduct occurred in the use of financial means.

5. A final report on the project completion must include a list of publications and other outputs of the project, an overall verbal assessment of the project outputs and contribution, and a commentary justifying the expenses covered from the allocated financial means. The final report is not assessed by evaluators. Groups of projects are assessed by reviewers who inform the Subject Area Board about the correctness of expenditure and the project outputs. Furthermore, reviewers inform the Subject Area Board about the following:

The Subject Area Board may propose to the Rector that the projects with outstanding outputs be granted an award.

Article 4

Formal Elements, Deadlines

(under Article 7 (5) of the Grant Rules)

1. Project applications, applications to continue projects, dean’s statements, notifications under Article 7 (7) of the Grant Rules, final reports on completed projects, and other relevant submissions are filed via the online application available at www.cuni.cz, “Science and Research/Grant Agency of Charles University” (“Věda a výzkum/Grantová agentura UK”) section, (hereinafter “electronically”).

2. Project applications and applications to continue projects are submitted via the faculty in which the applicant (lead researcher) is enrolled.

3. A project application and an application to continue a project must specify the amount of financial means requested under Article 5 (2). The amount of financial means specified in the application to continue a project may not exceed, by more than 10%, the amount stipulated in the financial plan for the given year as indicated in the project application; this is without prejudice to Article 5. The application must be accompanied by the following appendices: the CV of the lead researcher and of the advisor (under the second sentence of Article 7 (3) of the Grant Rules), including no more than ten of the most important publications over the last five years. The project application must include a declaration of honour confirming the authenticity of the application.

4. If a project application or an application to continue a project does not contain all the necessary details, and the applicant or the lead researcher failed to remedy the deficiencies on request, such an application will not be evaluated.

5. An applicant may submit only one application as the lead researcher within the deadline stipulated. A student may research only one project at a time as the lead researcher. A student may participate in no more than three projects at a time, or may be named in no more than three project applications at a time. If a student is already participating in a project, he may be named in no more than two applications at a time; if a student is already participating in two projects, he may be named in one application only; and if a student is already participating in three projects, he may not be named in the application.

6. An application to replace the lead researcher or the supervisor or the member of academic staff under paragraph 2 (as member of the research team) is submitted electronically; the decision on the application is taken by the Grant Council or by the chair of the Grant Council if he was authorised therefor by the Grant Council. Information about the replacement (whether already made or envisaged) of another member of the research team is an element of an application to continue a project or of the final report on the project completion. These changes are without prejudice to the thresholds under Article 5 (2) to (4).

7. The deadline for applications for new projects and applications to continue projects, the deadline for the final report on the outputs of completed grant projects, the deadline for the proposal of the Grant Council of the University under Article 4 (4) (f) of the Grant Rules, and the deadline for the report under Article 4 (4) (g) of the Grant Rules are stipulated each year in the Rector’s directive. The directive may, in addition, stipulate other deadlines and formalities.

8. Within 30 days of the announcement of the results, the lead researcher may send an application to the Grant Council to review the decision not to award a grant.

Article 5

Financial Means

(under Article 7 (9) of the Grant Rules)

1. Financial means are always allocated to a project for one calendar year.

2. The amount of financial means which can be allocated to a project may not exceed CZK 300,000 per year. Such means comprise wages and other personnel costs, social security contributions, health insurance contributions, social fund contributions, scholarships³, cost of living (or travel costs)⁴, and other non-investment costs (“direct costs”), as well as supplementary costs. Supplementary costs may not exceed 15% of the project’s direct costs and are intended for the faculty where the main researcher is enrolled or where the supervisor or the member of the academic staff under Article 4 (2) works.

3. The thresholds of financial means which can be allocated to a project for one year are stipulated as follows:

4. The proportion of financial means under letter (b) to the sum of the financial means under letters (a) and (b) must exceed 60%.

5. The following amounts can be allocated from the financial means of the GA UK to one person in a calendar year:

6. The allocation of financial means and management thereof are governed by a contract concluded in accordance with the Grant Rules.

7. The contract under paragraph 5 must include the following:

Article 6

Common and Final Provisions

1. The administrative activities of the GA UK are carried out by the Department of Science and Research at the Rector’s Office of the University.

2. This directive applies to continuing projects for which applications were submitted before the date of effect of this regulation. All 2018 projects will be accounted for according to the preceding legislation.

3. Rector’s directive No. 41/2017 – Principles of Activities of the Grant Agency of Charles University is repealed as of the date of effect of this directive.

4. Rector’s directive No. 22/2017 – Contents, Submission and Consideration of Final Reports on Implementation of Programmes of Development of Science at Charles University is hereby repealed.

5. This directive was considered at the meeting of the Research Board of Charles University on 28 June 2018.

6. This directive becomes effective on 1 October 2018.

7. Rector’s directives Nos. 34/2009, 10/2010, 14/2011, 7/2012, 18/2013, 22/2014 and 20/2016 are repealed.

In Prague on 9 July 2018

Prof. MUDr. Tomáš Zima, DrSc., MBA

Rector