Technology for society STW annual conference 2015 Starting date: June 2015 Version: 11 June 2015
page 1 of 5 Content Content... 1 Open your Mind... 2 Conditions... 2 Who can apply?... 2 Funding... 2 General conditions and IP policy... 3 Selection... 3 Selection procedure... 3 Selection criteria... 3 Guidelines for the proposal... 3 Contact information... 4 Appendix 1 Proposal Template... 5 Format... 5 pagina 1 van 5
page 2 of 5 Open your Mind STW invites scientists to submit out-of-the-box research ideas that contribute to sustainable solutions for global societal challenges (along the line with people, planet, profit). At the STW annual conference that will be held on November 5 th 2015, STW provides a platform to scientists to discuss global challenges through creativity, passion, and their knowledge of technology. To support scientists to realise their ambition in solving and/or contributing to these global challenges, STW has a total budget of 150,000 euro available. Three Open Mind grants, with a maximum of 50,000 euro each and for a period of one year, will be awarded at the STW annual conference 2015 to the best ideas with significant societal impact. Imagine competing to solve some of the world s most daunting problems. Imagine using technology to combat disease, improve education, create disaster communication systems, empower people with disabilities, or promote environmental sustainability. Open your mind and submit your research idea to STW before September 15 th. Ideas will be pitched at the annual STW conference, competing for one of the Open Mind grants. Deadline for submission of project proposals (including short movie) is September 15th, 12:00 hours. Please send your proposal (PDF format) and movie file to openmind@stw.nl. Conditions Who can apply? Scientist (PhDs, postdocs and assistant, associate and full professors) employed by Dutch universities or para-academic institutes eligible for STW-funding can submit a proposal (see www.stw.nl for eligibility criteria). Scientists with a temporary appointment should make sure that the host institution guarantees the employment for the duration of the Open Mind project (November 2015 October 2016). A written agreement signed by the board of the institute should be received by STW no later than September 30th. Part of the selection procedure is pitching the idea at the STW annual conference and, therefore, applicants should be available and present on November 5 th 2015 (Location Nieuwegein) to pitch and discuss their proposal. Funding will be awarded for one year (November 2015 October 2016). Applicants awarded Open Mind funding are requested to present the obtained results on the STW annual conference in 2016. Funding The Open Mind funding covers personnel costs for temporary positions (PhD, postdoc and technical assistants; according to STW standard guidelines and conditions), material costs and (international) travel costs. In total, the requested budget may not exceed 50,000. Budget can be requested for a maximum of one year. pagina 2 van 5
page 3 of 5 General conditions and IP policy The general conditions and Intellectual property rights policy of STW apply for Open Mind, excluding article 3 User committee and reporting of the general conditions. STW stimulates that IP rights generated by Open Mind projects will be made available for development objective. Selection Selection procedure STW will determine whether the research proposal is eligible for consideration. All accepted proposals will be evaluated by the Open Mind Selection Committee. Based on the selection criteria the committee will rank the proposals. A maximum of 15 research ideas will be selected and provided a platform at the STW annual conference 2015. Depending on the quality, funding will be awarded at the conference to a maximum of 3 proposals. The Selection Committee reserves the right to deviate from the highest ranked proposals for policy reasons, like diversity in topics. Selection criteria The research proposal should be in line with the aim of the Open Mind grant and should contribute to solutions for global societal challenges (people, planet, profit). The proposals will be selected using the following criteria: Quality and originality Contribution to global challenges / societal impact Sense of urgency Feasibility Guidelines for the proposal Project proposals should be written according to the format in Appendix I (maximum 2 A4 pages). The template for the format can be found on www.stw.nl/openmind. In addition to the written application a short movie (maximum of 2 minutes) should be submitted in which the problem and proposed solution are pitched in an inspiring way. Show us what it is about your research that excites you. We want to be impressed by your scientific challenge and expected societal impact. The language spoken in the short movie should be English. Keep in mind a broad audience: your welleducated neighbour should be able to understand your story. If you make use of audio and/or visuals make sure they are royalty free. pagina 3 van 5
page 4 of 5 Contact information For more information, please contact: Dr. Marjan Fretz Dr. Lise de Jonge Ms. Astrid van der Stroom m.fretz@stw.nl l.dejonge@stw.nl a.vanderstroom@stw.nl 030-6001325 030-6001223 030-6001297 pagina 4 van 5
page 5 of 5 Appendix 1 Proposal Template The proposal should be written according to the format below, using the separate Proposal Template (the template can be found on www.stw.nl/openmind). The format consists of maximum 2 pages. The text of the proposal is written in English, font Arial 10pt. Format 1. Title The title should be brief and inspiring. 2. Applicant(s) State the name, affiliation, position, including % of full-time employment, and contact details, of the applicant(s). 3. Summary Give a general summary using a maximum of 200 words. Describe the problem and how you are going to solve it. 4. Project plan Describe the problem and how you are going to solve it within the headers below. 4.1 Societal challenge 4.2 Proposed solution 4.3 Milestones and deliverables Give a clear indication of the step-by-step plan and the intended results over time. 5. Impact Describe the impact of your solution to the problem. Include feasibility. 5.1 Societal impact 5.2 Sense of urgency 6. Financial planning Justify the need for both personnel credits requested and the necessary materials and/or traveling costs. pagina 5 van 5