On January 15 Fundación General CSIC launched its first Proyectos Cero call for project proposals on Aging in order to promote and fund the running of high-impact research addressing the issue with a variety of perspectives and approaches. The call, for which Obra Social «la Caixa» has contributed a million euros, is also being sponsored by the CSIC and the Foundation.
The Fundación General CSIC’s Proyectos Cero initiative aims to promote outstanding, unique, world-class research that takes a transdisciplinary perspective. It takes the form of a series of calls for proposals aimed at research groups with ties to public R&D. These calls are run annually and are framed by the Foundation’s four main strategy lines: Threatened species; Ageing, disability and illness; Human ecology and development; and, Frontiers.
With the current call, the Fundación General CSIC seeks to promote the Aging strategic line by providing funding for studies into the psychosocial issues affecting the elderly, and research into ageing-related technologies (telemedicine, prosthetics, new materials, automation and robotics) and their impact, with a focus on improving quality of life for the elderly.
Projects must have a defined implementation period of between 1 and 3 years and funding may be applied for by entities or by research groups belonging to a variety of institutions. However, although the call is open to all public R&D institutions, at least one of the research groups in each project must belong to the CSIC.
The application period starts on January 15 and applications must be made online. The application and selection process is due to take place in two stages: during the first stage, which runs until 28 February, researchers will be required to submit their expressions of interest; in the second stage, the groups whose expressions of interest have been short-listed will be invited to submit a full proposal, including all the documentation required in the specifications of the call. This stage is due to run from 15 April to 31 May.
Proposed projects should have an approach that embodies a unique and high risk perspective making them unsuitable for conventional funding systems. The methodological, conceptual or strategic approaches taken should be multidisciplinary and contain a strong innovative component. Their evaluation of the proposals will take into account their potential social impact, and industrial, business and economic potential, as well as their excellence, quality and scientific and technical rigor.
For more information see: www.fgcsic.es/envejecimiento
Rules of the call for proposal: Convocatoria Proyectos Cero 2011 – Envejecimiento.pdf
