Information for Researchers, No. 100 | November 21, 2023

DFG-CAPES Collaborative Research Initiative

Joint call for Brazilian-German research projects in the field of law

Within the scope of their Cooperation Agreement, the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) are pleased to announce a joint call for German-Brazilian research projects in the field of law. The call includes but is not limited to research areas such as Technology and Law, Digital Law, AI and Law, Data Protection and Law, Democracy and Law, Consumer Law, Criminal Law and Environment and Law.

At the same time, this initiative sets out to strengthen the network of legal cooperation between the two countries. It is therefore intended that annual meetings of researchers from this initiative take place alternately in Germany and Brazil (with the possibility to involve other interested researchers).

The proposals for German-Brazilian research projects have to be submitted to the DFG according to the following rules and requirements:

German and Brazilian project partners should prepare joint integrated project proposals with complementary contributions of both sides.
Researchers involved in the bilateral projects of the different research fields of law should collaborate by means of workshops, meetings or other collaborative activities.
The added value of the cooperation in comparison to a proposal without international cooperation should be described. Applicants should demonstrate how bringing together researchers based in Germany and Brazil will add value and advance research. It is expected that each partner substantially contributes to the common project. Teams should ensure there is a plan for effective delivery and coordination of research across the partners.
A description should be provided of already jointly realised scientific cooperation and exchange between the German and Brazilian partners on which the submitted proposal is based (no prerequisite).
Researchers may apply for a funding period of two years with the possibility of a renewal for a period of two more years.
Proposals have to be written in English and must be submitted to both organisations in parallel in accordance with the proposal preparation requirements of each side, respectively. For German groups, this means submission via elan, the DFG’s electronic proposal processing system, according to the guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01, see link below).
After logging in, please use the link “Proposal for a Research Grant” in the Proposal Forms column. Please select the relevant call: BRASILIEN CAPES LAW 2023 – Joint Research Grants.
The proposal of the Brazilian partner has to be submitted as an annex to the DFG proposal.
The proposals have to be submitted to DFG and CAPES by 19 February 2024.

If you are using the DFG’s elan system for the first time, please note that you will need to register before using the system. Registration must be completed by 14 February 2024 in order to submit a proposal. Allow at least two business days to process your registration.

These opportunities follow the general DFG funding lines and budgets. There are no additional funds available, and proposals must succeed on the strengths of their scientific quality in comparison with other proposals. Funding of the joint research projects is contingent upon positive assessment by both funding organisations. Joint German-Brazilian projects will be co-funded by CAPES; unilateral funding of only one part of a project is not possible. Funding for approved proposals will be provided approximately one year after the launch of the call.

Specific instructions for applicants from Germany

Applicants to be funded by the DFG are required to fulfil the eligibility requirements of the DFG´s Research Grants Programme. This includes the duty to cooperate (“Kooperationspflicht”) within Germany for members of non-university institutions with permanent positions. Please note that any duty to cooperate for DFG applicants at non-university research institutions can only be fulfilled through cooperation with a partner at a German university. For more information, see the corresponding guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG forms 50.01 and 55.01, see links below).

While via elan, only the budget figures for the German applicant(s) have to be provided, the proposal itself should contain not only the German budget part but also a budget overview for the Brazilian part so as to provide comprehensive information to the reviewers. In the proposal submitted by the German applicant(s) to the DFG, an academic curriculum vitae for all Brazilian principal investigators should be submitted to complete the reviewers’ information.

Note that only Germany-based applicants should be entered as “applicants”. Country partners (and potential further international partners) should be entered as “cooperation partners”. Employees whose positions are requested for funding should not be assigned to this category.

Specific instructions for applicants from CAPES

The Brazilian researchers submit their proposals with an identical scientific core in parallel to CAPES. The applicants have to be eligible according to the guidelines of CAPES. The German cooperation partners have to be mentioned in the Brazilian proposal. Information about the call on the Brazilian side including formal aspects and evaluation is available at CAPES (see link below).

Equity and diversity

The DFG strongly welcomes proposals from researchers of all genders and sexual identities, from different ethnic, cultural, religious, ideological or social backgrounds, from different career stages, types of universities and research institutions, and with disabilities or chronic illness.

Good research practice

Please note that according to a resolution of the DFG General Assembly, as of 1 August 2019, DFG funding may only be awarded to institutions that have implemented the guidelines laid down in the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Good Research Practice in their own regulations in a legally binding manner. This means that also for international proposals, funding from the DFG can only be received if the guidelines for safeguarding good research practice (see link below) have been implemented by the German applicant´s institution. If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the Research Integrity Team at the DFG Head Office (see contact below). Further information regarding the implementation can be found on the Research Integrity website (see link below).

Timeline and notification of results

Call opening: 21 November 2023
Call closure: 19 February 2024
Assessment of results: February until October 2024
Communication of results: expected until December 2024
Approximate beginning of funding: from January 2025 onwards

Further Information

To submit a proposal to the DFG, please follow the “Guidelines for the Research Grants Programme“ (DFG form 50.01) and the ”Proposal Preparation Instructions – Project Proposals” (DFG form 54.01) under:

General information for German principal investigators on research grants may be found at:

www.dfg.de/research_grants

Further general information on elan:

DFG’s data protection notice on research funding:
Please note the DFG’s data protection notice on research funding. If necessary, please also forward this information to those individuals whose data will be processed by the DFG due to their involvement in your project: