Call for Proposals - UChicago-CNRS Research Collaboration Program
Call Release Date
September 25th, 2023

Close of submissions dateNovember 20th, 2023

Notification date
January 31st, 2024

Purpose of this Call for Proposals
The CNRS-University of Chicago International Research Center for Fundamental Scientific Discovery (IRC Discovery)
is a joint research center between the University of Chicago and the French National Center for Scientific Research(CNRS). IRC Discovery strengthens partnership between scholars at two of the world’s leading research institutions
and leverages both institutions’ robust networks and large-scale investments in scientific infrastructure to addresssome of the world’s biggest questions.
IRC Discovery provides dedicated support and resources for expanded collaboration between UChicago and CNRS
and it is within the context of this initiative that we announce this Call for Proposals for the 2024-2027 cohort of theUChicago-CNRS Research Collaboration Program.
This call intends to identify and support collaborations between teams at UChicago and CNRS-affiliated labs, via thecreation of pairs of Principal Investigators and their PhD students.

Funding Amount

Fund up to 3 years of a PhD fellowship on the CNRS side, starting in autumn 2024.
Fund mobility expenses for each team over a period of three years (starting July 1, 2024, for UChicago
PIs and January 1, 2024, for CNRS-affiliate PIs). Additional funds will cover mobility costs for visits toFrance & to UChicago for the PI and the PhD student (up to 5 000 € for France-based awardees and$5,000 USD for UChicago awardees - per institution, per year).

Eligibility Requirements
Academic Areas

This call is open to all disciplines and academic research areas. Priority will be given to projects that build upon
themes addressed in the inaugural workshops hosted as part of IRC Discovery’s launch in June 2023, which include:Social Sciences and Humanities



Physical biology of emerging model organisms
Quantum Information Sciences

Applicant Eligibility
To be eligible to apply to this program, applicants must meet the following criteria:
Proposed projects should include a UChicago PI and graduate student and a CNRS PI and graduate
student. Graduate students may be identified after the proposal is submitted.
o UChicago PIs must be: Assistant, Associate, or Full Professors.
 Must be eligible to supervise or currently be supervising a PhD student.
 Must only submit one proposal to this round of the program.
o UChicago Graduate Students must be: Second or third-year PhD students with an interest in international collaboration withFrance.
o CNRS PIs must be: Researchers or Professors (PU, MCF) working in a CNRS-affiliated lab and holding anaccreditation to supervise PhD students (HDR).
 Must only submit one proposal to this round of the program.
o CNRS Graduate Students must be: Candidates to a PhD program.

Collaborative Research
There must be at least one PI from UChicago and one PI from a CNRS-affiliated lab. Those who do not already havea collaborator may consult the CNRS website (CNRS directory) or the UChicago website (academicdepartments directory) to find information on the research groups and projects being carried out in either
institution.
Grant Period/Period of Support
Grants through the Research Collaboration Program can last up to 3 years.
Number of awards
Up to five proposals will be selected for awards.

Application Instructions and Evaluation Criteria
Mode of applicationPIs from France and UChicago are expected to collaborate on a joint proposal for each project. The proposal mustthen be submitted to the following websites, in English, and in PDF form:UChicago applicants should submit their proposal via InfoReady.
CNRS applicants should submit the same content via the dedicated plateform
NOA: https://noa.cnrs.fr/#/accueil

Application Requirements
The proposal must consist of the following parts, in one single file (up to 5 pages + the Title Page, the references andthe CVs of the CNRS and UChicago participants).
PART A: Title Page
Title of the proposal, names of the principal investigators and their affiliations, their addresses, telephone, and email. The names of the PhD students can be provided if they are already known. Please specify on the Title Page ofthe application "This application is submitted for consideration within the UChicago - CNRS Research Collaboration
Program".
PART B: Description of the project (2 pages or 1000 words maximum)
State of the art for the research area, description of the project and domains of interest, historical context ofapplication (if applicable), quality and originality of the project, objectives, methodology, expected results and theirrelevance, future perspectives. Explain how the PhD fellow will be supervised and mentored, and how thecollaboration will enable and enhance the project. Explain the relation between the project and the overall researchgoals of the project participants.
PART C: Added value of UChicago-CNRS Collaboration
Describe the added value of cooperation in fulfilling the aims of the project (explain why the project cannot be
carried out at a national level only). Describe the expected benefits for the CNRS and UChicago teams. Describe thebalance between the contributions of the CNRS and UChicago teams. If any additional public or private sector
collaborations are involved in the project, please describe their role.
PART D: Planned activities
Describe the planned activities in the framework of the project and provide a timetable. Explain how these activities
will help achieve the aims of the project.
PART E: Budget
Proposed budget including a breakdown of the division of funds, separated into distinct budgets for UChicago andCNRS. The budget section regarding travel should contain explicit line items for travel of the PhD student.
PART F: Opportunities for Further Funding
Outline any proposed plans for raising external competitive funding (e.g., EU collaborative grants, US collaborativegrants, national research agency grants, etc.)
PART G: Ethics
Does the project raise ethical questions? If yes, please describe them and how they will be addressed.
PART H: Academic quality of the teams
Please list up to ten detailed (complete) citations for publications related to the project for each team. This list does
not count against the page limit. PI applicants must be clearly indicated in the author lists, with superscript orparenthesized letters corresponding to the respective countries, for example Dupont JP (FR), or Smith FD (US).
PART I: Short (maximum two-page) curriculum vitae of all PIs/faculty.
This does not count against the page number limit of the application.
Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated and ranked by a UChicago-CNRS selection committee, according to the following criteria:

Academic quality & originality of the project
Academic merit of the teams

Synergism between teams
Potential for external funding support beyond the project period

ReportingDuring or at the conclusion of the project, grant recipients may be asked to report on progress or outcomes achieved
to relevant stakeholder groups.
Awardees must submit a brief, plain language report (1-page) within one month of the conclusion of the award cycle.
This report should detail the outcomes of the collaboration and the ways in which the grant has enhanced, or will
enhance their research activities and/or leverage larger opportunities.
Inquiries
For any inquiry, please contact:
UChicago inquiries should be directed to syandell1@uchicago.edu.
CNRS inquiries (including about the submission platform NOA functioning) should be directed toyvana.minault@cnrs.fr.

Additional Support through IRC Discovery
In addition to this funding mechanism, IRC Discovery supports student and scholar mobility (including access toresearch facilities, tech transfer resources, etc.); academic workshops and public events; network-building activities;
and pursuit of large-scale external grant support. The administration of IRC Discovery is co-located between UChicago
and CNRS headquarters in Paris, with dedicated staff support in Chicago along with office and meeting space in HydePark and at UChicago’s Center in Paris. Grantees through this program will be connected to that additional suite ofsupport.