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About the grant:

Background

The Lundbeck Foundation has a strategic goal to make Denmark a frontrunner in the field of neuroscience by funding Danish-based research that promotes a better understanding of the brain and better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of brain disorders. 

The purpose of Lundbeck Foundation Collaborative Projects is to foster excellent interdisciplinary research within brain-related topics. We encourage you to submit project proposals whose aims can only be met through integrated and collaborative efforts. With this programme we aim to create synergies between neuroscience and other research fields or between different disciplines of neuroscience. The ambition is to foster collaborations that will significantly impact neuroscience and have potential implications for human health. The grants are intended to add significant value to the existing research environments. 

One important way to reach these aims is through international collaboration. Danish and other European researchers are eligible as Principal Investigators (PIs) under the present call, but if the PI is from outside Denmark, the proposed projects must include at least one Danish co-PI contributing on par with the PI.

The Lundbeck Foundation believes that diversity strengthens science and for this reason diversity, including, but not limited to, gender and ethnic origin, is encouraged. It is therefore important for us that we receive applications from qualified scientists from all backgrounds.

Research theme

The interdisciplinary research should be related to:

• Basic neuroscience
• Translational neuroscience
• Clinical neuroscience or,
• Science with clear relevance to neuroscience

Approaches bridging basic science and clinical research will be given priority.

Who can apply?

We invite European[1] researchers from different disciplines, e.g., a basic researcher and a clinical researcher to take equal part and contribute significantly to the scientific advancement of the project. You and your co-PI(s) should be internationally recognised researchers with a track record of significant research achievements during the last 10 years. The collaboration should be between Danish research groups or Danish and international research groups.
You should have demonstrated impactful research leadership and have proven experience with collaborative research. To ensure that the project adds significant value to existing research environments, the PI and co-PI(s) must hold tenure. The PI must be affiliated to a European institution. 
Proposals may have a maximum of three co-PIs. You can only submit one application as either PI or co-PI. Other collaborators can be included but we ask you to limit the proposed PI/co-PI(s) to only those planned to be part of the project management team.

Which proposals are eligible?

Your project should be hypothesis driven and propose cutting edge research to answer questions that can only be answered by combining different disciplines. The proposed project may for example seek to understand an underlying disease mechanism or to improve diagnosis or treatment of patients. 
Proposals from applicants within the same scientific discipline will not be considered eligible. The research must be based at one or more non-commercial European research institutions. In all cases, the managing institution responsible to the Lundbeck Foundation must be a Danish research institution. 

How much?

You can apply for either up to DKK 20 million or up to 40 million for a period of five years. We expect to award 3-6 grants in total. The budget may include all staff and non-staff costs related to the project, including project-specific research equipment and infrastructure. If properly justified, salary for an administrative project coordinator can be included. You cannot apply for salary for the PI or co-PI(s). 

Parity between the Danish and other European applicants should also be reflected in the budget allocation.

For work carried out at a Danish university, see details regarding project supplement rates . For work carried out at other research institutions and hospitals that are not a part of the project supplement agreement, up to 10% of the budget can be reserved for project-related, indirect costs.

When funding is requested for the group of a PI or co-PI outside Denmark, transfer of funds must take place through the Danish managing institution.

Application

How to apply?

You must submit the expression of interest, written in English, via the Lundbeck Foundation’s application system at .

Your expression of interest must include the following:

• Brief project description, including a sketch of the research plan
• Collaboration and governance structure
• CV of PI and co-PI(s)
• Publication list of PI
• Tentative budget

Further guidance is provided in the application form. 

You are welcome to contact Senior Scientific Programme Manager Line V. Kristensen, lvk@lundbeckfonden.com, or Scientific Programme Director Peter Thostrup, pth@lundbeckfonden.com, if you have any questions regarding your application.

Evaluation process

The two groups of applications, i.e. applications up to DKK 20 million and applications up to DKK 40 million, will be evaluated separately. The evaluation will be based on scientific excellence characterised by the criteria below:

• Collaborative research project (interdisciplinarity, synergy, translational potential, ground-breaking nature, scientific approach, feasibility)

• Applicants (scientific achievements, creativity, commitment, leadership skills/capacity development, collaboration and network)

• Research environment of PI and co-PI (scientific skills, facilities, commitment)

• Expected impact and implications for human health

The assessment will be divided into two steps:

Step 1. 

Expressions of interest are evaluated by the Lundbeck Foundation’s Grants & Prizes Panel () who select the applicants to be invited to submit a full application. 

Step 2. 

The full applications are peer reviewed by three external, international experts, who then provide the Foundation with a written report. Applicants will be invited to comment on the written reports. Selected applicants will be invited to an interview by the Grants & Prizes Panel. Based on the application, three independent peer reviews, the applicants’ written reply to the peer review and interviews with applicants, the Grants & Prizes Panel will make the final decision.

What are the grant conditions?

If your proposal is successful, a contract may be drafted. As part of this process, you and your host institution will be required to accept the Lundbeck Foundation’s general grant conditions as well as individual, project-specific amendments, including requests for indirect costs, which will be subject to negotiation.

The purpose of the Lundbeck Foundation is to create powerful ripple effects that bring discoveries to lives through investing actively in business and science at the frontiers of their fields.