SOS announces an open call for projects focusing on biodiversity-related marine research and its potential for a societal transition to sustainability. The aim of this call is to foster collaboration, explore innovative ideas, and to test preliminary research questions in the context of SOS.
Call closes: 15 November, 16:00 EET
Decisions: 15 December
Available funding: up to 45 000 € in total, 5 000 – 20 000 € per project
What we are looking for
The proposed projects may address any biodiversity-related marine research topic, provided that they meet the criteria and guidelines detailed below.
The SOS Project Booster proposals should:
- be innovative, bold, and risky, exploring new avenues
- work across at least two disciplines/fields (natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, arts, etc.)
- be linked to one or more of the overarching topics of SOS (WP1-6)
- include reflection on the methodology applied within SOS
- have exactly one lead and a maximum of three co-proponents (at least one of whom is employed at or in a grant agreement with ÅAU)
- have the multidisciplinary/co-creation aspect of the project clearly described.
Proposals are also encouraged to involve several ÅAU faculties, outside-ÅAU collaboration, and stakeholders.
The total available sum of 45 000 € will be divided among several projects. A single project may apply for between 5,000 and 20,000 € (detailed budget required). The funding may be used for short-term salary, exchange, travel, material, and other expenses. The proposals will be granted as a lump sum. Co-funding is desirable.
Proposals are evaluated on scientific quality. Yet, we particularly value:
- Unconventional and/or high-risk/high-gain projects supporting SOS’s goals (yet, with little potential to be funded through other sources)
- Transdisciplinary research projects (preferably including partners from outside academia)
- Support for SOS’s national and/or international partnerships
The projects, preferably starting in January 2025, must be completed within a year from the start. A two-page project report must be completed and submitted to the SOS steering group at the latest three months after completion of the project.
Who can apply
We welcome applications from both early career and established researchers in all fields that complement and enlarge the SOS research portfolio and strengthen our collocations among researchers within but also outside Åbo Akademi University.
Proponents may – but do not have to – be affiliated with the ÅAU profiling area The Sea and/or SOS. However, each application must involve at least one person employed by or in a grant agreement with ÅAU. Applications that link SOS partners across various universities are particularly welcomed. Each proposed project can have exactly one lead and a maximum of three co-proponents. Proponents can only lead one project and participate in a maximum of three project proposals.
Online Application Clinics
SOS organizes two pop-up online clinics for applicants. During the clinics, SOS representatives will answer applicants’ questions in Zoom.
SOS Project Booster Call online pop-up clinics:
- Monday 28.10. at 14:00-15:00
- Friday 8.11. at 9:30-10:30
- Click here to join (the same link works for both clinics)
Applicants are welcome to join in at their convenience during the clinic. Please be prepared to wait in the Zoom waiting room until it is your turn. Applicants will be admitted one by one on a first come, first served basis.
If several applicants (who are working together on an application) wish to pose their questions together, they can either 1) join the Zoom using the same computer, or 2) join individually, and when one of them is admitted into the clinic, ask the host to let their co-proponents in.
How to apply
THE CALL IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you for your applications!
Decisions
All applicants will be notified of the decisions by December 15, 2024.
An evaluation board will discuss and decide on the proposals. To enforce timely decisions, the proposals will be reviewed internally by SOS members who are not part of a proposed project themselves.
Background
Ocean science is needed to understand the pressures on and changes to marine biodiversity, which is central to the green transition and society’s shift towards a more sustainable future. SOS delivers the science that can strengthen the consensus on policymaking options, identify solutions, and guide actions for environmental sustainability, equipping us to address the planetary biodiversity crisis. In the Archipelago Sea and Åland Island area, SOS studies when and how human actions interact with marine biodiversity in creating wicked problems and aims at creating solutions for these challenges. SOS approaches marine wicked problems through reflexive learning in an inter-/transdisciplinary framework, utilising the Living Lab methodology. The work is structured around six work packages (WPs). WPs 1–3 include specific case studies of wicked problems, while WPs 4–6 draw on these, support this work, and synthesise the findings.
This is the first of three SOS Project Booster calls. The next calls are planned to take place in 2025 and 2026.
The 2024 SOS Project Booster Call is partially funded with a private donation from Timo Ketonen, co-founder of A’Pelago Experience.
Contact and questions
For further questions regarding this call, contact Malla Lehtonen (malla.lehtonen@abo.fi) and Prof. Christian Pansch-Hattich (christian.pansch-hattich@abo.fi)
