Guidelines / FAQs for applying for a grant from the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences for the purchase and/or collection of data sets

General questions
 

► Who can apply for a grant to purchase and/or collect data sets?
► Which expenses can be reimbursed by this grant?
► When should I apply?
► Can I apply for more than one grant simultaneously?
► How do I know if the Graduate Academy has received my application?
► When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?
► What do I have to submit to have the grant paid out?
► When will I receive the grant?
► Can I apply for an advance payment of the costs?
► What happens to our grant if I decide not to purchase and/or collect the data set?
 

Questions about the application forms

► What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?
► Do I need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV etc.)?
► What is meant by "external funding" and why am I asked about it?
► Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?

General questions

Who can apply for a grant to purchase and/or collect data sets?

These grants are only open to doctoral students who have been officially admitted to the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at Heidelberg University.

Eligibility for funding ends at the latest three months after the end of the month in which you take your final oral examination or at the end of the month in which your doctoral studies at Heidelberg University are completed for other reasons (e.g. through publication of your thesis, termination of your doctoral studies in Heidelberg or transfer to another university to pursue doctoral studies).

Which expenses can be reimbursed by this grant?

This grant is intended to provide financial support to purchase and/or collect data (incl. the acquisition of data set licenses) which are necessary for your doctoral project.

The grant will cover the cost for the purchase and/or collection of a data set up to a maximum of 3,000 Euro. The grant award will be based on the amount that is on the application form. Please submit proof of the (expected) cost of purchasing/collecting the data sets (for example, a quote from the provider) with your application. If the final cost is greater than the price indicated in the application, the difference will not be reimbursed. If the actual cost of purchasing/collecting the data set is less than the grant award, only the actual cost will be reimbursed.

Please ensure that the collection, processing and storage of the data is carried out in accordance with data privacy regulations.

Note: The funding is awarded in the form of grants. The award of a grant does not establish an employment relationship between Heidelberg University and the recipient. The recipient of the grant may not be obligated to perform any specific academic service or employment activity in connection with the grant.

When should I apply?

Applications can be submitted at any time. Applications will be collected and assessed as a group after the deadlines indicated below. The awards notifications will be sent out about 4 to 6 weeks after the deadlines.
 

Deadlines:

Important:

• Grants cannot be approved retroactively for data sets that have already been purchased. Therefore, we recommend that you take note of the deadlines and plan accordingly.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Can I apply for more than one grant simultaneously?

Yes. Please note, however, that you may receive only one grant for the purchase and/or collection of data sets per year. If you apply for more than one grant at the same time, you need to submit a complete and separate application (see » Application procedure and forms) for each data set acquisition.

How do I know if the Graduate Academy has received my application?

Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to automatically notify each applicant that their application has been received. If you want to check on the status of your application, please send an email to: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?

The awards notifications are sent out after the entire evaluation process is completed; this process takes about 4-6 weeks after each application deadline. It is not possible to inform you about the results of your application before all evaluations are completed.

What do I have to submit to have the grant paid out?

You must send in the reimbursement form (which is sent out with the approval notice), the invoice from the purchase of the data sets and your proof of payment of the invoice. Expenses for which you do not have an invoice cannot be reimbursed.

If you received external funding for the acquisition of the data sets, please include a copy of your reimbursement application for the external organization with the Graduate Academy reimbursement form. In this case, external funding is funding received from an external source to be used toward the purchase and/or collection of these data sets.

When will I receive the grant?

If you are awarded a grant, your actual expenses (up to the maximum possible grant amount) will be reimbursed after you purchase the data set and submit the necessary reimbursement documents. Please note that the documents required for the payment of the grant must be submitted to the Graduate Academy no later than one month after the purchase of the data set.

Can I apply for an advance payment of the costs?

Yes. For expenses of 200 Euro or more you can indicate on the application form (see » Application procedure and forms) that you would like to apply for an advance payment. If the grant is approved, an advance payment of 80% of the final grant amount will be paid to you. The reimbursement of your remaining expenses, up to a maximum of 20% of the total amount of the grant, will be paid to you only after you have submitted the necessary documents for reimbursement as listed above.

Please note:

• The advance payment is conditional and can be revoked by the Graduate Academy. If you do not submit all of the necessary documents to the Graduate Academy at the latest one month after purchasing the data set or if you do not purchase the data set at all, you will be required to repay the advance payment to the Graduate Academy immediately.
• If your actual total expenses come to less than the advance payment, you must reimburse the difference to the Graduate Academy.

What happens to my grant if I decide not to purchase and/or collect the data set?

The grant is not transferable to another person or to other data sets. Therefore, if you decide not to purchase the data sets, you will automatically forfeit your award.

Questions about the application forms

What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?

Please fill out the application form (see » Application procedure and forms) electronically; do not handwrite your application. In order to ensure that the electronic forms work with all versions of the Adobe software, we strongly recommend that you first download and save the empty application form on your computer and then fill the form out and save it again.

Please use an Apple or Windows operating system to fill out the forms. The forms are not compatible with a Linux system.

Please use only the space provided in the existing fields on the application forms. The evaluators will not be able to read any text that extends beyond the existing limits of the fields.

Please do not change the formatting of the fields on the application forms.

Please send the application documents as separate attachments in your email. You do not need to merge the various documents into one PDF file.

Do I need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV etc.)?

The application procedure and required application documents are indicated in detail here. No additional documents that are not listed on the website such as publication lists, literature lists, or CVs will be sent to the evaluators.

What is meant by "external funding" and why am I asked about it?

“External funding” refers to funds that you have received from an external funding organization for the purchase/collection of the data set, for your doctoral project or for another research project.
The fact that you have been awarded external funding can be of advantage to you in the evaluation process. For example, the receipt of an external grant or fellowship will be treated as a prize or distinction on your part.

If you will receive or have received funding from an external source to cover part of the costs for the purchase/collection of the data set, the grant awarded will be reduced by the amount of the external funding.

Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?

The evaluation form for your application must be issued and submitted to the Graduate Academy by your doctoral supervisor. Please note that the evaluation is to be treated confidentially by your supervisor and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
Please be aware that the application deadlines also pertain to the receipt of the evaluation form.