Research Competition Mozarteum

1. General

1.1 Program objective

The objective is the submission of thematically clearly defined research projects of high scientific or artistic-scientific quality. All submissions will be reviewed internationally by the panel of experts specifically appointed for the Research Competition Mozarteum (RCM). Submissions will receive oral and written feedback. 

Prizes will be awarded to the best three projects. All suitable projects will be proposed (after revision) for submission to appropriate funding agencies (FWF, FFG, State or City of Salzburg, Horizon Europe etc.).

Important: the full costs of the submitted projects cannot be funded by the RCM. The RCM provides expert and professional feedback from peers on each submitted project, thus strengthening it for future third-party funding submission.
Eligible to apply are artistic, scientific and artistic-scientific persons of the Mozarteum University including advanced students. The first call for proposals took place in summer 2019.

1.2. type of research projects

Thematically clearly delineated, described in terms of objectives and methodology, time-limited (max. 48 months) scientific or artistic-scientific projects. The application must be written in English. A realistically budgeted project increases the chances of success at the Research Competition Mozarteum and is a valuable preliminary work for a later submission for external funding.

2. Content and form of the application

2.1 Compulsory components of the application A complete application must include the following parts:

1. Abstract in English (max. 1000 characters)
2. Project description on max. 5 pages in English (excl. table of contents, but incl. figures etc.)
3. Brief justification of the requested costs
4. List of literature cited in the application on max. 1 page
5. CVs and description of the previous artistic, scientific or artistic-scientific achievements of the project leader as well as of max. three other project participants incl. publication list of the last 5 years divided into peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed (max. 3 pages per person).
6. Application form (by mail)

Applications must be submitted as a PDF, with abstract (1) submitted as one PDF and parts 2) to 5) merged into one PDF. Applications are to be submitted exclusively to research.competition@moz.ac.at.

2.2. form requirements (general)

2.2.1. language of application
In order to ensure review by the international RCM Panel, proposals must be submitted in English, as is customary with most funding agencies - a version in German may be attached.

2.2.2 Formatting
The body text of the project description and appendices must be written in font size 11 pt with line spacing 15-20 pt and margins of at least 2 cm.
The choice of citation conventions must be implemented consistently within the application. If available, either a DOI address or other persistent identifier should be provided for the cited literature.

2.2.3 Application
The application must be received by Research Management via research.competition@moz.ac.at by the deadline.

2.3. form requirements (in particular)

Checklist: mandatory components of the application:

• abstract
• project description
• brief cost breakdown
• bibliography
• curriculum vitae or curricula vitae
• application form

2.3.1. abstract
The abstract describes the research context, the research questions and objectives, the chosen method(s) and the innovative content of the project (max. 1000 characters)

2.3.2. The project description
The project description must address the following aspects within a maximum of 5 pages:

• clearly outlined objectives of the project and research question(s)
• description of the expected degree of novelty or innovation
• reference to the relevant international state of research
• methodology
• intended cooperation within the framework of the planned project must be explained in the project description. (Persons; object of the cooperation)
• Work and time planning
• (Artistic)-scientific qualification of the project participants related to the project.

2.3.3 Brief cost breakdown

• Information on the research institution: Available personnel (not budgeted in the application) and available infrastructure
• Justification for the requested personnel (type of position(s) requested, extent of employment and duration. The personnel to be requested is that which is needed and will be used for the implementation of the project. For the calculation of personnel costs, the current salary schedule of the FWF ("Personnel Cost Rates or Salaries") should be used for comparability.
• Justifications for equipment costs. Only equipment that is specifically required for the project and is not part of the infrastructure of the research institution can be applied for.
• Justifications for Material Costs. The term "material" includes consumables and small equipment (individually less than 400 EUR incl. VAT). The calculation of the requested project-specific material costs must be justified on the basis of the time and work schedules.
• Justifications for travel costs. The project description must include a travel plan that sets out which persons are to travel, for what purpose, for how long and to where, and what costs this will entail. Emphasis must be placed on expediency and economy. The calculation of travel and accommodation costs as realistic as possible and day and night rates please according to the following document.

2.3.4. bibliography
List of literature cited in the application ("References") on max. 1 page

2.3.5. curriculum vitae/curricula vitae
The (artistic) scientific CVs and achievements (project leader and max. three other project participants) including publication list(s) are to be presented on a total of max. three pages per person and should include:

• Personal details, address of the research institution and relevant websites.
• List of the artistic-scientific career and previous positions
• List of the maximum ten most important published or accepted publications or works divided into a) publications peer-reviewed and b) publications non-peer-reviewed.
• Other artistic, scientific and/or artistic-scientific achievements

3. Processing of the application and decision

In the Research Management Department, a formal review of the applications received on time is carried out. In a first round, the applications are read within the UMS (each by one or one "critical friend" who is close to the subject, relevant to the subject and experienced with applications) and sent back to the applicants with suggestions for possible improvement. Over the summer, the applicants have the opportunity to revise their applications before they are sent to the international RCM expert panel.

The applications (revised if necessary) will be sent to the international expert panel and divided by discipline within the experts for review. By early December, expert reviews are written and sent by the members of the expert panel for each proposal. In addition, the Expert Panel will provide oral feedback and tips on each proposal for future submission. An RCM Award Ceremony will recognize the top three projects and all successful submissions.

The guidelines of the Austrian Agency for Scientific Integrity (ÖAWI) on good scientific practice must be followed when submitting an application.