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Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC) ABC

ABC Grants

General information

ABC Grants

The Brain and Cognition research priority program of the UvA, ABC, provides funding to promote innovative and excellent research in the area of brain and cognitive sciences.

ABC grants are intended to motivate and enhance interfaculty research collaborations that are of an interdisciplinary nature. The overall mission is to come to a better understanding of the mechanisms of cognition, from perception to decision making, from language to music, and from memory to consciousness. The ABC encourages collaborative projects in which more than one faculty is involved and where there is an integrated plan of how to address a key question in brain and cognitive sciences in an innovative and interdisciplinary fashion.

The ABC supports three grants, a seed funding opportunity and one Award

For all five funds, only ABC members with a completed PhD, and who have an appointment of at least 0.5 fte at the UvA or AMC, are eligible. Proposals for each of these grants need to be supported by an UvA host institute  that commits to providing matching funds when such are necessary for the successful completion of the proposed project.

  • Proposals need to be written in an accessible way, for a broad panel of ABC experts from different faculties who will serve as evaluators.
  • By accepting the grant, ABC Grant winners make themselves available for an ABC pool of experts. This pool serves as a source for the composition of future ABC Grant evaluation committees. This form of reciprocity is an essential element of the ABC community.
  • ABC grants have to start within 6 months after reception.

Decision Procedure

Independent Evaluation Committees, consisting of ABC members, will select the Project Grant and Talent Grant winners. 

Applications for the ABC Seed Funding for Network Consolidation will be evaluated by the members of teh ABC Advisory Board.

The Board of Directors will make decisions regarding the winners of the ABC VIP grant,  and the ABC Award. 

  • 1. ABC Project Grant

    An independent committee of experts in the involved disciplines will assess the submissions for the ABC Project Grant. The ABC board has no involvement in the evaluation of the ABC Project grant submissions, but will implement the ranking provided by the independent committee, dependent on the available funds.

    In the review process the following weighted criteria will be used:

    Quality proposed research

    		 Excellent, innovative and feasible 40%

    ABC nature
    • Interdisciplinary focus, involvement of at least two different faculties and disciplines
    • Match with one or more ABC Themes and Transversal Perspectives
    		 40%

    Quality applicants (PIs)

    		 Female PI’s are especially encouraged to apply 20%

    ABC Project Grant 2022

    1 postdoc or 1 PhD student, max. 250k€ 

    The project will be financed until, and has to be finished December 2023 at the latest.

    Deadline January 31, 2022
    Aim Funding new interdisciplinary research projects
    Applicants ABC members with at least 0.5 FTE appointment at UvA or AMC, not the to be appointed Post doc. Intended Post doc is not necessarily known in the proposal
    Eligibility Criteria
    • Research to be carried out at UvA
    • No simultaneous submission of same or similar proposal to other funding agency
    Selection Criteria
    • Quality proposed research: excellent, innovative and feasible
    • ABC nature:  
    1. Interdisciplinary focus, involvement of at least two different faculties and disciplines
    2. Match with one or more ABC Themes and Transversal Perspectives
    • Quality applicants (PIs)

    Please note:

    • Post docs are preferred, but a case can be made for a PhD student proposal (the maximum funding will be the same, however, €250k)
    • If the to be appointed Post doc is already known, their cv should be added
    • The proposal should be submitted by a full ABC member (not the to be appointed Post doc) and include information about the content and innovation of the project, possible collaborations within the ABC and in which faculty the Post doc will be appointed.
    • Proposals will only be considered if there is no ongoing ABC Project or Talent funding for the main applicant.
    • The grant consists of a lump sum of €250k. The faculty where the Post doc will be appointed should match any exceeding of this budget.
  • 2. ABC Talent Grant

    (Post doc) for maximally 1 year, max. 125k€

    Next deadline 15 April 2021
    Aim Give high potential young researchers the opportunity to collect (pilot) data and apply for an external research grant.
    Applicants
    • ABC members with at least 0.5 FTE appointment at UvA or AMC, not the to be appointed Post doc. 
    • Intended Post doc is known in the proposal.
    Eligibility Criteria
    • Completed PhD (within 3 years after doctoral defence)
    • Requirement to apply for a research grant (e.g., VENI NWO, EU)
    • Intention to spend this grant on research at the UvA
    Selection Criteria
    • CV: excellent cv (comparable with VENI criteria)
    • Proposal: excellent and feasible
    • ABC nature:
    1. Interdisciplinarity (of proposal and research team)
    2. Match with one or more ABC Themes and Transversal Perspectives

    Please note:

    • A Post doc can only receive an ABC Grant once.
    • The intended Talent (Post doc) cannot have a permanent research position at the UvA.
    • Proposals will only be considered if there is no ongoing ABC Project or Talent funding for the main applicant.
    • In the review process the different elements in the proposal will be weighed as follows: CV: 40%, proposal: 40%, ABC nature: 20%.
  • 3. ABC Visiting Professor (VIP)

    Travel and accommodation expenses, max. €7.500

    Next deadline 15 April 2021
    Aim Increasing the visibility and (inter)national reputation of ABC
    Who can apply ABC members
    Criteria          
    • Visiting professor is an innovative international researcher
    • Visiting professor engages in long term collaboration with one of the research programs of ABC, e.g. by supervising PhD students or Post docs
    • The hosts commit themselves to organize an ABC conference or workshop involving multiple disciplines crossing multiple faculties with visiting professor as key note speaker
  • 4. ABC Award 2021
    Deadline 01 June 2021
    Who can apply ABC members
    Aim      
    • Awarding excellent and motivated members of ABC, who have shown great commitment and involvement in the development of Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, and are examples for conducting interdisciplinary research in the field of Brain and Cognition 
    • In 2021 ABC will reward two grants, one Junior and one Senior Award, at € 5,000 each
    Who can nominate
    • ABC members
    • Selections will be based on nominations by fellow ABC members
    Criteria
    • The interdisciplinary nature of the nominated ABC member’s research
    • The nominated ABC member’s active contribution to the ABC community