Call for proposals Professionalization of research centers
1. Under the Call DIGIT.1.2.03, are there any indirect costs linked to the eligible direct costs? If so, what is their flat rate?
Under the Call DIGIT.1.2.03, indirect costs are not foreseen. Given the broad eligibility of cost categories and the allowed maximum ratio between personnel and other costs, the inclusion of indirect costs is not envisaged under this Call.
2. Are personnel costs for staff already employed at the applicant institution eligible under the project?
Only the costs of newly employed staff are eligible. New employment must be planned as part of the project activities, in line with the operational needs of the research center and the objectives of the BDP. All personnel costs must be clearly justified and properly documented.
3. If a person already employed at the research centre is employed part-time (e.g. 50%), can that person take on the role of manager in this project?
Provided that the person will be newly employed for the remaining workload percentage (e.g. an additional 50%) specifically for the purposes of the project, in such cases, only the newly contracted portion of the employment (i.e. the part corresponding to project-specific work) can be considered eligible.
The employment must be clearly documented and justified as a new position contributing to the implementation of the BDP (e.g. manager).
4. Are the indicators presented in the business plan evaluated using a qualitative or a quantitative method?
Indicators in the BDP will be evaluated using both qualitative and quantitative assessment method. Evaluators will consider the relevance, realism, and ambition of the proposed indicators in relation to baseline data and project’s objectives and activities as well as quantitative elements (e.g. measurable targets, numerical baselines) which will support the qualitative evaluation.
5. If the applicant institution covers multiple scientific areas and fields through its constituents, and there is no single predominant one, how should the predominant scientific area and field be selected in the baseline survey form?
In such cases, the applicant should select the scientific area and field that most accurately reflect the scope and focus of the research center defined in project proposal. The selection should be based on the core research activities and capacities that the center aims to support or enhance.
The scope of the center should be clearly defined and explained in the Business Development Plan (BDP), including its connection to the selected scientific areas and fields.
6. Please clarify what Funding category, Support intensity and Grant funds mean in Section 4.2. of Annex III. Application form.
In the Funding category column, the applicant should indicate the type of applicant, i.e., specify research organization, since the eligible applicants are Croatian public higher education institutions (HEI) or public research institutes (PRI). In the Support intensity column, the applicant should indicate the percentage of support intensity, which for public research organizations can be up to 100%. In the Grant funds column, the applicant should indicate the amount of grant requested, calculated based on the total eligible costs and the applicable support intensity. It is not necessary to add new rows, as the data should be entered for the total value of eligible costs per applicant.