Eligibility and requirements

Seedcorn Grants are open to all C-SEB members eligible (1) to apply for C-SEB funding and (2) for third-party funding. This includes tenured and non-tenured professors, and postdoctoral researchers (a) who either are employed by the University of Cologne (UoC) or (b) who receive a stipend (from the UoC or other organizations) and whose main affiliation is with the UoC. Across all research funding lines, each individual may submit only one application per round as lead applicant. The project must aim at generating external funding.
 

Selection procedure

The content of the research project must relate to C-SEB’s overall topics. Decisive criteria for the granting of funds are the scientific quality and originality as well as the cost-effectiveness of the proposed research project. The C-SEB Executive Board selects among the duly received proposals. Please be prepared to give a short presentation on your proposed project should we ask you to do so.
 

Application procedure

The application deadline is April 30^th, 2025. Applications are submitted via a LimeSurvey questionnaire; the link to the questionnaire is emailed to eligible researchers. Please prepare the required documents and information listed below. Once you have started the application questionnaire, you can create a login to resume the questionnaire again later („Resume later“ in the upper right corner of the survey).
 

Required documents

Please prepare the following documents for upload in PDF format:

Research Proposal — Proposals are limited to 2 pages plus references (≤ 1 page) using the mandatory .docx template (download ⭳), converted into a single PDF file for upload. Proposals must be written in a way that is easily understood by scientists in both the economics and psychology disciplines. Proposals must include information on theoretical background, hypotheses, methods, and financial planning.

CV(s) — Short CVs of all researchers involved (≤ 2 pages each, 1 PDF file per CV), i.e., at least the lead applicant plus collaborating researchers, if applicable.
 

Required information

Please prepare the following information for entry into the questionnaire in plain text format:

Summary project description — A summary of your proposal of 850 characters or less.

Relevance to C-SEB’s thematic focus and interdisciplinary relevance — A description of your project’s relevance to C-SEB’s thematic focus and of its interdisciplinary relevance in 850 characters or less: How will your project contribute to C-SEB’s overall research agenda and to research in other C-SEB-related disciplines?

Intended third-party funding — A description of the intended future third-party funding in 600 characters or less: Please name the targeted funding source and line; indicate the anticipated status of the project one year after submission of this application and explain how a C-SEB Seedcorn Grant may contribute to achieve this status; please describe as specifically as possible.

Explanation of the financial plan — Prepare an explanation of the requested funds (which is also a part of the research proposal) of 850 characters or less that briefly describes your specific calculations for each expense category. Calculate the cost of student assistants based on PANDA ⭳. If you plan to work with providers/companies abroad (e.g., Prolific), include/add the 19% VAT that the UoC has to pay to the German tax office. If the requested C-SEB funding (max. 6,500 €) covers only a portion of the total funds needed, please state the total amount needed and explain where the missing amount will come from.

If applicable: Explanation for resubmission — If this or a similar project has been submitted for funding before, please describe where and when. If applicable, include the amount of funding awarded (and how it was used) or the reasons for previous rejections. Applications previously rejected by C-SEB may only be resubmitted, if a C-SEB Executive Board member endorses the application. If applicable, provide the name of the C-SEB Executive Board member who endorses the current application.
 

Have ready

Please have the following information ready for entry into the questionnaire:

Expected start date of the project (mm/yyyy) — Please note that we expect to announce the funding decisions no later than the end of June 2025. Funding can only be used for expenses incurred after the date of the decision letter.

Expected completion date of the project (mm/yyyy) — Please note that funding is currently only available until the end of December 2025. If the UoC continues to provide funding beyond 2025, an extension of the funding period to June 30^th, 2026 is possible (but not guaranteed).

If applicable: Collaborating researchers — If you collaborate with other researchers on your project, you will be asked to enter their names, current position/seniority, and affiliation.

If applicable: End date of your current contract/stipend (dd/mm/yyyy) — If your affiliation with the UoC is not permanent, you will be asked to enter the current end date of your contract/stipend. Please note that approved funds can only be used until the end of your contract/stipend.

In a nutshell