ESQ Discovery Programme

Goal of the Discovery Program

ESQ will support radically new ideas, innovative research and high-risk projects, before they are sufficiently grown and competitive to succeed in established European or national funding schemes. Since discovery is targeted at true innovation, it accepts the chance of failure of projects if this risk is balanced by the expected gain. 

Funding: amount and duration

• Projects shall not exceed a volume of 100,000 EURO
• Projects shall not last longer than 12 months

Who is eligible to apply?

• All 28 ESQ members 
• Postdocs and PhD students in ESQ member groups can apply if the ESQ member signs that the proposed project can be realized in her/his group and that the proposed project is compatible with their working contracts.

What costs can be covered ?

Within the budget limits the money shall be entirely free, but needs to be justified at the end of the project. It can cover:

• Personnel
• Equipment 
• Consumables 
• Travel
• Software

How to apply?

Submit a single 5-page PDF proposal, containing 

• State of the art ? (ca. 1 page)
• Vision of the project? (ca. 1 page)
• Implementation: How can this be explored on the scale of 12 months with the proposed budget? (ca. 2 pages)
• Resources: What local infrastructure and personnel will you be using in addition to that provided by ESQ ?
• Literature references (not more than 20)
• CV, list of publications and posters/talks
  (For ESQ members this information is already available. No need to resend it.)

How to report on the project?

ESQ will ask you to submit a report within 3 months after completing the project, explaining the 

• Scientific results 
• Prospects for scientific publications or presentations
• Follow-up on your research ideas