Instruct allocates funds to support up to four small pilot research and development projects in any area of structural biology up to a maximum of €15,000 per project. Projects should propose research which is preliminary in nature with an expectation of collecting data that may be included in support of an application for more substantial funding through conventional routes. Whilst this call is open to all topics, the proposal is required to contain aspects of technology and/or software development within integrated structural biology to be considered for the award. All proposals must include the use of technologies available at Instruct Centres or develop technologies that will benefit the aims of Instruct. This call is specifically aimed at early career researchers as defined in the EU ERC programme. The ERC eligibility criteria comprise researchers with two to seven years of experience since completion of their PhD as well as a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal.  

Application Process  

Only applications submitted online before the deadline 15th March 2024 (CET) will be considered (https://instruct-eric.org/). Applicants must be registered Instruct users: for any questions contact us directly at support@instruct-eric.eu. Applicants must declare that they are non-tenured, independent researchers that are resident in one of the Instruct member countries or working within an Instruct member intergovernmental organisation.  

Pilot projects may be funded up to a maximum of €15,000.  The funds are expected to cover research expenses but not salaries. The intent of this support is to help researchers develop external funding for projects, i.e. the expectation is that a pilot study will lead to a grant submission or to develop new technologies that will benefit the aims of Instruct.  

Proposals should have the approval of an independent Principal Researcher (e.g., director of Institute) at the applicant’s Institution or Department, providing the commitment of the hosting institute to provide the necessary infrastructure for the applicant.  

At the conclusion of a pilot study and within one year of the project start, the researcher must submit a progress report to the Instruct Executive Committee. On the basis of this report the researcher may exceptionally seek to extend the pilot study. The approval decision will rest with the Executive Committee.  

The study should be of limited scope and have well defined objectives. Ordinarily, a pilot study should be completed within one year. A short proposal is required for the initiation of a pilot study.  

Call Submission Guidelines

Call Submission Guidelines 

R&D applications – Evaluation criteria:  

Proposals will be peer reviewed and reviewers’ comments on the proposal will be available to the applicant.   

Assessment criteria  

Please note: Aspects of methodology development are an eligibility criterion for this call. Instruct reserves the right to reject proposals without discernible technology or software development prior to scientific peer review. 

The criteria that Instruct will use to determine successful applications are: (score 0-3 and 0-5 respectively for the elements below: 0=low; 5=high (questions 1 and 4); 3=high (questions 2-3))  

• Novelty: Is the proposed project innovative and/or novel either in subject area or approach? (score 0-5)  
• Feasibility: Is it likely that something useful will result from one year’s support? Note that high risk/high gain preliminary projects are welcome and will be scored high, while trivial but feasible projects will be scored low (score 0-3)  
• Impact: Is there likely to be a high impact on the specific field? (score 0-3)  
• Applicant(s): Is the track record and expertise of the applicant of high quality and relevant to delivering the project proposed? (score 0-5)   

Review and decision process:  

• 2 external reviewers will evaluate up to 4 proposals in a competitive manner. The initial scores will be evaluated by the R&D panel. 
• The applications will be reviewed by the R&D panel, forming a short-list based on the returned reviewer scores.  
• The panel will recommend awards up to €15,000 each.  

Application Conditions if Successful 

The applicant must document that they are formally allowed to conduct independent research. We implement the ERC eligibility criteria. Before the Instruct financial officer transfers the funds to the awardee department, a letter from the applicant’s institution supporting the project as described in the proposal is required. The award is sent to the applicant’s department upon receiving an invoice from the department for 2/3 of the awarded funds. One third of the funds will be sent at the end of the project after receipt of a project report. The report should be received within six months of completion of the work: the report should include a short description of the work performed, use of the Instruct funds and any publications arising from the project. Additionally, all publications must include this acknowledgement "The authors acknowledge the support and the use of resources of Instruct-ERIC through the R&D pilot scheme APPID xxx." The applicant is also required to complete their profile on the Instruct website. We will use the photo and information in the profile to publish the result of this award on our website. In addition to the award, the applicant and their team are encouraged to apply for access to Instruct infrastructure, when/where appropriate, to undertake some of the proposed research (see our catalogue at https://instruct-eric.eu/platform-catalogue). For more information on the access process including the funding available, please go to https://instruct-eric.eu/access-costs-and-funding.