On 28 April, CONNECT-NM, the co-funded partnership aiming to pursue a paradigm shift in nuclear materials research, from ‘observe and qualify’ to ‘design and control,’ announced the official launch of the second phase of its Open Call for Projects (OCP).
Following the successful completion of the first phase of the CONNECT-NM Open Call for Projects (OCP) on 21 March and the collaborative Brokerage Event held earlier this month, the second phase is exclusively focused on the submission of full Project Proposals.
This phase will remain open until 7 July 2025 at 23:59 CEST. All proposals must be submitted electronically, following the procedures and using the templates that will be provided here.
What is next?
All those interested must inform the CONNECT-NM Management Support Office (MSO) of their intention to submit a full Project Proposal by 23 May 2025 at 17:00 CEST. This should be done via email to info@connect-nm.eu, including the following information:
- Acronym and full name of the Project Proposal
- Acronym(s) of the Project Idea(s) on which the proposal is based
- The chosen Research Line (RL) to which the proposal is being submitted
- A 100-word summary of the proposal
- The name and email address of three potential reviewers
Upon receipt of this notification, the MSO will create a dedicated folder for each Proposal in the restricted area of the CONNECT-NM website, granting the appropriate permissions to the Project Proposal Leader. This folder will be used for submitting the final documents.
What does a full Project Proposal include?
A full Project Proposal builds upon one or more Project Ideas submitted in the first phase and presented at the Brokerage Event. New projects are not eligible if they have not been submitted as project ideas in phase 1. A summary of the Project Ideas can be found here, while all relevant presentations from the Brokerage Event are available here.
The full Project Proposal should detail:
- Objectives, methodology, expected results, and their impact
- Breakdown of subtasks, scheduling, and partner contributions
- Sections on excellence, impact, and implementation
- Light coverage of data management, open science, dissemination, and ethical aspects, aligned with the Partnership’s plans
- Detailed budgets
- Signed Letters of Commitment from all project participants
Importantly, it should be noted that the list above is indicative. All required sections and relevant instructions are detailed in the Project Proposal Template and the Guide for Proposers. It is highly encouraged for applicants to consult both documents carefully when preparing their submissions.
Key documents
- An updated Guide for Proposers will be available on the CONNECT-NM website, reflecting the latest guidance and requirements for this phase. Please ensure to check the publication date of the guide to confirm it is the most recent version, which should not be before 25 April 2025.
- The Letter of Commitment template is included in Annex 1 of the Project Proposal template.
- A separate spreadsheet template to be used for the mandatory financial information on the project
All relevant documents will be made available progressively at this location.
Submission requirements
By 7 July 2025 at 23:59 CEST, the following documents should be uploaded to the Project Proposal folder:
- A PDF file of the full Project Proposal, electronically signed by the person at the Project Leading Organisation who holds the legal authority to commit the organisation’s human and financial resources.
- A PDF file of the financial part of the Project Proposal, also electronically signed by the legally authorised representative at the Project Leading Organisation, along with the Excel or CSV version of the same file (i.e. two separate files: one signed PDF and one Excel/CSV).
- All Letters of Commitment, each provided as a separate PDF file, signed electronically by the person at each participating organisation who is legally authorised to commit the organisation’s human and financial resources.
Notably, all applicants should ensure adequate time for the signature process, and keep in mind that the CONNECT-NM repository is the only valid platform for submission and may become overloaded close to the submission deadline. It is strongly recommend to prepare the Letters of Commitment early and upload the complete submission well in advance to avoid any last-minute issues.
Additional reminders
- Applicants may complete their consortium with partners they met during or after the Brokerage Event.
- Proposals must be assigned to one research line only, preferably following the recommendation from the Project Idea assessment.
- Applicants are encouraged to consider the feedback received during the first phase.
For full information, explore the relevant Open Call for Projects documents (updated regularly) here.