Bonn—Melbourne Research Excellence Fund

Overview

The Bonn—Melbourne Research Excellence Fund fosters the development of high-quality research activities that include Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in a significant role. Applications from all schools and disciplines are encouraged. These should propose innovative and sustainable activities, built around collaborative research, linking researchers from the University of Bonn and the University of Melbourne. The research projects may take place in any country as long as they are undertaken collaboratively. The expectation is that these initial activities will lead to long-term collaborations, institutional and research relations, and, where applicable, generate publications, exhibitions, and/or external funding for ongoing collaboration.

Principal Investigator Eligibility:

All proposals must include ECRs in a significant role. For the purposes of the fund, an ECR is within 10 years of the conferral date of their PhD, excluding periods of career interruptions.

University of Bonn:

Principal investigators (PIs) from the University of Bonn must be research staff who have completed a doctorate and be able to show proof of their employment at least until the end of the collaborative research project. Past recipients may apply for funding no sooner than two years from the end date of their previous Bonn—Melbourne Research Excellence Fund project. Bonn PIs must not have outstanding Progress or Final Reports from any other International Office excellence funding schemes.

University of Melbourne:

Principal investigators from the University of Melbourne must hold an appointment at the University of Melbourne that meets the following requirements at the time of application and for the duration of the award:

• Academic Level A6 or higher; and
• 0.5 FTE or higher.

Honorary employees whose primary academic affiliation is the University of Melbourne are eligible to lead an application if:

• Their primary employer has entered into an agreement with the University to support the Australian component of the collaborative activity, using the provided approval form under 'Supporting Documents' below; or
• They agree to participate in their own expense if they are otherwise unaffiliated (for example, they hold an emeritus position).

Melbourne PIs must not have outstanding Progress Reports or Final Reports from any other grant program administered by Researcher Development Schemes.

Additional information:

• All applications must be endorsed by the PI’s Head of Department/School via the Authority to Submit form (see also under 'Supporting Documents' below).
• Funding received through the scheme may be used to support mobility costs for collaborating academic staff, and graduate researchers enrolled at Melbourne, to meet the objectives of the project. Academic staff must meet the same eligibility requirements as the PIs, as outlined above.
• Proposals should be for new or emerging research collaborations that have not yet received third-party funding.
• Melbourne PIs seeking potential collaborative partners at Bonn are invited to contact Christian Klöckner (contact details below) before Wednesday 5 August 2026.

Funding

In 2026-27, up to two applications will be funded (each with two Principal Investigators: one from Bonn and one from Melbourne). Each application will receive up to 10,000 € or $16,000 AUD from their respective institution. These funds must be used for research (broadly defined) and follow the budget guidelines provided. Proposals may include targeted research support such as joint workshops, researcher exchanges, and the formation or development of a collaborative network. Applications with a smaller budget seeking funding for an exploratory workshop in either Bonn or Melbourne are also encouraged.

How to apply

1. Review the Guidelines

   Under 'Supporting Documents' below.

2. Prepare and collect approvals for your application

   To complete your SmartyGrants application, you will need to upload an Authority to Submit form (UoM) signed by your Head of Department/School. Please allow time to collect this departmental approval. If you are unfamiliar with the approval process, your faculty research office can provide assistance.

   In addition, if the UoM PI is an eligible honorary employee, they must attach their Honorary Declaration Form to the application.

3. Prepare and submit your application

   Log in to SmartyGrants to begin your application. Only one of the coordinating investigators will be able to create the application for your team, so you will need to decide who is responsible for submitting the application and collaborate on the application contents offline.

   Complete the application and upload the relevant forms.

   Special note to UoM Applicants: Please do NOT create Cayuse Proposals for this scheme. These will be automatically generated by RDS from SmartyGrants.

Supporting documents

SmartyGrants Application Portal
2027 Bonn—Melbourne REF Guidelines
Authority to Submit (ATS) Form
Honorary Declaration Form
List of Previous Awardees 2021-2025

Contacts