PE&RC call for institutional collaboration 2025

PE&RC call for institutional collaboration 2025

calls, PE&RC , 8 September 2025

Introduction

The PE&RC Institutional Collaboration Call is a call for short-term PhD and postdoc projects (several months). It is meant to stimulate collaboration between PE&RC members of Wageningen University and those from other institutes.

This call has been quite a success. For example for 2024, the following three applications were funded:

Project 1: Reducing soil N2O emissions by steering nitrogen cycling microbiome with grassland species composition and fertilization

Project 2: Extending the plant cry for help paradigm to the micro-food web

Project 3: Uncovering the origins of phantas: guiding conservation in Nepal’s prime tiger habitat

Given the success of this collaboration initiative, the call is set out again for 2025. Hence, we invite academic staff members of PE&RC to submit a proposal for institutional collaboration within PE&RC.  The planned budget of the PE&RC Institutional Collaboration Call foresees in the funding of a total of three projects. 

Upon completion awardees are required to:

  1. Submit a short project report (max two pages) and
  2. Present their findings in the next edition of the PE&RC day.

Eligibility criteria

  • Applications must be submitted by at least two PE&RC registered staff members from at least two PE&RC institutes being: WUR-ESG, WUR-PSG, WUR-ASG, UVA-IBED, VU-A-Life, UU-E&B, Leiden University, NIOO, NATURALIS, and RADBOUD-IWWR.
    Note that one must have been registered as PE&RC staff member prior to the onset of this call (1 July 2025).
  • One of the applicants must be affiliated to Wageningen University as funds are provided by Wageningen University.
  • The project can be executed by one or two PhD candidates, one postdoc, or a PhD-Postdoc collaboration.
  • The maximum months of appointment to be funded are:
    • PhD project: four months
    • PhD-PhD project: two months each
    • Postdoc: three months
    • Postdoc-PhD: one month postdoc and two months PhD
    • Postdoc-Postdoc: 1.5 month each.
  • In case of PhD projects, the application should involve work on a new project that is not part of the original PhD proposal. The outcome of this work may of course be included in the PhD thesis.
  • Since funds only cover gross salary costs (postdoc max. scale 11.5) and approximately 35% overhead, the groups must state how research expenses will be covered.
  • Appointment of PhD(s) and/or postdoc(s) must be at Wageningen University as the call is funded by Wageningen University strategic funds. However, research activities may be performed at non-WUR PE&RC institutes.
  • Funded projects will have to be completed before 1 November 2026. Funds will be allocated in 2025 to the group(s) involved.

Submission of proposals

Applicants are invited to submit a proposal that includes:

  • Title of the project;
  • Focus and aim of the project (max. 250 words);
  • Relevance given the PE&RC mission (Understanding the functioning of natural and managed ecosystems to improve the quality of life) (max. 150 words);
  • The manner in which the proposed project will strengthen the institutional collaboration, identifying the specific role of the proposed candidate(s) (postdoc/PhD), including the expected output of the project (max. 150 words);
  • Groups involved
  • Scientists involved
  • PhD candidate(s) or postdoc(s) involved
  • Time to be spent on the project by the Postdoc(s) / PhD candidate(s);
  • Appointment details: name of person(s) employed, employment period, chair group;
  • In case of a postdoc position; Salary costs (including salary costs for employer).

Proposals must be submitted by e-mail to office.pe@wur.nl on or before 8 September 2025, 09:00 am!

Selection procedure

  • Proposals are evaluated by an evaluation committee established by PE&RC after the submission of the proposals to minimize conflicts of interest.
  • A maximum of six applications will be selected by this committee based on eligibility, quality, and added value for PE&RC (quality and added value to PE&RC weigh equal).
  • Quality and added value will be scored as: insufficient, adequate, good, very good or excellent.
  • When either quality or added value are scored below “good” the application will be discarded.
  • Selected applications will be informed on the 26’th of September.
  • Final selection will occur by a scientific pitch given on the PE&RC day (9 October)
  • The pitch highlights the scientific content of the proposal and the relevance for PE&RC in a clear and engaging manner
  • The pitch must be given by (one of) the applicants. The PhD candidate(s) / postdoc(s) involved in the application may also contribute but not as replacement of the applicant(s).
  • The PE&RC Day audience votes for the scientifically most exciting pitch / proposal. Each participant votes for the #1, #2 and #3 preference. The #1 gets 3 points, the #2 two points and the #3 one point.
  • Final selection of the three projects to receive the funds is based on the combined scores given by the evaluation committee and the pitch score given by the audience (the evaluation committee score counts for 67%, the pitch score for 33%).

  • To do so both the ratings of the evaluation committee and the pitch score are converted to a hundred points scale (so total summed scores for both the evaluation committee as well as the pitch presentation sum