Proposals - Two - Initiative Funds - Special Topic Networks ---- *ESEB EO Initiative Funds - Call for Applications* Next deadline: Monday, 28 April 2025 Annual open call for proposals for activities that increase awareness of the problem and possible solutions. Such proposals can include, but are not limited to, short workshops (for instance, on unconscious bias) and/or seminars (with invited speakers) at your home organization, data collection, publication activities and similar events. It must be clear from the proposal how the activity will improve our knowledge and awareness of inequalities, or how the activity will improve equal opportunities directly, in the ESEB specifically, or Evolutionary Biology as a field in general. ELIGIBILITY - The main applicant must be ESEB member (to become an ESEB member or renew the ESEB membership, please visit our membership page first). - Applications can be submitted by scientists at any stage of a professional career (e.g., undergraduate, Masters and PhD students, postdocs, and lecturers). - Applicants must provide proof of support of the host institution where the activity should take place, if applicable (letter from head of department) - Applicants must explain explicitly how their activity will improve our knowledge, awareness of unequal opportunities, or how the activity will improve equal opportunities directly, in ESEB specifically, or Evolutionary Biology as a field in general. - Applicants must detail which group of people, and how many, will benefit from this activity (for instance, 50 undergraduates, 10 graduate students, 15 faculty members) - Budgets should be reasonable (usually not exceeding 1000 EUR, if more is required, please contact EO committee first), and, if applicable, detail costs per person (that benefit from this event). HOW TO APPLY The application should be no more than 3 pages long (excluding CV and support letter) and include: - Name of the applicant(s), please indicate the main applicant if appropriate. - ESEB membership number (main applicant). - A proposal of the activity. - A justification of how the activity will improve our knowledge, awareness of unequal opportunities, or how the activity will improve equal opportunities directly, in ESEB specifically, or Evolutionary Biology as a field in general. - Which group of people will benefit (students, staff, general public), and how many. - A detailed, justified budget (including cost per beneficiary). - A time schedule. - A short summary to be published on the website (100-150 words). - CVs of the applicants (1-2 pages). - A letter of support of the host institution's head of the department. Please submit the application as a single PDF file by email to Ute Friedrich at the ESEB Office (office@eseb.org; Subject: EO Fund 2025) and take care to limit the size of attachments (total < 10 MB) in any one email. Successful applications must hand in a report about the activity, including details of how funds were spent (receipts!), within 3 months of the event. __ European Society for Evolutionary Biology Website: eseb.org ESEB Office - office@eseb.org ---- ESEB SPECIAL TOPIC NETWORKS - CALL FOR PROPOSALS This is a call for proposals for new Special Topic Networks (STN), which will start in September 2025 and be funded by ESEB for up to 6 years. The deadline for the submission of a proposal is APRIL 2nd, 2025. *Background* ESEB's STN Initiative supports networking activities in various specific areas of evolutionary research. Each STN is funded for up to 6 years (subject to review after 2 and 4 years of operation) with up to 10,000 Euros for each 2-year funding period. Twelve STNs have been supported since the start of the initiative, and up to four new STNs will be initiated every other year. Networking activities may include the organisation of symposia, workshops, lecture series, courses, and lab visits or joint work on review papers or databases. However, the format of an STN is up to the organisers, and innovative ideas are encouraged. All active fields of evolutionary research are eligible, provided that the topic of the network differs from the STNs that are currently funded (see the list of currently funded STNs below). *Proposals and selection procedure* Applicants should provide a proposal with the following components. (1) Topic of the network: a description of the research area to be targeted, explaining why it is timely to address the proposed topic by a networking initiative, and outlining the expected benefits of the STN to the field (max. 1000 words). (2) Network activities: a global description of the planned networking activities that includes information on the target group of researchers and a more specific description of the activities planned for the first two years of operation of the STN (max. 500 words). (3) Organisation of the STN: the names and affiliations of the organisers of the proposed STN, and brief CVs (max. 1 page) of 3 to 5 core organisers; an explanation of the organisational features of the STN (e.g., management of funds provided by ESEB, decision-making in the network, website and promotional activities), and a description of the feasibility of the plans in view of the restricted budget (max. 500 words, excluding the CVs). The requirements to be satisfied and the evaluation criteria will be detailed below. Applications should be emailed as a single PDF file to the ESEB office (office@eseb.org) by 2nd April 2025. Updated versions of previously submitted proposals are welcome. Following the closing date, ESEB's STN Committee will install an independent STN Review Panel consisting of ESEB members without conflict of interest with any of the submitted proposals. The STN Review Panel will evaluate and rank the proposals and make funding recommendations to the ESEB Council. The outcome will be announced after the next Council meeting, at the latest on 31st August 2025. *Evaluation and funding criteria* The proposed topic of the STN will be the principal evaluation criterion. The score for this criterion will be based on part (1) of the application and will account for 50% of the overall score. The effective and innovative nature of the proposed network activities laid out in part (2) of the proposal will account for 25% of the overall score. The organisational aspects (including budget and feasibility considerations) described in part (3) of the application will account for the remaining 25% of the overall score. *Funding requirements* (1) Topic of the network (50%): An STN should focus on an active area of research within the scope of evolutionary biology. New STNs should address topics distinct from those covered by currently funded STNs. The applicants have to demonstrate that the topic is timely, interesting, and important, that, by connecting researchers, the proposed STN has the potential to stimulate progress, and that the corresponding field of research will profit from the STN. Applications proposing new connections between sub-disciplines or intending to resolve current controversies are particularly promising. (2) Network activities (25%): During the six-year period of its existence, a typical STN organises several meetings (e.g., discussion meetings, workshops, or a symposium at an ESEB Congress). In addition, an STN might organise lecture series, courses, training events, etc. The STN can also stimulate the collaboration of its members in generating resources (e.g., a joint database) or publications (e.g., review or opinion papers). The applicants of an STN should consider how, between meetings, the interaction among members can be fostered, e.g., via social media, online discussion forums, or similar. The effective and innovative nature of the networking plans is an important evaluation criterion. ESEB imposes the following requirements on the activities of an STN: > STNs should organise at least two meetings, preferentially one in the year following their inception and one in their final year. STNs should consider offering a contribution to an ESEB Congress (e.g., organising a symposium on the topic of the STN). > During its period of operations, each STN is expected to make at least one contribution to one of the ESEB journals (Journal of Evolutionary Biology or Evolution Letters). This could, for example, be an invited review or a special issue. > ESEB support should be recognised in all promotion of STN activities and publications or other output arising from STN activities. (3) Organisation of the STN (25%): Regarding the organisation of an STN, the following guidelines should be taken into account: > The proposal should be supported by at least three ESEB members (valid membership on the closing date for applications) from at least two and typically three countries who, potentially together with non-ESEB members, commit to organising the STN for its duration (or to finding appropriate replacements if forced to step down). A member should support no more than one proposal in a given application round, and the organisers of current STNs should not be proposers of new STNs. The diversity of the group of organisers is an evaluation criterion. > STNs may have a core membership and restrict some activities to this core group, but generally, the STN activities should be as open as possible to all interested participants. STNs should strive to involve the broadest possible range of participants regarding career stage, gender and nationality. ESEB members should be given priority and, where appropriate, given subsidised access to STN activities where numbers are limited or where there is a cost to participation. > Each STN should maintain an active presence on the web, with access possible from the ESEB website at least to 'public' areas. ESEB appreciates that STNs may wish to maintain some private working space, for example for the preparation of publications. > STNs should strive to keep the environmental impact as low as possible. For instance, airfares are only eligible expenses if the distance travelled is more than 500 km, or the travel time with alternative transport options is more than 6 hours. Further policies, e.g., for the organisation of meetings, can be requested from the ESEB office. > Applicants should identify an institution that is prepared to open an account in which the funds provided for the STN can be deposited and managed by the applicants. 'Overheads' will not be paid to this institution but reasonable direct administrative costs will be eligible. At the end of each 2-year period, the STN will be asked to submit a report of the activities in the preceding two years, accompanied by a certified statement of expenditures provided by the institution managing the funds. Funding for the next 2-year period will be subject to approval of the report and the financial statement by the ESEB Council. The principal criterion for renewal will be evidence that the funding provided had been used in line with the STN proposal. > STNs may wish to seek additional funds from other agencies, or from participants. If this is considered essential for the planned activities, then a strategy should be outlined in the proposal. *Currently funded networks* > Ecological genomics of coevolutionary interactions (started in 2017) - https://eseb.org/prizes-funding/special-topic-networks/stn-current-networks/ecological-genomics-of-coevolutionary-interactions/ > Evolutionary ecology of thermal fertility limits (started in 2019) - https://thermal-fertility-network-eseb.org/ > Micro- and macro-evolutionary processes shaping prokaryotic genomes (started in 2019) - https://eseb.org/prizes-funding/special-topic-networks/stn-current-networks/synthesizing-micro-and-macro-evolutionary-processes-shaping-prokaryotic-genomes/ > Evolution of wild animal microbiomes (started in 2021) - https://www.wamestn.com/ > Integration of speciation research (started in 2021) - https://speciation-network.pages.ist.ac.at/ > Evolutionary implications of socially transferred materials (started in 2023) - https://www.socialtransfer.net/ > The integrative biology of brain evolution (started in 2023) - https://tibbe-network.github.io/ > Joint evolution of dispersal and mating systems (started in 2023) - https://dispersal-mating-stn.weebly.com/ > Internal conflicts and organismal adaptation (started in 2023) - https://internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com/ Additional information on the STN initiative can be found on the ESEB website https://eseb.org/prizes-funding/special-topic-networks/. For further information or enquiries, please contact the chair of the STN committee, Franjo Weissing (f.j.weissing@rug.nl). The STN Committee, Franjo Weissing (chair), Troy Day, Simone Immler, and Yannis Michalakis European Society for Evolutionary Biology Ute Friedrich, ESEB Office Manager Email: office@eseb.org ESEB Office (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)