External Research Project Proposals

External Project Proposals

Given the significant number of projects currently managed by SPS, please note that research proposals submitted by individuals who are not members of the Department will not be accepted from now until 31 December 2025.

Any person who is not part of the Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) and intends to submit a research project proposal for a competitive funding call, requesting SPS to act as the Host Department, must follow the procedure outlined below.

1. Submission of the “Project Proposal” Form

The applicant must complete the Project Proposal Form and send it by email to sps.ricerca@unibo.it (copying sps.direttore@unibo.it, d.mantovani@unibo.it and antonio.fiori@unibo.it) at least three months before the call deadline.

If the period between the publication date of the call and its deadline is less than three months, the Project Proposal Form must still be submitted at least one month before the call deadline.
Project proposals received after the stated deadlines will not be considered.

Within 50 days of submission, the applicant will receive an email from SPS indicating whether or not the Department is available to proceed with the proposal.

2. Submission of the “Research Project Form” (if the proposal is accepted)

If the Project Proposal is accepted by SPS, the applicant must complete the Research Project Form and send it by email to sps.ricerca@unibo.it  (copying sps.direttore@unibo.it, d.mantovani@unibo.it and antonio.fiori@unibo.it) at least 15 days before the call deadline.
This submission must also occur at least 15 days prior to the date of the first available Giunta meeting, in order to allow sufficient time for the administrative review required for the authorisation of the proposal submission.

The Research Project Form must include the following information:

• Programme/Call for proposals to which the application refers (and relevant link/webpage);

• Call deadline;

• Project title, acronym, and short abstract;

• UNIBO role (partner, coordinator, single participant, subcontractor, etc.);

• Other UNIBO Departments involved and the role of the Department (Lead or Partner Department);

• Research team involved – estimated budget for the Department, main expenditure items;

• Any required co-financing (specifying which available funds or structured resources will be used);

• Method of contribution disbursement;

• Any additional notes (e.g. documents requiring signatures, if known).

If certain information—such as the budget or co-financing— is not yet available at the time of submission, it is the applicant’s responsibility to send the missing details as soon as they become available, and in any case in time for the administrative review to be completed before the Giunta meeting.

As an alternative to filling in the budget section of the form, it is possible to attach the Excel budget file, if available.

If the project is subsequently approved for funding, the applicant must inform the Research Support Team of all the data necessary for the contractual activation of the project and for the management, communication, and dissemination activities.

In cases where a project proposal is funded without prior authorisation, or if the funded project differs substantially from what was communicated during the preliminary review, the Department reserves the right to decide whether or not to accept the grant and the related management and reporting responsibilities.