Target group
The funding program is aimed at researchers working in the field of animal health and welfare at universities, non-academic research institutions, and nonprofit organizations in related sectors.
Funding goals
The upcoming call aims to improve animal health and welfare by supporting innovative research to develop new and improved technologies and to address fundamental socio-economic issues related to the prevention, detection, assessment, and management of animal health and welfare issues.
Funding period and funding amount
The maximum funding period is 36 months.
Requirements
The requirements and specifications for the FWF program Principal Investigator Projects apply.
Information on the current call (call topics)
Topic 1: Novel Technologies for Prevention, Detection, Assessment, and Management of Animal Health and Welfare
This topic includes research projects that concentrate on creating and advancing innovative technologies to enhance animal health and welfare, including the following examples:
- Technologies ranging from genomic surveillance of health and improved disease diagnostic methods to novel or improved vaccines and vaccine platforms
- The development of new technologies aimed at monitoring and improving animal welfare, for example the creation of sensors, decision support tools, or innovative animal husbandry and aquaculture systems.
Topic 2: Fundamental Research for Animal Health and Welfare
This topic involves research on the biological, immunological, and physiological mechanisms influencing animal health and welfare.
- Examples include learning more about pathogens (bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi, or prions responsible for important economic losses or high risk for transmission to humans), interactions with the host microbiome, diagnostics, immunology, and basic welfare indicators such as normal behavior, positive emotional state, thermal comfort, ease of movement, absence of disease.
Topic 3: Animal Health and Welfare and Society
This topic covers social, economic, or ethical studies that examine how pathogens, novel technologies or improved animal welfare might impact farmers, fishers, aquaculture producers, consumers, or the production chain. This includes studies that focus on human behavior in relation to biosecurity, perceptions of animal welfare and their impacts on demand, as well as communication with farmers and producers to improve awareness and recognition of animal health and welfare and protection (e.g. to improve policy acceptance, facilitate the transition to sustainable production).
Topics that cannot be submitted in this call:
- Improving human health
- Companion animals
- Food-borne pathogens
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the context of public/human health
- Socio-economic projects that do not integrate animal health and/or welfare
- Development of new antimicrobials
Each proposal must involve a minimum of three and a maximum of six partner groups from at least three different participating partner countries. A joint proposal must be submitted by the project coordinator to the central Call Secretariat. The financial share of each participating country may not exceed 60%. Review criteria include scientific excellence and socio-political relevance (including the involvement of interest groups).
The researchers are funded by their respective national/regional funding organizations.
The partnership includes 30 funding organizations from 24 European countries within and outside the EU. The current list of potential participating countries can be found on the EUPAHW website.
Approval
Decided by the Scientific Board based on a recommendation of the Call Secretariat
Application information
In a first step, pre-proposals must be submitted online using the EUPAHW submission tool.
No other methods or means of submission will be accepted. The pre-proposal can be updated and resubmitted as often as required until the end of the submission period, but not after the deadline.
A PDF template for the pre-proposal is available on the EUPAHW submission tool for information purposes only. Applicants are strongly recommended to work directly in the submission tool from the start of their application.
Application and review are carried out in a two-stage procedure.
- Submission of pre-proposals: May 8 to July 3, 2024 (2:00 pm local time Vienna)
- Submission of full proposals: scheduled for November 2024 to February 4, 2025 (2:00 pm local time Vienna)
- Decision on full proposals: expected in July 2025
In addition to the application to the Call Secretariat, administrative and financial data as well as the academic abstracts for the proposal must be submitted to the FWF on elane (in compliance with the FWF application guidelines for Principal Investigator Projects).
In the pre-proposal phase, applications must be submitted under the program category “PIK - International Projects (Pre-Proposals)” (deadline: July 4, 2024, 2:00 pm local time Vienna).
For the full proposal phase, please select the program category “PIN - International Projects” (deadline: February 5, 2025, 2:00 pm local time Vienna).
Both steps are required.
Funding institution
Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
Further information
- Please note that the application mode for this funding program has switched from ad personam funding to funding through research institutions (PROFI mode). Please note that in PROFI mode, applications must be approved for submission by the research institution; for this purpose, research institutions must be registered in the FWF's research institution portal.
- Details can be found on the EUPAHW website.
- If you have specific questions about the budget, the criteria, or individual funding organizations’ requirements, please consult the funding organization directly. Funding organization contacts as well as the national or regional requirements of the individual funding organizations are available in the call text on the EUPAHW website.
- EUPAHW Call Secretariat:
ptj-pahw(at)fz-juelich.de
52425 Jülich
EUPAHW submission tool: https://eupahw.ptj.de/
EUPAHW website: www.EUPAHW.eu