There is no recommended or required group size other than that the application has to be submitted by at least a pair of applicants.
It is up to the convenors of a group to decide what kind of expertise is necessary to conduct the proposed project and whom they need to include to cover all needs. For resident groups, a decisive factor may also be the financial maximum, as this format allows to include personnel expenses (e.g. to cover for a substitute at the home institution of a participant).
It is an essential part of our funding formats that these enable research visits to ZiF.
Both visiting and resident groups essentially plan one visit to ZiF, which can last between one to three months (for visiting groups) or four to six months (for resident groups). There may be participants of a group who only attend parts of the total duration of a group or who join for shorter visits for specific thematic purposes. There may also be “remote” participants who are included virtually – however, the majority of a group should be on-site at ZiF.
Long-Term Groups can plan several recurring visits to ZiF; i.e. “coming and going” is engrained into this format. We expect a core group to stay the same, while other participants may vary from one visit to the next, depending on the thematic focus.
ZiF is a place where researchers come together on-site and think about problems, interpret data, test theoretical ideas, etc.—very much in the sense of basic research. A central feature, especially for the Visiting and Resident Groups, is the time in residence; not being at ZiF, but being away for fieldwork does not align itself with the general idea behind our group formats, i.e. enabling joint time at the Center. So, fieldwork cannot be conducted during a group's stay and has to be realized beforehand, if necessary.
The budget required with the application is meant to give a rough overview of the planned expenses—for both, the applicants as well as ZiF. The budget should be estimated according to the standards of the State Travel Expenses Act. The calculation should include:
Meeting the criteria for a Visiting Group requires a stay of at least one month. During this time, workshops of shorter duration can be organised by the group. To apply for a short-term workshop (of e.g. a few days) independent of any group format, please see our funding format for Workshops.
It depends on the format you wish to apply for. Visiting Groups, which involve a one- to three-month stay at ZiF, allow for such projects. Please note, however, that the results of a group must be of scientific nature. In other words, the output should lead to a substantial increase in knowledge; i.e. writing a proposal for third-party funding is not eligible for funding as part of a Visiting Group. Applying for a Resident or Long-Term Group is different. It means, first and foremost, being guided by an open research question and outcome, not by the results of a pre-exisiting project. Of course, it is possible to publish research findings gained by a Resident or Long-Term Group e.g. in the form a book. However, it is not possible to finish a previous book project within the framework of a Resident or Long-Term Group.
First of all, a Long-Term Group must not consist of a series of individual events. Instead, it is meant to address questions or topics in a series of coherent, interrelated meetings. A substantial proportion of the members of a Long-Term Group should participate in all events; different experts may be invited to contribute to the discussion as necessary.
Visiting Groups:
Resident and Long-Term Groups: