The LRI joint policy defines the research priorities and procedures for selection and monitoring of projects. A new policy document has been drafted for 2020-2025. It includes the new research priorities and procedures for submitting proposals through an online application portal. Click here to download the new Policy document.

New projects

In general, an annual call for proposals is launched in December. The LRI has developed a thorough and independent review process which proceeds as follows:

Letters of Intent (LoIs) are screened by the LRI Steering Committee (SC). If the feedback by the SC is positive, the applicants are invited to submit a full proposal before the next deadline. Full proposals are sent out for review by at least two independent reviewers. The comments of the reviewers are forwarded anonymously to the applicants. The applicants then have the opportunity to submit a rebuttal and revised proposal if relevant.

The Scientific Review Committee (SRC) reviews the full proposals, the reviewer’s comments and the rebuttal and decides whether or not to recommend a given proposal for funding by the LRI. The SC reviews the feedback of the SRC and provides additional advice regarding priority and operational relevance of proposals to the LRI. In case several proposals have been recommended for funding, the SC may rank proposals according to perceived priority.

The comments of the SRC and SC are forwarded to the LRI Executives Group (EG) who, taking all comments into consideration, decide whether the proposal will be funded from the LRI joint fund. The applicants will be informed of the LRI EG’s decision as soon as possible, but at the latest on the last working day in December of a given year.

Ongoing projects

Once a project is accepted for funding a grant award letter will be issued. Funded projects are expected to submit twice a year a progress report. The progress reports and final report are assessed by the SRC. The SRC advises the EG about the continuation of funding based on the information provided in the progress reports.