Guidelines for applicants
Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions
Application
Can I apply for a project if my temporary employment at my university ends before the project is completed?
Yes, but the project application must be accompanied by a confirmation from the supervisor stating that the project funds will be used for the continuation of the employment relationship and that the employment will be extended accordingly until the end of the project. The project will remain at the university in any case, even if the project leader were to leave the institution. DIZH must be consulted in this regard.
Can I enter multiple projects (consecutively or simultaneously)?
Yes, this is possible. There are no restrictions on the frequency and number of entries. There is one exception: a rejected project may be re-entered only once.
Can I submit my project to another funding institution at the same time, for example Innosuisse?
Yes, but you must disclose this in the application and also declare whether the projects are identical or complementary. In the case of a double funding commitment of identical projects, DIZH must be consulted.
In the case of complementary projects, a statement must be made whether the DIZH project can be carried out in any case, even if the other funding institution does not fund the project.
See also the corresponding fields in the input portal.
Who needs to submit a CV as part of the application process?
All applicants (main and co-applicants) must submit the CV and Major Achievements, but not the practice partners.
Project / Practice Partner
What exactly are applicants?
The applicant (applies to all main and co-applicants) is a person from a DIZH university (usually with employment; this is specified in the call text). Only such a person can submit an application. There is one contact person at the DIZH who is responsible for the submission, as well as co-applicants.
What exactly is a practice partner?
The practice partner is a legal or natural person from a non-academic institution that is involved in the project and plays a defined role there. The practice partner cannot directly receive DIZH funds. It can also be located outside the Canton of Zurich and plays a role in particular with regard to the criteria “impact”, “cooperation” and “practical orientation”.
Can other project partners be involved?
Yes. Other project partners are persons or organizations that are involved in the project but are neither applicants nor practice partners. Examples are academic institutions that are not part of a DIZH university and therefore cannot receive DIZH funding. They can also be located outside the Canton of Zurich and play a role especially with regard to the criterion “cooperation”. The type of cooperation with project partners must be clearly stated in the project description.
What must a letter of intent contain? Is there a template for this?
The letter of intent should basically show how the project will have an effect in practice. The practice partner describes this in an LoI. It confirms its concrete commitment and names the person responsible for the project. Specifically, the LoI should have the following features and content:
- Letter layout and sender is the practice partner
- Short portrait of the partner, where the relevance regarding the project is also explained
- Confirmation that the partner is committed to the project, including details of the specific collaboration (in which parts of the project, what work, etc.)
- Mention of co-financing, if any
- Mention of further work of the partner (e.g. communication of the project)
- Name of the person responsible for the project on the part of the partner, including address, phone number, e-mail address
- Signatures of the responsible person as well as a second person (e.g. business / location / department management)
A template can be requested from the Program Office.
Does my project necessarily have to have a practice partner?
This depends on the call type; see the respective call announcement text.
Can an applicant be involved with the practice partner at the same time?
No.
Funding
What is the distribution of the counterpart funding (= own contribution / “matching funds”) among the participating universities?
Each university finances the share that it applies for from the DIZH.
Which applicants must provide counterpart funding within an application? Only lead applicants? Or also co-applicants?
Each applicant from a DIZH university must show counterpart funding to the extent of the DIZH funds requested. A breakdown of the funds is mandatory (see the budget template and the explanations below).
What are my counterpart funding options at my university?
In the Excel spreadsheet, you will find instructions on how to do this under “Contributions to be made”. As these may vary from university to university, we recommend that you contact the relevant contact point at your university.
Can third-party funds acquired as part of a previous project be credited as counter-financing?
Yes. The decisive factors here are §17.3.c. of the regulations for the innovation program and Chap. 5.4. of the concept for the innovation program, according to which the “acquisition of new third-party funds” is one of the possibilities for own contributions. These can also be “upstream in time” (e.g. in the context of preliminary projects). The content-related and temporal reference must be clearly demonstrated in each case. The correctness of the crediting is checked on a case-by-case basis.
Is there a minimum or maximum amount of funding that a practice partner can contribute?
The (optional and creditable) co-financing by the practice partner is not bound to a maximum amount, a minimum amount may be specified by the individual universities. In any case, it must be in cash form (see next question) in order to be eligible.
What types of practice partner co-funding are possible (cash, in-kind)?
The monetization of services provided by the practice partners for the benefit of the projects can currently only be made via cash contributions to the universities, which the universities can then bring into the matching as third-party funds. The crediting of in-kind services of practice partners (working time and/or material services) is currently not possible, nevertheless in-kind services can of course be part of the project and can be mentioned in the letter of intent.
Can practice partners and external service providers be financed with DIZH funds?
No. The special DIZH funds can only be used for members of the universities. Whether the counterpart funding can be used for this purpose is the responsibility of the universities.
As an applicant to a university, can I list a company as a practice partner that I am going to found myself for this purpose, that I have already founded, or that I work for in a certain capacity? (Applicant = practice partner)
No. You can only be involved in the project on one side – either from the university or from the practice partner.
What happens if a practice partner provides most or all of the co-funding?
In this case, the third-party funds of the practice partner are distributed proportionally to the participating universities.
Can a DIZH university provide matching funds for DIZH amounts received by another DIZH university?
No, this “solidarity-based” counter-financing is not possible.
May I use the counterpart funding for more than one DIZH project?
No, the counterpart funding is project-based and can only be used once.
General information about the calls in the innovation program
When will the next calls be launched and what features will they have?
The planning of further calls is currently in progress. Details on the different types of calls can be found in the concept for the innovation program (chap. 3).
Contact
Office Innovation program DIZH
Helge Johannssen, Lisa Dörrer, Daniel Prontera
innovation@dizh.uzh.ch
Contact points at the universities
- UZH: dizh@dsi.uzh.ch
- ZHAW: digital@zhaw.ch
- ZHdK: contactpoint.dizh@zhdk.ch
- PHZH: r.delgadomoreira@phzh.ch