Upon receipt of a cruise proposal, the GPF Office checks the documents for completeness and for compliance with the formal requirements set out in the Cruise Proposal Preparation Instructions(Download) and – in the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals – in the relevant DFG guidelines. All applicants are asked to read the current requirements carefully and follow them when preparing their proposals: failure to do so will lead to delays in the subsequent stages of the review process. 

Any deviations from the requirements will be listed in the confirmation of receipt and applicants are then requested to make corrections as necessary. As numerous proposals are submitted at the same time and the formal check takes time, applicants are asked to appreciate that several weeks may pass between submission and confirmation of receipt. 

Cruise proposals received by each submission date are screened by the GPF Office for scientific content. A review panel appropriate to the portfolio of proposals submitted is then assembled for the subsequent GPF meeting, drawing on both standing GPF members and additional subject specialists. Once all formal corrections have been made, the GPF Office makes the proposal documents available to the review panel via the DFG’s elan portal. This is done no later than two months before the meeting so as to ensure sufficient time for scientific review. For these reasons (time required for the formal check, subject-specific composition of the panel based on the proposals received, timely provision of documents for review), it is generally not possible to consider cruise proposals at the subsequent meeting if they are submitted after the deadline.

The members of the review panel prepare for the meeting based on the evaluation form provided to them. Meetings are scheduled to take place over one to two days and involve discussion of the proposals in turn. The arguments are documented, summarised and coordinated with the panel by the GPF Office. Applicants then receive this summary together with the notification letter informing them of the outcome of the review (see Notification of Applicants).

In the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals, the panel’s vote constitutes a recommendation to the DFG Joint Committee; it is up to the latter to make the final decision, which is usually issued six to eight weeks after the May meeting of the review panel. 

The review is concluded with the dispatch of the notification letters. If a cruise proposal receives a positive review, it is entered in the cruise planning pool and can be scheduled by the operators. 

Cruise proposals are reviewed based on the criteria set out in detail in the GPF Guidelines for Reviewing Cruise Proposals(Download). The criteria include:

• Scientific quality, originality and relevance of the project
• Clarity of the cruise objectives and working hypotheses
• Anticipated gain in knowledge
• Quality of the work programme and its suitability for achieving the stated objectives; clear, thorough planning of the work to be done on board the vessel is essential when it comes to evaluating a cruise proposal
• Appropriateness of the requested ship time (working days at sea)
• Institutional and personnel resources available
• Applicants’ qualifications and prior achievements
• Integration of the project in international and national research programmes
• Handling of data and samples obtained during the cruise
• Appropriateness of the requested funds (SPP 2520 grant proposals only)

Approximately one to two months after a review meeting, applicants receive a notification letter from the GPF Office informing them of the outcome of the review. In the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals, the waiting time is somewhat longer due to the preparations required for the DFG Joint Committee. In the event of a positive outcome, the notification letter specifies the number of working days at sea set by the panel, the appointed chief scientist and – in the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals – the proposed funding amount. The latter is not binding until the DFG Joint Committee makes its final decision.

In the case of regular cruise proposals, the panel may request clarifications or impose conditions in the notification letter. The requested additional information and/or compliance with conditions must be set out in a separate explanatory letter; this must normally be submitted to the GPF Office within three weeks of receipt of the notification letter. The panel may also make inclusion in the cruise scheduling process contingent on certain conditions, such as approval of a related funding proposal that is still under review at the time the GPF decision is issued. The GPF Office must be informed without delay once the outcome of the other review is available. 

The DFG Joint Committee generally decides on SPP 2520 grant proposals in June/July each year. The next call for proposals is then published on the DFG website and activated on elan. Letters of rejection are sent out by the DFG at the same time. However, award letters are not issued until the beginning of the financial year, i.e. in January of the following year. The project may commence no earlier than the day after receipt of the award letter.