Regular cruise proposals may be submitted at any time. However, if you would like your proposal is to be reviewed at a specific GPF meeting in order to enable the cruise to be scheduled in a particular season/year, the following lead times for submission must be observed:

• Cruise proposals to be reviewed at the GPF’s annual May meeting must be submitted by 31 December of the preceding year.
• Cruise proposals to be reviewed at the GPF’s annual November meeting must be submitted by 30 June of the same year.

In the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals, the deadlines published in the current SPP 2520 call(externer Link) apply. The submission deadline is usually in December each year. Late submissions are not accepted under SPP 2520. In such cases, applicants must allow for a waiting period of one year.

Please plan your submission based on the GPF meetings, which take place only twice a year, namely in May and November. When planning, you should also allow for the fact that your proposal may be rejected and have to be resubmitted. A cruise on one of the global and oceanic vessels can generally be carried out no earlier than one year after the GPF meeting at which it is reviewed. In the case of the medium-sized vessels, shorter lead times may be possible following prior consultation with the operator. It is also important to consider the submission deadlines for the meetings: these are roughly five months in advance of each meeting. This means that the lead time up until the actual implementation of a cruise is normally at least one and a half years, but it can be significantly longer, depending on logistical constraints. The operators schedule the cruises from a logistical and economic perspective, also taking into account the waiting period for cruise proposals in the planning pool.

Cruise proposals requiring funding under SPP 2520 may only be submitted in the second half of the year and are only reviewed at the GPF’s May meeting. This means that in the event of rejection and resubmission, applicants must allow for an additional year of waiting time.

Primary use refers to an expedition that generally uses a large share of the berths available to researchers; in particular the primary use determines the area in which the vessel will operate and the duration of the cruise. The primary use also determines the chief scientist of the cruise, who serves as the responsible point of contact for the operator in all matters relating to planning and carrying out the expedition. The chief scientist is responsible to the GPF for fulfilling the reporting requirements. 

In the case of secondary use, an independent research project makes use of the vacant berths not required for the primary use. Generally requiring no more than three berths (or up to ten on the POLARSTERN), secondary use is usually applied for based on the published cruise schedule or the cruises in the planning pool. In justified exceptional cases, however, proposals may also be accepted even if they cannot yet specify a particular cruise for secondary use, providing the project can be accommodated on a suitable cruise as opportunities arise. If a project submitted for secondary use is scheduled on a transit leg as the only scientific activity, for example, it is automatically classified as a primary use and must designate a chief scientist who is responsible to the GPF for reporting. As a rule, however, the researchers involved in the secondary use provide the chief scientist of the primary use with text and illustrations for the cruise report.

Yes. Researchers are only eligible to apply if they hold a doctorate or equivalent academic qualifications and are employed at a publicly funded research institution in Germany. This mainly includes universities, Helmholtz Association centres, Leibniz Association institutions, Max Planck Society institutes, and federal authorities subordinate to a ministry. Researchers employed at institutions abroad are only eligible to submit cruise proposals for secondary-use projects on board the POLARSTERN. 

Researchers on fixed-term contracts are generally eligible to apply. If fixed-term employees wish to act as chief scientist themselves, however, they must explain who would assume responsibility for reporting and for managing data and samples should their contract end earlier than expected. 

In the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals, the DFG’s eligibility rules apply.

As a rule, the principal investigator (PI) should also act as chief scientist on the cruise. If this is not possible, the proposal should clearly state who will take on the role of chief scientist and deputy chief scientist, and an explanation should be provided as to why this deviation from the principle “PI = chief scientist” rule is necessary.

Regular cruise proposals request ship time and berths for a planned expedition but do not request funding. The resources required to carry out the cruise must already be available or secured through institutional or third-party funding. Submission is possible at any time, although if you want the proposal to be reviewed at the next scheduled GPF meeting, you must submit by the relevant deadline. 

SPP 2520 grant proposals are proposals for research grants under the DFG Infrastructure Priority Programme SPP 2520 “Research Vessels”. They cover funding for a cruise-based research project, including expedition-related resources and initial analysis of the collected data and samples. See the SPP 2520 website for further details. 

SPP 2520 grant proposals are generally linked to a cruise proposal for a new expedition. The scientific objectives of the cruise must be set out in the SPP 2520 funding proposal. Since DFG research grant applications cannot capture all the information needed for reviewing and planning an expedition, a corresponding core cruise proposal must be submitted at the same time via the elan portal under Cruise Proposals. This core cruise proposal focuses particularly on the logistical work programme on board the ship. This also allows cruise-specific logistical information to be recorded in elan. These two elements – the SPP 2520 grant proposal and the corresponding core cruise proposal – are combined by the DFG Head Office into a single unit and reviewed accordingly.

The formal check of your proposal is usually carried out within two to three weeks of submission. You will then receive a confirmation of receipt from the GPF Office, and you may be asked to make formal corrections. All proposal documents are normally made available to the panel two months prior to the subsequent meeting, so any corrections need to be implemented by the applicants without delay. After the panel meeting – i.e. from the second half of May or November respectively – you may contact the GPF Office to enquire about the panel’s recommendation. The official notification letter from the GPF is sent to you and to the relevant operator about one month later. 

So the processing time includes the period between the submission date and the next submission deadline, plus the period between the submission deadline and the review meeting, plus one to two months until the dispatch of the GPF notification letter. In the case of regular cruise proposals, this amounts to at least six to seven months.

In the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals, please note that DFG award letters confirming the funding amounts cannot be issued until the start of the financial year, roughly six months after the GPF notification letters have been sent out. So the processing time for these proposals is approximately 13 months at least. Applicants and operators may begin preparatory planning as soon as the GPF notification letter has been sent out, however, which is normally after six to seven months. 

When submitting a regular cruise proposal via elan, applicants can indicate whether the cruise is part of a project which is already in receipt of funding. In this case, additional documents must be uploaded:

• A one- to two-page summary of the objectives of the externally funded project
• Confirmation by the PI of the externally funded project regarding the importance of the cruise for the success of the project
• An extract from the original proposal for the externally funded project containing the rationale for the cruise: the purpose of this is to indicate to what extent the cruise was the subject of the original review

Based on these documents, the GPF assesses whether the cruise has already undergone sufficient scientific review. If not, the GPF carries out an independent scientific review of the cruise; if a scientific review has already been carried out, the GPF focuses its evaluation on whether the requested number of working days at sea is appropriate. 

For this reason, the cruise proposal must be coherent in itself; together with the required supplementary documents, it must present the scientific objectives in a clear and comprehensible manner. It must also include a detailed work programme at sea that plausibly justifies the requested ship time.

Should the GPF conclude that a cruise proposal does not adequately meet these requirements, it may recommend rejection even if external project funding has already been awarded.

The review of cruise proposals is conducted by an international panel and the language of the review is English. For this reason, cruise proposals in German are not accepted.

The Cruise Proposal Preparation Instructions(Download) and the current templates are provided on the German Research Vessels Portal under Cruise Proposals. They are also linked in the DFG’s elan portal under Proposal Submission – New Project / Draft Proposal – Cruise Proposals for Research Vessels (GPF Procedure). Only the English version of DFG form 53.200(externer Link) may be used for CVs; it is available on the elan-Portal(externer Link). 

For SPP 2520 grant proposals, please use DFG form 53.01(externer Link) and also refer to the DFG form 50.05(externer Link) (section B) and DFG form 54.01(externer Link). These can be found on the DFG website and in the current SPP 2520 call.

Cruise proposals may only be submitted via the DFG’s elan portal under Proposal Submission – New Project / Draft Proposal – Cruise Proposals for Research Vessels (GPF Procedure). This applies to both regular cruise proposals and SPP 2520 corresponding core cruise proposals. 

SPP 2520 grant proposals must be submitted under Proposal Submission – New Project / Draft Proposal – Priority Programmes – SPP 2520 Infrastructure Area – Research Vessels. Submission of SPP 2520 grant proposals together with a corresponding core cruise proposal is only possible following a call and within the published deadline. 

The following are mandatory: completion of all required fields in the elan form; upload of the proposal document, CVs of all applicants (DFG form 53.200(externer Link)) and a map of the operating area. It is essential to use the current version of the template, without altering the structure.  

Optional documents: 

• Additional high-resolution maps
• In the event of required revisions, a letter of reply explaining how comments from the preceding review have been addressed
• Statements confirming cooperation
• Statements on the need for Marine Mammal Observers for seismic work

In the case of cruises that applicants consider to have already been reviewed as part of externally funded projects, the following must also be provided:

• A one- to two-page summary of the objectives of the externally funded project
• Confirmation by the PI of the externally funded project regarding the importance of the cruise for the success of the project
• An extract from the original proposal for the externally funded project containing the rationale for the cruise: the purpose of this is to indicate to what extent the cruise was the subject of the original review

All these documents and all entries in the elan system must be in English. 

In the case of educational cruises, an extract from the course catalogue must be submitted to illustrate why the cruise is needed as part of the degree programme. The documentation should also indicate the period of accreditation of the degree programme. 

In the case of SPP 2520 grant proposals, the DFG rules for research grants(externer Link) must be observed (e.g. regarding the submission of quotations for equipment or services).

You may submit important additional information to the GPF Office after your proposal has already undergone the formal check and any necessary corrections. Such information might include the outcomes of reviews of thematically related proposals under other funding programmes or notification of the acceptance of relevant publications. 

Other updates such as changes to the text or CVs are only possible in connection with requested formal corrections. The proposal must be complete at the time of submission. 

Generally, no. The GPF Office checks the proposal for formal errors after submission. If any are found, they are listed in the confirmation of receipt together with a request for correction. Once all errors have been corrected, the GPF Office confirms that the proposal is formally correct so that it can proceed to review. 

Processing is only discontinued after consultation with the GPF in cases of serious formal errors that applicants fail to correct in time. 

The formal check includes verification of compliance with reporting obligations in connection with previous expeditions on German research vessels. If applicants systematically fail to meet these reporting obligations, the GPF may refuse to accept new cruise proposals for processing until the reporting requirements have been fulfilled.

The GPF Office(interner Link) will be happy to assist you by e-mail or telephone in connection with all formal questions regarding proposal submission and reporting obligations. The Office also provides administrative advice on how to translate a research idea into a cruise proposal, but it does not itself provide any scientific assessment of the project’s suitability for funding. Such assessments are the responsibility of the review panel, which is made up of subject-matter experts. 

The GPF notification letter informs you of the review outcome. In the event of a positive recommendation, it also indicates the chief scientist designated by the GPF and the number of working days at sea. The operators of the vessel in question receive this information at the same time, along with the cruise proposal. From this point onwards, responsibility for incorporating the cruise in the cruise schedule lies with the operators, who will contact applicants at an appropriate time. For questions about inclusion in the cruise scheduling process after a positive review, please contact the operators(interner Link) directly. 

All data and samples collected on cruises carried out with German research vessels must be preserved in the long term in accordance with the FAIR principles and made freely accessible within a reasonable period of time after the end of the cruise. The data and sample management plan set out in the regular cruise proposal or in the SPP 2520 grant proposal is a key element of the review.

The plan must include at least the following:

• A description of the planned use of the data and samples and a list of users before the data and samples are made openly accessible.
• A list of all expected data and sample types, together with the responsible contact persons after the cruise.
• A list of the repositories to be used, specified separately for each data and sample type.
• A clear specification of the moratorium periods and publication dates for each data and sample type. Moratorium periods of more than three years require special justification.

Further information on the handling of data and samples and on how to describe these aspects in the cruise proposal is to be found in the Cruise Proposal Preparation Instructions(Download) (p. 16 and Appendix 4). These requirements also apply to SPP 2520 grant proposals: here, the relevant information is to be provided in Section 2.4 of the proposal.

Yes. Cruise proposals may be resubmitted in revised form, providing the submission deadlines are observed. In this case, changes to the original text should be highlighted. In addition, an accompanying letter in English should be included (no more than one to two pages) explaining how the comments from the previous review have been addressed. 

There are no formal restrictions regarding the maximum number of times the same project can be revised.