Networking Events

Stiftung Charité supports innovative ideas and groundbreaking concepts for scientific events. The funding of networking events is aimed at all scientists who have already been funded by Stiftung Charité through another funding program or who are currently being funded. They are generally open to grantees from all funding areas of Stiftung Charité - from Innovation to Research (including the programs of the Private Excellence Initiative Johanna Quandt from 2013 to 2022) as well as Open Life Science.

Networking Events are events that serve the scientific exchange of information and the networking of grantees of Stiftung Charité and thereby increase the impact of the funding that has already been provided or is currently ongoing. Networking events in this sense are to be distinguished according to two event formats:

• 1. a Networking Workshop is preferably directed at several grantees of the Stiftung Charité and is designed for their exchange on a specific scientific topic (e.g. workshops, retreats, summer schools, discussion formats, fireside evenings, collegial consultation).                                                                                               
• 2. a Networking Symposium has a wider circle of participants and is designed for scientific exchange on a specific scientific topic (e.g. symposia, expert talks, smaller conferences, forums). At least two grantees of Stiftung Charité organize the Networking Symposium; further grantees of Stiftung Charité are invited to the event.

A networking event can be funded to the extent of up to 20,000.00 euros. In justified exceptional cases, a higher funding amount can also be applied for. Both personnel and material resources required for the preparation, implementation and documentation of the networking event can be applied for. In general, no participation fees should be charged beyond the funding amount to finance the event.

In the case of a positive funding decision, the funding will be granted as third-party funding to the main applicant and his or her institution. The institution becomes the responsible organizer of the requested networking event and, if applicable, the employer of any persons employed with the funding. It will also administer the material funds awarded. The use of the material funds, including travel funds, is based on the rules of the institution.

Applications can be submitted by all scientists of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité) and its partner institutions who have been funded in the past or are currently funded by Stiftung Charité through one of its various program lines. An application must be submitted jointly by at least two grantees who do not work in the same organizational unit of Charité or its partner institutions. Applications from more than two grantees are strongly encouraged. One grantee acts as the main applicant.

Applications can also be submitted by employees of Charité and its partner institutions who wish to implement an event in the interest of grantees of Stiftung Charité and whose application is supported accordingly by at least two grantees who do not work in the same organizational unit of Charité or its partner institutions and act as co-applicants. One of the applying employees is to be the main applicant.

At Charité, an organizational unit is understood to be an institute or clinic. The respective applies to partner institutions of the Charité

The proposal consists of:

(a) information from the applicants about themselves and their previous funding, and

(b) an event concept for the networking event applied for including

• a description of the scientific topic and the relation to the previous funding,
• information on the date, the schedule, the chosen format (Networking Workshop or Networking Symposium) and the planned program components of the event,
• information on the planned speakers and the group of participants,
• explanation of the planned event documentation,
• information on the status of organizational preparations, and
• a budget plan.

The application should be submitted at least four months before the date on which the networking event is to be held. In order to ensure that Stiftung Charité grantees are given due consideration, consultation with Stiftung Charité should be sought prior to submitting the application.

For the evaluation of an application the following criteria are applied:

• originality and quality of the event concept,
• increasing the impact of the respective existing funding,
• effect on the networking of Stiftung Charité grantees (qualitative and quantitative scope),
• impact on the networking of the life sciences and medicine in Berlin as a whole, and
• involvement of cooperation partners.

The proposal is drawn up using the proposal form provided by Stiftung Charité.

Interested applicants are asked to first contact Stiftung Charité with their idea for a networking event before submitting an application.

Applications are submitted to Stiftung Charité. The Executive Board of the Stiftung Charité decides on the funding. If, in justified exceptional cases, funding of more than 20,000.00 euros is requested, the Board of Trustees of Stiftung Charité will decide on the funding of the application.

By submitting an application, the applicant declares that he or she has read Stiftung Charité’s grant conditions (Bewilligungsgrundsätze) as well as the program information of the program to which his or her application refers and accepts them as the legally binding basis for any funding of his or her project. Furthermore, the applicant acknowledges Stiftung Charité's standards for the realization of funded projects and data protection information (Datenschutzhinweise).

Applications can be submitted at any time. However, the application should be submitted at least four months before the date on which the networking event is to be held. In addition, interested applicants are asked to first contact Stiftung Charité with their idea for a networking event before submitting an application.