What is the goal of collaboration projects?

Collaboration projects within Text+ aim to expand the service portfolio of Text+. Text+ is open to new offerings and collaborators, not limiting itself to the offerings of initial partners. It can integrate additional data, services, and resources as part of its infrastructure. Applicants can become part of the Text+ network, participate in further infrastructure development, and benefit from ongoing developments.

If a proposal for a collaboration project is not funded in one year, can the proposal be resubmitted in a later round? Can a proposal be submitted in subsequent rounds if funding was not possible earlier?

Certainly. During the project evaluation, a priority list of proposals is established, which can be approved until the respective budget for a funding round is exhausted. This does not necessarily mean that a project not funded in one year is ineligible for future funding. Of course, applicants can strengthen and update their proposals before resubmission. In specific cases, discussions with the coordinators of the respective Task Areas (see “Who can be contacted before submitting the application to align the planning and conception of collaboration projects with the requirements of Text+?” under the “Application Process” section) should be initiated.

Who can apply? Can students/Ph.D. candidates/initiatives submit an application?

Eligible applicants are departments and working groups who are not financially supported by Text+, but who meet the criteria laid down in the DFG funding guidelines for the NFDI (Section III (1), see https://www.dfg.de/formulare/nfdi100/nfdi100_en.pdf). Individual researchers and consortia of researchers (e.g., in joint projects) can submit proposals through their university or research institution if they belong to the institutions mentioned in the DFG guidelines. Many universities and research institutions have dedicated departments dealing with research funding and third-party projects. Researchers should contact the respective department at their home institution to clarify the conditions for submitting a proposal.

Can individual applicants submit a proposal, or are only teams eligible? Can two researchers submit a proposal?

There are no specifications regarding the size of a team conducting a collaboration project. However, eligible applicants are limited to departments and working groups who are not financially supported by Text+, but who meet the criteria laid down in the DFG funding guidelines for the NFDI (Section III (1), see https://www.dfg.de/formulare/nfdi100/nfdi100_en.pdf). Individual researchers and consortia of researchers (e.g., in joint projects) can submit proposals through their university or research institution if they belong to the institutions who meet the criteria in the DFG guidelines. In specific cases, discussions with the coordinators of the respective Task Areas (see “Who can be contacted before submitting the application to align the planning and conception of collaboration projects with the requirements of Text+?” under the “Application Process” section) should be initiated.

Can researchers from other countries participate in a proposal?

Researchers from abroad can contribute significantly to some projects, ensuring expertise beyond the national perspective. Their contributions can also be expressed through support letters. Recipients of funding are bound by the DFG’s funding regulations (see https://www.dfg.de/de/verwendungsrichtlinien-bedingungen-fuer-foerdervertraege-mit-der-deutschen-forschungsgemeinschaft-e-v-dfg-ueber-konsortien-im-rahmen-der-nationalen-forschungsdateninfrastruktur-246994 ). Additionally, only applications from eligible applicants will be considered (see DFG funding guidelines for the NFDI Section III (1), https://www.dfg.de/formulare/nfdi100/nfdi100_en.pdf).

Are there further application rounds planned?

Yes, another application round for the year 2025 (funding for 2026) is planned.

What role do professional associations play in the application process?

Professional associations and alliances play a crucial role in collaboration projects. As part of the plenary assembly, they are involved in the establishment and composition of committees that prioritize proposals and accompany the announcement. Moreover, associations and alliances can support project proposals by providing their own assessments of the project proposals through support letters.

How long should the application be?

The application template includes information on page numbers for individual sections of the application. This template serves to provide a quick overview of submitted projects during the evaluation process. The page numbers also serve as indications of the extent of each section. Applicants should align with the specified page limits. In specific cases, questions can be clarified with the coordinators of the respective Task Areas (see “Who can be contacted before submitting the application to align the planning and conception of collaboration projects with the requirements of Text+?” under the “Application Process” section).

Who can be contacted before submitting the application to align the planning and conception of collaboration projects with the requirements of Text+? Applicants who can assign their project proposal to one of the domains (Collections, Lexical Resources, Editions, Infrastructure/Operations), should contact the coordinators for the relevant Text+ domains as listed below. If you cannot clearly assign your contribution, contact the coordinator of your choice; the coordinators will then decide between them who would be available as a contact person for you.

• Collections: Dr. Peter Leinen
• Lexical Resources: PD Dr. Alexander Geyken
• Editions: Prof. Dr. Andreas Speer
• Infrastructure/Operation: Prof. Dr. Philipp Wieder

Questions can also be addressed to the Text+ Office.

Will the next application round be similar to previous ones, or is there a plan to potentially specify, narrow down, or alter the application criteria or criteria for potential projects in the next round?

Based on experiences from the initial application rounds in 2022 and 2023, the criteria and their suitability will be reviewed and possibly revised for the subsequent round.

How are applications evaluated?

Applications can be assigned to a specific Task Area that corresponds to their thematic focus in advance, and applicants can seek advice during the application process. The final allocation to a Task Area for the evaluation process is carried out by the Scientific Board of Text+. Text+ conducts the evaluation process involving external evaluators and evaluators from the respective committees, who prioritize the project proposals for each Task Area. If necessary, expertise from other Task Areas may be considered, with the Operations Coordination Committee specifically examining applications for technical feasibility and integrability. Funding is granted based on the recommendations of the Text+ Scientific Board following a decision by the Text+ leadership group, taking into account all received applications and evaluations.

How extensive should the data that can be contributed within a collaboration project be?

As there are various types of data addressed by Text+, there can be no general statement such as “number of words,” “quantity of annotations,” or “file size in gigabytes.” In specific cases, discussions should be initiated with the coordinators of the respective Task Areas (see “Who can be contacted before submitting the application to align the planning and conception of collaboration projects with the requirements of Text+?” under the “Application Process” section).

Which data formats are accepted for data in collaboration projects with Text+ partners?

There is no definitive list of recommended and acceptable data formats. It is advisable to align with formats already used (and found to be suitable) by partners. There are also standard formats, such as those of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), W3C, and ISO. A general rule is that a format is easier to integrate if it aligns closely with the standard and can be easily converted into formats already used within Text+. In specific cases, discussions should be initiated with the coordinators of the respective Task Area (see “Who can be contacted before submitting the application to align the planning and conception of collaboration projects with the requirements of Text+?” under the “Application Process” section).

What does “Integration of data and services in Text+” mean?

Integration refers to measures through which data and services are made accessible to users of the Text+ infrastructure in the long term. This can be achieved, for example, by hosting the data in a repository provided by a Text+ partner. Another possibility is to operate a sustainable (certified) repository and connect it to Text+ through interfaces. Metadata is provided through respective interfaces. Integration also involves avoiding the need for post-digitization.

In the realm of software and services, integration means that other offerings from Text+ use these software and services, ensuring that the offerings are provided in Text+ in the long term. This can be achieved, for instance, by hosting the offerings at Text+ consortium partners or planning to further develop them in Text+ working groups.

If interesting data collections are discovered, how can they be made accessible via Text+? Can one suggest Text+ take care of the preparation and integration of data?

Text+ focuses on research data available in digital formats. Digitization by Text+ is currently not part of the service portfolio. If resource types are to be contributed that do not align with the focus of a Text+ data and competence center, one integration possibility is to establish a separate repository for these data types. Adopting offerings requires clarification of rights and long-term responsibilities.

What specifically does the conclusion of a cooperation agreement with the Leibniz Institute for the German Language entail?

Collaboration projects within Text+ are based on the usage guidelines of the DFG for NFDI consortia (see https://www.dfg.de/de/verwendungsrichtlinien-bedingungen-fuer-foerdervertraege-mit-der-deutschen-forschungsgemeinschaft-e-v-dfg-ueber-konsortien-im-rahmen-der-nationalen-forschungsdateninfrastruktur-246994 ). Cooperation and fund transfer in Text+ are regulated by the fund transfer and cooperation agreement, which is bilaterally concluded between the Leibniz Institute for the German Language and the respective partners. Partners conducting collaboration projects with Text+ either enter into a subcontractor agreement within the framework of the fund transfer and cooperation agreement or, if the conditions are met, become part of the Text+ consortium. The Text+ Office (office@text-plus.org) is available for questions regarding the agreement.

To which Text+ domain (Collections, Lexical Resources, Editions, Infrastructure/Operations) will a project proposal be assigned?

The structure of Text+ is based on the Task Areas of Collections, Lexical Resources, and Editions. Additionally, there is the overarching domain of “Infrastructure/Operations” (see the description at https://text-plus.org).

Which types of costs and expenses can be covered by the funding?

According to the funding guidelines of the DFG, staff expenses and direct project costs can be requested. In total, they should not exceed the amount of 65,000 euros. Capital goods (servers, computing equipment, workplaces, devices, etc.) are not eligible for funding.