Grant Agency for Research and Innovation IEB CAS (GAVI)

Return Grants

The Grant Agency for Research and Innovation of the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (GAVI) is an internal grant agency established exclusively for employees of the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IEB CAS). The establishment of GAVI was initiated in January 2026 in connection with the launch of the Back2Science project (registration No. CZ.02.01.01/00/24_037/0013771).

The main mission of GAVI is the announcement and administration of Return Grants (RGs), which are designed to systematically support the return of researchers to active scientific careers after a career interruption.

By introducing return support schemes, the IEB CAS responds to a real and well-documented need to prevent the disadvantage of researchers following career breaks, which often lead to disruptions in professional trajectories and, in extreme cases, to permanent departure from the research environment.

The objective of the Return Grants is to create conditions for a smooth and sustainable return to scientific work after a career interruption caused, for example, by maternity or parental leave, long-term illness, or caregiving responsibilities for a close family member.

Planned Calls for the Submission of Grant Applications:

1. Call planned for the period from 2 March to 12 April 2026 (30-month Return Grant)
2. Call planned for the period from 2 March to 12 April 2027 (24-month Return Grant)

Call for the Submission of Grant Applications - Return Grants (RG)

Application Submission Period: 2 March – 12 April 2026

Applicants may submit a Grant Application for a 30‑month Return Grant, with the project implementation starting from 1 July 2026.

The maximum funding amount of a Return Grant is CZK 7,604,483.

Eligibility – Who May Apply for a Return Grant

Applications may be submitted by a junior researcher (including PhD candidates) or a senior researcher, provided that the applicant:

is an employee of the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IEB), and

meets all of the following eligibility criteria:

Eligibility Criteria

a) At the date of submission of the Grant Application, the applicant
– is enrolled in a doctoral study programme, or
– has successfully completed doctoral studies in the past and holds a Ph.D. degree or its equivalent,

and simultaneously

b) is currently on a career break, such as maternity or parental leave, long‑term illness, or long‑term caregiving for a child or a close family member,

or

c) no more than 12 months have elapsed between the end of the applicant’s career break and the date of submission of the Grant Application.

During a career break, the researcher may simultaneously perform research and development activities under an employment contract with IEB up to a maximum of 0.3 FTE per month on average, calculated over the number of months worked.
At the same time, the researcher’s research and development workload must not exceed 0.5 FTE in any individual month during the career break.

Eligible Costs of the Return Grant

1. Personnel Costs
   1. Salaries – Principal Investigator, mentor, members of the support team
   2. Allowance – Contribution towards childcare or care for a close family member
2. Travel Costs – Outgoing research mobility
3. Services
   1. Training – Professional training of the Principal Investigator
   2. Open Access – Open access publication fees

A detailed cost calculation tool for eligible costs is published on the IEB intranet.
Submission of the Grant Application requires the approval of 10% co‑funding by the Head of the applicant’s laboratory.

Project Team and Implementation Requirements

The FTE of the Principal Investigator may range from 0.5 to 1.0 FTE for the entire duration of the Return Grant.

Mandatory involvement of a mentor up to a maximum of 0.2 FTE: 

• for junior researchers: minimum 0.15 FTE,
• for senior researchers: minimum 0.10 FTE.

An auxiliary support team may be established: 

• up to 4 team members,
• the combined workload may not exceed 2.0 FTE per month over the entire project duration,
• all support team members must be employees of IEB.

Mandatory mobility of the Principal Investigator lasting 1–6 months.

Mandatory professional training of the Principal Investigator, including training in team leadership, grant proposal preparation, management skills, and related areas.

Applicants may request a contribution towards childcare or care for a close family member.

Required Outputs

During the project implementation or within one year after its completion, the applicant must deliver at least:

• 2 contributions at scientific events,
• 1 publication resulting from the supported project,
• 1 scholarly publication (e.g. letters, reviews, or proceedings papers),
• 1 international grant application,
• 2 national grant applications.

In addition, the grant holder is required to submit progress reports, timesheets, and full financial statements every six months.

Complete information and all documents required for the submission of Grant Applications and subsequent project implementation will be soon available on the IEB intranet.

Contact: 

Email: gavi@ueb.cas.cz

Address:

Grantová agentura pro výzkum a inovace ÚEB AV ČR (GAVI)

Ústav experimentální botaniky AV ČR 

Rozvojová 263 

165 00 Praha 6