Important note on submitting applications
The last round of applications took place in November 2021. The programme has now closed.
The last round of applications took place in November 2021. The programme has now closed.
As security-related issues, the fading role of the state and the gradual elimination of borders are central themes in both political and scholarly debates today. "Failing states" as a safe haven for terrorists, transnational organized crime, a loss of overall legitimacy, shrinking state authority in conflict-ridden regions are the relevant keywords in this context.
There is good reason for a more fine-grained perspective, however. Current security issues are multi-faceted and dynamic, ranging from military protection to efficient public infrastructure and a viable social negotiation process. As a matter of fact, the state is not irrevocably losing ground in security-sensitive areas. In some areas of national and personal security, state authority and sound governmental practice are more important than ever.
The "Security, Society and the State" research programme reflects these contradictory trends. It targets new security-related issues that are prime examples of the post-Cold-War era but have been largely neglected in mainstream research. The programme is intended to encourage junior scholars to pursue unconventional research agendas that are nonetheless crucial, while providing senior scholars with the opportunity to focus intensively on work in progress for a limited period. Moreover, the objective is to combine basic theoretical research with concepts that are applicable to present-day political issues of security policy.
The Foundation's Board of Trustees decides on the applications on the basis of recommendation by an International Advisory Committee.
Prof. Dr. J. Peter Burgess | Paris
Prof. Dr. Christopher Daase | Frankfurt/Main
Prof. Dr. Beatrice Heuser | Glasgow
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Seibel | Konstanz
Prof. Dr. I. William Zartman | Washington D.C.
The research programme addresses scholars of all disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Types of funding include grants for research scholarships and research projects. PhD scholarships are only granted in connection with a research project. Research projects should be closely related to one or more of the five fields of research.
Traditionally security is regarded as a technical problem with primarily technological solutions: advanced weaponry, complex surveillance systems, and huge data bases seek to identify and neutralise threats in order to prevent them from becoming a reality. However, security technologies often have ambiguous consequences. Thus, new approaches see actors under threat as essentially involved both in the creation of their own insecurity and in its reduction or elimination.
Research proposals are invited on the relation between the security of societies and the technological measures that are implemented in order to assure it. Possible research topics will explore the links between the security of societies and states, and the technological innovations that impact both the threats they confront and their means to dealing with them: cyber-security, surveillance, biometric identification, information exchange, critical infrastructure protection, CBRN and bio-security, and crisis management, among others.
The physical security of humans and objects is fostered by the public administration of order and the government provision of services. The loss of the state's monopoly on the legitimate use of force in relation to the military and the police does not automatically translate into a collapse of public order, as is illustrated by the provision of administrative and social services by armed groups in civil war societies. However, security gaps also occur in stable democracies with powerful governmental and administrative apparatuses due to political or economic counterincentives to effective control, a lack of inter-agency cooperation, or ignorance as regards warning signals. The "Public Policy and Human Security" research field is designed to promote research devoted to the performance or failure of public administration outside the military and law enforcement services in relation to the state's security-sensitive functions.
Traditional civil society structures in crisis-ridden and post-conflict regions may exert either a facilitating or a restrictive influence on processes of conflict resolution and sustainable peace building. Whether the co-existence of democracy, autocracy and various types of traditional institutions such as chief systems or consensual systems foster or threaten peaceful civil life is a moot point. It makes a substantial difference as regards the re-stabilization of conflict-ridden regions whether the relationship between indigenous traditional and modern Western political institutions is regarded as tense, mutually paralyzing or possibly complementary. The "Conflict Resolution between the State and Traditional Actors" research field is designed to sponsor research that focuses on the interdependency of the two domains with the aim to develop realistic concepts of security policy.
Governmental and non-governmental actors (including media) find themselves in an ambiguous relationship, often fraught with tension, when it comes to securing key functions of the state and its administrative infrastructure. On the one hand, as agenda setters non-governmental actors have become serious competitors of nation states and their governments even at the international level. On the other, they also may act as vital sponsors of security provision in areas such as human rights protection, migration policy or the containment of intra-state violence and post-civil-war reconstruction in lieu of a governmental agency unable or unwilling to assume responsibility. By contrast to governmental actors, however, non-governmental actors are exposed to incentives to 'stay in business' as experienced conflict managers. The "Non-Governmental Actors as Partners and Contenders of the State" research field is designed to promote research focusing on the interaction of the productive and the precarious side of security-sensitive activities of non-governmental actors.
The gap between strategic principles and their implementation is a notorious problem in security policy. While current scholarly and political debates focus extensively on the interpenetration of international and domestic security issues as well as the insufficient implementation of related policies within the framework of multi-lateral arrangements and national security doctrines, the degree to which such doctrine formation is appropriate tends to get neglected. What characterizes the interlinkages of "internal" and "external" security and how they vary internationally is as much a moot question as is how processes of doctrine formation actually evolve and how mutual learning among various schools of thought is organized. The "Security and Communciation Strategies between Doctrine Formation and Implementation" research field is designed to promote research targeting the ambiguous nature of the linkages of international and domestic security and the resulting doctrine formation in and its interaction with the practice of security policy.
Publishing aid is currently only awarded to especially successful projects already being supported by the Foundation. Please include the following documents:
A copy of the (preliminary) PhD certificate should be included in proposals submitted for the publication of PhD theses supported by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
Dr. Lotje de Vries, Wageningen (the Netherlands)
Everyday Statehood at the Geopolitical Margin: Social stability despite chronic political crises?
Prof. Dr. Haakon Andreas Ikonomou, Kopenhagen (Denmark)
European Security in a Changing World: General disarmament between international organization & state sovereignty, 1890s-1930s
Prof. Dr. Akos Kopper, Budapest (Hungary)
State Powers and Critizens’ Challenging Authority in Times of Emergency - Security at Times of the Exception
Dr. Reinoud Leenders, London (United Kingdom)
The ‘shadow of hierarchy’: how states manage non-state armed groups. A comparative study of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan
Dr. Vera Michlin-Shapir, Oxford (United Kingdom)
Russia’s Uses of Ontological Insecurity in Social Media Campaigns in 2016-2020
Prof. Dr. Judith Miggelbrink, Dresden (Germany)
Protein Matters: Securitizing Zoonoses in the EU and the US
Dr. Sabah Mofidi, Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
Studying Changes in Political Identity of Kurdish Immigrants in Western Europe (with a focus on Iranian Kurdish Immigrants in France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands)
Dr. Eitan Oren, London (United Kingdom)
Governing The Futures? A Comparative Analysis of British, Japanese, and Singaporean Futures Strategic Assessments, 1997-2021.
Dr. Daniel Rickenbacher, Basel (Switzerland)
The Swiss Authorities and Political Islam – Between Securitization and Diplomaticization
Dr. Romborah Simiyu, Nairobi (Kenia)
The role of traditonal institutions in peacebuilding: The case of the Laibon in Mt. Elgon region, Western Kenya
Prof. Dr. Sinisa Vukovic, Washington (USA)
Approximating the Optimal Negotiating Behavior of Terrorist Groups
Dr. Irene Costantini, Napoli (Italy)
Traditional civil society, non-governmental, state and international actors in the reconstruction of Mosul: assessing coexistence, complementarity and competition
Dr. Alessio Iocchi / Dr. Edoardo Baldaro, Napoly/Pisa (Italy)
When Chiefs Fall Apart: Traditional Leaders, Conflict-Solving and the State in Mali and Chad
Dr. Ana Nichita Ivasiuc, Marburg (Germany)
The Rise of Informal Policing in Europe: Security, Space, State
Dr. Pavel Kostogryzov, Ekaterinburg (Russia)
Local communities as agents of governance and security in Andean countries: supporting or contesting the sovereignty of the State?
Dr. Elena Krsmanovic, Utrecht (Netherlands)
Journalism as a Security Threat – Practice and Implications of Journalism Securitisation in Western Balkan Countries (SRB, MNE, CRO)
Prof. Dr. Markus-Michael Müller / Markus Hochmüller, Roskilde (Denmark) / Oxford (United Kingdom)
Colombian Lessons? Assessing the Practical and Normative Consequences of Latin American South-South Security Cooperation
Dr. Rune Saugmann, Tampere (Finland)
Digital visual security: the role of networked digital images in contemporary security
Dr. Barbara Sutton, Albany, NY (USA)
Fashion of Fear: Bodies, Inequality, and Security
Dr. Ori Swed, Lubbock (USA)
Getting Terrorism Off the Ground: Determinants and Differentials of Drone Adoption by Violent Nonstate Actors
Dr. Johannes Thumfart, Brüssel (Belgium)
Five Fundamental Challenges to State Sovereignty in the Digital Age: A Descriptive and Normative Analysis
Prof. Dr. Tobias Berger / Dr. Karoline Eickhoff (Berlin, Germany)
Security Doctrines in a Changing World: Comparing Western and Asian Policy Strategies towards Africa
Prof. Dr. Margaret Anne Brown / Dr. Volker Heinrich Boege / Dr. Charles Hunt (Melbourne, Australia)
Mali and Bougainville: new perspectives on international engagement in complex, heterogeneous security environments
Dr. Giulia Cimini (Neapel, Italy)
Security for whom? Reshaping notions of state legitimacy for a new social contract: the role of political parties in post-2011 Tunisia and Morocco
Dr. Eugenio Cusumano (Leiden, Netherlands)
Maritime Rescue. International Norm Contestation and Seaborne Migrations across the Mediterranean
Dr. Jaideep Gupte (Brighton, Great Britain)
Governing the ungovernable: understanding the space-violence relationship through an interrogation of municipal functioning
Dr. Machiko Kanetake (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Export Control of Human Rights Sensitive Surveillance Technologies: Conceptual and Policy Implications
Dr. Hye-Sung Kim (Rock Hill, USA)
Identifying Causal Mechanisms of Ethnic Conflict among Pastoral Communities in Northern Kenya
Dr. Jimam Timchang Lar (Jos, Nigeria)
Security, Plurality and Mobility: The State, Borderlands and Ground-Level Dynamics on the Nigerian-Nigerien and the Nigerian-Cameroonian Frontiers
Dr. Bernhard Reinsberg (Glasgow, Great Britain)
The human security implications of market-liberalizing policy reforms by the International Monetary Fund
Dr. Younes Saramifar (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
(In)Security, Ecological Crisis and Use of Religious discourses (SECUR): Environmental citizenship, securitization of nature and nonstate actors in Iran and Afghanistan
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wagner / Dr. Falk Ostermann (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Politicization of Security Policy in Comparative Perspective
Dr. James Worrall (Leeds, Great Britain)
Dancing with Devils: How do Militaries Integrate Understandings of Militias and Rebel Groups into Counterinsurgency (COIN) Doctrine?
Dr. Berenice Boutin (Den Haag, Netherlands)
Conceptual and Policy Implications of Increasingly Autonomous Military Technologies for State Responsibility under International Law
Prof. Dr. Rachel Bowen (Columbus, USA)
The Effects of Legal and Social Supports for Women Victims of Crime in Central
Dr. Sandra Brunnegger (Cambridge, Great Britain)
Peace-building: Demobilizing Conflict among Colombia’s Indigenous
Dr. Sajjad Faraji Dizaji (Teheran, Iran)
Economic Sanctions and Conflict Resolution
Dr. Philippe Mamadou Frowd (Ottawa, Canada)
Security pluralism and the constitution of political authority in West Africa
Prof. Dr. Lars Gerhold (Berlin, Germany)
The Social Construction of Security Technologies. From multiple meanings to a binary code: An ethnographic case study in the construction of security within scientific research labs
Prof. Dr. Brandon Kinne (Davis, USA)
Managing Nontraditional Security Threats through Bilateral Cooperation
Dr. Timothy Legrand (Adelaide, Australia)
Tackling Transnational Threats: the Architecture of Anglosphere Security Network Collaboration
Dr. Ana Isabel Lopez Garcia (Hamburg, Germany)
Migrants’ Electoral Responses to Drug-Related Violence in Mexico
Dr. Rory Miller (Doha, Qatar)
Informal Security Alliances in the Arab and Muslim World: Managing Conflict in a Multilateral Context
Dr. Tilman Musch (Bayreuth, Germany)
The Tubu Teda's customary law, its contribution to stability in the Niger-Chad-Libya borderlands and legal heterarchy. A citizen-science approach
Dr. Veronika Nagy (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Virtual asylum- Hiding Refugees from the all-seeing Eye of Europe
Prof. Dr. Simon Reich (Newark, USA)
Comparative Grand Strategies in the 21st Century: Formulating a New Research Program Linking Doctrine to Implementation
Prof. Dr. Solveig Richter (Erfurt, Germany)
Building a Legitimate Post-Conflict State? An Empirical Analysis of External Peace Missions and Informal Power Networks
Dr. Nataliia Slobodian (Warschau, Poland)
National security through the eyes of youth in Germany, Poland, Ukraine. New challenges: Person - State - Region
Dr. Rebecca Tapscott (Genf, Switzerland)
States of (In)security: State fragility, regime longevity and arbitrary governance in Uganda
Dr. Roos van der Haer (Leiden, Netherlands)
Lasting Wounds? The Immaterial Legacy of Conflict for Children
Prof. Dr. Shahram Akbarzadeh (Melbourne, Australia)
State and Society in Iran: Identity and the Securitisation of Minority Policies
Dr. Charlotte Cross (Milton Keynes, Great Britain)
Security and Africa's 'Mobile Revolution': Social and Political Dimensions of Cyber Security in Tanzania
Dr. Sara de Simone (Triest, Italy)
Human security among South Sudanese self-settled refugees in Uganda: strategies of access to basic services
Prof. Dr. Jean-François Y. Deluchey (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Law Enforcement Agencies and the Death of Peripheral Youth in the Brazilian Amazon State of Pará
PD Dr. Emmanuel Droit (Berlin, Germany)
Historicizing the Airport Security Dispostive: on the emergence of the securitized subject (1970-2016)
Dr. Nina Engwicht / Dr. Sascha Werthes (Koblenz-Landau, Germany)
Transforming Conflict-Economies: Natural Resource Sector Reform and Human Security
Dr. Ofer Fridman (Reading, Great Britain)
The Russian Way of War: A History of Russian Strategic Thought from the Napoleonic Wars to Today
Dr. Demet Mousseau (Orlando, FL, USA)
The Victimization and Human Rights Violations of Women and Children in the Kurdish Armed Conflict in Turkey
Dr. Ulrich Petersohn (Liverpool, Great Britain)
The impact of mercenaries and PMSCs on civil war dynamics
Dr. Max Schaub (Mailand, Italy)
Patterns of cooperation in the aftermath of violence: the 2010 Osh riots in Kyrgyzstan
Dr. Olivier Schmitt (Odense, Denmark)
Learning from Afghanistan
Dr. Marcus Gijsbertus Hendrikus Schoonderbeek (Delft, Netherlands)
Securing Democratic Society. State Policies, Technological Surveillance and Spatial (Cross-)Boundary Practices
Dr. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
Negotiating Development, Imagining Communities: Towards Local Solutions to Land Conflicts Among Ethnic Communities and State Authorities in Thailand
Dr. Chris van der Borgh / Dr. Alexandra Abello Colak (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Local state-society transformations and everyday security provisioning in Medellín and San Salvador
Prof. Dr. Erika Weinthal / Prof. Dr. Jeannie Sowers (Durham, NC, USA)
Targeting Environmental Infrastructures: Water, Energy, and Civilians in the New Middle Eastern Wars
Prof. Dr. Severine Autesserre (New York, NY, USA)
International Peacebuilding and Local Success: Assumptions, Myths, and Reality
Dr. Souhail Belhadj (Genf, Switzerland)
Opportunities and Obstacles facing Political Decentralization in Tunisia: Security Provision and Local State Authority in a Time of Transition
Dr. Sandra Brunnegger (Princeton, NJ, USA)
Securing the Peace? An indigenous community’s experience in Colombia
Dr. Asebe Regassa Debelo (Zürich, Switzerland)
Violence and Security Predicaments at the Margins of the State:The Case of Ethiopia-Kenya and Ethiopia-South Sudan Borders
Prof. Dr. David Dunn / Dr. Christopher Wyatt (Birmingham, Great Britain)
Nefarious Criminal and Terrorist Uses of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Dr. David Ehrhardt (Leiden, Netherlands)
Anachronisms in conflict: Explaining conflict resolution capabilities of traditional rulers in Nigeria
Dr. Rafael Fernandez de Castro (Mexico City, Mexico)
Building on Sand? Mexico's Security Institutional Design in the Context of the War on Drugs 2000-2015
Dr. Ofer Fridman (Reading, Great Britain),
American vs. Russian Views on ‘Hybrid Warfare’ and Its Politicization in the Context of the Ukrainian Crises
Prof. Dr. Gunther Hellmann (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Between Necessity and Possibility. The Challenge of Crafting Security Strategies
Dr. J. Olaf Kleist / Dr. Serhat Karakayali (Osnabrück, Germany)
Volunteering for Refugees in Europe: Civil Society, Solidarity, and Forced Migration along the Balkan Route amid the failure of the Common European Asylum System
Dr. Costas Laoutides / Dr. Anthony Ware (Melbourne, Australia)
Analysis of the causes, nature and capacities for peace in Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim—Rakhine Buddhist conflict
Prof. Dr. Tetiana Maliarenko (Uppsala, Sweden)
Strengthening Democratic Security Governance and the Rule of Law in Donbas: Civil-Military Cooperation and the Management of Current and Future Threats in Conflict-Affected Territories of Ukraine
Prof. Dr. Simon Reich (Newark, NJ, USA)
Turbulent Seas: US Strategic Doctrine and Multilateral Naval Operations in the 21st Century
PD Dr. Kerstin Rosenow-Williams / Dr- Katharina Behmer (Bochum, Germany)
Human Security Standards in Germany's Refugee Regime
Prof. Dr. Sten Rynning (Odense, Denmark)
Can NATO Learn Afghan Lessons? A Comparative Investigation of Multilateral Political-Military Change
Prof. Dr. Anne-Marie Brady (Christchurch, New Zealand)
China's Polar Strategy: Security, resources and science
Dr. Kai Chen (Hangzhou, China)
Comparative Study of Child Soldiering in Thailand and Myanmar
Dr. Noah Coburn (Bennington, USA)
Security, Transnationalism and Intervention: Exploring the Role of Security Contractors and Other Non-State Actors Following the Conflict in Afghanistan
Dr. Maggie Dwyer (Edinburgh, Great Britain)
Soldiering in Africa: New Roles, New Challenges
Dr. Philip Thomas Adrian Dyson (Egham, Great Britain)
Organising for Counterinsurgency: The Adaptation of Stabilisation and Counterinsurgency Doctrine in NATO
Dr. Senia Febrica (Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Securitization of Indonesia’s Maritime Borders: Outsourcing of Border Security to Militarized Non-Governmental Organizations
Dr. Catarina Frois (Lissabon, Portugal)
Human Security in Prison: Perspectives, Subjectivities and Experiences. A Contribution to the Anthropology of Security
Prof. Dr. Kristian Skrede Gleditsch / Dr. Florian Kern (Colchester, Great Britain)
Traditional Actors and Federal State Authorities in Interaction: Explaining Patterns of Security and Conflict Across American Indian Reservations
Dr. Adam Higazi (Cambridge, Great Britain)
Traditional and religious authorities on the Jos Plateau, central Nigeria: an analysis of their status, local influence, and responses to insecurity
Dr. Ulrike Krause (Marburg, Germany)
Global Refugee Protection and Local Refugee Engagement. Scope and Limits of the Agency of Refugee-led Community-based NGOs
Prof. Dr. Anne Kubai (Uppsala, Sweden)
Kenya: A country caught between opportunity and insecurity
Dr. Andrew Monaghan (London, Great Britain)
Towards Russian Mobilization: From a Nation in Arms to a Nation Armed?
Prof. Dr. Mark Ungar (New York. USA)
The State and Security Policy: Central America in International Context
Dr. Hazel Cameron (St Andrews, Great Britain)
YOUR elephant destroyed MY crops. Natural Resources as a focal point of conflict and a medium of resolution between the state and traditional authorities in Zimbabwe
Dr. Alexander De Juan / Dr. Jan Pierskalla (Hamburg, Germany)
The Territorial Dynamics of Colonial State-Building
Prof. Dr. Bill Durodie (Victoria, Canada)
The Politics of Warning - Dynamics of Fatigue and Complacency
Prof. Dr. Isabelle Duyvesteyn / Prof. Dr. Georg Frerks (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Rebel Governance: Post-Conflict Life Under Non-State Rule
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Elischer (Lüneburg, Germany)
Salafism in the Sahel: State Strategies and Their Consequences
Prof. Dr. Romy Fröhlich / Dr. Christian Baden (München, Germany)
Imag(in)ing conflict and its resolution: The role of the media imagery for shaping the image of violent conflict and peace building
Dr. Togzhan Kassenova (Washington, USA)
Farewell to Nuclear Weapons: The Story of Kazakhstan
Dr. Cherry Leonardi (Durham, Great Britain)
Land governance and conflict resolution in South Sudan
Dr. Christophe Paulussen (Den Haag, Netherlands)
The Cyber Warfare Manual: A First Appraisal
Dr. Didier Peclard (Bern, Switzerland)
Security, Rebel Governance and the State in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (2006-2013)
Dr. Adam White (York, Great Britain)
The Demobilisation of Private Military Contractors
Prof. Dr. Sarah Brooks (Columbus, Ohio, USA)
Insecure Democracy: Risk and Political Engagement in South Africa
Prof. Dr. James Carson (Kingston, Canada)
Indigenous Europe
Dr. Aschot Manutscharjan (Köln, Germany)
Russia's military doctrines and security strategies after the East-West Conflict (1991-2012)
Prof. Dr. Norbert Oberauer (Münster, Germany)
Legal Pluralism in Muslim Context: Conflict Regulation in Muslim Communities on the Basis of Customary and Islamic Law and its Relation to their Legal Environment
Dr. Coralie Pison Hindawi (Beirut, Lebanon)
Knowledge Production and Doctrine Formation in the Security Sector: Deconstructing narratives in the case of Iraq
Dr. Martin Steinwand / Dr. Nils Metternich (Stony Brook, USA)
Who joins and who fights? A unified network approach to predict collaboration and competition between ethnic groups
Prof. Dr. Robert Trager (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Fairness and the Construction of Conflict
Dr. Frederic Volpi (St. Andrews, Great Britain)
Tunisia as a "secure state": Salafism and post-revolutionary politics in the aftermath of Arab authoritarianism
PD Dr. Stefan Willer / PD Dr. Benjamin Bühler (Berlin, Germany)
Security and the Future: A Cultural Studies Approach
Dr. Henrik Breitenbauch (Kopenhagen, Denmark)
Security Strategies as New Western Security Administration
Dr. Jennifer Burrell (Albany, NY, USA)
Securing Futures: Security, Democracy and the Limits of the State in a Mayan Community
PD Dr. Hendrik Fenz (Freiburg, Germany)
Sulh-Mandatory conflict settlements in and between traditional and modern elites: The case of Iraqi-Kurdistan
Dr. Murod Ismailov (Bischkek, Kyrgyzstan)
Uzbek 'Mahalla': Catalyst for Order and Security in Central Asia
Jorrit Kamminga (Valencia, Spain)
Public Security in Medellín: Building Human Security through Social Transformation of the Youth
Prof. Dr. Stefan Kaufmann (Freiburg, Germany)
Organizing Resilience: The Reconfiguration of Emergency Response in Germany
Prof. Dr. Oleg Leibovich (Perm, Russia)
Discourses and practices of Russian non-governmental organizations in the socio-political conflicts, 2011-2012, in a large privincial city
Dr. Walter Posch (Berlin, Germany)
The Security Apparatus of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Dr. Ruba Salih / Dr. Sophie Richter-Devroe (London, Great Britain)
Palestinian Refugees' Strategies of Conflict Resolution: Rconciling Citizenship Rights and Return
Mark Sedra (Waterloo, Canada)
Non-State Security Providers and Political Formation in Conflict-Affected States
Thomas Podranski, M.A.
Head of Research Scholarships and Special Programmes
podranski@gerda-henkel-stiftung.de
Can I apply for a research project also if I have not received my PhD yet?
No. Applications for research projects can be made by universities, other research institutes or comparable institutions as well as by one or several Postdocs or scholars with Post Doctoral Lecture Qualification. It is necessary to provide a (preliminary) PhD certificate.
Can I apply with one and the same research project for support from several of the Foundation’s programmes?
A simultaneous application with different research projects is in principle possible as long as no scholarship is earmarked for the applicant him/herself.
Are foreign academics allowed to apply for funding programmes?
The funding activities concentrate basically on German and foreign academics in the fields of historical humanities. Candidates can apply regardless of their nationality and place of work.
In which languages does the Foundation correspond?
German and English.
Should application documents and references be submitted in English or German?
For the funding initiative Forced Migration, proposals will only be accepted in English language.
Are there formal requirements on how the application documents should be compiled?
The project description should not be longer than 8 pages. Documents should have at least font size 11 and line spacing 1.5. Please read carefully all instructions in the section general references.
Are there any substantial requirements for the structure or form of the description of the research project?
No, there are no substantive requirements. Applicants for a research scholarship should make sure that in addition to the content presentation, information on the method, the state of research, the sources and research relevance are included in the description, especially if the transcript of the study is in the foreground.
Should the proposal include a detailed list of publications or is it enough to note the cited references in footnotes? Is an additional list of publications with for the project relevant references necessary?
It is sufficient to note the references of the proposal in footnotes. A list of publications with for the project relevant references can but must not be submitted.
What should my working plan and schedule include?
They should include detailed information about the work stages planned for the period of funding, including research trips and their planned duration.
Can I apply for financing for my own post instead of a research grant?
No. The Foundation is not providing funding for posts at research institutions.
Can project staff be funded via posts?
No. Project staff can only be financed by doctoral or research grants. A fundamental precondition for a grant is that project staff conduct their own research, which is published under their name.
What do you require for travel and material expenses claims?
We require a list of costs with each individual expense in as much detail as possible. Please have a look at the information provided under http://www.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/calculation_travel-material-expenses.
Does the Foundation pay for childcare during the period for which a stipend is awarded?
Foundation stipend holders working on Ph.D. or research projects receive a family grant on presentation of the child’s/children’s birth certificate(s). The grant is paid for children who have not yet turned 18.
What is the Foundation’s policy is a stipend holder becomes a parent during the period for which a stipend is awarded?
The period of support for Foundation stipend holders working on Ph.D. or research projects can be extended by up to 12 months if the holder becomes a parent during the period covered by the stipend and has an entitlement to maternity or parental leave. Individual arrangements must be discussed with the Foundation’s administrative office.
Does the Foundation cover overhead costs?
No, the Foundation does not cover overhead costs.
Can anyone request funding for printing?
Publishing aid can only be claimed for projects which are already receiving funding from the Gerda Henkel Foundation. However, not all projects will be awarded funding for printing as the current budget for publishing aid is extremely limited.
Does the Foundation sponsor individual journeys to participate in scientific conferences?
At present travel expenses are only paid for larger research projects or PhD and research scholarships. Funding applications for independent trips to participate in conferences/congresses are in principle not considered.
Can I change anything in my electronic application form after having sent it to the Foundation?
No, that is not possible. Please inform us about any differing information when sending us your application documents or fill out a new application form and let us know you have sent a new form in a short note or email.
Does the Foundation provide reasons for refusing applications?
The Academic Committee’s deliberations are confidential so the Foundation does not provide detailed reasons for refusals.
Can I continue to work during the time of my scholarship?
No, the simultaneous receipt of salary and a scholarship is not possible.
Can I continue to draw a retirement pension during the time of my scholarship?
No, the simultaneous receipt of a retirement pension and a scholarship is not possible.
In which case can I apply for an overseas bonus?
Should a recipient of a scholarship leave the country of her/his principal residence and spend more than four weeks abroad for research purposes, the Foundation shall grant a flat-rate overseas bonus. This should be seen as an extension to the scholarship, intended to cover the extra costs of food and accommodation. The Foundation shall not cover any accommodation costs for that period if an overseas bonus has been granted.
Can I apply for funding of college or tuition fees?
No, the Foundation does not cover college or tuition fees.
If I am given a doctoral grant, do I have to start my doctorate immediately?
Doctorates must be started within twelve months of the grant being agreed.
Can I apply for a research scholarship when I have not yet finished my PhD?
No. Applications for research scholarships can only be made by Postdocs or scholars with Post Doctoral Lecture Qualification.
Do the criteria also apply to the special programme "Security, Society and the State" and the two funding programmes "Democracy" and "Lost Cities"?
No, the criteria only apply to applications for a general research scholarship.
What is the definition for "Post Doctoral Lecture Qualification"?
The higher grant rate is approved after successful conclusion of the professorial examinations (habilitation) process and/or alternatively at the earliest after positive interim evaluation for a junior professorship. For applicants from academic systems that do not envisage habilitations, the Foundation recognizes holding a tenured position as an associate professor or as a full professor or distinguished professor (in the US system) or as a senior lecturer or as a reader/professor (in the Commonwealth system) as an equivalent of passing junior professorial examinations. The administration of the Foundation can in individual cases assess other national qualification levels.
What should I do once I have received the letter of approval?
Please let us know by postmail whether you accept the grant and the terms of appropriation. If you do accept, please also supply your current bank details and include when you wish payments to start. Please note that all credit transfers and standing orders are being switched over to the pan-European SEPA system. Instead of a bank sort code and account number, the Foundation requires the IBAN and BIC details. You will find the corresponding information on your account statement and possibly on your bank card.
What are my obligations if I accept the funding?
You must inform the Foundation of any changes which have a bearing on the payment of the grant or the amount paid. Teaching positions and other employment must be agreed with the Foundation if they exceed an average of 5 hours a week.
Can I work during the grant period?
Yes, as long as the employment does not exceed an average of five hours a week.
How should references be made to the Foundation in my work?
We ask that the Foundation be mentioned in any publications that arise from the funded project. The Foundation should also be included in the imprint of any publications for which publishing aid was supplied. For other media, such as conference posters or flyers, please use the logo available on our website. Please also mention the Foundation at events and in any contact with journalists (e.g. via your university’s press office), including in any press releases.
Can the grant or parts thereof be used for other purposes?
No. The grant is only to be used for the purposes detailed in the letter of approval.
Can grants be transferred to overseas accounts?
Yes. Please supply your SWIFT/BIC code and IBAN. We would however prefer to make transfers to a German account.
Do I have to take out insurance if I am awarded a grant or does the Foundation cover those costs?
As grant recipients are not technically employed by the Foundation, national insurance contributions are not paid. The Foundation recommends that all grant recipients take out medical insurance. No additional funding is available for these costs.
What kind of information about my bank account do I have to submit?
Please note that all credit transfers and standing orders are being switched over to the pan-European SEPA system. Instead of a bank sort code and account number, the Foundation requires the IBAN and BIC details. You will find the corresponding information on your account statement and possibly on your bank card. Please send us these details or submit them with your next invoice.
Do original receipts have to be sent?
Generally yes. Should third parties need the originals for billing purposes (e.g. university offices), please submit copies and ensure that the originals are held for at least ten years in case they need to be checked.
Will my family’s costs be reimbursed for research trips?
No. These must be covered by the grant recipient.
What is the phone number for Henkel AG & Co. KgaA in Düsseldorf?
+49 (0)211 7970