Statutes on the handling of third-party funds

In recent years, the University of Kassel has seen a strong increase in third-party funding. We have responded to the increased importance of third-party funding for the university by drawing up statutes for the handling of third-party funding.

These statutes bring together existing information (e.g. from the Hessian Higher Education Act, from binding DFG guidelines and existing internal regulations), and in particular specify

  • under which resource requirements third-party funded projects can be applied for and carried out,
  • when and how third-party funded projects must be formally notified,
  • under which circumstances externally funded projects can be implemented independently and when an internal co-Project Leader must be involved for formal reasons.

The statutes are intended to provide applicants with greater certainty as to how externally funded projects are handled at the University of Kassel and to achieve even greater efficiency on the administrative side when supporting externally funded projects.

You can view or download the third-party funding statutes under the following link (only available in German):

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Q & A

Yes, that is possible. As a postdoc, you need a field within the university that will accept you if you are successful. This usually has to be proven by a letter of support or a similar document when you submit your application to the funding organization. If you take up a professorship here, we will support you in applying for third-party funded projects at the University of Kassel from the date of your confirmation of appointment. In both cases, please contact the research support team.

Yes, you can. As a doctoral candidate, you are eligible to apply for third-party funding, regardless of whether you have your own cost center or not and even if you are employed on a temporary basis. If you have acquired the project yourself, you are considered the Project Leader. You are therefore responsible for the technical management of the project and manage the project funds accordingly, in consultation with the Third-Party Funding Management group. For reasons of university law, due to your time limit,  you will need a co-project leader who will ensure that the project can be completed properly in the event of your departure if, for any reaso, you cannot or do not wish to take the project with you. Please use this template [internal download] for setting up such a co-project management as orientation.

This is generally possible in the case of special academic achievements. The relevant doctoral committee will decide whether the requirements have been met in accordance with Section 4 (1) e) Doctoral degree regulations (AB-PromO). Please contact the Chair of the Doctoral Committee of the relevant Faculty.

Yes, this is possible. Please involve a co-project leader when you submit your application. This co-lead will take over all duties in the project when you leave active service. Before submitting the application, you and the co-project leader will determine, in a written agreement, which tasks you will continue to perform in the project after you leave. Please use this template [internal download] for setting up such a co-project management as orientation.

If you have a doctorate, you are entitled to submit applications for externally funded projects to most academic funding organizations, regardless of whether you have your own cost center at the university or not. To access your funding, you need an internal co-Project Leader (Head of Unit or member of the Dean's Office/Rectorate) on whose cost center an order for your project is set up (= a sub-account), which you can access via a corresponding written agreement to manage your project funds. Please use this template [internal download] for setting up such a co-project management as orientation.

No and yes: For administrative purposes, the university must appoint a lead research group and thus a person as spokesperson through whom all calls for funds, reporting obligations, etc. are handled. For scientific purposes, you can, of course, have equal rights if this is provided for in your consortium and is compatible with the requirements of the third-party funding provider.

Not without further ado, because in the event of success, it must be ensured that your own contribution can also be provided, e.g. from funds in your unit. Contact the third-party funding management team tand/or research supoort team as early as possible - but at least 2 weeks before the submission deadline.

Yes, this may already be necessary in the outline phase if it is an institutional application and it is required by the funding organization (as is often the case with ministries), and/or if you have to contribute your own funds and/or if you need a letter of support or similar. Please read the third-party funding organization's call for proposals and, when in doubt, contact the third-party funding management team and/or research support team.

Fill out the university's formal third-party funding notification as soon as possible and send it to the third-party funding management department via the dean's office of your department or the rectorate when you are part of the School of Art and Design. From there, an order for your project will be set up at the cost center you specified.

§ 34 (3) Sentence 1 of the Hessian Higher Education Act requires that all externally funded projects must be reported to the Presidential Board - this is therefore a legally binding requirement. By submitting the notification of external funding, you ensure that the Dean's Office responsible for you and the external funding management department have all the necessary information about your project and that the order required to manage your project can be set up quickly.

Yes, you do. As project leader, you can manage and keep an eye on the funds allocated to your project via the order assigned to your project. For reasons of university law, you and the person holding the cost center have to sign a written agreement, making him or her the projects co- leader. This is necessary so the project can be continued properly even if you leave.

The following applies to the third-party funds guaranteed by the third-party funding provider: these are intended for your project and you are the project leader. For this purpose, a separate order is set up on the cost center, which is linked to your project and which you as project leader have at your disposal in accordance with the specifications of the third-party funding provider.

You need a Co-Project Leader if you do not have your own cost center and/or it is not guaranteed that you will be in active service at the University of Kassel for the entire duration of the project, i.e. in the event of leave of absence, retirement, fixed-term contracts, substitution or guest status. The co-project leader assumes legal and financial responsibility for the project as well as the role of supervisor for the project employees from the beginning and especially in the event of your departure. An exception are cases in which professors who hold these duties until their departure or retirement. In any case, you will remain in charge of the project.

In this case, you must consult with the department whose resources you require for your externally funded project in good time. The use of resources must be agreed at the latest when you submit your notification of third-party funding, as you must declare the existence of consent from the other department in the notification of third-party funding.