The French Polar Institute's call for projects 2025 (AAP 2025) is now open. This call allows the submission of proposals that can be carried out in both hemispheres, in the Arctic, Subarctic, Antarctic and Subantarctic polar regions.
- For the southern hemisphere, projects can start from the 2026/2027 summer season or the 2027 winter season;
- For the northern hemisphere, the projects will run throughout the 2026 calendar year, and will be able to start as early as 1 January.er
For all projects, submissions must be made online by 15 July 2025 à 08h00.
Submitting projects
Projects must be submitted on the Polar Institute's secure website: https://sciences.ipev.fr/proposals/
- For current projects and project renewal applications The project number and related codes remain unchanged for authentication to the submission site.
For all questions and requests to open online forms individually, please contact valerie.hadoux@ipev.fr.
We would like to draw your attention to the display of the data in your proposal: a default display generally showing the latest version of the project submitted to the Polar Institute will be proposed to you in order to avoid you having to re-enter all the information. The data must be updated for the 2025 call for proposals.
It is essential for all projects to complete the "campaign" section of the application.
- For new projects :
Connection codes for our online platform will be sent individually to each project applicant.
New projects invited to submit a full proposal are those whose letters of intent have received a favourable scientific and technical opinion during their examination by the Scientific Projects Evaluation Committee (CEPS) and the Polar Institute at the December 2024 and April 2025 sessions.
Memorandum of the call for projects
A memorandum for applicants to the Polar Institute's call for projects is available online (coming soon). This summary document sets out the procedures for submitting, assessing and implementing projects. The main framework points are also set out in this memorandum so that the projects submitted are consistent with the Polar Institute's financial, logistical and human resources support capacities. We invite you to read this memorandum carefully before submitting any project to the Polar Institute's AAP 2025, and draw your attention in particular to the following two points:
- For projects whose scientific activities are carried out in the southern hemisphere: the proposals must take into account :
- The capacity of the ships, the various research stations and the refuges;
- The number of staff required to travel on site in order to comply with safety instructions.
- The project budget: for all polar regions, rising energy and freight costs are putting pressure on the Polar Institute's budget, and on the support granted to projects, both directly (funds granted to run the project) and indirectly (e.g. transport of equipment and personnel, return of samples). The construction of your budget requests must take into account these financial constraints and lead you to formulate moderate requests for support.
These two points will be taken into account when evaluating and deciding on projects.
Budget
For the 2025 call for projects, requests for financial support, support in terms of human resources and field missions must be made for the entire duration of the project (in section 8 of the online data entry site); for ongoing projects, requests made for the 2026-2027 season must be consistent with the multi-annual plan for requests for financial and human support provided when the project was submitted.
Language
All applications must be written in English. The Polar Institute's Commission for the Evaluation of Scientific Projects (CEPS) includes non-French-speaking scientists, and the CEPS calls on international experts to evaluate projects.
Structuring the proposal
It is essential to structure your proposal into numbered "work packages" (WP), each of which may be subdivided into tasks. You should make sure that the people in charge of each work package and/or task and the objectives are indicated, and you should also give details of the methodology for each of the tasks, so that the evaluators have a good understanding of the research you are planning and its feasibility.
Evaluation scale
An evaluation grid, drawn up jointly by the members of the CEPS and the Scientific Expeditions Department of the Polar Institute and the CEPS, for the study of projects with "new" and "renewal application" status is detailed below.
|
Question number -Main scored categories |
Description and maximum number of points that can be allocated to the category |
| 1. CV (PI, team) | Capacity for project coordination of the Principal Investigator:
Project coordination is vital for the management of projects, and this is particularly true in polar regions where planning, organizing of the activities and allocation of material and human resources to achieve specific goals and objectives are crucial. Coordination skills can be evaluated by the number of research projects - or working packages of research project - managed by the principal investigator, team leadership activity, management of scientific networks, organisation of workshop, scientific congresses, etc... Research mentoring (number of MSc and PhD students, technical staff) must also be considered, in particular for projects requiring human resources, e.g., civil volunteers (VSC).
Project team: The skills and expertise of the team members, and their dedication to the projects must align with the proposed research objectives. Does the project team have sufficient experience for conducting the fieldwork? Does the project team have the necessary skills for the implementation of the proposed research objectives? The valorization of scientific activities (publications, book chapters, books,...) of the PI and project team must be considered, as it gives an indication of the team's capacity to disseminate (publish) the collected results. |
| 2. Scientific context | Description of the context, the knowns and unknowns, and the position of the project with regard to the state-of-the-art. The importance of the topic should be explicitly stated, and the literature review must be up-to-date (but can consider the historical context of the proposed research) and emphasize the findings of previous research. This section must clearly point out gaps in the literature (for instance, investigations and main findings of previous studies, research gaps which must be filled in). The section must emphasize the novelties of the project in comparison to existing literature. Is the proposed topic timely and relevant? |
| 3. Research questions/objectives and hypotheses | The research question / objectives must define and structure the proposal; they must contribute to fill in the knowledge gaps, explore the contradictions, or concerns mentioned in the literature. In some applications, research objectives / questions can be accompanied / completed with research hypotheses listing the expected results of the team project, i.e., list of predictions about the project outcomes. This information contributes to the clear structuration of the project (Workpackages, tasks,...). |
| 4. Methodology and fieldwork | The methodology presented must align with the proposed research questions so that the research objectives can be achieved. Whenever necessary, the methodologies should present strategies for mitigating the impacts the project could have on animals, and more generally habitats. In some projects, the methods must meet specific requirements in terms of ethics, authorizations / permits (authorization of access, sampling permits, animal experimentation...). Any mention to scientific integrity should be appreciated. Is the fieldwork adequately planned? Are there enough details regarding the different localities and the agenda for evaluating if the proposed research can be conducted? Is the project technically and logistically feasible? For complex projects, did the project team exchange with the staff of the French Polar Institute to ensure the feasibility of the project? |
| 5. Data managing | Does the team project include Open Science practices, in particular: presentation of data management plan, reuse of existing datasets, development or contribution to open-source software, and adoption of permanent identifiers for all research products. |
| 6. Risk | Does the team project present plans for risk management? |
| 7. Adequation of the budget / number of staff requested | |
| 8. Outcome of former projects | For projects asking for renewal only: appreciation of all activities implemented for the valorisations of formerly collected results. |
Contacts
| Director of Scientific Operations | david.renault@ipev.fr | 02 98 05 65 26 |
| Arctic operations | dominique.fleury@ipev.fr | 02 98 05 65 42 |
| Sub-Antarctic operations | subopscience@ipev.fr (Romuald Bellec, Brendan Corbel, Yann Le MeurPierre Parenthoine) | 02 98 05 65 09 (Yann Le Meur) |
| Antarctic operations | coline.marciau@ipev.fr | 02 98 05 65 14 |
| Information on the status of current or renewed projects | valerie.hadoux@ipev.fr | 02 98 05 65 57 |
| Site administrator https://sciences.ipev.fr/proposals/ (for technical problems) | proposals@ipev.fr | 02 98 05 65 20 |