Open Research Area for the Social Sciences Seventh Call for Proposals 2021

The seventh round of Open Research Area (ORA) is based on an agreement between the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR; France), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; Germany), the Economic and Social Research Council of UK Research and Innovation (ESRC; the UK), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC; Canada).

In order to strengthen international co-operation in the field of social sciences, wishing to fund high quality scientific research within their own countries, and aware that some of the best research can be delivered by working with the best researchers internationally, ANR, DFG, ESRC, and SSHRC are launching a seventh ORA call for proposals in order to fund the best joint research projects in social sciences. The scheme will provide funding for integrated projects by researchers coming from at least three of the four subscribing countries – in any combination of three or more countries.

Proposals may be submitted in any area of the social sciences. However, the disciplinary coverage varies according to the involvement of the national agencies. Applicants who are uncertain of whether their proposal would be eligible should contact the relevant national agencies for clarification.

There is again a special opportunity for cooperation with projects in Japan. With the aim to strengthen cooperation between researchers in Japan and ORA partners, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), as the national funding organization of Japan, renews the funding scheme to support projects which are associated with ORA. For details please see the following website for the Japanese call.

ORA 7 will have a new format as compared to earlier ORA iterations: the call will follow a one-stage, one-application procedure consisting of a full proposal to be submitted on November 17, 2021 at the latest. Funding will be distributed among the national agencies according to the affiliation of the researchers, and according to the funding rules of each agency.

How to Apply

ANR is the coordinating agency for this round. All proposals for this call will be submitted through the ANR Electronic Submission System SIM. For detailed guidance on how to submit proposals, please refer to the ORA 7 SIM Guidance for applicants (See below).

Deadline for the submission of proposals is Wednesday, 17 November 2021, 16:00 (CET). Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. Electronic acknowledgement will be sent to the Main Applicant.

Webinar for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar for potential applicants to this call on September 22, 2021 which we strongly encourage you to attend. The webinar will be open to participants from around the world, and will provide information and guidance from the funders on the requirements of the call as well as an opportunity for questions and answers. To allow for different time zones we will be holding two identical webinars at 13:00 CET (7:00 ET) and 20:00 CET (14:00 ET), which will each last approximately one hour.

1^st session - Wednesday 22 September 2021 7:00, Eastern Daylight Time (Toronto, GMT-04:00)

Webinar - password: SSHRC2021

2^nd session - Wednesday 22 September 2021 7:00, Eastern Daylight Time (Toronto, GMT-04:00)

Webinar - password: SSHRC2021

Download webinar presentation

Further information:

Final report on ORA 6 call

Recorded webinar