Fellowship 2024

Creative Impact in Practice

The pre-registration for the Fellowship Programme 2024 is closed!
Please note that due to the strict tender procedure, we are not able to consider any belated pre-registration.

CIRCE’s Fellowship Programme 2024 is supporting projects from Europe’s cultural and creative economies (CCE) that transfer research and knowledge into practice.

Building up on last year‘s CIRCE Fellowship Programme, in 2024 we are committed to continue promoting creative impact: by translating research and knowledge into creative and entrepreneurial practice.

Are you a researcher, creative, practitioner or entrepreneur from Europe’s cultural and creative economies (CCE) who is driven to embark on a pioneering pilot project that tackles the pressing challenges of our time? Then this opportunity is for you!

Starting on June 1st 2024, the programme will commission 10 pilot projects bringing creative impact into practice. We seek passionate individuals committed to innovating on the following main topics:

  • Communities & Care: Promoting empowerment of communities, fostering inclusion and social justice for marginalised people/individuals, contributing to a more inclusive CCE but also to a more just world in general.
  • Sustainability & Environment: Responding to climate crisis and biodiversity loss through sustainable practices within and through CCE.
  • Democracy & Participation: Enhancing democratic processes and preserving, bolstering, and safeguarding democratic principles, institutions and practices in contemporary societies.

It is required that your pilot project adopts a practical approach to research, focusing on the application and transfer of knowledge into tangible outcomes. Transferring of research and knowledge into creative and entrepreneurial practice can take various directions. On one hand, these can involve recommendations for action derived from research, which are then tested in practice, encompassing services, practices, processes, or products. On the other hand, already existing applications can be further developed. In either case, your projects should have a profound social impact, stemming from creative practices aimed at serving public purposes and contributing to a better society.

Funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media and Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, each fellow will receive adequate remuneration to cover a five-month delivery period, ending with October 31st, 2024. Additional details will be made available in the tender documents.

As we are supported by public funds, we are obligated to follow a strict tender procedure. The awarding of fellowships occurs within the framework of German public procurement law. Please note that the application and selection process as well as the programme organisation may differ from other fellowship programmes which you may be familiar with.

If you believe your project could fit the programme, please download the fellowship guideline and continue reading for detailed instructions on the application process. Please also check out our FAQ section.

  • We are looking for researchers, creatives and practitioners working in or associated with the CCE
  • The application should be submitted individually, but we do not formally exclude applications from multiple individuals involved in the same project.
  • Applicants have to be residents of one of the 46 countries of the Council of Europe or Kosovo.
  • The proposed projects must clearly define their desired creative impact and align with one of the main topics of CIRCE 2024: Communities and Care, Sustainability and Environment and Democracy and Participation. These main topics serve as overarching focus areas. The projects may intersect across multiple categories.
  • Projects’ connection to practice: the proposed projects must involve transferring research and knowledge into practical application.

We want to encourage people from the BIPoC communities, people with a migrant biography, people from national and ethnic minorities, people from the LGBTQIA+ community and people with disabilities to apply.

  • Remuneration: Each fellow will receive €16,000 to cover a five-month delivery period, ending with October 31st, 2024.
  • Travel budget: We offer up to €500 for each fellow for travel expenses to visit other fellows or events within the CIRCE community.
  • Individual mentoring sessions
  • Expert talks, community discussions and workshops
  • Peer perspectives and learning sessions
  • Potential matching with partners
  • Implementation of the pilot project within a five-month period to put the suggested solution into action for the problem you‘ve identified with completion by October 31st.
  • Project documentation with reflection and description of the process in the form of a final report and (public) presentation of the results on the CIRCE website
  • Submission of interim results as well as a draft report (dates to be announced)
  • Participation in events and mentoring sessions of the Fellowship Programme and CIRCE (in person and digital)
  • Participation in surveys and interviews with CIRCE to support our ongoing learning and contribute to the growing discussion about creative impact
  • Involvement in CIRCE press and public relations work
  • Active engagement in the ongoing development of CIRCE until the end of the year 2024

The CIRCE Fellowship Programme has a two-stage application process with an initial pre-registration followed by an application procedure.

Step 1: The pre-registration phase (expression of interest) takes place from March 19th to April 16th, 2024 at 1:00 pm CET. You must pre-register during this period in order to gain access to the application portal. If you are interested in participating, please register using the provided form.

Step 2: The application procedure is carried out on the dedicated application portal DTVP. The portal opens from April 16th to May 13th, 2024, 1:00 p.m. After the end of the pre-registration, you will receive an email with a link for DTVP. If you do not receive an email on the 16th of April, please check your spam folder.

To complete your submission through DTVP, you need to provide a detailed concept and your Curriculum Vitae (CV). For more details on the application process, please refer to the fellowship guideline. We will provide support for accessing and using DTVP in the form of tutorials before the application starts. The tender documents and specifications will be accessible via DTVP for candidates who pre-register.

Fellowship guideline

Guideline

2024_CIRCE Fellowship Guideline