Insights into Villum Experiment and Foundation Activities

Villum Foundation, a major philanthropic organization, supports innovative scientific research through various grant programs like Villum Experiment. The foundation funds bold and unconventional ideas, providing opportunities for active researchers at all career stages. The application process involves rigorous screening and evaluation by expert panels. With a focus on technical and natural sciences, Villum Foundation aims to foster creativity and drive progress in the scientific community.

• Philanthropy
• Scientific Research
• Villum Foundation
• Innovation
• Grant Programs

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1. Villum Experiment Information meeting SDU 6 February 2024 Head of programme Anders Smith

2. Villum Experiment Can you build a battery from rust? Learning without a conventional brain Is the conventional peer-review funding system missing out on unconventional ideas? 2

3. Villum Foundation Philanthropic foundation created in 1971 by Villum Kann Rasmussen Villum Foundation is a majority shareholder in the VKR Group, including VELUX Main grant area: Technical and natural science Annual grants approx. 1 billion DKK 3

4. Science grants in Villum Foundation: People, Ideas, Talent Villum International Postdoc (VIPO) 3-4 yrs, DKK 1-2,5 million Villum Kann Rasmussens Annual Award DKK 5 million Villum Young Investigator (YIP) 5 yrs, DKK 7/9 million Villum Mobility Villum Investigator (VIP) 6 yrs, DKK 30/40 million Villum Kann Rasmussen Professorship Villum Experiment (VEX) 2 yrs, DKK 2 million Villum Synergy Initiation: up to 3 yrs, up to DKK 4 million Established: 3-5 yrs, 8-12 million Pioneer centers (collaboration with DNRF, NNF, LF, CF) 4

5. Villum Experiment Bold ideas not incremental research Double blind evaluation Less consensus-driven Open to active researchers at any career stage (beyond the PhD) Grants of up to 2 million DKK and 2 years 5

6. Villum Experiment The four stages in the acceptance of a scientific idea (J.B.S. Haldane): 1. This is worthless nonsense 2. This is an interesting, but perverse, point of view 3. This is true, but quite unimportant 4. I always said so 6

7. Villum Experiment: Application process 3 2 1 Screening of CVs** Scientific review panel* Board Application Check for appropriate field of expertise of the applicant Originality, potential, appropriateness Pre-screening of topic Decisive vote applications In previous rounds, no applications have failed this screening Independent rating of applications. Each application is rated by three panel members. Each panel member has one decisive vote. Final recommendation Applications ranked according to the panel s evaluation Proposal (anonymous) CV * 21 international researchers covering technical and natural science. The panel doesn t meet or interact. ** Members of VILLUM FONDEN s science advisory committee and the secretariat. 7

8. Villum Experiment: Criteria 1. Originality of the idea: The idea shows unorthodox thinking and introduces a unique approach and, if applicable, a novel hypothesis, a non-standard methodology, etc. 2. Potential impact of the idea: The idea holds the potential to answer a long-standing question in science, bring about a transformative understanding of a central topic, pave the way for a new research area or new method/technology or the like. 3. Appropriateness: The idea is unlikely to be fit for conventional research project programmes. 8

9. Villum Experiment: Review sheet ERC-like scale: unsuitable very good excellent outstanding Translated to a numerical grade: -5, 10, 25, 50 Final grade the average of three evaluations Confidence level is used as a tie-breaker 9

10. Villum Experiment: Grant statistics Approx. 50 grants / 100 MDKK per year 7 rounds so far, 200 ongoing projects Success rate SDU (2023): 9% (3 out of 34; 11% in 2022) Number of applications Success rates 600 18 16 500 14 400 12 10 300 8 200 6 4 100 2 0 0 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 10

11. Villum Experiment: Does it work? Ongoing study by The Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy at Aarhus University Preliminary findings: It feels different The decisive vote is important Past performance is not a predictor of success Potential gender differences 11

12. Villum Experiment: Conditions Cannot apply two consecutive years Only a single PI; no co-PI s Budget template (Excel 2019 or later) 15% flat rate for indirect costs Remove all metadata from the pdfs before submission! NOTE: If you have applied before, you cannot apply again with the same idea 12

13. Villum Experiment: How to apply All information available at https://veluxfoundations.dk/en/villum- experiment-call Applications submitted through our application portal Deadline 6 March 2024 13

14. Questions? 14