We expect the journalist to delineate their own project for the residency. This project may pursue various objectives, ranging from personal development to tangible outputs such as books, articles, videos, etc., or an in-depth examination of a specific scientific field and its representation in independent science journalism.

The proposal should detail objectives, scope, societal benefits, anticipated contributions to the dissemination of research findings, the journalist’s career advancement, and how it will enhance trust in both science journalism and science itself.

The journalist's area of interest should engage with frontier science as outlined in the section below. The emphasis on 'Frontier Research' must be explicitly articulated within the project description. A mere general discussion of a topic may not suffice; a precise and focused description is a requisite.

We expect the journalist to interact with at least one researcher engaged in a frontier research project. This should consider that frontier research is characterised not only by its subject matter but also by other criteria, including the methodologies employed by scientists to address research questions and more. Proposals should present research facets that highlight unresolved issues, open research questions, or theories currently under scrutiny. In ‘saturated’ fields such as climate change, artificial intelligence, or machine learning, where a lot of non frontier research is being conducted, it is expected that the hosting researcher(s) will delve deeper owing to the plethora of competing research groups and publications. Should the journalist's project involve multiple scientists or research endeavours, at least one must be primarily focused on frontier research. Applicants must also clarify why they seek interactions with several scientists and what narrative or personal journey they aim to explore.

The project description must be sufficiently informative to allow for an assessment of whether it qualifies as 'Frontier Research' focused. (Max. 2000 characters)

The FRONTIERS initiative has a unique commitment to support science journalism projects whose main subject / topic of interest is considered ‘Frontier Research’.

To some extent, the definition of ‘Frontier Research’ might be considered elusive. Still, FRONTIERS grants will only be awarded to projects that put ‘Frontier Research’ at their core.

When trying to identify a suitable ‘Frontier Research’ project, please consider this list of indicators or attributes that are typically associated with ‘Frontier research’, and can serve as first screening step in the process:

• Basic research (unlike applicative research)
• Tapping into uncharted water
• Pushing the boundaries of knowledge
• Aspiration for excellence leading to foundation of new discoveries
• Founded on new principles and / or new conceptions
• Involving high conceptual scientific risk(s)
• First / best in class
• Addressing complex global challenges

Note that in many cases these above-listed indicators / attributes may be too general or too inclusive, for assessing if a scientific topic is ‘Frontier Research’. Therefore, we have prepared a short recorded course (30 minutes) that includes an additional set of tools and indicators that will assist you in the process of self-assessing ‘Frontier research’. Please provide a short paragraph explaining why the project’s scientific subject / topic of interest you want to explore should be considered as frontier research. Note that only the project’s scientific subject / topic of interest will be evaluated to meet the ‘Frontier research’ requirement. We will not evaluate the researcher(s) or their lab and/or the host institution for that matter. (Max. 1500 characters)

Please describe in a maximum of 1500 characters how the project you are proposing will have an impact on the communication of frontier research and how it will help the public to better understand what frontier research is, including potentially controversial areas of research.

Please specify the names of the hosting researcher(s) you plan to collaborate with during your residency. You may collaborate with one or more researchers from the host institution(s).

In a free text of no more than 4000 characters, please describe your professional experience with a particular focus on the following aspects: expertise and experience and their relevance to the field to be covered in the project; commitment to journalism, in terms of involvement in networking and mutual support with other science journalists, nationally and internationally; previous participation in science journalism events (professional conferences, festivals, workshops); previous interactions with researchers (such as in-depth interviews, periods spent in research facilities, and living with researchers).