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Research Support Services

The University of Florence provides its academic community and all those choosing Unifi as their host institution with dedicated tools and established expertise to support the complete lifecycle of regional, national, European, and international funded projects—from identifying available funding opportunities and assisting during proposal submission to managing successful grants.

Research funding promotion and support activities are carried out through close synergy between Departments and the University’s Research Infrastructure and Services Area (Area Infrastrutture e Servizi per la Ricerca).

Within Departments, a dedicated network of research managers acts as a primary contact point and guidance hub for academic staff and researchers, assisting them with administrative processes, sharing best practices, and facilitating interaction with central offices.

Complementing this technical support, a network of research representatives—comprising delegated academic staff—provides essential strategic coordination to disseminate opportunities and strengthen the University’s positioning within national and European programmes.

The Research Infrastructure and Services Area coordinates the activities of this integrated system, centrally managing the monitoring and promotion of available funding opportunities, alongside offering guidance during proposal preparation and overseeing the management, monitoring, and reporting of funded projects.

Find research contacts (Intranet - Unifi credentials required)

The Research Infrastructure and Services Area (Area Infrastrutture e Servizi per la Ricerca) is responsible for:

  • Managing a monitoring service for major funding programmes to identify calls of potential interest for University research groups;
  • Disseminating available funding opportunities through a dedicated information service, which includes institutional updates to departments, targeted communications for academic staff and researchers registered in the University’s "Research Registry" (Anagrafe della Ricerca) database, a monthly newsletter, and a dedicated summary page of all open calls on the University Intranet;
  • Managing research funding allocated at University level;
  • Coordinating participation in calls that limit the number of proposals that can be submitted at University level;
  • Organising info days, brokerage events on major funding programmes, and training sessions on proposal writing and project management.

The Research Infrastructure and Services Area (Area Infrastrutture e Servizi per la Ricerca) carries out the following activities:

  • Analysing participation rules and eligibility requirements for calls for applications;
  • Providing advisory support on call specifications, requirements, and contents;
  • Assisting with financial aspects and project budget drafting;
  • Offering guidance and support in establishing project partnerships, where required;
  • Delivering dedicated support for the ERC programme and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), including targeted coaching and mentoring for Principal Investigators;
  • Guiding research groups and departmental units through proposal negotiation for funded projects, grant agreement signing with funding bodies, and consortium agreement drafting, where required.

For successful and funded projects, the Research Infrastructure and Services Area (Area Infrastrutture e Servizi per la Ricerca) is responsible for:

  • Drafting guidelines and guidance documents;
  • Managing relations with funding bodies;
  • Handling legal matters in collaboration with the General and Legal Affairs Area (Area Affari Generali e Legali);
  • Overseeing periodic expenditure monitoring and the proper management of resources;
  • Centralised financial reporting of project expenditure for European funding;
  • Coordinating reporting carried out at departmental level for national funding;
  • Providing support and coordination for internal and external audits.

Who to contact

Settore Ricerca Nazionale

National Research Sector promotes and supports the participation of the academic community in national research funding opportunities, such as PRIN, FIS, and other schemes.

serviziallaricerca(AT)unifi.it

Settore Ricerca Nazionale

Settore Ricerca Europea e Internazionale

European and International Research Sector comprises two main offices:

  • Direct Project Development Office (Ufficio Progettazione Diretta): provides assistance and support for European funding directly allocated and managed at EU level, such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Creative Europe, Justice, CERV, LIFE, and other programmes;
  • Indirect Project Development Office (Ufficio Progettazione Indiretta): handles indirectly managed funding programmes, specifically European Structural and Investment Funds such as ERDF (FESR), EAFRD (FEASR), INTERREG, and other schemes.

ricercaue(AT)unifi.it

Settore Ricerca Europea e Internazionale Ufficio Progettazione Diretta Ufficio Progettazione Indiretta