1 How long does a crowdfunding campaign run?
Usually between 30-45 days.
2 What can be the support expecting from OPERAS:
Your campaigns will be supported by the OPERAS Research Infrastructure but also by the TRIPLE project community. This means you will receive support in promoting your project among the members of these communities. Additionally, for the first projects (5-10 depending on the projects and their diversity), a communication campaign will be launched to help you to reach your target.
3 How many projects can every researcher submit? What is the main language?
We recommend submitting one project at a time. Our partner website Wemakeit features
4 languages (german, french, italian, english), but it is possible to present the project in another language if necessary. For an example, click here: https://wemakeit.com/projects/andalusia-meets-havanna?locale=en
4 If the budget acquired via the crowdfunding campaign is spent, can the researcher ask for additional financial support for the project?
No, but it is possible to run another crowdfunding campaign. If the objective is reached before the end of the campaign, project initiators can extend their financial objective and set a new, higher target that will appear on their crowdfunding page. More info here: https://help.wemakeit.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045158972-What-is-a-Stretch-Goal-
5 How long should I expect to prepare my project for the portal?
Usually it takes between 2 weeks and 1 month. While preparing, you will be supported by the Wemakeit team to know how to present your project best. Show yourself and use a personal approach.
6 How does the scientific evaluation work?
The projects are validated before by the experts of the TRIPLE Advisory Board. The process is quite simple and usually does not take more than a week. The validation process has three potential results: a) the project is considered / ‘eligible’, b) ‘ineligible’ but with the option to resubmit after changes based on the OPERAS team’s comments have been made. c) ‘ineligible’ (final decision), campaign can be run outside of OPERAS channel though.
6 Is Wemakeit a general crowdfunding platform or not?
Yes! OPERAS channel is one channel amongst others. It is the only one dedicated to scientific crowdfunding for SSH and the only channel where you will be supported by the OPERAS Research Infrastructure as well.
7 Who will make a decision to finance the project?
The project will receive funding if the defined amount of money has been collected via the crowdfunding campaign. The success of a campaign depends on the communications efforts of the project initiators to share their campaign page with their network and beyond. Therefore, the(ir) crowd ultimately “decides” on the success of the campaign.
8 If the project has not met its financial goal within the set timeframe, is it possible to continue the campaign?
No.
9 Is it necessary for the project to already have a communication strategy or some kind of achievements before asking for financial support?
A project/researcher does not need any kind of achievements as a condition to launch a campaign. However, it’s important to have a clear strategy and vision in terms of communication. Communications campaigns are the number one success factor.
Cases of failure have taught us that most of the time, they are the result of project initiators putting all their energy into their crowdfunding page and underestimating the communications efforts required to promote their page. Usually, 50-70% of the total collected amount comes from the project initiator’s personal network. Project initiators are fully responsible for the planning and managing of their campaign, the project’s implementation, communication with backers and shipping of the rewards.
10 Who can fund my project?
Citizens, your own institution, friends, family, sponsors, donators…Anyone, there is no condition to donate.
11 What is the relationship between the Science Booster and the OPERAS channels?
There is no relationship as they are two different crowdfunding channels. The Science Booster is dedicated to scientific projects at large (not only SSH) and not supported by the OPERAS Research infrastructure. Moreover, in the OPERAS channel, not only researchers can apply for campaigns but also citizens that have a high interest in a “scientific topic”. So they complement each other. However, the experience of the Science Booster team to support researchers that want to launch a campaign is used for the OPERAS channel. In this perspective, the Science Booster team brings support to the OPERAS researchers as well.
12 If I run a successful campaign, which kind of account do I need for the money to be transferred?
The money can be transferred to a personal or an institutional account, depending on your preferences and needs.
13 I read that only researchers being from or working in the ERA (=European Research Area) can submit projects. What does that mean exactly?
Geographically, the ERA covers the 27 European members. All researchers from these countries can submit a project to the OPERAS channel. Additionally, researchers from outside the ERA can submit a project when they are affiliated with a research institution within the ERA.
14 What is the relationship OPERAS/TRIPLE/Crowdfunding/Wemakeit?
TRIPLE is part of the OPERAS infrastructure. The OPERAS crowdfunding channel is featured as an innovative service on the discovery platform GoTriple developed by the project TRIPLE. Wemakeit is a multilingual crowdfunding platform that hosts the OPERAS crowdfunding channel on their website and is – in collaboration with the OPERAS team – responsible for realizing and supporting your crowdfunding campaign.
15 Is the length of the campaign connected to the length of the project?
No, there is no correlation between how long a campaign runs and how long the project is supposed to run.
16 Can the campaign be edited once it’s submitted? (e.g. can a logo be added?)
It depends. You find more detailed info here: https://help.wemakeit.com/hc/en-us/articles/200395267-Is-it-possible-to-make-changes-to-my-campaign-after-the-project-has-already-started-
17 Do the authors have some kind of support to know if the amount defined is sufficient/realistic by the OPERAS team or wemakeit?
The decision on the amount to be crowdfunded is up to the researcher, especially since crowdfunding can also work as a starting point for acquiring funding. However, every project submitted via the OPERAS channel will receive support from the Science Booster team in the form of detailed feedback on the project page. The projects submitted and deemed eligible will also receive advice regarding the financial objective if the expert feels it is inappropriate or too ambitious.
18 I decided to run a campaign. What should be the size of the images that I intend to upload to the website?
Images should adhere to the following format guidelines: format: 4:3, width: min. 700 pixels, size: max. 5 MB. There is another restriction for the project image (the image that will be shown on wemakeit with all other projects): it must not have any text on it.
19 If the first projects submitted are granted extra-support, what does that mean for the support of the projects submitted later? Do they receive support at all and if yes, how so?
The communication and dissemination effort of the first few projects submitted (~5) is supported by the OPERAS Research infrastructure. All projects submitted after that receive the support of the OPERAS Research infrastructure (+50 organisations in Europe and its international network). Additionally, any project submitted via the OPERAS channel (beyond the first 5) will receive extra feedback/advice from the Science Booster team of experts.
20 Can we use different languages beyond the four available in wemakeit?
Yes, it is possible.
21 Is it mandatory to publish a video?
It is not mandatory but highly (!) recommended to publish a video. Usually, the video
the video sends your campaign to a whole other level. if you don’t use video we recommend that you use a lot of photos.
22 Can Independent Scholars with international academic connections apply?
Yes, under specific conditions: OPERAS is Research Infrastructure bound to the European Research Area. If you are a European researcher (meaning with an European passport) you can apply anyway. If you are not European you have to be affiliated to a European research institution to apply.
23 About collaborations: For those who are applying, is it possible to have a community where the people could meet the projects of other people to help each other?
Wemakeit.com is not a networking platform by design. While the project’s ‘area’ is visible on the main page and the project can be picked as a “favorite project”, there is no distinct networking feature on the website itself. However, wemakeit does help you networking via offering communication advice and the OPERAS infrastructure will help to disseminate news about the launch of your campaign.
24 In which section can we submit the 2 recommendation letters?
The submission of the recommendation letters cannot be done on the platform itself. Since the recommendation letters are a requirement specific to the OPERAS channel they are simply sent via mail to hello@wemakeit.com or communication@operas-eu.org.
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25 Do we receive all the money raised? What about taxes?
First of all: You don’t receive all of the money you raised. In case your campaign is successful, 4% of the sum are used to cover payment fees and 6% cover the wemakeit fee. These fees only apply only in case of a successful campaign. Wemakeit works with the principle “all or nothing”. That means: You either raise at least the amount you wanted to raise or you don’t receive any money collected. In case your campaign fails you will not have to pay any of the fees. If and what taxes you have to pay depends on several things: If you received the money as an institution, society or an individual person, if it is considered a donation or a revenue, if you are developing a product to sell via the campaign, the amount of money, the country you live/work in etc. Unfortunately, this also means there is no singular answer to the question regarding taxes but something that needs to be checked individually.
26 How am I supposed to report to my backers, are there any guidelines?
To make communication with your community easier during the running time of your campaign, you can use a button labeled “updates”. Hitting it will send a notification to all people who supported your project about its current status. If your campaign is successful, you will receive a list of your backers so you can stay in contact with them.