DFID-ESRC China-Africa Research Programme The call for proposals

DFID-ESRC China-Africa Research Programme
The call for proposals
Dr Dan Korbel | Senior Research Portfolio Manager for International Development
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
▶ One of seven UK Research Councils
▶ Total budget of £200 million for 2012/13
▶ We support basic, strategic and applied economic and
social science research which has an impact on
business, the public sector and the third sector
▶ Subject areas include: economics, psychology, political
science, sociology, anthropology, geography, education,
management and business studies
ESRC’s guiding principles
▶ Quality – Funding research and training of the
highest quality by world standards
▶ Impact – Demonstrate the wider contribution of
UK social science and its national and international
impact
▶ Independence – Ensuring independence from
political, commercial or sectional interests
Our strategic priorities
▶ The Economic Performance and Sustainable Growth
▶ Influencing Behaviour and Informing Interventions
▶ Fair and Vibrant Society
To be delivered through:
– Enhancing impact from existing investments
– Encouraging investments to work together
– Commissioning new investments in identified gaps
ESRC’s development research portfolio
▶ Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research (DFID/ESRC)
▶ Growth Research Programme (DFID/ESRC)
▶ ESPA – Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (NERC/DFID/ESRC)
▶ Health Systems Research Initiative (DFID/MRC/Wellcome/ESRC)
▶ Population, reproductive health and economic development (ESRC/Hewlett
Foundation and others)
▶ Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems
(DFID/BBSRC/MRC/ESRC/NERC/DSTL)
▶ Others in the pipeline (e.g. DFID/ESRC Education & Development)
The application process step by step
Key websites and documents:
▶ Call website (www.esrc.ac.uk/decarp)
▶ Guidance notes for applicants
▶ FAQ
▶ Call specification
▶ ESRC impact toolkit
[email protected]
What we expect to fund in this call
▶ World class scientific research on economic
development with high potential for impact on policy
and practice relevant to LICs
▶ Research projects over up to four years and with a
value of between £200,000 and £2 million (100% fEC)
▶ A mixed portfolio of small projects (£200,000£500,000) and larger projects (£500,000 and above)
▶ NO standalone studentships
Research projects will…
▶ Identify a developmental challenge facing Africa and
examine possible solutions linked to recent experience
from China’s own economic development
or
▶ Build our understanding of an aspect of China’s
engagement with Africa relevant to the continent’s
economic development
Areas of particular interest
▶ The role of local government in economic development
▶ China and infrastructure development in Africa
▶ China, FDI, technology transfer and productivity increase in
Africa
▶ China and agricultural development in Africa
▶ Natural resources and China’s investment-trade relationship with
Africa
▶ Global competitiveness, direct investment flows and special
economic zones
We encourage…
▶ Applicants to make credible partnerships with
Chinese as well as African expertise, as appropriate to
the intellectual challenge
▶ Experienced academics from Africa or China to lead
proposals
Research projects are required to…
▶ Consist of at least 50% social science
▶ Generate new knowledge with significant potential to
benefit the lives of poor people in LICs
▶ Include non-academic stakeholders and involve them in
both design and conduct of the research
▶ Be aligned with the scope of the programme
▶ Address one or more of the call’s broad thematic areas
(or make a convincing case if going beyond them)
Indicative timeline
15 November 2013
June 2014
Q4 2014
Call for
proposals opens
PI response to
peer review
Awards start
Submission
deadline
Funding decisions
communicated
13 March 2014
16.00 UK time
August 2014
Assessment criteria
The Commissioning Panel will assess your proposal in
terms of the following
▶ Research agenda (intellectually innovative, well-focused,
clearly articulated and methodologically sound)
▶ Project management
▶ Capacity building
▶ Research impact and stakeholder engagement
▶ Research partnerships and collaborations
▶ Value for money
Eligibility
▶ UK and non-UK research institutions, including not-for-profit
organisations with demonstrable research capacity should
be eligible to apply as host organisation*
▶ All investigators (PI and Co-Is) and their institutions must have
Je-S registration:
– RCUK-recognised UK institutions (e.g. UK HEIs)
– Je-S-registered overseas organisations
– ‘self-registered’ organisations
*please contact the ESRC secretariat ([email protected]) to discuss this further
Your proposal in Je-S
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Research organisation, project title, suitable reference
Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators
Project partners
Full budget (in line with full Economic Cost funding model)
Impact summary
Key attachments include:
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Case for support (£200k-£1 million: max. 6 sides; £1-2 million: max. 12 sides of A4)
Justification of resources (max. 2 sides of A4)
Pathways to Impact (max. 2 sides of A4)
Data management plan (max. 3 sides of A4)
CVs for named researchers (max. 2 sides of A4 each)
Letters of support, where applicable
Case for support (length depending on amount requested)
In this attachment, you should discuss the following:
▶ Aims and objectives
▶ Academic, policy and practice background
▶ Research question(s)
▶ Relevance to the scope of the programme
▶ Proposed research methodology
▶ Analysis framework
▶ Details of any project-linked doctoral studentship(s)
▶ Ethical issues
https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/Handbook/pages/OutlineProposals/Attachments
ESRCSpecificGuidance.htm
Justification of resources (max. 2 sides of A4)
In this attachment, you should:
▶ Provide detail of resources required to undertake the
research
▶ Justify why the requested resources are required
▶ List the costs incurred by overseas institutions at 100%
full Economic Cost
https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/Handbook/pages/OutlineProposals/Attachments
ESRCSpecificGuidance.htm
Submission deadline
Applications must be submitted to Je-S*
by 4pm UK time on 13 March 2014
*if your institutions is not self-registered, make sure to forward your application to your
Research Office/submitter pool in good time (at least 48 hours before the deadline)
Do get in touch
DECARP secretariat
[email protected]
Petya Kangalova
+44 (0)179 341 3074
[email protected]
Lauren Watters
+44 (0)179 341 3047
[email protected]
Je-S Help
[email protected]
+44 (0)179 344 4164
Thank you!