Transcript Dias nummer 1 - Danida Fellowship Centre

Introduction to Call for FFU Proposals, 2014
Information meetings for applicants
August/September 2013
Dar es Salaam, Kathmandu, Accra
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Programme
1. Introduction to the Call and to South-driven
research projects
2. What is a good application? Strategic aspects and
criteria for selection
3. The application process and the administration of
the grants
4. Questions/discussion
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Introduction to the Call and to South-driven
research projects
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Danida support to development research
– overall objective
The main objective of the Danish support to development
research is to strengthen research capacity in priority
countries and to create new knowledge capable of
alleviating development problems.
The International Development Cooperation Act (Lov om Internationalt
Udviklingssamarbejde) §7, approved by the Danish Parliament in May 2012.
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Call 2014
The application process consists of two phases:
1. Phase 1 – a concept phase (prequalification). Deadline
25 September 2013
2. Phase 2 – a full application. Deadline 6 March 2014
Project start - January 2015
Project period – 5 years
Budget – max DKK 10 million
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South- and north-driven projects
• The South-driven projects are applied for and managed
by the applying institution in Ghana, Tanzania, Vietnam
(until 2013) or Nepal, with partner(s) in Denmark. Themes
are not specified for this Call.
• The North-driven projects are applied for and managed
by a Danish institution with partner(s) in the priority
countries. Three themes are given.
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Preliminary experience with South-driven
projects
• It is a new role to be in the drivers seat.
• The ownership appears to have increased and is much
appreciated.
• Appreciation of selecting own research priorities.
• There is more engagement and enthusiasm from researchers in
the South.
• Quality of applications must be further improved: need for
more problem-oriented, analytical and inter-disciplinary
proposals.
• The administrative burden is significant.
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Building Stronger Universities (BSU)
• Programme aims at strengthening institutional research
capacity of selected institutions in Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda,
and Nepal through cooperation with Danish universities
(e.g. support to Ph.D. schools, development of research
protocols, accreditation, communication of research results,
etc.).
• Presently under reformulation to ensure that it becomes
driven by partners in the South.
• Potential synergy between BSU and FFU research grants, as
BSU supports the research environment but does not
provide research grants.
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What constitutes a good application?
Strategic aspects and criteria for selection
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Success ratio for applications
• Approximately 150 applications expected to be
received in phase 1.
• 30-35 selected for phase 2.
• 10-12 projects granted.
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Who are involved in the assessment of
applications and in decisions?
• National Screening Mechanisms in Tanzania, Vietnam, Ghana
and Nepal make assessment and shortlist 6 applications (phase
1).
• Embassies assess relevance (phase 1).
• International peer reviewers assess the scientific quality
(phase 2).
• The Consultative Research Committee for Development
Research (FFU) assesses applications and makes
recommendations (phase 1 and phase 2)
• The Danish Council for Strategic Research approves
recommendations.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark grants the money.
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The Consultative Research Committee on
Development Research (FFU)
• Eight members representing main academic fields,
appointed by the Danish Minister for Development
Cooperation. One member from Min. of Foreign Affairs.
• Contributes to the drafting of the call text, application
procedures and guidelines.
• Assesses and selects concept notes (Phase 1) and
applications (Phase 2) and proposes applications for
funding.
• Participates in the quality assurance of the projects based
on annual and final reports from the projects.
• Policy on conflict of interest: http://um.dk/en/danidaen/partners/research/
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Three criteria for assessment
1) Scientific quality
• Situating the research in relation to existing research in the
area.
• The originality and innovativeness of the hypotheses or
research issues.
• Innovative use of theories and research method.
• Appropriateness of research method to the topic.
• Competence of the team, incl. relevant interdisciplinary
expertise in the team.
• Publications by participating researchers.
• Managerial competence and experience in the thematic area.
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Three criteria for assessment:
2) Relevance
• Relevance to development problems and national priorities of
the country in question.
• Relevance to priorities of Danish development cooperation.
• Contribution of the project to postgraduate education and
research training.
• Involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including good
cooperation between researchers from priority countries and
Danish-based researchers.
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Three criteria for assessment
3) Effect
• Potential contribution of the project to the alleviation of
poverty in the country in question.
• Dissemination of the results of the funded research
activities to all relevant stakeholders.
• Sustainability and use of the research capacity
strengthening.
• The involvement of private and public sector actors in the
project preparation and implementation.
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Research capacity strengthening
• Research-based education, e.g. support to PhD students.
• Facilitation of access to and use of scientific literature.
• Training of senior researchers and teams to design and
manage research and produce, document and disseminate
research results.
• Participation in international research conferences and
networks.
• Support to establishing and managing research
laboratories and other facilities.
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Communication and Dissemination
• Application should outline a clear dissemination plan for
research results and how research may influence policy and
action.
• A policy brief of approx. 5 pages must provide
recommendations to decision makers in partner countries,
to Danida, and to other relevant stakeholders.
• Up to 10% of project budget.
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Recommendations: ”Do’s”
• Do select an overall theme which is relevant to poverty
alleviation in your country (e.g. green growth and
employment, good governance, climate change, conflict and
fragility).
• Do identify a research question which is not only
intellectually challenging but also relevant and underresearched.
• Do formulate research questions and hypotheses that
describe the innovative nature of the proposed research,
how controversies in the literature may be addressed and
how ‘conventional wisdom’ may be revised.
• Do explain carefully how the project contributes to new
knowledge by positioning it in relation to existing research
(not enough to provide a list of literature read).
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Recommendations: ”Do’s”
(continued)
• Be focused, realistic and feasible. It is not an advantage to
cover very broad research questions or extensive empirical
material.
• Make sure that the research is analytical rather than
descriptive.
• Consider that inter-disciplinarity is an asset and make sure
that you have the right competences in the team.
• Do try to move from ‘grey’ to internationally refereed
publications.
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Recommendations: ”Do’s”
(continued)
• Make sure that the main responsible research(ers) have
allocated sufficient time (not necessarily a good idea to
select a director or dean as main researcher).
• Do ensure a good balance between your input and the input
from Danish-based researchers.
• Do follow up on recommendations from FFU after phase 1.
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Warning: ”Don’ts”
• Do not apply for ”product development”.
• Do not apply for data collection projects without thorough
explanation of how data will be used.
• Do not apply for ”development projects”, grants are for
research.
• Do not apply for consultancy type of activities.
• Do not apply for Ph.D. projects only without sufficient
involvement of senior researchers (allocate enough time for the
key applicant).
• Do not apply for funding for your entire institute (number of
key researchers should be limited to approx. 5-6).
• Do not address only part of the call text.
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The application process and the
administration of the grants
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Who can apply?
• Applications can only be submitted by an institution, e.g. a
governmental institution, private-sector enterprise or
private organization. The main applicant must be attached
to the institution, which is responsible for the project.
• The main applicant researcher must at the time of
submitting the application hold a PhD or equivalent
qualifications.
• The nationality of applicants is not an issue when assessing
the application.
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Who can participate?
• PhD and Postdoc projects cannot be supported individually,
but can be included in a larger research project.
• Co-funding from various sources is possible, and the
involvement of public and private sector stakeholders in the
research activities is encouraged (up to 10 % of project
budget).
• International research institutions and research institutions
in countries outside Danida priority countries can be
included as secondary partners.
• Partners from the private sector can only receive support, if
it is documented how they will contribute with additional
resources to the research.
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DFC handles the practical application procedure and
administrates the approved projects.
The Call 2014 and the e-application form can be
accessed at Danida Fellowship Centre website:
www.dfcentre.com
http://dfcentre.com/research/calls-for-applications/
For questions concerning the practical application
procedure, please contact the Research Unit at
Danida Fellowship Centre at: [email protected]
See Danida Research Portal at:
http://drp.dfcentre.com/
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Finances
• The total grant available for the Call 2014 is expected to be
DKK 125 million, depending on the approval of the Finance
Act, for both North and South-driven development research
projects.
• Duration of the grants is up to 5 years, and the grant
amount is up to DKK 10 million.
• Phase 1 applications must include an outline budget
indicating if the size of the project is 1) DKK 5 – 6.9
million, 2) DKK 7 – 8.9 million, or 3) DKK 9 -10 million.
• Phase 2 applications must include a detailed budget.
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Time schedule
September
2013
October
E-application deadline for Phase 1 applications on 25 September, noon.
Confirmation of receipt, administrative rejections.
National Screening Mechanism shorts applications.
Embassy reviews and hearing of comments with the applicant.
FFU meeting: assessment of Phase 1 applications.
November
Nov.- Feb.
February
2014
March-May
June
July
JulySeptember
2015
January
Reply to applicants: Rejection of some Phase 1 applications and
invitation to others to submit Phase 2 applications.
Access to Phase 2 Call and e-application.
South partners and Danish partners develop Phase 2 application
together.
Deadline for Phase 2 applications on 6 March, noon (Danish time).
Confirmation of receipt, administrative rejections.
Peer Reviewing and hearing of comments with the applicant.
FFU meeting: assessment of Phase 2 applications.
Danish Council for Strategic Research approval procedure.
Reply to applicants, rejection or preliminary approval.
Detailed budget, approval through Danida Fellowship Centre.
Letter of commitment of the approved projects.
Start of activities of the granted projects.
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How to make the e-application
• The e-application system is accessible from DFC’s website,
link http://dfcentre.com/research/calls-for-applications/
• Advantages: less administrative rejections, easier to handle,
all partners can participate.
• Applicants must register as users via the link.
• Acknowledgement of receipt of the application will be sent
to the username e-mail.
• The relevant Call must be selected.
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Filling in the application form
Step 1 – Basic information on applicant;
Step 2 – Details on the research project;
Step 3 – Budget information;
Step 4 – Upload of annexes (CVs and signature page);
Step 5 – See the application;
Step 6 – Finish the application/submission.
• Once the application form has been created, it is possible to
break off from it and resume work at any time, and edit the
information, until the OK button in Step 6 is used.
• All research partners can access the application by
using the same e-mail address and password.
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Recommendations: “Do’s”
• Do read the application guide carefully.
• Do fill in all the formal requirements set out in the Call and
fill in the e-application correctly.
• Do use the right e-application form and fill it in correctly.
• Do remember all annexes: CVs of all identified researchers
including main applicant, signatures, project document (Ph2)
and Letters of Cooperation (Ph2).
• Go through the application before submission and check if
the text is cut off (do not rely on the word count function in
Word).
• Do start in time, getting signatures and CV’s may take time.
• Do involve all the partner applicants in the planning and eapplication, ensure ownership and adjust expectations.
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Warning: “Don’ts”
• Don’t be late! The deadlines are: Sept 25, 2013 noon and
March 6, 2014 noon (Danish time). The e-application
closes 12:00 sharp!
• Do not expect to be able to change an e-application after it
has been submitted (other than to correct the personal
information) and to submit appendices after the deadline.
• Do not expect DFC to tell you about your chances for
success, but feel free to ask us about all the practical
questions.
• Do not be in a hurry, a sloppy application is not a good
starting point and may be rejected by FFU.
• Remember that the prequalification is no guarantee and
the recommendations from FFU must be taken seriously.
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How to identify relevant Danish research partners
• BSU contacts: http://www.dkuni.dk/English/OurWork/Building-Stronger-Universities-in-DevelopingCountries
• Search the Danida Research Portal, link
http://drp.dfcentre.com/
• Danish research database
http://www.forskningsdatabasen.dk/Search,$Border.$Direct
Link.direct
• Visit the Danish Development Research Network website
http://ddrn.dk/intro.html
• An overview of the universities in Denmark can be accessed
by link http://www.dkuni.dk/english
• International scientific databases such as
http://scholar.google.dk/ and http://www.scirus.com/
• Guidance can be provided from DFC to the identification of
relevant Danish research environments
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