Agreements
NEWTON FUND - FAPESP - ESRC: Healthy Urban Living and the Social Science of the Food-Water-Energy Nexus
* The closing date for submission of proposals was postponed to July 2, 2015.
UK-Brazil Calls for Collaborative Research
Detailed conditions of the Call for Proposals, including the full description of both available themes (“Healthy Urban Living” and “ The Social Science of the Food-Water-Energy Nexus”) can be found at: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/34227/healthy-urban-living-and-the-social-science-of-the-food-water-energy-nexus-uk-brazil-calls-for-collaborative-research.aspx.
General information for the applicants – FAPESP
Proposals will be processed by FAPESP as Thematic Project Research Grants.
Thematic Projects aim to support research proposals with bold scientific objectives with a research team coordinated by an experienced researcher in the field. The projects are expected to result in significant findings for the advancement of knowledge.
1. Eligibility by FAPESP
1.1. Applicants in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, must note that eligibility requirements and restrictions are those applied normally to FAPESP Thematic Grants, described at www.fapesp.br/176 (item 3.3 and 6).
1.2. Please, note that for Thematic Grants there is a qualification phase (“enquadramento”) upon submission. Researchers are encouraged to consult FAPESP (chamada_nf_cities_nexus@fapesp.br ) regarding their eligibility before initiating the preparation of a joint proposal.
Failure to observe this procedure may result in the rejection of the proposal, without review .
1.3. FAPESP PI eligibility for this call is:
- Have a Ph.D. or equivalent qualification;
- Have a formal contract with a Research Institution in the State of Sao Paulo;
- Have significant scientific or technological production;
- Have proven experience and expertise in the area of the project, demonstrated by:
- Quality, regularity and impact of scientific and technological production.
- Supervision of researchers at the postgraduate level; this is defined as supervision of at least 2 PhD students and 2 Post-Doctoral researchers.
- Experience in scientific exchange and execution of research projects in collaboration with researchers from institutions in Brazil and other countries; this is defined as having joint publications with international colleagues.
- Ability to form research groups with known results in the area; this is defined as proven leadership of a research team in the project area.
2. Funding principles
2.1. To support these areas the following budgets are available:
I. Healthy Cities - Up to £2.5 million is available from The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), The Medical Researcher Council (MRC) and The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to support UK researchers, with matched equivalent effort from the participating FAPs to support Brazilian researchers.
II. Food, Water, Energy Nexus - Up to £1.25 million is available from the ESRC to support UK researchers, with matched equivalent effort from the FAPs to support Brazilian researchers.
2.2. Proposals are invited for projects up to 36 months at a value of £TBC, at 100% of Full Economic Costs (fEC). Full Economic Cost is, as defined by RCUK, “a cost which, if recovered across an organisation’s full programme, would recover the total cost (direct, indirect and total overhead) including an adequate recurring investment in the organisation’s infrastructure.” You should demonstrate the full economic costs of the project regardless of which funder is covering them. Costs can include institution facilities, estates, direct and indirect costs. fEC costs must also include values of salary expenses of the research team, including faculty and staff, proportional to the weekly hours dedicated to the proposed project. The individual funder’s financial forms will provide more information on this. In accordance with RCUK policy, the UK funders will contribute up to 80 per cent fEC.
2.3. Applicants do not need to request equal amounts from both sides. The difference in values should reflect the difference in costs covered and local prices. The agencies also expect the costs on each side to accurately reflect the research effort to be carried out. What is expected is that the research effort on both sides be comparable.
2.4. Considering the above, applicants from São Paulo should also upload the summary budget worksheet specifically designed for this Call: FAPESP-RCUK Funding Summary.
2.5. The types of costs allowed by FAPESP in the Thematic Project Research Grants are available at www.fapesp.br/176 (item 7).
2.5.1. In the budget request to FAPESP, applicants must include the values for the applicable Overheads (“Reserva Técnica”), including Additional Benefits (“Benefícios Complementares”), RTP (“ Reserva Técnica do Projeto”) and RTI (“Reserva Técnica Institucional”).
3. Proposal Characteristics
3.1. The common application documents as describe in pages 5 and 6 of the Call Specification text, must be submitted in English to both ESRC and to FAPESP.
3.2. Exceptionally for this Call for Proposals, the duration of proposals submitted to FAPESP will be for up to 36 months. Submissions for longer periods will not be qualified for analysis.
3.3. Applicants from the State of São Paulo must submit (in hard copy) all the required documentation necessary for Thematic Project Research Grants and considering the specific documents requested by this Call.
3.3.1 Applicants must submit the Submission Form specific for this Call for Proposals available at: www.fapesp.br/chamadas/2015/esrc_citiesnexus_proposal.docx
3.3.2. The Submission Form contains the complete list of documents to be sent to FAPESP (item 14. DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED), also considering the requirements of the Thematic Grants.
3.3.3. The summarized budget worksheet (FAPESP-RCUK Funding Summary), as described in item 2.4 above, must also be submitted.
3.3.4. The following joint application documents must be sent, as described in pages 5 and 6 of the Call Specification text:
a. Case for Support (“Projeto de Pesquisa”, 10 pages max)
b. Justification of Resources (2 pages per country)
c. Pathways to Impact (2 pages max)
d. CVs (2 pages max for each named researcher including brief list of up to 15 project related personal publications)
e. List of Publications cited in proposal (1 page max)
f. Letters of Support (only if applicable)
g. The International Agency Resource Form (1 page worksheet)
3.4. In case of approval, a Letter of Agreement between the Partner Host Institution and the Host Institution to which the PI from São Paulo is affiliated, establishing how Intellectual Property rights, confidentiality, and publications will be treated jointly, in observance of the policies of each funding Party. The Letter of Agreement is not mandatory for the submission of proposals, but no approved project will be contracted before the presentation of a copy of the signed Agreement.
3.4.1. Ownership of IP generated during the project and rights to exploitation, as well as any costs regarding management of IP, are expected to be agreed between the collaborating research organizations before the research begins. The presentation of this agreement is mandatory before the signature of the grant award in case of FAPESP funding.
4. Submission of proposals
4.1. All proposals shall be sent to FAPESP in hard copy before 12:00 (Brasilia time) on 2st July 2015 to the following address: Rua Pio XI, 1500, Alto da Lapa, CEP 05468-901 - São Paulo - SP, with “UK-Brazil Call for Collaborative Research in Brazil on Healthy Cities” written on the envelope.
4.1.1. If sent by mail, only proposals with a stamped postmark date within the deadline of this Call will be processed.
4.1.2. All documents listed in item 3.3 above (including those listed by the submission form) must be included.
4.1.3. Online application is not available.
4.2. Proposals submitted by any other means will not be accepted.
4.3. No proposal will be accepted after the closing date for submission, nor will any addendum or explanation be accepted, unless those explicitly and formally requested by FAPESP or ESRC.
5. Analysis and selection
5.1. Once a joint application has been received and accepted as eligible at ESRC and at FAPESP, each agency will send the proposal to peer reviewers drawn separately by both UK and FAPESP.
5.2. Proposals that receive supportive responses from the reviewers will be considered by a single joint ESRC/CONFAP/CNPq assessment panel.
5.3. The proposals will be assessed on their fit to the scope of the call and to the criteria as follows:
- Assessment of the relevance to the theme of the call
- The originality and potential contribution to new knowledge, practice,
- The appropriateness of the research design, work plan, research team; which will include an assessment of the UK-Brazil collaboration.
- The costings and value for money of the research;
- Outputs, dissemination plans and likely impact of the work.
5.4. The evaluation of the proposal submitted to FAPESP will follow the regular procedures used by the Foundation. Before the final decision, FAPESP will carry an internal analysis using its Area and Supervising assessment panels. Final decisions on the proposals from the State of São Paulo will be made jointly between UK Funders and FAPESP.
5.5. The proposal will be funded by FAPESP only if it is approved also by the UK Funders.
5.6. It is very important that FAPESP’s reviewers and committee members understand clearly that the collaboration of the applicant in São Paulo is scientifically relevant, integrated to the ESRC proposal, and determinant to the success of the whole proposal. It is also essential that the participation of the PI in São Paulo in the conception and in the preparation of the proposal be made clear. The PI in São Paulo is ultimately responsible for making these elements clear in the proposal submitted to FAPESP.
6. Results of the selection
The results will be announced by FAPESP at www.fapesp.br.
7. Contract for selected projects
Selected proposals will be the object of a grant contract to be signed by the PI, a representative of the Host Institution and FAPESP.
8. Grant cancellation
FAPESP may cancel funding if, during the grant timeframe, a fact is of sufficient significance to justify cancellation, at the discretion of the Scientific Director, regardless of any other appropriate actions.
9. Information about this Call at FAPESP
The questions related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to Alexandre Roccatto – email: chamada_nf_cities_nexus@fapesp.br.