Agreements

SPRINT Call for Proposals – 3rd Edition/2017 Versão em português

Public Call for Proposals offering seed funding to support the exchange of researchers under FAPESP’s program São Paulo Researchers in International Collaboration (SPRINT).


Summary:

There are three possibilities for designing the Proposal in International Collaboration:
  • Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions which have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP and participate in this SPRINT edition (see item 2.1);
  • Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions which do not have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP (see item 2.2);
  • Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions which have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP, but the institutions are not joining the current SPRINT edition (see item 2.3).
Submission Deadline: October 30, 2017

Contact: sprint@fapesp.br  


1. Objective

To promote the engagement of researchers affiliated to institutions of higher education and research in the State of São Paulo in partnership with researchers abroad in order to:

1.1. Further develop qualitatively the ongoing research projects; and

1.2. Work cooperatively aiming at the elaboration of joint research projects of medium and long term, for submission to FAPESP, by researchers from the State of São Paulo, and to the research funding agencies in the countries of corresponding partners, by their colleagues.

2. Rules for designing the Proposal in International Collaboration

This Call for Proposals considers the following partnership alternatives:

2.1. Proposals in partnership with researcher whose institution has a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP and participates in this SPRINT edition:

2.1.1. Specific information about fields of knowledge, maximum project duration, and grant value to support each selected proposal, must follow the procedures agreed by FAPESP and the respective partner Institution to which the partner researcher is affiliated. The procedures are described in the guidelines of the institutions listed below:

a) Durham University, United Kingdom

b) Leiden University, Netherlands

c) Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), Belgium

d) Purdue University, United States

e) Texas A&M University, United States

f) University of California San Diego, United States

g) University of Münster, Germany

h) University of Nebraska - Lincoln, United States 

i) University of Victoria, Canada

2.1.2. The foreign partner researchers must follow the additional instructions of their own institution for the submission of the project and for the clarification of doubts.

2.2. Proposals in partnership with researchers whose institution does not have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP.

2.2.1. FAPESP may receive proposals from researchers whose partners are from institutions with which FAPESP does not have a current Agreement. In that case, the Principal Investigator must present to FAPESP evidence of availability of matching funds, based on item 2.2.2 below, to be used by the partner researcher;

2.2.2. It will be considered on as a basis the matching funds equivalent to up to US$10.000,00 (ten thousand dollars) per year, for projects of up to two years duration;

2.2.3. In this mode, FAPESP will approve only those proposals for which the matching funds demonstrated are applied in a way consistent with the objectives of the SPRINT program;

2.2.4. FAPESP expects to support up to five (5) proposals of this type.

2.3. Proposals in partnership with researcher whose institution has a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP, but it is not joining the current SPRINT edition.

2.3.1. The proposal might be received under this call since the institution agrees on receiving the partner’s proposal. This condition will be under the provision made explicit by FAPESP at item 2.2.2 above and, if the proposal is considered meritorious, it can only be approved if the researchers are able to present evidence that they have adequate funding for their part of the collaboration expenses.

3. Eligibility to submit proposals within the scope of this Call

FAPESP considers eligible to submit proposals to this call:

3.1. Principal Investigators of ongoing research projects funded by FAPESP within the following FAPESP funding modalities: Regular Research Awards (excluding mobility projects), Thematic Projects, Young Investigators, Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPIDs/RIDCs), Public Education Research Program, Research in Public Policies, and Research Partnership for Technological Innovation (PITE). Co-Principal Investigators of ongoing Thematic Projects, CEPIDs/RIDCs and PITEs are also eligible to apply.

3.2. Each researcher can present only one proposal to this Call.

3.3. The ongoing research project linked to this proposal must have a minimum of six months duration left by the scheduled beginning of the mobility project.

3.4. FAPESP may accept proposals submitted to this call linked to research proposals that are still undergoing merit review. However, if the research proposal is still under analysis or has not been approved by the time the proposals in this Call are selected, the related mobility proposal will be cancelled.

4. Eligible fundable candidates

4.1. The proposals must aim to respect the principle of reciprocity with regard to academic qualifications of those who will take part in the exchange activities.

4.2. For the exchange activities within the scope of this Call are eligible the team members of the related ongoing research award described above in item 3, when previously defined in the ongoing research project as:

a. Principal or Co-Principal Investigators;

b. Associated Researchers affiliated to Higher Education and Research Institutions in the State of São Paulo;

(i) Associated Researchers who are Post-doctoral fellows must have an ongoing FAPESP fellowship during the planned exchange mission.

5. Funding principles and Duration of the Projects

5.1. Funds can be requested for the mobility of researchers, according to FAPESP standards, to accomplish the purposes set forth under item 1 of this Call:

a. Air tickets (www.fapesp.br/5835 - item 2.10);

b. Health insurance (www.fapesp.br/2921);

c. Living allowances (www.fapesp.br/1086).

5.2. FAPESP will support the researchers from the State of São Paulo in scientific missions at the Partner Institution, and the Partner Institution (or another funding body, for the cases under item 2.2) will support the researchers from the partner country carrying out scientific missions in the State of São Paulo;

5.3. Details on funding that are specific for each Partner Institution are described in the guidelines listed in item 2.1.1 of this Call for Proposals;

5.4. The grant can only be used for the exchange of researchers, visits for research planning, international workshops, and initial activities of data collection, always aiming to continue research collaboration and its consolidation;

5.5. The maximum duration of each project is 24 months, non-extendable and following the specificities described in the guidelines of each Partner Institution, listed in item 2.1.1 of this Call for Proposals.

6. Proposal characteristics

The proposal shall be composed of:

a. A Research Project having a maximum of five (5) pages of scientific content, written in English jointly by the Principal Investigator to FAPESP and his/her colleague , the Principal Investigator at the Partner Institution. One copy of the Research Project (as described in the item 6.1 below) shall be sent to FAPESP and an identical copy to the Partner Institution;

b. Submission forms and additional documents , as required by FAPESP (see topic 6.2, below) and/or by the partner institutions.

6.1. The Research Project must include the following:

a. A substantive description of the exchange activities, emphasizing their relevance. The proposal must state clearly how the exchange activities to be carried out by each team will contribute to the ongoing research project funded by FAPESP, as described in the item 3.1 of this call) and to the research being carried by the partner researcher abroad;

b. Detailed schedule of the exchange missions to be carried out by the partner team at the São Paulo institution and the São Paulo team at the partner institution;

c. A description of each candidate’s contribution to the mission, explaining their expertise to carry out the foreseen activities;

d. Performance indicators for the planned activities, indicating the expected results;

e. Foreseen actions that will add to the impact of the exchange for the Partner Institution and for the Host Institution in the State of São Paulo, e.g. by means of seminars, short courses etc.;

f. Description of how the Principal Investigators in São Paulo and in the partner institution intend to prepare a joint research project, resulting from the exchange activities developed from the proposal submitted in this Call, to be submitted to research funding agencies accessible in their regions in order to create a medium-long-term collaboration (up to one page).

6.2. Additional documents required by FAPESP (to be filled in English):

6.2.1. Forms:

a. Research Proposal Form;

b. Researcher Registration Form for researchers from São Paulo to be filled in exceptionally in Portuguese by the PI and by all São Paulo candidates for the exchange activities;

(i) The candidates for exchange activities must be affiliated to Higher Education and Research Institutions in the State of São Paulo and satisfy the requirements of the item 7 of this Call;

c. CV Summaries of the Principal Investigators and of all candidates for the exchange activities (guidelines at fapesp.br/en/6351);

d. Budget forms including the requested funding for the team from the state São Paulo;

e. Worksheet with the candidates from the Sate of São Paulo for the exchange missions, according to the research project as described at item 6.1 above.

6.2.2. A Letter of Agreement between the Partner Institution and the Higher Education and Research Institution in the State of São Paulo 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, considering SPRINT item 8 (www.fapesp.br/en/sprint). 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;

6.2.3. Proposals related to ongoing FAPESP PITE projects must present a Statement of Consent by the company that co-funds the PITE project agreeing with the application to this CFP;

6.2.4. For proposals related to an ongoing project resulting from FAPESP partnership with other funding institutions, the Principal Investigator must present a Statement of Consent from the Principal(s) Investigator(s) of that ongoing grant, agreeing to the submission of Proposed in the Sprint Call.

6.3. Additional documents required by the Partner Institution:

The Principal Investigator at the Partner Institution must consider the Additional Documents described in the Guideline of his/her funding institution. Guidelines for FAPESP Partner institutions are available in item 2.1.1 of this Call for Proposals. When the additional instructions in the Guideline include adaptations that need to be joint followed, the São Paulo researchers should also consider the terms and conditions set for in the respective partner Guideline.

7. Timeline

Call announced on FAPESP and Partner’s websites

August 01, 2017

Closing date for submission of proposals

October 30, 2017

Successful proposals notified

January 26, 2018

8. Submission of proposals

8.1. The proposal must be submitted according to the deadline stated in section 4 above, both to FAPESP by the Principal Investigator from the State of São Paulo and to Partner Institution by the foreign Principal Investigator. Proposal submitted to only one Party will not be considered.

8.2. No additions or clarifications will be accepted, except those explicitly and formally requested by FAPESP or by the Partner Institution;

8.3. Submissions to FAPESP can only be accepted in paper, via mail, to the following address: Rua Pio XI, 1500, Alto da Lapa, CEP 05468-901 – São Paulo/SP, with “SPRINT – Chamada de Propostas 3/2017” written on the envelope. Only proposals with a stamped postmark date within the deadline of this Call will be processed.

9. Analysis and selection

9.1. Each Party will select the proposals according to its own procedures. Only the proposals selected by both Parties will be funded;

9.2. The proposals will be pre-qualified and, subsequently, analysed by way of a competitive process which will evaluate project merit and relevance, the potential contribution of the proposed project to the ongoing project funded by FAPESP, the proposed project capacity to leverage further research funding, and the strategic research aims of the Partner Institution;

9.3. Proposals that do not comply with the terms of this Call will not qualify for analysis;

9.4. Proposals whose proponents already have or had one or more mobility projects in international collaboration funded by FAPESP will not be prioritized to be funded in this Call for Proposals.

10. Result of the analysis

Final results will be announced at FAPESP website (www.fapesp.br) and at the webpages of the Partner Institutions and by means of a communication to the proponents.

11. Contract of the selected proposals

To FAPESP: selected proposals will be object of a grant contract (FAPESP) to be signed by the PI and a legal representative of the Higher Education and Research Institution to which he/she is affiliated.

12. Grant cancellation

13. APESP may cancel funding if, during the grant timeframe, a significant event justifies its cancellation in the assessment of the Joint Steering Committee, without prejudice of any other appropriate actions.

14. Information about this Call at FAPESP

The questions related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to sprint@fapesp.br