Strengthening Information Society Research Capacity Alliance
2011-2013
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Proposals for research projects on Information Societies and Information & Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) carried out in the Global South will be accepted by SIRCA II.
About SIRCA II
The Strengthening Information Society Research Capacity Alliance – or SIRCA II – aims to improve the inter-disciplinary research skills of emerging scholars in the Global South. Learning from the experience of building capacity in the Information Society/ICTD field in Asia, SIRCA II will include researchers from Africa, Latin America as well as Asia, in order to address the very lack of scholars from developing regions.
The objectives of the program are to: i. Build scientific and critical research skills and capacity among emerging researchers in Africa, Latin America and Asia;
a. Create opportunities for mentorship between established international researchers (Collaborators) and grant recipients (Principal Investigators or PIs);
b. Provide spaces at a regional and international level for PIs to share experiences and knowledge in face-to-face settings; and
c. Provide training to PIs on key information society’s issues.
ii. Establish network connections between African, Latin American and Asian researchers; and
iii. Disseminate findings locally and internationally in order to strengthen the body of methodologically sound, inter-disciplinary and theoretically-based research.
The program will be managed by the Singapore Internet Research Centre, based at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, and the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, Peru. The SIRCA II Programme will be supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.
Eligibility
You may apply for research funding as the Principal Investigator of the research project, only if you are:
· an emerging scholar in the Information & Communication Technology for Development field of no more than 45 years old; if you are a PhD holder, then you are only eligible if you have no more than seven years of post-graduate teaching/research experience; · affiliated with an academic, government, research, or civil society institution, consortium or institution based in Africa, Latin America and Asia; funds will be disbursed to your organization of employment and not directly to you; and · to remain in the country or region of research throughout the grant period/research project;
NB: The PI is accountable for the project and is expected to be involved actively in it.
Pre-application Registration
Applicants must register via email at sirca2@ntu.edu.sg prior to submitting a proposal application. The email registration deadline is 14 October 2011. The email subject header should read “SIRCA II Registration”, and the body should include the following details:
· Full Name of Principal Investigator · (Tentative) Research Title (this can be changed at the time of filling in online application form) · Country of Research
NB: Applicants should note examples of previously funded projects and check that their intended project does not duplicate one of those already funded in previous calls. Details of the successful awards are available on the SIRCA website @ www.sirca.org.sg/current-projects.
Funding Information
Each selected grant recipient will be provided with:
· upto SGD$24,000 for a maximum period of support of 18 months to conduct a research project; · least-cost travel and per diems covered to attend training workshop and final research dissemination conference; and · one assigned senior-level collaborator to supervise and guide you through the research project.
Applicants are expected to provide a detailed research budget, indicating clearly their expected costs for the following line items:
· Personnel
· Equipment
· International Travel (conference travel relating to SIRCA only)
· Local Travel
· Research
· Other Operating Expenses
· Declaration on existing funding agency to your proposal
You are required to use the budget template available at www.sirca.org.sg/budget. Instructions for each line item and how to account for them are provided in the template.
Research Timeline
Applicants are expected to provide a detailed research timeline, indicating clearly their project milestones and completion times (in terms of weeks or months). You are required to use the timeline template available at www.sirca.org.sg/timeline.
Proposal Processing and Review
Proposal requirements
All proposals must state clearly the following:
• Literature review • Clearly articulated research question(s), • Potential impact/application, • Project beneficiaries: the individuals and groups that would benefit from the research, • Long to medium term sustainability (how the impact continues after the end of the project), • Research methodology (including elements of multi-disciplinarily), • Ethical procedure, • Expected results, • Dissemination plan for project results (peer-review scientific literature and media), • Risk management, • Project budget, • Implementation schedule (project timeline), • Qualifications of the Principal Investigators, • Past research project grant(s) applied and its status, • Three referees’ names and contact information, and • Two suitable senior collaborators for nomination; although the final decisions on collaborator assignment will be made internally by the Grant Review Committee based on availability and matching of interests.
Applications will only be accepted through electronic means. You can find the form online at http://sirca2.sirca.org.sg/call-for-proposals/collaborator-application-form/.
NB: Incomplete submissions will not be entertained. Late submissions will be considered on a case-by case basis by the Management Committee
Review Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
1. Clarity of the proposal or the research question 2. Novelty, significance, and importance to the community 3. Adequacy of methodological rigor and theoretical contribution 4. Appropriateness of interpretations 5. Quality of writing 6. Quality of historical research record and referee recommendations 7. Emerging research potential of the Principal Investigator; as the program is intended to build research capacity, researchers who are senior may be rejected at the proposal vetting phase.
Award and Non-Award Decisions
Acknowledgement of receipt of the proposals will only be made to the PI.
Notification of awards will be sent to the respective employing organizations and copied to the PI normally not exceeding three months from the submission deadline. Written acceptance of the terms and conditions of the award co-signed by the PI, Co-Investigators and the respective employing organization, must reach regional secretariat within 14 working days from the date of the offer letter.
Applicants for proposals that are not selected for short-listing will receive a notification of decline with specific feedback.
Key Dates
Deadline for interest indication: October 14, 2011
Deadline for proposal submission: November 1, 2011