Office of Sponsored Research
OSR DIRECTOR
(T. Abrajano)
Operations &
Shared Services
(Nawees Dad)
Competitive Research Funds
(Ann Francois Lamblin)
Research
Funding
Research
Funding
Support
Integrative
Activities
(Jason Schrum)
Research Evaluation
(Thibaut Lery)
Research
Integrity
Research
Evaluation
Research Services
(Erwan Arzel)
Pre-Award
Post-Award
Awards &
contracts
The CRG program is KAUST’s vehicle for funding curiosity
driven research projects
CRG objectives:
• Address questions of compelling importance
• Complement KAUST expertise with best-in class external
collaborations
Paying additional attention to:
• Attracting top students
• Engaging women in science
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Call opened on 12th March
•
Letter of Intent: Email completed LoI Template to Research
Services (formally ORS) by April 16 2015, 5:00pm
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Call deadline: May 14, 2015 5:00pm KSA time (online
submission to Research Services)
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Anticipated award notification date: October 2015
• Award start date: April 1, 2016
2 Types of proposals considered:
Exploratory
• Very early stage, short-term high-risk projects,
• Up to 24 months and up to $350k
Full Proposals
• High quality, ambitious and innovative projects
• Up to 36 months and up to $1.5M
Proposals must not duplicate other projects, and specifically
center mission-relevant research.
Proposal Preparation:
Exploratory proposals:
7 pages maximum
Full Proposals:
10 pages maximum
Both must include Project management plan ( 1 page max) and
diagrammatic workplan ( Gantt Chart, 1 page max)
• Outcomes of prior CRG and FIC support (3 pages max)
• Statement of intent to collaborate if external subawardees or
collaborators are involved
• Current and Pending Support form ( available from Research
Services)
Proposal Preparation: Budget
Max 40% may go to external collaborators
Necessary equipment up to $50k may be requested
Travel up to $10k per year may be requested
Proposed events must be distinct from CS program
At KAUST - Post docs and graduate students are the only
personnel that may be funded by the Award
• Research scientists, admin personnel, routine business
operations, and prof development are not allowable.
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• Budget aligned with fiscal year ( July 1 to June 30 )
http://ocrf.kaust.edu.sa/Pages/Home.aspx
Proposal Review Process
Initial Two-Stage Process:
• 3 or more external expert reviews
• Review Panel of top scientists worldwide, at least 2 panelists
assigned to each proposal
• Entire Panel discuss each proposal merit and ranking
Panel recommends ranking, OSR endorses funding cut-off as per
budget based on ranking, and President awards.
Proposal Review Criteria
• Quality of the proposal is paramount
• Proposal should have transformative potential, be novel,
ambitious but feasible
• Inclusion and quality of external collaborators
• Recruitment and participation of students and women as
researchers in the project
• Relevance of the proposed research to KAUST
• Reasonableness of the resources requested
• For Exploratory proposals, appropriateness for this category
Proposal Review: Lessons from prior CRG Panels
Reasons reviewers were unconvinced by a proposal
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Too broad, unfocused, vague
Could not see what was new
Disconnect between stated goals and planned activities
Lacking relevant/critical expertise
Not well written, hard to understand
Exploratory – important question but no potential to be
transformative!
Proposal Review: Lessons from prior CRG Panels
Reasons reviewers were impressed by a proposal
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Very high potential for impact
Highly novel or innovative ideas or approach
Applicant clearly knows what is going on in the field
Clear, well written, well thought out
Clearly states approach, clear objectives and work plan
Good management of the project
Exploratory – high potential for transformative advances
Things to consider when writing your CRG proposal:
• Read the call document carefully
• State problem or opportunity clearly, and why its significant in
broader context
• Detail current state of the art in the field
• Say what is different, novel about your proposal
• Be specific about what you will do and how it will achieve the
desired impact
• If very high risk, show you understand the risks (e.g. Is the
project fully dependent on a particular outcome of the initial
activities?)
• Get colleagues/collaborators to critique it
Required Documents and Proposal Submission
Where are the documents available?
• OSR website and online submission portal, or request from
Research Services
How do I submit my proposal?
• Letter of Intent ( via email to Research Services)
• Submission of proposal is online via PALMS ( Proposal to Award
Lifecycle Management System)
• https://palms.kaust.edu.sa
• Links to PALMS in call documents, OSR website and notification
email
Note: If you are having difficulty with PALMS, contact us and we will assist, and will provide
training where required.
All fields will be blank, enter ‘0’ if not applicable to your proposal
Note the maximum size for any individual
file or document to be uploaded is 10MB
Please review all information entered and make sure all required documents
uploaded, once you have determined the application is ready for submission,
click ‘Submit to ORS’
What happens once my proposal has been submitted to ORS on PALMS?
• Once you hit ‘Submit to ORS’, you will receive an email to confirm that your
proposal has been received and is now under review by ORS.
• The status of your proposal will now say ‘Pending ORS Review’
• You can continue to view your proposal
• ORS can change the status back if any changes/additions are required before
ORS submit the proposal to OCRF
What happens when ORS submit my proposal to OCRF?
• You will receive an email confirming this final submission to the merit review
process
• Your proposal status will change to ‘OCRF Received’
• From this point on, no changes to the application are allowed
• Anticipated notification Date October 2015
For inquiries related to proposal submission, please contact:
KAUST Research Services, Pre-Award Team
Email: [email protected]
Thank you, we encourage your active participation and wish you
the best in this competition
Questions?
Note we will upload FAQ’s onto our website and keep this updated