DFID-ESRC China-Africa Research Programme The call for proposals Dr Dan Korbel | Senior Research Portfolio Manager for International Development Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) ▶ One of seven UK Research Councils ▶ Total budget of £200 million for 2012/13 ▶ We support basic, strategic and applied economic and social science research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector ▶ Subject areas include: economics, psychology, political science, sociology, anthropology, geography, education, management and business studies ESRC’s guiding principles ▶ Quality – Funding research and training of the highest quality by world standards ▶ Impact – Demonstrate the wider contribution of UK social science and its national and international impact ▶ Independence – Ensuring independence from political, commercial or sectional interests Our strategic priorities ▶ The Economic Performance and Sustainable Growth ▶ Influencing Behaviour and Informing Interventions ▶ Fair and Vibrant Society To be delivered through: – Enhancing impact from existing investments – Encouraging investments to work together – Commissioning new investments in identified gaps ESRC’s development research portfolio ▶ Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research (DFID/ESRC) ▶ Growth Research Programme (DFID/ESRC) ▶ ESPA – Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (NERC/DFID/ESRC) ▶ Health Systems Research Initiative (DFID/MRC/Wellcome/ESRC) ▶ Population, reproductive health and economic development (ESRC/Hewlett Foundation and others) ▶ Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (DFID/BBSRC/MRC/ESRC/NERC/DSTL) ▶ Others in the pipeline (e.g. DFID/ESRC Education & Development) The application process step by step Key websites and documents: ▶ Call website (www.esrc.ac.uk/decarp) ▶ Guidance notes for applicants ▶ FAQ ▶ Call specification ▶ ESRC impact toolkit [email protected] What we expect to fund in this call ▶ World class scientific research on economic development with high potential for impact on policy and practice relevant to LICs ▶ Research projects over up to four years and with a value of between £200,000 and £2 million (100% fEC) ▶ A mixed portfolio of small projects (£200,000£500,000) and larger projects (£500,000 and above) ▶ NO standalone studentships Research projects will… ▶ Identify a developmental challenge facing Africa and examine possible solutions linked to recent experience from China’s own economic development or ▶ Build our understanding of an aspect of China’s engagement with Africa relevant to the continent’s economic development Areas of particular interest ▶ The role of local government in economic development ▶ China and infrastructure development in Africa ▶ China, FDI, technology transfer and productivity increase in Africa ▶ China and agricultural development in Africa ▶ Natural resources and China’s investment-trade relationship with Africa ▶ Global competitiveness, direct investment flows and special economic zones We encourage… ▶ Applicants to make credible partnerships with Chinese as well as African expertise, as appropriate to the intellectual challenge ▶ Experienced academics from Africa or China to lead proposals Research projects are required to… ▶ Consist of at least 50% social science ▶ Generate new knowledge with significant potential to benefit the lives of poor people in LICs ▶ Include non-academic stakeholders and involve them in both design and conduct of the research ▶ Be aligned with the scope of the programme ▶ Address one or more of the call’s broad thematic areas (or make a convincing case if going beyond them) Indicative timeline 15 November 2013 June 2014 Q4 2014 Call for proposals opens PI response to peer review Awards start Submission deadline Funding decisions communicated 13 March 2014 16.00 UK time August 2014 Assessment criteria The Commissioning Panel will assess your proposal in terms of the following ▶ Research agenda (intellectually innovative, well-focused, clearly articulated and methodologically sound) ▶ Project management ▶ Capacity building ▶ Research impact and stakeholder engagement ▶ Research partnerships and collaborations ▶ Value for money Eligibility ▶ UK and non-UK research institutions, including not-for-profit organisations with demonstrable research capacity should be eligible to apply as host organisation* ▶ All investigators (PI and Co-Is) and their institutions must have Je-S registration: – RCUK-recognised UK institutions (e.g. UK HEIs) – Je-S-registered overseas organisations – ‘self-registered’ organisations *please contact the ESRC secretariat ([email protected]) to discuss this further Your proposal in Je-S ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ Research organisation, project title, suitable reference Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators Project partners Full budget (in line with full Economic Cost funding model) Impact summary Key attachments include: – – – – – – Case for support (£200k-£1 million: max. 6 sides; £1-2 million: max. 12 sides of A4) Justification of resources (max. 2 sides of A4) Pathways to Impact (max. 2 sides of A4) Data management plan (max. 3 sides of A4) CVs for named researchers (max. 2 sides of A4 each) Letters of support, where applicable Case for support (length depending on amount requested) In this attachment, you should discuss the following: ▶ Aims and objectives ▶ Academic, policy and practice background ▶ Research question(s) ▶ Relevance to the scope of the programme ▶ Proposed research methodology ▶ Analysis framework ▶ Details of any project-linked doctoral studentship(s) ▶ Ethical issues https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/Handbook/pages/OutlineProposals/Attachments ESRCSpecificGuidance.htm Justification of resources (max. 2 sides of A4) In this attachment, you should: ▶ Provide detail of resources required to undertake the research ▶ Justify why the requested resources are required ▶ List the costs incurred by overseas institutions at 100% full Economic Cost https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/Handbook/pages/OutlineProposals/Attachments ESRCSpecificGuidance.htm Submission deadline Applications must be submitted to Je-S* by 4pm UK time on 13 March 2014 *if your institutions is not self-registered, make sure to forward your application to your Research Office/submitter pool in good time (at least 48 hours before the deadline) Do get in touch DECARP secretariat [email protected] Petya Kangalova +44 (0)179 341 3074 [email protected] Lauren Watters +44 (0)179 341 3047 [email protected] Je-S Help [email protected] +44 (0)179 344 4164 Thank you!