Deadline: 30 November 2011
Open to: Applicants from developing countries (the list of countries can be found below)
Grant: $30,000 to $50,000 per year for one to three years, a few larger and more complex projects $100,000 per year for up to three years
Description
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is exploring new opportunities to use science and technology to meet the world’s development challenges. As part of its science and technology strategy, USAID is developing mechanisms to leverage the investments that other U.S. government agencies make in scientific research and training. Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between USAID and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the two agencies implemented a pilot program to assess the potential for USAID-funded collaborative research projects. Based on the program’s success, USAID and NSF are now pleased to announce the launching of a new and broader program called Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER). This competitive grants program will allow scientists in developing countries to apply for funds to support research and capacity-building activities in partnership with their NSF-funded collaborators on topics of importance to USAID. Areas in which both NSF and USAID have strong mutual interests include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Food security topics such as agricultural development, fisheries, and plant genomics
- Global health issues such as ecology of infectious disease, biomedical engineering, and natural/human system interactions
- Climate change impacts such as water sustainability, hydrology, ocean acidification, climate process and modeling, and environmental engineering
- Other development topics including disaster mitigation, biodiversity, water, and renewable energy
Project proposal
- Indonesia: research projects in any technical area supported under PEER. Projects should be consistent with the objectives of USAID/Indonesia (click here) and should also contribute to USAID/Indonesia’s higher education objectives by addressing one or more of the following:
- Improving instructional delivery through better teaching methods and more relevant curricula in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field;
- Enhancing research skills and methods in a STEM field;
- Building quality extension services that engage external stakeholders on topics related to STEM.
- Lebanon: research projects in any technical area, particularly those that promote the participation of female scientists, involve large collaborations that include graduate students, and contribute to the strategic development objectives of Lebanon and the USAID mission (see here).
- Philippines: research projects that support biodiversity conservation and improved natural resource management while contributing to the development objectives of USAID/Philippines (see here).
Grant
The number of awards is dependent on the quality of the proposals received and subject to the availability of funds. Budget requests should be developed commensurate with the support needed to implement the project goals. The primary objective of PEER is to support joint research projects of one to three years in duration, with release of each funding increment contingent on the project meeting annual financial and technical reporting requirements. Awards are anticipated to range in size from $30,000 to $50,000 per year for one to three years. A few larger and more complex projects may receive up to $100,000 per year for up to three years. Applicants whose requests would fall outside of this range are encouraged to discuss their projects with PEER staff (peer@nas.edu) prior to proposal submission.
Eligibility
Principal investigators (PIs) submitting proposals to PEER must be affiliated with and based at an academic, non-profit, or government-managed research institution in a developing country on the PEER-eligible country list (the list of eligible developing countries can be found here). Researchers from non-eligible countries and employees of for-profit firms in PEER-eligible countries may participate in projects using their own resources but are not permitted to serve as principal investigators, as PEER grants will not be issued to such organizations. Proposals are not accepted from U.S. researchers. Developing country PIs who apply should either be actively engaged in or plan to be engaged in a collaborative research project with an NSF-funded U.S. researcher. Developing country scientists without existing partners are encouraged to search NSF’s public database of awards to identify potential U.S. collaborators (click here to search for it). Please review the Frequently Asked Questions (found here) section of the program Web site for additional details, or e-mail peer@nas.edu with other eligibility questions.
How to apply?
In order to apply, you need to submit the following documents:
Proposals should be submitted electronically to peer@nas.edu by 11:59 PM (U.S. Eastern Standard Time) on November 30, 2011, preferably in one PDF file including the application form (can be downloaded from this website) and all additional required documents.
Contacts
Applicants who have questions after reviewing these materials are encouraged to contact PEER staff by e-mail at peer@nas.edu or by telephone at +1-202-334-3656 or +1-202-334-1728.
notefy when scholarship for this courseis out!!
It is out. This is the "notification". The deadline is 30 November 2011.
Kind Regards
Dijana
Mladiinfo