Programme is currently closed for this year.
Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) is pleased to announce a Call for Applications for Shastri Research Grants (SRG) 2020-21 from the faculty members/academics from SICI’s Canadian and Indian Member Institutions in good standing. This is a special competition that focuses on the role of India-Canada research collaborations that will enhance the ability of each country to respond to the ongoing implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is intended to be an opportunity for SICI-affiliated researchers to make a crucial contribution at a difficult and demanding moment for the two countries and for the world. Especially urgent is consideration of the differential impacts in gender terms, and the effects for vulnerable groups such as migrant workers. Accordingly, insofar as it is compatible with a review process of the highest quality, adjudication will be fast-tracked, so that research may be undertaken at the earliest possible moment.
In general, the key objective of SRG is to support new or ongoing research collaborations between SICI’s Canadian and Indian member institutions that will achieve positive results while in the longer term also promoting capacity-building among faculty members and more junior researchers. Projects in all disciplines are eligible, provided that they focus on one or more of the specific themes, related to Covid-19, that are listed below. Projects must involve partnerships composed of teams composed from at least one Indian and one Canadian member institution. In accordance with SICI’s current Covid-19 policy guidelines, the collaboration cannot include any international travel, and all activities within the project must be able to be carried out by virtual means.
Please note the following points:
- Institutions may receive only one SRG award, and receipt of the award is subject to the institution being a SICI member in good standing with fully paid-up membership for the current year (2020-21).
- The selected awardees will have 2 weeks to confirm their acceptance of the SICI grant (subject to their institution’s eligibility).
- Projects that entail holding seminars, workshops or conferences without any research component are not eligible. However, in order to ensure maximum diffusion of research results in the globally-important context of Covid-19, it is an expected part of every project that at least one webinar will be held with the purpose of reaching a wide audience with the research results and engaging with discussion among other researchers in the field. Normally, the webinar facilities of one or other of the home universities (or of one of the SICI offices) should be used for this purpose, although if for any reason this is not possible, then a time-limited subscription to a suitable platform will be an acceptable expense under the SRG award.
Value:
CAD$ 5,000/per project.
Number of Awards:
4 (Four)
Duration:
The grant must be fully utilized within the period from 1 October 2020 to 30 June 2021.
Eligibility:
- Proposed SRG projects must involve a bi-national research initiative that addresses issues of relevance to the Covid-19 emergency as experienced in India and/or Canada. More specifically, proposals must address one or more of the following themes, understood to be in direct relationship to Covid-19:
-Public health
- Energy and environment
-Agriculture and food security
-Gender-related impacts
-Migrant workers and other marginalized groups
-Psychosocial impacts of lockdown
-What do reopening and recovery look like?
- The above themes may be treated in whatever disciplinary or interdisciplinary context the applicants may deem appropriate, although in the case of applications of equal merit the adjudication committee may award preference in such a way as to ensure that each of the broad disciplinary divisions (Social Sciences and Humanities; STEM; and Health and Environment) is represented among the successful projects.
- Full time Faculty members of SICI’s Canadian and Indian member institutions are eligible to apply for this grant.
- The Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of Canada or India.
- Preference will be given to applications that involve young faculty/research scholars and students (undergraduate, graduate) in the proposed project.
Application Requirements:
- Submission of complete application form along with all required documents at GMS Portal on or before 31 July 2020 (11:00pm MST)
- A Project Proposal containing all the information asked for in the application form (i.e., Project Title, Abstract, Background and Rationale, Objectives, Project Summary Description and Budget). The adjudication panel consists of volunteer professors from our member institutions and while best efforts are made to get diverse expertise in the panels, it is in the best interest of the applicant to use language that is comprehensible to your colleagues who are from other disciplines. The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate binational character of the project and relevance of research issue to one or both the countries. See Evaluation Criteria (below) for additional information.
- Curriculum Vitae not exceeding five pages each for the lead applicant and the co-applicant. All additional pages after 5th page in each CV will be removed and/or ignored during evaluation.
- Copy of Passports/PR Card (both applicants)
- The application must be signed by all the applicants and they must be countersigned by appropriate Institutional authorities in each Institute, exactly as it is required for approval of any application made to Federal granting agencies in each country.
- Certificates for Ethical Approval of human or animal studies from the member institution’s duly appointed authorities (if applicable). The approval certificates may be submitted later upon receipt of the award. However, no funds will be released until these certificates have been submitted to SICI office.
- Declaration form (In case of Voluntary Contributions available from the applicant /s Institutions) .
Acceptable Expenses
- Eligible expenses: stipends for students/research assistants, rental of equipment, consumables for research, communication, publications, copying, printing costs, and translation. All awardees must submit a report including proof of expenditure and research outcomes at the end of each project.
Evaluation Criteria:
Please note that the panel of adjudicators is composed of volunteer professors of member organizations in India or Canada. Hence the applicants are advised to make an effort to write all the sections of the application in a clear language that would generally be understood by your colleagues from other disciplines. Please avoid excessive use of technical field-specific jargon and acronyms; and if required, do explain these terms clearly at their first appearance.
SRG Adjudicating committee will make the final decision concerning successful applicants based upon the following marking system:
1. Project’s objectives, scope and methodology (10 points)
- Are the project objectives and scope clear and easy to conceptualize in operational terms?
- Is the project methodology appropriate and convincing for achieving the project’s objectives?
2. The coherence and importance of proposed activities to achieve anticipated outcomes (10 points)
- Are the activities proposed in the project description rationale in order to bring the anticipated outcomes on the project?
3. Scholarship of Researchers (10 points)
- Do the applicants (lead and co-applicant) have necessary academic and research background plus history of collaboration in the area of proposed research study to ensure the success of the project?
4. Engagement of students and or young researchers in the project(10 points)
- Does the proposed project plan to engage students/young researcher in the project activities for capacity building?
5. Budget (10 points)
- Are the resources allocated in the budget realistic given the project’s planned activities?
- Are the project’s budget lines conforming to SICI’s standard project expenses?
6. Timeline (5 points)
- Is the project execution timeline well-structured and does it allow a realistic amount of time to achieve the project’s objectives and goals?
Disbursement of Funds
75% of the project grant will be disbursed upon signing of letter of agreement between SICI and recipient’s institution and remaining 25% to be released upon submission and approval of a final report to SICI by the recipient.
Application Deadline:
31 July 2020 (11:00pm MST)
Application Forms: Apply online at GMS portal https://www.sicigms.org/login
Declaration (In case of Voluntary Contributions available from the applicant /s Institutions) : Form
Reporting: Upload your final reports (format attached) in prescribed format at https://www.sicigms.org/login
Report Format: SRG Final Report 2020-21
Please note:
- Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- All application materials must be submitted through the Grant Management System online. Any material that is sent by other means (courier, post, fax or electronic) to our offices will not be entered in the competition.
- Names of the successful applicants will be uploaded on SICI website (https://www.shastriinstitute.org/).
For more information, please contact Mahmuda at the Calgary office:
Mahmuda Aldeen
Program and Member Relations Officer
Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute
1418 Education Tower
2500 University Dr NW
Calgary AB T2N 1N4
Phone: (403) 220-3220(direct)
Email:maldeen@ucalgary.ca , mahmuda@sici.org.in