CALL FOR PROPOSAL 2013 @ ICSSR-NWO (Netherlands) Hurry Last Date 27th August 2013

New Delhi, May 2013

Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) invite applications from established scholars for funded academic collaboration to recognized research organisations (ROs), including universities and research institutes, in either country to undertake clearly specified research collaborations between themselves and their own research centre and research centres in the alternate country (India or The Netherlands).

The application concerns grants for an exchange visit or a joint workshop. On top of that it is related to a second Call. This next Call for joint research (excluding salary costs) or capacity building is only open to the awarded applicants of the current Call, who will be able to apply at a later stage, based on the exchange visit or workshop.

The purpose of this scheme is to strengthen the quality and potential of research in both countries by building greater research interaction. This scheme is for staff with an academic or research appointment, up to senior professors.

The Councils are particularly interested in applicants about to make major contributions in their research area. In this fifth round of awards, the Councils are concerned to encourage applicants who have established, begun to establish, or are on the verge of establishing, international recognition in their research field. Early career and female researchers are especially invited to submit a proposal.

A total of 5 Indian and 5 Dutch proposals can be awarded in this Call. About 2 to 3 Indian and 2 to 3 Dutch proposals will be awarded in the second Call. 

WHO CAN APPLY

An applicant should be the scholar who wishes to make the visit or the main co-organiser of the workshop. The applicant must however attach a letter of invitation from the proposed host institution in the other country indicating clearly that they have read and agree with the application as a joint proposal, welcome the visitor, and provide research facilities to him / her or provide workshop facilities to the team. 

Applicants must be employed in a research or academic position in a recognised research or academic institution in that country.

They must also hold a PhD or equivalent qualification, and have held this for at least three years by September 2013 (i.e., since at least September 2010).

Applications must nominate as Lead Collaborator an established scholar of postdoctoral status who is a secure member of staff at the host institution, with a recognised international standing in their field. The Lead Collaborator in association with the host institution must undertake to make all the necessary practical and administrative arrangements for the visit or workshop. The Lead Collaborator provides the lead intellectual partner or mentor role for the exchange scholar during their visit or is the main co-organiser of the workshop. In addition, by supporting the application the host research centre or group makes a commitment to work towards research collaboration with the visiting scholar(s) and the partner institution. Successful applications will normally be based in departments with clear international recognition in their fields.

WHAT CAN BE APPLIED FOR

The application is for an exchange visit or the organisation of a small workshop. ICSSR and NWO will provide:

-          Reasonable / economy international travel costs between the two institutions.

-          Related costs such as visa arrangements, domestic travel and medical insurance (for Indian scholars) or vaccinations.

-          The costs of residential accommodation to be provided by or on behalf of the host institution for the period of the stay.

For the exchange visit:

-          Some internal travel costs for the period of the stay where a case is made for links with related groups in other parts of the country.

-          Subsistence and support costs including accommodation up to a maximum for the full 1 ½  month of Euro 4,500 in The Netherlands and 300,000 rupees in India.

The total value of the grant may not exceed Euro 6,000 for visitors to The Netherlands or 400,000 rupees for visitors to India.

For the workshop:

-          International tickets for a maximum of 4 participants;

-          Subsistence and support costs including accommodation for the full week to a maximum of Euro 2,000 in the Netherlands and Rs.1,50,000 rupees in India.

The total value of the grant may not exceed Euro 2,000 and Rs.2,50,000 for a workshop in The Netherlands or Euro 4,500 and 2,50,000 rupees for a workshop in India.     

WHEN CAN APPLICATIONS BE SUBMITTED

The closing date for the submission of proposals is 27-08-2013, 16:00 hours local time.   

PREPARING AN APPLICATION

Applications should be submitted by E-mail to ICSSR or through the Iris system to NWO not later than: 27 August 2013, 4.00pm (16.00 hours) local time.

For Dutch applicants the grant application has two parts: a fact sheet and the application form.

-         A Dutch applicant completes the fact sheet directly in NWO's electronic application system Iris.

-         The application form for Dutch applicants is on the grant page for this programme on the NWO website. As soon as you have completed it you can add this form to the Iris fact sheet as a PDF file.

For Indian applicants that grant application only concerns the application form.

-         The application form for Indian applicants is on the ICSSR website (Download Application Form). As soon as you have completed it you can submit this form to ICSSR as a PDF file.

Additional annexes other than the requested support letter are not allowed. 

SPECIFIC CONDITIONS

The Councils invite applications from across the social sciences ? covering economics, economic and social history, education, demography, development and area studies, environmental studies, human geography, law, management and business studies, pedagogy, political science, psychology, social and cultural anthropology, sociology, social policy, social statistics, and computing for social sciences.

Applicants are not expected or required to be working on research topics specifically concerned with India or The Netherlands (though this is not excluded).

The Councils will be particularly but not exclusively interested in applications in social science approaches for the following areas:

?           Healthy living

?           Agro, food and horticulture

?           Water and climate

?           Cultural and societal dynamics

?           Creative industry

?           High tech systems and materials (Science, technology and society)

?           Sustainable energy

?           Connecting sustainable cities

?           Materials: solutions for scarcity

More specific social science topics relate to:

(1) the interaction between education, the labour market and globalisation,

(2) new forms of a welfare system

(3) aspects of safety and security

(4) administrative resilience and government modernization

SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION

Applications should be submitted on the form to ICSSR for Indian scholars wishing to visit The Netherlands for an exchange visit or workshop and to NWO for Netherlands scholars wishing to visit India for an exchange visit or workshop.

For submission to NWO by Dutch applicants:

An application can only be submitted to NWO via the electronic application system Iris. Applications not submitted via Iris will not be admitted to the selection procedure. A main applicant is obliged to submit his/her application via his/her own Iris account.

If the main applicant does not have an Iris account yet then this should be created at least one day before the submission. Then any possible registration problems can still be solved on time. If the main applicant already has an Iris account then he/she does not need to create a new account to submit a new application.

For submission to ICSSR by Indian applicants:

An application can only be submitted by mail to ICSSR: [email protected]

PROCEDURE

The first step in the assessment procedure is to determine the admissibility of the application. This is done using the conditions stated in previous paragraphs of this call for proposals.

Applications will be acknowledged. If they are not acknowledged within 10 working days of submission applicants should not assume that they have been received. Applications to NWO will be shared with ICSSR who will eventually fund any awards to India, and similarly those to ICSSR will be shared with NWO.

All applications will be referred to the ICSSR-NWO Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) for final decision. The JAC will consist of a number of senior academics across the social sciences. They (or specialist advisors appointed for them) will evaluate the proposals on the basis of academic merit, following the criteria mentioned below.

The JAC is advised by 2 committees, one in India and one in the Netherlands, who each rank the proposals. The Indian an Dutch applications are ranked separately. The JAC integrates the ranking of the Indian and Dutch committee, again with a separate ranking for Indian and Dutch applications.

The JAC will decide on granting not later than 1 November 2013.

CRITERIA

The Councils expect to be able to make up to 10 awards during 2013, with arrangements for the visit or workshop to be completed before 1 December 2014. The Councils expect but do not require that five of the visits will be to The Netherlands and the other five to India.

The following criteria will be used by the national committees and the JAC in assessing the proposals:

I. Quality of the proposal

originality

relationship to existing research in the field

scholarly importance of the research proposed

II. Quality of track record

They will evaluate the ability of the investigator(s) to undertake the proposed research, taking into account their track record of scholarly publication and their academic standing. This applies to both applicant and host or co-organiser.

III. Quality/attributes of collaboration

feasibility and adequacy of the visit or workshop plan

intended outcomes

They will particularly look at the potential for building strong collaborations of potentially leading-edge international work, in particular through the proposed plans for joint research or capacity building.

In case more proposals qualify for granting than can be awarded, preference will be given to those that focus on the topics mentioned under Specific Conditions.

NWO and ICSSR intend to make announcements about outcomes not later than 1 November 2013, and earlier if possible. Awards will need to be taken up during 2014, and at the latest by 1 December 2014, or the offers will lapse.

CONTACT DETAILS AND OTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT

For specific questions about this call for proposals please contact:

At ICSSR

-         Mahesh P Madhukar

-         e-mail: [email protected]

-         Telephone: +91-11 26742832/ 26741856

At NWO

-         Ms. Dr C.J.H. Govers

-         e-mail: [email protected]

-         Telephone: +31 70 344 06 73 / 07 63            

OTHER INFORMATION

The award for all the costs during the exchange visit will be made directly to the host institution in the country to be visited. These will be made by ICSSR to host institutions in India, and by NWO to host institutions in The Netherlands. International travel and related costs will be handled in the country of the applicant.

Awards to Indian host institutions will be made by the ICSSR, and similarly awards to the Netherlands host institutions will be made by NWO. The Councils will however make joint decisions on all applications. While the aim is a balanced set of exchanges in each direction to and from both The Netherlands and India, the final outcome will be determined by the quality of applications.    

Successful applicants will be required to provide a short report on their visit or workshop and the research proposal that has been developed (no more than 2,000 words) within 3 months of its completion.

Published articles or books related to the visit should include acknowledgement of the ICSSR-NWO exchange programme. Information about publications must be submitted to ICSSR or NWO (through Iris), at all times.