This article was originally posted on 2019-06-04 16:24:15
The Research Fund guidelines for Academic Year 2019 to 2020 and Template for Concept Note submissions are now available. Kindly note that the deadline for emailing concept note submissions to [email protected] is on or before June 30, 2019 (Saturday).
I. This June 2019, the Center for Research and Communication is announcing the Call for Proposals for the CRCFI Research Fund for Academic Year 2019 to 2020, to provide funding for research projects conducted by faculty members of the University of Asia and the Pacific, with the following aims:
1. Foster the culture of research among faculty in UA&P;
2. Encourage collaboration among faculty from different disciplines;
3. Produce innovative research output that pushes the frontiers of knowledge and provides value to society;
4. Encourage mentoring of faculty and staff in research; and
5. Create value networks (through high-impact publications and fora; progressing from academic research towards social interventions, and/or marketable products and services)
The funding shall cover any of the following items:
1. Logistical and administrative expenses that will be incurred from research activities, e.g. funding for research assistants or graduate student assistants, transportation, accommodation for field research, duplication of survey instruments, etc.;
2. Expenses for communication activities, e.g. book publication or conduct of conference on research results. Research projects funded by the CRCFI Research Fund may be basic, applied, or for experimental development. Experimental development projects are those for new program offerings or significant improvement of current programs. For Academic Year 2019 to 2020, CRCFI will fund four selected faculty research projects, with a maximum of PhP 200,000 for each project. There will be three slots for projects on basic, applied, or experimental development research; and one slot for a dissertation publication or book publication project. Based on the details of the proposed research activities (later on in the full research proposal stage), the CRCFI Research Fund Selection Committee reserves the right to rationalize the amount allocated to a selected project (e.g., the final amount allocated may be less than the proposed budget, if seen as appropriate by the Selection Committee).
REQUIREMENTS.
Applications shall be accompanied by evidence of the following:
II. Qualifications for Project Team Members
1. Research grants are awarded to permanent full-time faculty members as Principal Proponents.
2. In highly meritorious cases and upon the recommendation of their respective Operations Committees (OPCOMs), full-time probationary faculty members may be considered as principal proponents of research projects. In these cases, the duration of funded research activities should not go beyond the term of probation.
3. Part-time faculty who have served UA&P for at least ten (10) semesters, preferably with a doctoral degree, may be Co-Proponents of research project proposals.
4. Part-time faculty members who do not yet meet the ten-semester requirement, graduate students, and non-teaching staff may be included as Project Team Members; provided that the contributions of graduate students and non-teaching staff are reviewed by a faculty proponent, co-proponent, or project team member to meet research standards.
III. Types of Research Proposals Accepted 1. Initial Basic, Applied, or Experimental Development Research Initial research that aims to jumpstart a bigger, long-term project whether basic, applied, or experimental development. Basic or fundamental research involves experimental or theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge, while applied research involves an original investigation undertaken to acquire new knowledge towards a specific practical aim or objective. Experimental development research aims to acquire, combine, or shape the use of existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills, which results in the production of plans, arrangements or designs for new or improved products, processes or services.
2. Research that advances the University Research Agenda. (Kindly note that the corollary themes are not intended to limit research under the major themes.)
3. Research proposals on current issues such as gender equality, conscientious objection, religious freedom, freedom of expression, bioethics, and media issues.
4. Research proposals on challenges of the business environment, such as the business impact of climate change; the impact of sudden government policy changes on business; Artificial Intelligence and the Fourth Industrial Revolution; and related topics
5. Policy research
6. Research projects that need supplementary funding: this pertains to projects that have already been awarded partial funding elsewhere, and need help in their development and/or completion
7. Projects to help new doctoral-level faculty members (who received their degree within the last two academic years) to develop their research activity further, e.g. expanding on their dissertation.
IV. Submission of Concept Notes and Timeline for Academic Year 2019 to 2020
1. Instead of a request for full project proposals, for A.Y. 2019 to 2020 faculty are requested to submit an initial research Concept Note, with a minimum of one page up to a maximum of three pages, and to email it to [email protected] on or before June 30, 2019 (Sunday).
2. The Concept Note will propose a research project for implementation from October 2019 to July 31, 2020; and should include the following details:
A. Proposed project team members (full-time Principal Proponents; part-time Co-Proponents; and other team members)
B. Background on topic and brief mention of relevant literature
C. Research questions or objectives
D. Proposed research method(s)
E. Plan to communicate results through a journal article; academic book chapter; academic or general readership book; or public seminar or Round Table Discussion
3. Concept Notes that are emailed to the above address after June 30, 2019 will be considered for the following academic year.
4. The following will be the evaluation criteria for the Concept Notes:
A. The project will study a new area of research; or contribute a major development to a current line of research in the University Research Agenda, or recommended current issues (see Section III, types of research proposals accepted, above);
B. Appropriateness of the research method(s) to answer the research questions or objectives; and
C. Use of a multi- or inter-disciplinary approach to promote faculty collaboration across disciplines, while being appropriate to the research questions.
D. Additional consideration will be given to the following criteria:
i. Plans to develop the findings into a social intervention, or a value-creating product, process or service; and
ii. Communication plans to send the findings as an article submission to a peer-reviewed journal; or as a book chapter submission to an academic anthology of research articles.
5. Faculty members are allowed to participate in only one Concept Note for each academic year. Faculty who join project teams on two or more concept notes will be asked to select one team they prefer the most. The other team will be asked to select a replacement member, if needed.
6. Concept Notes received on time shall be coded, for a double-blind evaluation by the CRCFI Research Fund Selection Committee, from July 1 to 15, 2019.
7. The titles of shortlisted Concept Notes will be announced on July 16, 2019.
8. The timeline below indicates the schedule of activities for research proposals for A.Y. 2019-20:
9. Shortlisted project teams will be requested to expand their Concept Notes into Full Research Proposals, and to email these to [email protected] on or before August 31, 2019 (Saturday).
10. The Research Ethics Committee and Selection Committee will evaluate the full proposals in a double-blind process in the month of September, and the selected top four proposals will be announced in October 2019.
11. Project teams of the four selected proposals will be required to sign their Terms of Reference and begin implementation of their projects by October 31, 2019. Project teams that are unable to do so will forfeit their research grant for that academic year.
GUIDELINES & EVALUATION CRITERIA for FULL RESEARCH PROPOSALS
V. Criteria for Approving Project Proposals 1. A project may be approved in consideration of the following:
a. A project proposal with complete details, including the project budget allocation and communication plan. The latter should include at least one of the following:
i. Submission of an article to a peer-reviewed and reputable academic journal, with premium given to internationally indexed scholarly journals;
ii. Submission of a book chapter to a reputable academic anthology;
iii. A book publication for specialist or non-specialist readership; and/or
iv. Conduct of conference(s) and similar fora. As much as possible, revenue generation is to be kept in mind; thus, additional consideration will be given to revenue-generating communication activities or other activities.
b. Proposals will be reviewed by the Research Ethics Committee to be formed by CRC for academic year 2019 to 2020. Recommended revisions will be returned to the proponents for implementation.
The Committee’s review will cover the following areas:
i. Coherence with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church;
ii. Voluntary and informed consent procedures for research participants; and measures to safeguard any subject-at-risk participants;
iii. Compliance with the Data Privacy Act, Intellectual Property Code, and other related laws;
iv. For health-related studies: measures to reduce health risks of research participants
v. Environmental impact of the proposed research activities; and proper disposal methods if any hazardous materials will be used.
c. The project will contribute to the University Research Agenda; clarification of current issues or business challenges; or will be a policy study, a currently-funded project in need of additional funding, or a development of research activity for new doctoral-level faculty.
2. The project can be completed, from the signing of the Terms Of Reference and project start in October 2019, until submission of the final report on or before July 31, 2020; including submission of an article to a peer-reviewed journal; submission of a book chapter to an academic anthology; or implementation of other communication activities.
3. For full-time probationary faculty who are principal proponents, the main research activity shall be completed within the term of their probation; with academic article/book chapter submission, or implementation of communication activities by co-proponents or team members, allowed after probation but before the July 31st deadline for the final report.
4. The budget for each project proposal should have a maximum amount of PhP 200,000 for proposed research and communication activities from project start until July 31st of the following year. The funding may cover any of the following aspects:
a. Logistical and administrative expenses that will be incurred from research activities, e.g. funding for research assistants or graduate student assistants, transportation, accommodation for field research, duplication of survey instruments, etc.
b. Expenses for communication activities, e.g. publication of a book or conduct of a conference on the research results.
V. Procedure for Selection and Approving Bodies The following shall review and recommend approval for awarding of the grant:
1. CRC will send the full proposals received on time to the Research Ethics Committee for review.
2. After the proposal passes the assessment of the Research Ethics Committee or is revised according to their recommendations, it is then submitted to the Research Fund Selection Committee, which shall follow a double-blind process in choosing the best proposals for each academic year.
3. CRC will send the final proposals chosen by the Selection Committee to the selected project teams’ School OPCOMs for endorsement.
4. Additional Consideration Will Be Given for the Following Criteria:
a. Evidence of a good track record of project accomplishment, from at least one principal proponent, co-proponent or project team member;
b. Revenue-generating communication activities or other activities;
c. Multi-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary research proposals;
d. Arrangements for mentoring of faculty, graduate student or non-teaching staff project team members in research techniques and practices;
e. Proposals that would explore new research areas;
f. Proposals that would contribute a major development to a current line of research;
g. Proposals to develop the research results into an implementable social intervention, or a product, service or process that creates market value; and
h. Proposals whose findings will be communicated as an article submission to a peer-reviewed journal; or as a book chapter submission to an academic anthology of research articles.
VII. Fund Release and Disbursement
1. The research grant will be released in three tranches. Project teams are free to recommend proportions for each tranche that best fit their planned activities.
a. The first tranche shall be released upon signing of the Terms of Reference in October 2019.
b. The second tranche shall be released upon submission of the first progress report in January 2020.
c. The last tranche shall be released upon submission of the second progress report in April 2020.
2. No disbursement of funds in excess of the approved budget is allowed. However, those with exceptional cases may file a request for additional funds to CRC, through the Research and Extension Operations Committee (R&E OPCOM).
3. Fund disbursement is subject to the prompt submission of progress reports and liquidation of previous cash advances.
4. Purchases and liquidations should be supported by acceptable cash invoices/original official receipts (e.g. BIR registered receipts). VIII. Monitoring of Research Progress
1. Two progress reports and a final report shall be submitted to the Center for Research and Communication by the project proponents.
2. Proponents shall attach photos of research activities, implemented communication activities, and other revenue-generating activities to the progress reports and final report.
3. Submission of progress reports is a prerequisite to subsequent fund release.
IX. Research Output
1. Two (2) hard copies and one (1) electronic copy of the final report should be submitted to CRC on or before July 31, 2020.
2. Project proponent/s are required to submit research outputs, following the format of a manuscript for a journal article, or of a chapter for an academic book.
X. Completion of Research Project
1. A project is considered provisionally complete upon acceptance by CRC of the final report/research output (with or without revisions).
2. A project is considered complete upon compliance with the above provision and submission of the following requirements:
a. A one-page abstract, synopsis or description of the final output submitted for publication in an academic journal, chapter in an academic book, specialist or non-specialist book, or summary of communication conference(s) or seminar(s);
b. The communication plan and possible revenue, as well as evidence of implementation (e.g. signed and approved printing quotes and book mockup for a non-specialist publication, photos and documentation for a conducted conference, etc.);
c. Two hard copies and one electronic copy of the final report for CRC; and
d. Liquidation of funding received and cash advances (where applicable).
