TERMS OF REFERENCE FINAL VERSION 30 JULY 2014

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1 I. Introduction Agropolis Fondation 2014 Call for Proposals (CfP) Open Science [Ref. CfP ] TERMS OF REFERENCE FINAL VERSION 30 JULY 2014 Agropolis Fondation s mission is to promote and support interdisciplinary and integrated approaches in plant biology, ecology, sustainable agriculture, products and uses that address development issues concerning the North and the South, particularly (1) the increasing demand for plants and plant by-products both for food and non-food applications; (2) the interaction between climate change and crops; and (3) the prevention and management of risks related to crop and food systems. It involves a scientific network composed of 36 research units, the "Labex Agro", specializing in plant research at various levels from genes to environments and to final uses. The network brings together about 1400 scientists and 600 PhD students and covers a wide range of disciplines, i.e., from bio-technical to social sciences, with recognized expertise in temperate, tropical and Mediterranean regions. The Foundation also promotes international scientific mobility that enables leading and promising scientists and researchers from around the world to work with their counterparts from foundation s scientific network 1 thereby contributing to building scientific capacity and promoting the creation of networks of excellence. II. Objectives of the Call The CfP Open Science is aimed at promoting new ways of doing research by favoring a collaborative enquiry on scientific topics involving a range of actors. As such, proposals submitted under this Call are expected to employ transformative approaches that have a combination of any of the following characteristics: Enable the better construction and formalization of scientific questions associated with socio-economic issues in the development of innovation or in a societal problem; Integrate/link various scales and disciplines; Lead to improved management of complex and massive data; Better characterize, explore and exploit the diversity of biological systems; Favor the use, transfer and exchange of generated knowledge; Lead to sustainable agro-ecosystems and/or food-processing systems. Proposals submitted are also expected to have innovative partnership modalities with the direct involvement of any or a combination of the following stakeholders: International agricultural research organizations and programmes such as, but not limited to, those belonging to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); Private sector (foundations, industrial partners ); and/or Other non-conventional research actors (e.g., NGOs, farmer/producers organizations, consumer groups, etc. ). 1 For the list of the Foundation s research units, please visit 1

2 III. Thematic coverage 1. This Call will fund research projects focusing on any of the following thematic research domains covered by Agropolis Fondation and its Labex Agro scientific community, namely: Genetics and genomics, plant breeding, eco-physiology; Plant pests and diseases, integrated crop protection, plant population ecology; Agro-ecosystems, agri-environmental innovations and natural resources management (including ecosystem services) Agri-food innovations, food and non-food uses of crops; Innovation processes and social management of innovations (broadly, agriculture and society, including governance, local knowledge and practices, and mobilizing social sciences ) 2. Projects cross-cutting several of these domains are encouraged. IV. Eligibility 3. Only proposals that fall within the thematic coverage described above are eligible (see exemption item 8). 4. The lead proponent should be from one of the research units belonging to the Foundation s scientific network (Labex Agro) 2 (see exemption item 8). 5. In the case of application for Twin Post-doc Fellowship (see items 9b and 10), the proposal should be submitted jointly by a scientist (or a group of scientists) from a research unit belonging to the Foundation s scientific network and a scientist (or a group scientists) from a CGIAR Research Programme (CRP) (see exemption item 8). 6. Scientists from research units or institutions outside of the Foundation s scientific network can participate as partners (see exemption item 8). 7. A scientist can coordinate only one project funded under this specific CfP. 8. Exemptions to items 3, 4, 5, 6 and 12 will be applied for proposals for Twin Post-doc Fellowship co-funded by Cirad or other French institutions in partnership with a CGIAR Research Programme (CRP) whose thematic coverage does not necessarily fall within the Foundation s scientific focus (e.g., livestock and fish, etc.). V. Project types, cost and duration 9. Up to 2M is available for this CfP which will fund four types of projects presented below. Co-funding by other partners is highly encouraged. a. Full Projects may include request to support any or a combination of the following funding categories: * Senior Fellowship Junior Fellowship Post-doctoral Fellowship 2 For the list of the Foundation s research units, please visit Interested parties are highly encouraged to contact directly the concerned research unit(s) in writing. 2

3 Doctoral Fellowship Visiting Fellowship (Senior, Junior, Post-doc, PhD) for short period of stay Grants for scientific platforms or equipment Support for education and training oriented initiatives Small initiatives (Only if in combination with any of the aforementioned categories; see item 9c below) Level of funding per project: From 100K (minimum) up to 200K (maximum) Overall funding available: 1.26M Project duration: 2 years (Provide justification for projects beyond 2 years) b. Twin-postdoctoral Fellowship with the CGIAR Level of funding for AF-funded post-doc: 135K (i.e., Maximum of 90K/year including salary and social security contributions not exceeding 60K/year and operating costs, travel expenses and mobility allowance of up to 30K/year) Overall funding available: 540K Post-doc duration: 18 months (Provide justification if post-doc duration is 24- months; In any case, the level of funding should not exceed 135K) To complement the 540K from the Foundation (~72 months + operating costs), additional post-docs will be supported by Cirad (~36 months) as well as the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) (~12 months). Other French Institutions may join this scheme for additional post-docs. c. Small initiatives may include request to support any of the following*: Small exploratory, risky and innovative projects (proof-of-concept studies, new frontier research; 30K maximum) Organization of high-level scientific events, e.g., conferences, seminars, workshops, etc ( 10K maximum) Overseas travel grants for Doctoral students, Post-docs and scientists of the network ( 20K maximum) Publication and dissemination of research results ( 20K maximum) Hosting pre-doctoral students ( 10K maximum) Level of funding per initiative: 10K (minimum) up to 30K (maximum) Overall funding available: 120K Project duration: Maximum 1 year d. Proposal development in order to support a research unit s preparation in responding, as a Coordinator, to other international Calls for Proposals: Level of funding: Maximum of 10K Overall funding available: 80K Project duration: Maximum 6 months *Further details on these items are presented in the Annex Table of Funding Categories. The selection and specific eligibility criteria per category, the required counterpart funding from the research units and/or partners, as well as the maximum level of financial support per funding category are also outlined in this document. 10. For Twin Post-doc, Agropolis Fondation is partnering with the CGIAR in order to strengthen collaboration between research units in the Foundation s scientific network and CGIAR centers through the CRPs 3. The Foundation may support up to six Post-docs (potentially more if other French Institutions contribute to the funding scheme), each for a duration of 18 months, which will have a matching counterpart Post-doc funded by a collaborating CRP from among the 16 programmes of the CGIAR. Each set of twin postdocs will be working on one specific CRP (although not necessarily within the same work package or project within this CRP). To the extent possible, for each twin Post-doc, one will be from the North and the other one from the South. A complementary evaluation 3 3

4 and selection process for Twin Post-doctoral Fellowship is to be carried out jointly with the CGIAR Consortium, Cirad, IRD and other French Institutions involved in the funding. This process is presented in item 18. VI. Eligible expenditures 11. Eligible costs for each funding category are restricted to expenditures directly related to the project, such as: Personnel recruitment costs (temporary personnel to be specifically involved in the project) Consultancies and services subcontracted specifically for the project Laboratory equipment costs for technological platform Limited consumable items Publication and dissemination costs, including cost related to organization of events Travel expenses Overheads (max 8% of the grant amount for each partner) 12. No more than 30% of the total grant should be transferred to partners outside of the Foundation s scientific network (Labex Agro), to external service providers or to consultants. 13. Non-eligible costs include items such as: Expenditures linked to internal services Salaries of staff that are not specifically recruited for the project Expenditures linked to existing infrastructure Expenditures already funded through other sources 14. The project s full cost must be presented including counterparts from the applicants and their partners in the Financial Annex. 15. In the case of a proposal that is only partially funded through this CfP, the proponents should provide all elements concerning funding of the other part of their project (acquired, submitted, and/or planned funding request). Funding under this Call is conditional; subject to the proponents success in mobilizing the necessary funding required to complete the overall project. 16. In the case of a proposal that is a standalone project contributing to a larger project or programme, the proponents should provide all elements concerning the objectives, organization and overall funding of the larger project (i.e., acquired, submitted, and/or planned funding request). VII. Evaluation process and criteria 17. Eligible Full Project proposals shall be evaluated by external experts and shall be reviewed by the Foundation s Science Council (SC) on the basis of the criteria below (see Application Form-Full Project): Scientific quality, overall coherence and feasibility (i.e., clarity of objectives and expected outputs, robust methodology, proposed timetable, project leadership, etc.) Originality and innovativeness Multidisciplinary nature of proposed actions 4 4 Whether proposed project (a) covers one or a combination of thematic research domains covered by Agropolis Fondation and its Labex Agro, i.e., Genetics and genomics, plant breeding, eco-physiology; Plant pests and 4

5 Relevance of the subject/topic and the extent in which scientific questions associated with sustainable development issues are articulated and proposed to be addressed through the proposed project Quality of partnership and collaboration (i.e., role of partners in the project conception, implementation and management; potential involvement of actors from the South; potential collaborations with other Labexes in Montpellier or elsewhere; clarity and fairness of data and knowledge sharing, exchange and management mechanism across partners) Structuring effect of the project within the Labex Agro community and complementarities with existing initiatives Visibility and international dimension and potential benefits for developing countries (e.g., accessibility, relevance of the topic, etc.) Project trajectory (i.e., strategic positioning and ambition) and sustainability (how will the proposed actions be sustained beyond project funding and how will these be mainstreamed in the activities of the institution) Strong justification as to why the Foundation, through its Label Agro programme, should fund the proposed project; Project s potential leverage effect Clarity of project management and coordination Gender dimension Budget adequacy 18. As regards applications for Twin-Post doctoral Fellowship, eligible proposals shall undergo a three-step process: (i) parallel review put up by Agropolis Fondation (i.e., evaluation by international experts and analysis by the Foundation s SC as well as consultation with Cirad, IRD and other contributing French Institutions), on one hand, and by the CGIAR Consortium Office, on the other hand; (ii) discussion on the results of the parallel reviews by a balanced panel composed of Agropolis Fondation and contributing French institutions, on one hand, and of the CGIAR Consortium Office, on the other hand, in order to reach a consensus on the selection of the Twin Post-doc Fellowships ; (iii) upon selection of winning proposals, post-doc candidates apply individually to the concerned co-proponents who will be in charge of the recruitment of the post-doc Fellows and the issuance of contracts. Post-docs should be recruited by 30 April Proposals for Twin-Post doctoral fellowship shall be evaluated by the Foundation s Science Council on the basis of the following criteria shall be applied (see Application Form-Twin Post-doc): Scientific quality, overall coherence and feasibility (i.e., clarity of objectives and expected outputs, robust methodology, proposed timetable, etc.) Originality and innovativeness Multidisciplinary nature of proposed actions Relevance of the proposal objectives and expected output to CRP (particularly in the context of the CRP extension proposal) and contributing French Institutions; potential benefits to developing country partners Quality of partnership and collaboration (e.g., balanced role of partners involved, reinforcement of collaboration between the proposing teams, clear mechanism for data and knowledge sharing and management across partners, ) Structuring effect (e.g., contribution of planned research to CRP and priority lines of French co-funding institutions; structuring effect within the Labex Agro) and complementarities (i.e., synergy of the two post-doctoral positions; North-South balance, interaction between the two post-docs and their respective host research teams/units and balanced geographic exchange throughout the duration of the project) diseases, integrated crop protection, population ecology; Agri-environmental innovations, agri-ecosystems and resources management; Agri-food innovations, food and non-food uses of crops; Innovation processes, social management of innovations; (b) appropriately involves, to the extent possible, various disciplines (e.g., biological, engineering, social sciences and humanities,...). 5

6 Adequacy of the profile of the two post-doc positions vis-à-vis research objectives and the proposed methodology to be used? Will the proposal contribute to enhance the research skill of the post-doctoral positions? Project s potential leverage effect Clarity of management and coordination between the two post-docs Budget adequacy and clarity of the source of funding for operational costs in addition to the one provided by AF 19. Proposals for Small initiatives shall be evaluated by the Foundation s Science Council on the basis of the following criteria (see Application Form-Small Initiatives): Strategic nature of the proposed action (in terms of topic, partnership, etc.) Originality and innovativeness Potential structuring effect and complementarities with existing initiatives Feasibility and prospects Strong justification as to why the Foundation, through its Labex Agro programme, should fund the proposed project, potential leverage effect 20. Requests for funding to support Proposal development in response, as a Coordinator, to international Calls for Proposals shall be evaluated by the Foundation s Science Council on the basis of the following criteria (see Application Form-Proposal Development) Strategic nature of the topic of the proposal to be developed (in terms of topic, partnership, etc.) Originality and innovativeness Overall potential/likelihood of success Proposed actions to develop the proposal Strong justification as to why the Foundation, through its Labex Agro programme, should fund the proposed project, potential leverage effect VIII. Submitting proposals and timetable 21. All submitted proposals must be written in English. 22. Proponents should submit a duly completed Application Form, including applicable annexes (as stated in the Application Form for the type of project submitted for funding) in Word and Excel format as well as in PDF format. 23. Incomplete submissions, late submissions and submissions exceeding the maximum number of pages allowed and which do not respect the required font will not be considered eligible. The proposal will not be evaluated. 24. Proposals should be submitted electronically to Agropolis Fondation at cfp @agropolis.fr on or before the deadline specified below. 25. Proposals for Twin Post-doc should be submitted to both Agropolis Fondation at cfp @agropolis.fr and the CGIAR Consortium Office at p.ellul@cgiar.org. 26. Agropolis Fondation and the CGIAR Consortium shall not be held responsible for submissions not received due to technical problems preventing the transfer of proposals electronically. 27. By submitting a proposal, the project coordinators assure that they have obtained the approval of their managing authorities and of all the participants involved in the project. 6

7 28. Please note that all proposals received under this CfP shall be archived and could be used by Agropolis Fondation for analysis in the context of its activities. A proposal shall not be shared with a Third Party without prior consent of its proponent. 29. Below is the timetable for this Call: 20 June 2014 Opening of the Call for Proposals 15 September 2014 (12:00 noon French time) Mid-November 2014 Deadline for the submission of proposal Late and/or incomplete submissions will not be accepted. Publication of results (selected proposals) Documents available online All documents related to the present Call for Proposals are available online at the following website: 7