Tanzania South Korea Joint Call for Research Proposals

Transcription

1 Tanzania South Korea Joint Call for Research Proposals 5/2/2016

2 TANZANIA SOUTH KOREA JOINT CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS 1. BACKGROUND The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) to collaborate in building research capacity in the two countries. The intention is to leverage access to resources, facilities and expertise by bringing together researchers from Tanzania and Korea in areas of strategic scientific and technological relevance to contribute to the welfare and economic development of both countries. COSTECH and NRF are thus inviting submissions of collaborative research projects between Tanzania and South Korean researchers. In particular support will be availed to projects from any of the selected themes that are innovative, scalable, and replicable. The projects should aim to enhance knowledge and technology generation and dissemination, demonstrate effective linkages with industry, government and end users and show socio-economic impact. 2. THEMATIC AREAS A. Herbal medicines Herbal medicines are increasingly being considered as viable alternatives to modern synthetic medicine not only due to costs but also for cultural acceptability. There are number of potential herbal products of medicinal value available in the Tanzanian market that is supplemented by traditional knowledge on the selection, preparation and application of herbal formulations. However, levels of active molecules that are requisite for appropriate dosing levels and validation of the extraction and packaging for purposes of safety and effectiveness are limited. Research questions should aim to answer concerns such as structures of the active component for development of new drugs, formulations and clinical validation for safety, quality and efficacy; scaling of production/commercialization; identification validation; and management. B. From Biodiversity to value-added products Tanzania is one of the 12 mega biodiversity hotspots hosting rich diversity at genes, species and ecosystem levels. Knowledge-based, value-added product development and its commercialization is a fast growing economic activity and the liberalization of the global trade policies and other economic reforms evolving would benefit local study and understanding, especially in the light of achievements in science and technology. The unknown potentials of genetic diversity found in the biological organisms, represent a never-ending biological frontier of inestimable value. Genetic diversity enables breeders to tailor crops/livestock to meet the increased productivity, adapt Tanzania South Korea joint call for research proposals Page 1

3 changing climatic conditions, disease resistance and to meet the other essential needs and future aspirations of humankind. Biogenetic resources are the primary source of valuable genes, chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, natural dyes, gums, resins, enzymes or proteins of great health, nutritional and economic importance. Biodiversity- rich countries host valuable untapped knowledge systems on the use of biological and genetic resources in the form of Traditional Knowledge (TK). Making the best use of the TK and generating new knowledge, products and technologies is one approach to generating economic wealth with cognizance to intellectual property rights (IPR) for access and benefit sharing. Endemic C. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and diagnostics Tanzania is prevalent with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) despite the national efforts on understanding, controlling and eliminating NTDs and their associated risks. Advances in technology create opportunity for development of new diagnostic tests, test existing biomarkers for enhancing early diagnosis and treatment and elimination of NTDs. Proposal under this theme shall address (i) Development of diagnostics that are cost effective and relatively easy to use in different settings (ii) Validation/up scaling of proven technologies, interventions and services that need to be commercialized or transferred to end users to make them accessible in the resourcelimited places where NTDs are found. 3. FORMAT AND REQUIREMENT FOR PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT The proposal should be concise and submitted through the research portal on the COSTECH website (CRWeb) i. Content of the proposal: Narrate proposal background/introduction, problem statement, objectives, significance/justification, conceptual framework, literature review, methodology, ethical considerations, location where the work is expected to be carried out and dissemination of research findings to different stakeholders ii. Budget: The tentative budgets should include projected expenses per budget category (subsistence allowance/salary, accommodation, Transport, consumables, publication, Equipment) amounting to no more than 120,000 USD for two years per project. Each year, Tanzanian PIs will receive the equivalent of 30,000 USD in Tanzanian Shillings from COSTECH and Korean PIs will receive 30,000,000 KRW from NRF. The budgets need to be presented separately for Tanzania and Korea but in total should amount to 120,000 USD for two years, assuming 1 USD = 1,000 KRW. Costs to be incurred in either country should be detailed for examination. The budget should be itemised and justified for each year. Tanzania South Korea joint call for research proposals Page 2

4 iii. Principal investigator (PI): The joint application for funding must include two Principal Investigators, a Tanzanian and South Korean iv. Plan for Collaboration: Describe how collaboration will be done with partners in Korea. Plan for collaboration should include not limited to research goal, role and responsibility of PI, counterpart PI in order to achieve research goal and collaborative activities. The plan should be presented in a results based management logframe. v. Research team: Research teams are expected to be multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional. Names and biographies of the proposed team members; their clear identified roles must be specified. A research team, which includes both junior and senior members and is considerate of gender, is encouraged. vi. Capacity building: Capacity building by way of students and technical staff is encouraged. 4. ELIGIBILITY The call is open to Tanzanian and South Korean researchers engaged in public and private R&D institutions and industry. The application must include two principal investigators; a Tanzanian and South Korean both must hold a PhD and demonstrated competence for the selected area of research. The Principal Investigators will be responsible for the scientific and financial reporting, including coordination of the project. 5. SUBMISSION The Tanzanian PI shall submit the research proposal to COSTECH no later than 23:59hrs on June 15 th The Korean PI should complete submission to NRF no later than 18:00 pm on July 15 th i. Application form for online proposal submission using CRWeb system is available at Applicants should adhere to the formatting instructions on the application ii. CVs for Team member should be compiled and sent separately as a single document 6. EVALUATION CRITERIA Applications received before the deadline and deemed by COSTECH to be compliant with the requirements set out in this Call for proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria: i. Scientific and technical merit; ii. Impact on bilateral science and technology relations; iii. Significance for both countries; iv. Potential for creating research and development capacity; Tanzania South Korea joint call for research proposals Page 3

5 v. Quality and clarity of project presentation; vi. Methodology; and vii. Relevance and feasibility Tanzania South Korea joint call for research proposals Page 4