Dear colleagues
The purpose of this announcement is to keep members of the UCT research community informed about news and funding opportunities in the research space. All new funding opportunities can also be found on the current funding opportunities page of the Research Support Hub.
Please note that some calls repeated in this announcement have updated and/or extended internal deadlines.
In this newsletter:
Funding opportunities and funder announcements
Research capacity building
Funding opportunities and funder announcements
Visit the current funding opportunities page on the Research Support Hub to view all open funding opportunities.
Africa Platform of Ghent University Association Short Stay Research Fellowships
Application deadline: 15 July 2022
The Africa Platform of Ghent University Association (GAP) fellowships are aimed at researchers who are affiliated with an African higher education or research institution that has a bilateral agreement or MoU with Ghent University.
The fellowships consist of a grant of €1000 and flight costs for a minimum stay of two weeks, which is meant to cover (or contribute towards) travel and accommodation costs and living expenses.
Awardees are expected to be present at Ghent University and to take part in the academic activities of the research unit.
Five fellowships will be awarded in 2022. The fellowships can be taken up at any time in 2023.
More information can be found here.
NRF call for applications: Equipment-related travel and training grants 2022/23
NRF system deadline: 22 July 2022
The Equipment-Related Travel and Training Grants (ERTTG) support the broader science research community to access
state-of-the-art equipment that is not available at the home research institution, regionally and nationally and to access natural science collections such as those located at museums.
This includes access to synchrotron facilities and other global research infrastructure. It also provides for the facilitation of workshops that focus on on-site training of instrumentation specialists, technicians, operators, researchers, and
postgraduates (masters and doctoral) students.
Please be advised that applications cannot be created or submitted after the NRF closing date of Friday, 22 July 2022. Only applications endorsed by the UCT Research Office by Friday, 29 July 2022 will be considered for funding by NRF in
2022/23.
You can access all the information related to this call here.
Please direct all queries to Amanda Raman.
URC call for nominations: 2022 Creative Works Award & Meritorious Creative Works Prize
Extended nomination deadline: 25 July 2022
The Creative Works Award, with a value of R30 000, and the Meritorious Creative Works Prize, with a value of R15 000, recognise major creative works by UCT staff, including art works, performances, productions, compositions and architectural designs
produced over the last 5 years as part of the applicant’s permanent position at UCT. You can view a list of the previous winners here.
Interested staff members can access more information about the call, the nomination and the secondment process, as well as the submission steps online. Reapplications from unsuccessful nominees over
the previous two years are also invited.
For more information about this award, contact [email protected].
URC call for nominations: 2022 UCT College of Fellows Young Researcher Award
Nomination deadline: 1 August 2022
Nominations are invited for the 2022 UCT College of Fellows Young Researcher Award.
The Young Researcher Award is offered annually in recognition of outstanding scholarly work by young academics who have made significant independent contributions to research in their field.
For more information about the call, eligibility criteria and the nomination process, please click here. For more information contact, Lesleen Shears.
URC call for applications: Hosting a conference grant
Deadline: 1 August 2022
Applications are invited for the URC's hosting a conference grant. The primary aim of this grant is to assist
departments in arranging research conferences and symposia with seed funding to initiate conference arrangements.
The focus is on providing support for smaller research conferences that otherwise would not take place without this seed funding. This grant is not intended for research development workshops or for large regular international conferences or
national society annual conferences.
For more information on the conditions of the grant and the application procedures, please click here. Please
contact Zam Ndzotyana for all queries.
Call for applications: Spencer Foundation small research grants on education
UCT internal intention-to-submit form: 8 July 2022
UCT eRA internal proposal approval deadline: 20 July 2022
Faculty-approved eRA forms must reach RC&I: 29 July 2022
The Spencer Foundation has been a leading funder of education research since 1971 and is the only national foundation focused exclusively on supporting education research. Their programs provide funding for
education-focused research projects, research training fellowships, and additional field-building initiatives.
The Spencer Foundation small research grants program supports education
research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived. This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design,
method, or location. The Spencer Foundation’s goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education.
For more information on the call and the application process, please click here. For queries, please contact [email protected].
For more information on the Spencer Foundation and funding opportunities please visit The Spencer Foundation website.
The foundation is currently seeking academics to serve as reviewers on their proposal review panel. If you are interested in being a reviewer, please contact [email protected]. This is an excellent development opportunity for all academics but especially early-career researchers.
NRF call for collaborative proposals: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Collaborative Pilot Call (closed call)
NRF Call Secretariat concept note deadline: Thursday, 25 August 2022
UCT internal deadline: Monday, 9 January 2023
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Collaborative Pilot Call aims to enhance the impact of
existing knowledge through innovative approaches towards the achievement of the SDGs within the context of governance, societal structures and economy. The call seeks innovative approaches to development, adaptation, design or improvement of
existing or new tools that promote and/or facilitate the achievement of the SDGs.
Projects applying for funding through this call must be based on existing (nearing completion or one year or less to completion) or recently completed (completed in 2017 or later) research and/or innovation projects. The research and outcomes of the
projects funded should lead to impact on society and improve the livelihoods of people on the ground.
Projects applying for funding should use a consortia approach with a diversity of partners co-designing the project. The project consortia should be based on equitable partnership(s). It is crucial that the project fosters societal ownership and
empowerment of outcomes through the meaningful involvement of researchers, local authorities, communities, NGOs, i.e., relevant actors and stakeholders. Consortia should structure themselves in alignment with the thematic focus and objectives of the
call.
For more information on the call, please click here. Please direct all queries to Mbasa Mguye.
Call for applications: SA/DFG (Germany) IRTGS joint preparatory workshops
UCT internal deadline: Monday, 19 September 2022, 09h00
For new South African-German international research training groups (IRTG) initiatives, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the NRF provide for the possibility to support International Research Training Groups (IRTGs) which are structured
doctoral programmes run by German universities in conjunction with universities or research institutions abroad.
Funding can be granted only if research cooperation is already established and plans for the IRTG have already been consolidated. Funding for the joint workshops may either be applied for prior to the submission of an IRTG draft proposal or after
positive evaluation of an IRTG draft proposal but prior to submission of an IRTG full proposal.
For more information on the call and the application process, please click here.
Please direct all queries to Zam Ndzotyana.
Reminder of call for proposals: UCT Vision 2030 Grand Challenges programmes and pilot projects
Deadline for completed UCT intention-to-publish form: 15 July 2022
UCT’s 2030 Vision for Research strives to unleash knowledge in, for and from Afrika to redefine and co-create a sustainable global future. The implementation plan for this vision recognises the need for enhanced research support systems,
facilitating approaches to inter- and transdisciplinary research and to engaged scholarship, development of the next generation of transformed and diverse research leaders, the nurturing of strong postgraduate programmes and the facilitating of
impactful research programmes, particularly those focused on grand challenges core to Africa.
The 2030 Research Catalytic Programme, developed to deliver on this implementation under the custodianship and leadership of the DVC responsible for Research & Internationalisation, Prof Sue Harrison, will comprise of various initiatives.
The first of these is the UCT Vision 2030 Grand
Challenges Programme, which seeks to provide impetus to further advance on UCT’s research and innovation capabilities for addressing Africa’s Grand Challenges. Through this initiative we aim to build and leverage on our unique and
emerging strengths in a way that will enable and enhance UCT’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to generating new knowledge relevant to, and for the benefit of, the City of Cape Town and its surrounding areas, South Africa and our continent
while, importantly, also contributing positively to the global knowledge base from our Global South perspective. Through the Initiative we also seek to build the next generation of transformed and diverse research leaders to maintain sustained
research excellence at UCT.
Proposals are thus invited for two research calls within the UCT Vision 2030 Grand Challenges programme, building towards
UCT’s Research 2030 Vision:
- The Vision 2030 grand challenges programmes
- The Vision 2030 grand challenges pilot projects
These calls, centred within UCT’s strategic priority research areas and built on an inter- and transdisciplinary research approach, are detailed in the call for proposals – which you can access here.
All researchers interested in submitting a proposal should submit an intention to submit by 31 July and more detailed guidance including permissible budget categories and proposal template will be
provided.
All proposals must be submitted to the International Grants Hub by the Principal Investigator by the 16 September 2022.
Proposals will be reviewed by a panel comprising of UCT senior leadership staff, academic representatives and at least one external member.
PIs of the shortlisted proposals will be invited to present their proposals to the review panel.
Reminder: CHEC-CCT joint research programme 2022
Deadline for completed application form from lead researcher: 15 July 2022
This call for proposals is grounded in a collaboration protocol between the City of Cape Town (CCT) and the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) which may be viewed here.
The CHEC-CCT Standing Committee invites university researchers to submit proposals in line with the overarching thematic area of resilience for inclusive development. This theme of resilience for inclusive development continues to be important in
the pandemic recovery and post-pandemic context.
To read more about the call, please click here.
Research capacity building
Below are events, workshops and webinars that offer capacity-building opportunities for the UCT research community.
Upcoming ERP webinar: An Introduction to the Engaged Scholarship (ES) Programme
5 July 2022 from 12:30 to 14:00 SAST
The Emerging Researcher Programme (ERP) webinar on the Engaged Scholarship (ES) Programme will unpack ES as a scholarly practice,
map participants’ conceptions, practices and motivations for ES and deepen participants’ understanding of the nature, benefits and challenges of ES. See more details and information on how to RSVP here.
The Research Announcement is produced by the Research Office, University of Cape Town.
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