ISPF Grant for International Research Collaboration

Status: Call for Proposals
Open date: 9 May 2024
Closing date: 9 July 2024, 17:00 (BKK time)
Official website: https://opportunities-insight.britishcouncil.org/news/opportunities/grants-international-research-collaborations-round-2

Overview:

ISPF Research Collaboration grants provide small scale seed funding for collaborations between the UK and the participating ISPF countries/territories including Thailand in each call to:

Initiate new research and innovation collaborations between academic groups, departments, and institutions in partner countries and the UK
Develop existing collaborations at group, departmental, and institutional level
Encourage these collaborations to work with non-academic organisations and individuals to support the exchange of research and innovation expertise and the translation of research knowledge into tangible benefits
Establish local hubs for joint UK-country/territory activity in a particular area, enabling engagement from the wider research and innovation community

Fields/Topic for proposal:

Climate change and clean energy
1. Energy Storage
2. Green Hydrogen
Personalised Medicine
1. Personal Health AI
2. Omics & Bioinformatics
3. Biomarkers & Drug Discoveries
High Calibre and Talent Mobility
1. Highly specialized and knowledgeable researchers in alignment with the National Science, Research, and Innovation Plan’s frontier research priorities, and facilitating international knowledge exchange and transfer of cutting-edge technologies.

Duration of grants :

Up to 24 months

Support from PMU-B:

The total budget for a Thai researcher’s project can be up to £100,000 over two years (£50,000 per year) or less than 5,000,000 Thai Baht.
The budget for a project may differ each year, depending on the content of activities and compliance with PMU-B financial guideline.

Eligibility:

Proposals must fulfil the following criteria to be eligible for funding under this Programme:

Each proposal must have both
1. one Lead Applicant from Thailand; and
2. one Lead Applicant from the UK, submitting one joint application.
Lead Applicants in Thailand and the UK must be based on the following institutions:
1. For Thai researchers must be;
  1. Researchers and/or university professors/instructors who work in public/non-profit organization research institute or university in Thailand and are competent in conducting research with international partners.
2. For the UK researchers must be;
  1. Permanent employees at their institutions (emeritus and honorary professors may not apply as lead)
  2. Working at a not-for-profit higher education institution or eligible research organisation with the capacity to undertake high-quality research.

The proposal topic must directly address the topic outlined in the call for proposals (PMU-B).
The budget must stay within the specified constraints.

Evaluation of Project Proposals:

Selection begins with an eligibility check by the British Council against the eligibility criteria.
The British Council may ask lead institutions to prioritise their applications, and potentially limit the number of submissions from each university or research institution, if there is high demand for the call.
Eligible proposals then undergo independent external quality review based on quality, fit to development needs and country priorities, capacity building potential and sustainability of the collaboration.

Evaluation Criteria:

To be funded, proposals must be internationally competitive. It should lead to the advancement of the research field, or novel applications or an increase of research capacity. Key evaluation criteria are:

Significance and impact of the research
Scientific Rationale: novelty, importance and timeliness of the research
Capabilities of the research team
Design and feasibility of the project plan
Partnership: including strength and clarity of collaborations and opportunities

How to apply:

Project Leader must submit “Joint Research Project Proposal” via online application to https://grants.britishcouncil.org/ (Please see the guideline document)
Thai project leader must also submit the full proposal to PMU-B through NRIIS: https://nriis.go.th For instructions on managing your budget, please refer to the PMU-B financial guideline; https://pmu-hr.or.th/proposal-submit-guide/ or download (click here)
Thai project leader must fill in the proposal details in the NRIIS system.
For the budget section, please fill in the budget details that the Thai applicant will be requesting from PMU-B.
Thai project leader must attach documents;
1. Full proposal : PMU-B Proposal Form (Proposal Download))
2. Letter of Support (LOS) : Researchers from each participating institution in Thailand must have a letter of support from their home institution, signed by an authorized representative of the institution/organization (P.S. The format and content of LOS forms can vary from one institution to another. Please contact your institution for guidance on completing their LOS form)
3. Supporting Documents e.g. Thailand Project Leader CV, or Letters of support from Associated Partners (if any)
4. Any additional documents

Thai project leader (and co-researchers) must submit their proposal in the NRIIS system by July 9, 2024 (5:00 PM Bangkok time).
The Thai project leader’s institute must endorse the submission in the NRIIS system by July 12, 2024 (5:00 PM Bangkok time).

Objective and Key Results/OKR 2523 – 2527 : N49 (S4P23)

Objective	Expected Output
O1 P23 : Universities, research centres, government agencies, and private sector entities that collaborate with global or regional networks to produce research, technology, and innovation that benefits Thailand	1. A new technology/process prototype or product prototype that has been tested in the laboratory and/or industry level, which can be further developed or add economic value to the industry, community and society. 2. International journal publications in T1 or Q1 with the author of the researchers and the foreign institutions with which they collaborated. 3. Formalized international collaboration networks characterized by tangible outcomes, such as jointly signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), the establishment of shared research units, or co-filed patents, etc. (If a research project can deliver an output that is a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) from WIPO, it will be considered a special case)
Key Result
KR3 P23 : Percentage of Research institutions in universities, government agencies, and private companies that are members of international cooperation networks in the field of Science, Research and Innovation and have projects with the network

Indicative Timelines:

Activity	Date
Call opens	9 May 2024
Deadline for applications	9 July 2024, 5:00 PM Bangkok time
Review panels	October 2024
Outcome of selection	November 2024
Thailand projects start dates	January-February 2025

Note:

Please see the ‘Research Collaborations Guidance for Applicants‘ for additional criteria.
Please contact the International Science Partnership Fund Team if you are having any difficulties submitting your application form via our portal or if you require an alternative format for reasons of accessibility [email protected]

Online Information Session for ISPF Grants for International Research Collaborations (Recorded on 20th May 2024) : https://www.britishcouncil.or.th/events/ispf-internationalresearch-info-round2

Contact:

Dr. Sonthaya Chaiarwut

Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B)

Tel: 0-2109-5432 (ext.850)

E-mail: [email protected]

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