Closed call
16 October - 06 December 2018
Indo-Swedish joint network grant
The aim of this grant is to support new or existing Indo-Swedish collaborative groups that in the longer perspective may develop into long-term collaborations. The collaborations shall be based on the principle of mutual benefit, equality and commonly set objectives.
The Indo-Swedish Joint Research Programme was initiated by the Indian and Swedish governments in order to support research of the highest scientific quality in the areas of medicine and health and the natural and engineering sciences. The programme supports cutting-edge basic research that brings together faculty and young researchers from Sweden and India. The program is financed by the Swedish Research Council and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in India on the principle of reciprocity, parity and activity matching funding.
The Swedish Research Council and DST will have joint administration of the call and make a joint decision by using both Swedish and Indian evaluators.
Type of call
Research Collaboration funding
Subject area
Natural and Engineering Sciences
Focus and call objectives
Applications concern joint research collaborations between India and Sweden within any or both of the two sub focuses Computer science and Material science
Applicant
Individual researcher active in Sweden in collaboration with a researcher active in India.
Grant period
2 years
Grant amount
350 000 SEK per year for the Swedish researcher
Publication of grant award
No later than November 2019
Start of grant period
September 2019
Call text in full
The Indo-Swedish research collaboration is enabled by a bilateral agreement between the Swedish and Indian governments. Under this agreement the Swedish Research Council and the Department of Science and Technology in India (DST) jointly funds grants for collaborative research. The Swedish Research Council and DST will make the evaluation and administration of the programme jointly.
The Swedish Research Council funds the Swedish part of granted applications while DST funds the Indian part of the collaborations.
The following criteria must be fulfilled in order for the Swedish researcher and the Indian collaboration partner to be eligible to apply for the grant. The Swedish Research Council and DST will carry out checks to ensure ineligible applications are rejected from further processing.
The Indian project leader and administrating organisation must submit a parallel application to DST for check of eligibility. Please contact DST for more information.
Please note that “Swedish” and “Indian” in this call refer to the researcher’s country of affiliation and not nationality.
The Swedish and Indian project leaders will receive funding from their respective national funding agencies and therefore separately administer the funds.
Focus
The main objective of the grant is support new or existing Indo-Swedish research projects that in the longer perspective may develop into long-term collaborations. The collaboration shall be based on the principle of mutual benefit, equality and commonly set objectives. The call for project grants is open for applications concerning research within these two sub focuses:
Computer science
This focus includes applications within
- computer architecture
- human-computer interaction (interaction design)
- information systems
- interaction technologies
- language technology (computational linguistics)
- software engineering
- systems engineering
- theoretical computer science.
Materials science
This focus includes applications within
- ceramics
- composite materials & composite engineering
- corrosion engineering
- manufacturing, surface & joining technology
- materials characterisation
- materials chemistry (not synthesis)
- materials design
- materials structure
- metallic materials & metallurgy
- polymers & polymer engineering
- thin film materials
- biomaterials
Applicant
The Indo-Swedish research collaboration is open to a joint application made in collaboration between at least one Swedish and one Indian partner. The applicants are the project leaders and have scientific responsibility for the project, and the Swedish project leader’s activity level in the project must be no less than 20 per cent of a full-time equivalent. He or she must hold a Swedish doctoral degree or a corresponding foreign degree, awarded no later than the deadline for this call. The degree award date we use is the date of fulfilling all the criteria for a doctoral degree, such as mandatory courses, oral defence and an approved doctoral thesis. For applicants with Swedish doctoral degrees, the award date listed in Ladok applies.
Grants from the Swedish Research Council shall be administered by a Swedish university or HEI or another Swedish public organisation that fulfils our criteria for administrating organisations.
Opens in new window. To apply, the Swedish organisation must therefore be approved as an administrating organisation.
If awarded a grant, the Swedish applicant must be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of and throughout the grant period, unless the Swedish Research Council approves an exception. The employment must cover no less than 20 per cent of a full-time equivalent. He or she does not have to be employed by the administrating organisation at the time of applying.
Faculty, Professors, scientists/researchers from Indian universities and those in permanent employment at public funded R&D research institutes are eligible to apply. Private/commercial companies are welcome to participate in the project however, no grant funding is available to private companies under the scheme. For further requirements for the Indian project leader, please see the DST’s website.
Number of applications and previous grants
The conditions described in this section only apply to the Swedish applicant (project leader).
What grants may I apply for simultaneously from the Swedish Research Council?
You may only submit one application for this grant under this call for applications. There are no other restrictions for applying for the grant.
What eligibility criteria apply if I already have a grant from the Swedish Research Council?
There are no restrictions for applying for this project grant if you are the project leader of a grant already awarded and ongoing (where the grant period/payment period from the Swedish Research Council overlaps the grant period of the grant this application covers), provided that your application concerns another project concept.
Note: If you have been the project leader for previous grants from the Swedish Research Council that have ended, final financial reports for all of these must have been submitted within the permitted time frame in order for you to apply for a new grant. Please contact your administrating organisation if you are unsure whether all your final reports have been submitted.
What applies for applications to or grants from other funding bodies?
If your application to the Swedish Research Council relates to the same purpose as a grant you have already been awarded by, or are applying for to another funding body, please describe this.
Participating researchers
The application must include a collaboration between a Swedish project leader and an Indian project leader, who represents the Indian part of the collaboration.
Besides the two project leaders, other researchers affiliated to the project may be included as participating researchers, that is, researchers with a doctoral degree or equivalent whose scientific competence will be crucial for the implementation of the proposed research activities.
All collaboration partners and their roles shall be presented in the research plan (see instructions under Research plan below). In addition, the CVs and publications lists from any participating researchers in India shall be included together with the same documents from the Indian project leader. Other participating researchers will themselves have to enter the required information into the application system, and link it to the application.
The Swedish side:
The participating researchers do not have to be employed by a Swedish HEI.
Indian side:
Participating researchers in India must be affiliated to the same research institution as that of the Indian Project leader (main applicant).
Costs and grant amounts
The grant covers the Swedish and Indian budgets separately. The part of the grant covering the Swedish budget costs will be financed by the Swedish Research Council and the part of the grant covering the Indian budget costs will be financed by DST. Disbursement and administration of the separate parts will follow the rules and procedures of the respective agency.
You may not apply for more than the maximum amount from the Swedish Research Council or DST, this will result in the rejection of the application. The Swedish applicant apply for 700 000 SEK for 2 years, including indirect costs. The Indian applicant may apply for a maximum of 60 000 000 INR for the total duration of 3 years.
The grant may be used to cover costs incurred in connection with international networking and research cooperation activities, such as
- research visits within the research collaboration framework
- accommodation and subsistence expenses
- joint seminars or workshops aimed to exchange knowledge and establish a common research agenda
- joint publications and other forms of joint information dissemination
- minor equipment and consumables costs
- preparation/planning of research applications to other research funding bodies
- research costs
- other costs relevant for the grant objective.
Grant funding in Sweden
The amount for the Swedish part is 350 000 SEK per year for 2 years, including indirect costs (cost incurred by the Swedish administrating organisation). The Swedish part may include minor project related costs Such as minor equipment and consumables) up to a maximum amount of 75 000 SEK per year, including indirect costs. The grant may not be used for scholarships or salaries. It may however be used to cover additional subsistence expenses incurred by the Indian project leader (or by his/her co-workers) during visits to the Swedish project leader.
Grant funding in India
The maximum allowed budget for a project is 60 00 000 INR for the Indian side for the total duration of 3 years.
The funding categories are:
- Accessories/spares of existing equipment (max cost 500 000 INR).
- Costs of material enduring value (indicate manufacturer, type and distributor). Quotations- if possible, from different competitors – must be enclosed.
- Research funds: Funds needed to carry out the project, such as chemicals and other related consumables etc.
- Salaries: The funding will allow supporting the salary of a PhD-student or Research Associate for three years of the project tenure (salaries for main or co-applicants are not eligible).
- Mobility expenses: Generally 2 visits per year form each side shall be funded with maximum duration of each visit to be restricted to 60 days per visit.
Visiting costs between Sweden and India
While budgeting visits between the Swedish and Indian partners, the international travel related expenses are to be charged to the budget of the visiting side and the living expenses (local hospitality etc.) to the budget of the hosting side. Health/medical overseas insurance should be included in the budget of the visiting side. The norms for extending local hospitality are as below:
- The Indian side shall provide free furnished accommodation to the visiting Swedish scientists in a guest house/hotel. In addition , the Swedish scientists visiting India shall be paid a per diem of 2500 INR per day towards food and out of pocket expenses plus a furnished guest house accommodation to a maximum of 4 000 INR per day.
- The Swedish side shall cover the actual occurred cost for accommodation, food, local transports and out of pocket expenses for Indian scientist visiting Sweden, together with a per diem of SEK 320 per day.
- The receiving side shall pay the registration fee for participation of visiting scientists in seminars, workshops, training courses etc. related to the topic of their visit.
Grant period
For Sweden: The grant period is two years, starting in 2019. After the two years, there is one additional year to dispose the funding.
For India: The grant period is three years, starting in 2019.
The Swedish project leader creates the application in Prisma (the application system used by the Swedish Research Council) by filling in the text fields, uploading information from his/her personal account, and attaching the appendices requested. The Indian project leader shall be involved in the planning of the collaboration and the elaboration of the application. The instructions given below thus also target such application participants.
The organisation of the Swedish applicant must have been approved as an administrating organisation Opens in new window. and have created an organisation account in Prisma.
For most items in Prisma, there is a user manual
External link, opens in new window. describing all the steps, as well as answers to FAQ External link, opens in new window.. Please refer to these when filling in your application. If you cannot find the answer to your technical question, you may contact our Technical Support External link, opens in new window.. It may take one to two working days to get an answer. Please note that the Swedish principle of public access to official records applies to all research applications submitted to the Swedish Research Council. Please avoid stating anybody’s full personal identity number in the application except where specifically requested.
A PDF version of the submitted Swedish application is to subsequently be submitted to DST C.V. guidelines and instructions indicated below.
Creating a personal account in Prisma (not required for Indian researchers)
Before you can apply, you must have or create a personal account in Prisma , where you will store your personal data and your CV. The information only has to be entered once, and may subsequently be supplemented or amended whenever necessary. Since foreign experts are involved in most of the Swedish Research Council calls, we ask you to enter text in English in your CV data. The account will also enable you to register your publications for future use. Please note that publications stored in your account cannot be transferred to the application form. This is due to the fact that the publications function is still under development and has not yet been implemented in the Swedish Research Council’s calls. The publications list must therefore be presented in the form of an attached PDF file (see instructions under Publications below).
Please remember to create your personal accounts well in advance. The applications that you register in Prisma will be linked to your personal account.
All other persons who will be involved in the preparation of the application must also create a personal account in Prisma and confirm their participation. Thereafter they can add their data to the application via their personal accounts.
Text
Some text fields can be formatted, which means that the font, alignment and font size can be changed, and that tables and symbols can be inserted. If inserting a text written using a word processing program (such as Microsoft Word), adjustment of the formatting may be needed after insertion, using the tools in Prisma. Images cannot be included in the text fields, however. We recommend using the fonts Arial, Calibri or Verdana.
All text fields have a limit on the number of characters, and a character counter illustrates this. If using too many characters, the application cannot be registered.
Attached documents and appendices
Attaching an appendix to some fields as instructed may be needed. The appendix must consist of one file in PDF format only. All appendices are limited as to file size and number of pages. Registering the application with an appendix that exceeds the stated maximum size will not be possible.
Signing
Both the Swedish project leader and an authorised representative of the Swedish administrating organisation shall sign the application electronically in Prisma. Please see further information under “Registering the application” below.
Please refer to the application form in Prisma in parallel with reading the instructions below.
Language
Since the application is made in parallel in Sweden and in India, and will be evaluated by Swedish and Indian evaluators, please submit the application in English.
Sections of the application
The application form includes the following tabs:
- Descriptive data
- Research description
- Budget and research resources
- CV (Indian researchers)
- Publications
- Administrating organisation
- Participants
- CV (other researchers)
- Descriptions of the information requested under each tab follow below.
- Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in Prisma.
Descriptive data
Under this tab, please fill in the project title in Swedish and English, the name and affiliation of the Indian project leader and select SCB codes and key words. Please also fill in the abstract and popular science description as instructed below.
Please note that the default project period start will be stated as January 2019 in the form, but will be later for granted projects.
Abstract
The research plan abstract should contain a short description of
- the research activities to be undertaken within the collaboration
- the collaborative project implementation: the project organisation, the time table and the scientific methods to be used
- what is important about the planned research: the impact and added value of the collaborative research.
The abstract should include a brief outline of the aim and the implementation of the collaborative research activities. Please use a language that can also be understood by somebody with a different scientific background.
The description may cover a maximum of 1 500 characters including blank spaces (approximately one third of an A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).
Popular science description
Describe the project in such a way that a person who is not familiar with the subject can understand it. Describe why and how the research will be conducted, and explain in what way the collaboration and the new knowledge might be important.
The popular science description is an important tool when we inform about the research funded by the Swedish Research Council. If we grant your application, we reserve the right to use the description for information purposes.
Note: The popular science description must be written in Swedish, unlike the rest of the application.
The description may cover a maximum of 4 500 characters including blank spaces (approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).
Research description
Under this tab, please attach your research plan, and describe any ethical considerations and the relevance to the call.
Ethical considerations
The national ethical regulations/legislation, which are the strictest, shall apply for the research collaboration as a whole. Describe the ethical issues raised by the research and how they are handled in the research work. Explain also, why the research questions and expected results justify the conduct of the research, in view of the ethical issues raised. Please also state whether the research involves any handling of personal data, or experiments on animals or human subjects. If no ethical issues are raised, please state this. If the research does not raise any ethical issues, this should also be stated.
Research plan
Please attach your research plan in PDF format. The research plan should consist of a short but complete description of the research task. The research plan should be given a forward-looking focus and comprise a maximum of ten page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single spacing, including references and any images.
The research plan must include the following headings and information, listed in the following order:
- Purpose and aims: Present the overall purpose and specific objectives of the collaborative research project.
- State-of-the-art: Summarise briefly the current research frontier within the field/area covered by the collaborative project. State key references.
- Significance and scientific novelty: Describe briefly how the project relates to previous research within the area, and its importance in the short and long term. Describe also how the collaborative research project moves forward or innovates the current research frontier.
- Preliminary and previous results: Describe briefly your own previous research and pilot studies within the research area that make it probable that the collaboration project will be feasible. State also if no preliminary results exist..
Project description and mode of cooperation: Describe the collaborative research project design, including the following items:- Theory and method: Describe the underlying theory and the methods to be applied in order to reach the project goal.
- Time plan and implementation: Describe summarily the time plan for the project during the grant period concerning travel, joint seminars and workshops, joint publications, etc. and how the project will be implemented. A brief description of the project activities, such as workshops and seminars, should also be included.
- Project organisation: Clarify the contributions of yourself and any participating researchers to the implementation of the project. Describe and explain the competences and roles of the participating researchers, the gender balance and clarify the role to be played by the two collaboration partners and any other researchers or corresponding who are important for the implementation of the project.
Provide the following information also. If a heading is not relevant to your application, please leave it blank.
- Equipment: Describe the basic equipment that you, and the team, will have at your disposal for the project.
- Need for infrastructure: Specify the need for international and national infrastructure within the project. Also specify the need for local infrastructure if such equipment depreciation costs are included in the application. Read more about research infrastructure supported by the Swedish Research Council. Opens in new window.
Relevance to the call Opens in new window.
Research areas/Sub focus
Describe how your project is relevant for one or both of the sub focus areas Computer science and Material science and how the project promotes the development of these fields. Please note that the relevance to one or both of these research areas constitutes an absolute requirement for this call.
- Added value from the research collaboration (complementarity)
Please describe how the expertise and capacity of the participating researchers and HEIs cooperate to benefit the quality of the research. How will the collaboration generate mutual added value to the research of the applicants? In which ways is the collaboration based on equal participation and how will it lead to mutual exchange of knowledge? In the event the gender balance among the project participants is unequal, please explain how this will not impact negatively on the quality of the research.
The description may contain a maximum of 8 000 characters including blank spaces (equivalent to approximately two A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).
Budget and research resources
Under this tab, please describe the personnel active within the Swedish project and include the joint budget plan for the network collaboration project as a whole.
The total network grant budget, including the Swedish and Indian respective budgets, shall be presented in an attached PDF-file named “Joint budget plan”. Instructions for this are presented last in this section.
Project staff (Swedish part)
Specify the dedicated time in the project (as a percentage of full-time employment) for all Swedish project staff members, i.e., for yourself, any other Swedish researchers and other personnel.
Joint budget plan for the Swedish and the Indian project leaders
Attach the joint budget plan for collaboration between the Swedish and Indian researchers in a PDF format. Please observe that the appendix may only contain one file, with a maximum of size 4MB and comprising a maximum of two A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single spacing. The document should contain the three parts A-C below:
A: Total requested funding:
Year | No. and duration of each visit to Sweden | International air-fare, visa fee, overseas insurance (only in INR for visits from India to Sweden | Accommodation, per-diem etc. in INR (for visits from Sweden to India9 as per the prescribed rates | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | i. | |||
ii. | ||||
2nd | i. | |||
ii. | ||||
Total |
Please indicate Institutes Guest house accommodation charges per day.
Year | Accessories and appliances etc. | Chemicals & consumables | Project scientific manpower (only project asst./JRF/SRF/RA) as per DST norms | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | ||||
2nd | ||||
Total |
Please indicate /mention name and cost of accessories/appliances being requested for.
Please indicate rate and quantity of chemicals & consumables asked for.
Year | No. and duration of each visit to India | International air-fare and overseas insurance (only in –SEK for visits from Sweden to India) | Accommodation, per-diem in EUR for visits from India to Sweden | Indirect costs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | i. | ||||
ii. | |||||
2nd | ii. | ||||
i. | |||||
Total |
Year | Costs for proeject-related joint workshops and seminars, publications etc. | Minor equipment(s) / accessories, consumables etc | Other costs relevant for the grant objective. | Indirect costs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | |||||
2nd | |||||
Total |
B. Explanation of the proposed budget
Write a brief justification statement for the items in the proposed project budget
C. Other funding
Describe any other funding applied for, or awarded, which will have an impact on the collaborative research project in question. Indicate the type of grant, status, funding source, grant awardee/project leader, funding period and the relevant amounts according to the example below.
Type of grant | Status | Funding source | Grant awardee/project leader | Funding period | Total amount (SEK or INR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Project grant | Awarded | VR | Anna Andersson | 2018-2020 | 2 000 000 SEK |
Travel grant | Applied | DST | Raj Malik | 2018-2019 | 700 000 INR |
.... |
You may evoke depreciation costs relating to equipment that will be used in the project, provided that
- the equipment has an economic life span of at least three years
- the acquisition value of the equipment exceeds a certain threshold (please turn to your administrating organisation for information on the amount used by your department)
- the equipment need for the proposed project cannot be met by means of freely available national or international infrastructure.
You may only evoke the part of the depreciation costs that corresponds to the use of the equipment in the project for which you request funding. You may not evoke depreciation costs relating to equipment that is fully financed by means of other grants. If you have questions about what qualifies as local research infrastructure, acquisition values, or about how to calculate the depreciation costs, please contact your administrating organisation.
CV (Indian researchers)
Please enclose the CVs of the Indian project leader and any other participating researcher in a PDF format. Each CV must not exceed two A4 pages. Please observe that the appendix may only contain one file, with a maximum sized of 10 MB. If the attachment contains several files, you will therefore have to joint them into a single file. The following information must be submitted under the numbered headings below in the given order (leave no applicable fields empty):
1. Higher education qualification(s): year, subject field and HEI
2. Doctoral degree or equivalent: year, discipline/subject field, HEI title of the thesis and the name of the doctoral supervisor.
3. Postdoctoral positions: year and location
4. Qualification required for appointments as a docent:
5. Current position: term of appointment and research portion
6. Previous positions and periods of appointment: type of position and appointment periods
7. Supervision: Doctoral and postdoctoral students that you have supervised in the capacity of main supervisor; (name(s) and years).
8. Interruption in research: In this section, you may describe nay longer interruption in your active research time, which has affected your qualification opportunities, e.g. interruptions due to parental leave, medical internships or medical residencies (applies to clinically active professionals), positions of trust, or similar circumstances. Specify the extent of each interruption.
9. Other information of relevance to the application.
Publications
Under this tab, we ask you to please attach the publication lists in a PDF format to the respective fields (Swedish/other and Indian project participants sorted separately). Please observer that each appendix may only contain one file, with a maximum size of 10 MB. If the attachment contains several files, you will therefore have to join them into a single file.
Each publications list shall be drawn up according to the headings and information below. Each researcher’s list shall cover a maximum of five page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.
1. Selection of publications: List the maximum ten publications of greatest importance for the application. For each publication, please state how you contributed to it, and its relevance to the research project described (maximum four lines per publication). Highlight your name in bold in the author list.
2. Relevant publications from the last eight years: Sort the publications, with your name highlighted in bold in the author list, under each heading (publication type) in the following order:
- Peer-reviewed original articles
- Peer-reviewed conference contributions, the results of which are not included in other publications.
- Peer-reviewed edited volumes
- Research review articles
- Peer-reviewed books and book chapters
- Other publications including popular science books/presentations
Note: Please sort the publications under each heading in reverse chronological order, so that the latest publication is at the top of the list. Please only include articles or corresponding that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author order in the publications list shall be identical to that of the published work. The application cannot be supplemented with publications after the deadline for the call.
Administrating organisation
Under this tab, please state the Swedish administrating organisation and project site. The administrating organisation is the organisation that administers the grant awarded and is responsible for it according to the conditions set. The project site is the organisational unit where the project is carried out. Normally, the administrating organisation and project site correspond to the HEI and the department where the project leader is employed.
To allow linking the application to an administrating organisation, the organisation must have an approved account in Prisma. Please contact your organisation and ask it to apply for an organisation account with the Swedish Research Council if it does not already have one.
If your project site is not listed in Prisma, please contact the person responsible for the organisation account at your administrating organisation. You will not be able to finalise the registration of your application if the project site is missing.
Participants
Under this tab, the Swedish applicant may invite other participating researchers and participating administrators to the application. Please note that this does not include the Indian researcher(s)! Participating researchers are other persons involved in the project whose scientific competence will be crucial for the implementation of the proposed research. A participating administrator is a person who can help to input and edit information in the application.
When inviting participants, please make sure you use the correct email address linked to the person’s Prisma account. You may invite participants who do not already have an account in Prisma, but in order to participate in your application they must register their own personal accounts in Prisma. All participants must accept their invitation, and participating researchers must upload their CV data to the application before you can finalise the registration of the application.
Once a participating researcher has accepted your invitation, you can allocate authority to him/her to edit the application.
Please note that all participating researchers shall be described in the research and collaboration plan (see above).
CV (other researchers)
Under this tab, the Swedish applicant shall upload the relevant CV information from his/her personal account in Prisma. Any participating researchers of the Swedish part of project must upload their own CV information to the application.
The following information, where available, must always be included in each CV, taking into account the stated limitation in numbers:
- Education: First, second and third cycle higher education and specialist degrees.'
- Work: Current employment (including whether permanent or not) and longer relevant employment, postdoctoral visits (also included as employment, if relevant), research exchanges relevant to the research described and any longer interruptions in the research that have impacted on your opportunity to gain merits as a researcher.
- Merits and awards: Docent ship/associate professorship, supervisees (postdoctoral and doctoral students; state the overall number of each category and list the 10 most relevant to you), up to 10 of your most relevant grants awarded in competition, up to 10 of your most relevant prizes and awards, and up to 20 other merits relevant to the application.
- Intellectual property rights: For example, patents and open access computer programs developed by you; state up to 10 of your most relevant.
Registering the Swedish application
The tab “Check and register” shows a summary of the fields in the application that may require action in order to register it (such as mandatory fields not filled in, text fields with too many characters, discrepancies from limits on the possible project period or budget applied for). The registration of the application is not finalised until clicking on the “Register” button.
Please make sure to use the preview function before registering the application.
Note: Everybody that has been invited to the application must accept the invitation before registering the application. If an invitation is not accepted, it must be deleted. Before registration, all participating researchers in the Swedish project must also upload their CV information from their own personal accounts in Prisma.
The registered application can thereafter be found in the Swedish applicant’s personal Prisma account in the tab “Applications and grants”, under the menu choice “Applications”. Until the deadline for the call, a registered application may be de-registered, amended and re-registered again as necessary.
It is the Swedish project leader’s responsibility to ensure the application is complete, that is to say the application form is correctly filled in, the correct appendices are attached and the information requested has been provided according to the instructions. Please only submit material specifically requested. We do not accept any additional information after the deadline, except when specifically requested.
Signing the Swedish application in Prisma
When the Swedish applicant registers the application, it is signed by him/her in their capacity of project leader. The application must also be signed by the official representative of the Swedish administrating organisation in order for it to be considered complete and be processed further in the review process. This representative is normally the head of the department where the Swedish part of the research will be conducted, but that will depend on the organisational structure of the administrating organisation.
The Swedish applicant’s signature confirms that
- the information in the application is correct and complies with the Swedish Research Council’s instructions
- secondary occupations and commercial ties have been reported to the administrating organisation and that nothing has emerged that breaches good research practice
- the permits and approvals required have been obtained before the research is started, such as permits from the Swedish Medical Products Agency or approval from an ethical review board or an ethical committee on animal experiments
- the applicant will comply with all other conditions applicable to the grant.
The signature of the Swedish administrating organisation confirms that
- the research or research-supporting activity described can be given room at the administrating organisation during the period and to the extent stated in the application
- the applicant will be employed by the administrating organisation during the period covered by the application
- the administrating organisation approves of the budget in the application
- the administrating organisation will comply with all other conditions applicable to the grant
The above points shall have been discussed by the parties before the representative of the administrating organisation approves and signs the application.
Note: The authorised representative of the administrating organisation must sign the application in Prisma no later than one week (seven calendar days) after the deadline in order for the application to be considered further in the review process.
The DST will check and confirm the commitment of the Indian applicants and administrative organization (see below).
Instructions for preparing the application for DST, India
Format
The application submitted to DST must be prepared in the prescribed format attached as Annexure-I.
Word, 32 kB, opens in new window. It may be noted that the scientific contents of the Indian and Swedish proposal must be same/identical (Including the project title) in both the applications submitted through the PRISMA online system and t DST as hardcopy submission. The application is liable for outright rejection if the project titles an project scientific description/contents are different and not matching at both ends. The number and duration of each visit must also be same in both the applications ie online application system at Swedish end an hardcopy at DST end. It may also be noted that one visit by a project participant shall be treated as one visit under the project.
Budget
The budget requirement/projections from Ian side must be formulated in INR and submitted as per the table provided in the format for application (Annexure-I) The overhead charges to Indian Institutes shall be payable only as per the norms of DST. For any further clarifications about Indian budget part, you may contact nodal officer in DST.
Submitting the Indian application
The Indian project leaders are required to submit only ONE originally signed hardcopy (prescribed format attached as Annexure-I Word, 32 kB, opens in new window. to DST using the following postal address:
Dr. Chadaram Sivaji
Scientist-F / Director
IBC Division
Department of Science and Technology
New Mehrauli Road New Delhi 110016
Electronic (scanned) signatures of the Swedish PI are acceptable in the above hardcopy of the application to be submitted to DST.
A Softcopy in pdf format in a single file (no scan pages to be included in the soft file) must also be sent as email attachment to sivaji@nic.in. The signatures are not required in the softcopy of the proposal. Deadline for submission of applications to DST is the 6th of December. Incomplete applications and received after the deadline will not be considered.
How your application within Indo-Swedish joint network grant is evaluated
The aim of this grant is to support new or existing Indo-Swedish collaborative groups that in the longer perspective may develop into long-term collaborations. The collaborations shall be based on the principle of mutual benefit, equality and commonly set objectives.
The Indo-Swedish Joint Research Programme was initiated by the Indian and Swedish governments in order to support research of the highest scientific quality in the areas of medicine and health and the natural and engineering sciences. The programme supports cutting-edge basic research that brings together faculty and young researchers from Sweden and India. The program is financed by the Swedish Research Council and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in India on the principle of reciprocity, parity and activity matching funding.
Evaluation process
Your application is evaluated by both Swedish and Indian evaluators. On the Swedish side there is a review panel where the members are specialized in their subjects.
At least three Swedish panel members review and grade your application individually. The entire Swedish review panel then meets at a review panel meeting to discuss and prioritise the applications and finally to make a recommendation for a decision. The Swedish recommendation for decision is compared to the Indian reviewers’ recommendation and the applications that both countries reviewers agree on to be funded is then to be decided by the Director General for VR and by the DST.
Evaluation criteria and guiding questions
The evaluation of the scientific quality of your application is made based on five basic criteria (Novelty and originality, Scientific quality of the project, Merits of the applicant, Feasibility, Complementarity of the research/added value). The purpose of using several components is to achieve a multi-faceted evaluation. The criteria are assessed on a seven-grade scale, except for feasibility, which is assessed on a three-grade grade scale.
In addition to the basic criteria, your application is also evaluated using an additional criterion (relevance) on a 3-grade scale.
For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ evaluation of your application. These can also function as guidance for you when you write your application.
Novelty and originality (1–7)
Guiding questions:
- Does the proposed project define new, interesting scientific questions?
- Does the proposed project have the potential to substantially increase the knowledge within its scientific area?
- Does the proposed project use new ways and methods to address important scientific questions?
- When applicable, does the proposed project show a clear progression in relation to the previous research of the applicant?
Scientific quality of the project (1–7)
Guiding questions:
- Is the proposed research scientifically significant?
- How does the proposed project relate to the state of the art of the research area?
- Do the scientific questions have the purpose to fill in significant knowledge gaps, and is the project description sufficiently detailed and of sufficient quality to reach, or to in a significant way approach these objectives?
Merits of the applicant (1–7)
The assessment should concern the merits of the two main applicants to perform the proposed project. The assessment of the co-applicants’ complementary expertise is only of relevance for the grading of the feasibility of the project.
Guiding questions:
- How significant is the applicant’s scientific productivity, impact and other merits in a national and international perspective, in relation to the research area? Here the emphasis should be put on the recent (the last 8 years) scientific achievements.
- What is the applicant’s scientific competence within the research area of the application?
Feasibility (1–3: 1.Not feasible 2. Partly feasible 3. Feasible)
Guiding questions:
- Are the available equipment, infrastructure and other resources adequate for the proposed project?
- Considering the project as a whole, including any participating researchers, does the main applicants or project group have sufficient competence to perform the proposed research?
- In the case that the main applicants has a previous grant from VR: does the report on the previous project support the likelihood that the proposed project will be performed successfully?
Complementarity of the research (the added value of the research collaboration) (1-7)
Guiding questions:
- Is there appropriateness of the team members in terms of availability and complementarities of all the relevant expertise, and in how the different roles and responsibilities are distinguished?
- Does the cooperation bring mutual added value to the research; compared to if the partners were not working together?
- Can the cooperation lead to transfer of knowledge between applicants?
Is the collaboration based on principles of co-design, mutual benefit and equality? - Does the project partnership have an appropriate gender balance?
- Can support for the proposed research collaboration lead to the establishment of a long-term research partnership?
- Does the collaborative research contribute to the establishment of new researcher-to-researcher relationships?
- If principal investigators have collaborated before, is the proposed collaboration based on a new research topic? What were the experiences of that previous collaboration?
- Can additional funding lead to new collaborative research proposals with realistic ideas how to obtain funding?
Overall grade (1–7)
The various component criteria being used in the assessment are weighed together to an overall grade (1—7), which reflects the overall assessment of the scientific quality of the application by the Swedish review panel. The overall grade is formed without a pre-determined numerical weighing of the basic criteria. As a guidance for the Swedish review panel’s assessment, the criteria Scientific quality of the proposed research and Complementarity of the research are the two most important criteria. Merits and Novelty and originality should also be considered in the assessment, but should be given lower weight than the two above mentioned criteria. The feasibility shall be weighed into the overall rating of the application if it deviates from the grade “Feasible”.
Relevance to call objectives (1-3: 1. Not relevant 2. Some relevance 3. Relevant)
Relevance to the call objectives is evaluated separately from the scientific quality, and is not included in the overall grade. The grant should be within the two areas of the call:
- Computer Science
- Material science
The grade primarily reflects the relevance to the objectives stated in the call.
Guiding questions:
- Does the proposed project match to the relevance description in the call objectives?
The Swedish Research Council’s conflict of interest policy Opens in new window.
The Swedish Research Council’s gender equality strategy Opens in new window.
When the Swedish applicant has registered the application and the call closes (at 14:00/2 p.m. Swedish time on the deadline date of the call), the registration of the application is automatically finalised and the application is given a registration number.
The registered application is automatically forwarded to the representative of the Swedish administrating organisation for signature in Prisma. The application must be signed by the administrating organisation no later than one week (seven calendar days) after the deadline. The Swedish applicant will receive an email when the application has been signed.
Thereafter the Swedish applicant will find information about the status of the application, registration number and signature of the application in his/her account in Prisma, under the tab “Applications and grants”.
Scientific evaluation
Active researchers carry out the scientific evaluation of the application. These peer reviewers evaluate the application in competition with the other applications based on the evaluation criteria set by the Swedish Research Council and DST (read more under “How your application is evaluated”).
If an application is not completed according to the instructions, this will be weighed into the evaluation.
Decision
Shortly after the grant decision has been made, a notice of the grant awards will be published on the websites of the Swedish Research Council’s and DST. The Swedish applicant will thereafter find a notice of the decision and a final statement on the application in his/her personal account in Prisma, under the tab “Applications and grants”. The statement consists of a grading and, in some cases, written comments.
The EU ABS Regulation and due diligence declaration: As from 12 October 2015, users of genetic resources (genetic material of actual or potential value) and traditional knowledge relating to genetic resources, obtained after 12 October 2014, shall comply with the EU ABS Regulation (No 511/2014) by making a “due diligence declaration”. This applies only to grant recipients. Due diligence entails the user being able to show that the genetic resource was obtained according to applicable legislation in the country in question and that the possible benefit of the genetic resource will be allocated in a reasonable and equitable way.
Exceptions apply to research into: the human genome, plant genetic material included in Appendix 1 External link, opens in new window. to the international agreement on plant genetic resources, pandemic influenza virus and genetic material obtained from international waters. If you have any questions about the regulations and due diligence, please contact Naturvårdsverket External link, opens in new window..