Applications to UKRI should be submitted through the Joint Electronic Submission system (Je-S) by 10 February 2021, 4:00pm (GMT).
Applications should be submitted to JST through the Cross-Ministerial R&D Management System (e-Rad) by 10 February 2021, 12:00pm (JST).
If applicable, a counterpart application should be submitted through the DOST Project Management Information system (DPMIS) application system by 10 February 2021, 4:00pm (PST).
It will not be possible to apply to the funding opportunity after the time mentioned above. Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered. UK applicants must ensure they leave enough time for their proposal to pass through their organisation’s Je-S submission route before this date.
When submitting your application through Je-S, please follow these steps:
- log into your Je-S account
- select council: EPSRC
- document type: Standard proposal
- scheme: UKRI
- call: GCRF UKRI-JST-DOST call for development research collaborations (STAND).
Proposals submitted to any other funding opportunity route through Je-S will not be accepted.
When submitting your application through e-Rad, please follow the instruction described in the ‘Science, Technology and Action’ Nexus for Development (STAND) call for proposals.
Philippine applicants applying through the DPMIS must list the UK/Japanese research collaborators using the DPMIS Proposal Template. The value of UKRI/JST funding contributions should also be included in the DOST application and submitted as part of the proposal’s line-item budget as UKRI/JST counterpart.
Documents required for UKRI funding
As a summary, your application should include the following documents.
Please note that these page lengths are the requirements for this funding opportunity, where Je-S gives a specific length which differs from this, please adhere to the limits given in this table.
| Document |
Maximum page length |
Je-S attachment type |
| Je-S proposal form |
N/A |
N/A |
| Case for support |
5 pages |
Case for support |
| Justification of resources |
2 pages |
Justification of resources |
| Gender equality statement |
|
|
| ODA compliance statement |
1 page |
Non-UK component |
| CVs for project leaders |
2 pages per CV, including publications |
CV |
| Data management plan |
3 pages |
Data management plan |
No additional attachments are permitted.
As a minimum, font size 11 in Arial must be used for the entire case for support and CVs.
Please note that on submission all non PDF documents are converted to PDF.
The use of non-standard fonts may result in errors or font conversion, which could affect the overall length of the document. Additionally where non-standard fonts are present, and even if the converted PDF document may look unaffected in the Je-S system, when it is imported into the research councils grants system some information may be removed.
We therefore recommend that where a document contains any non-standard fonts (scientific notation, diagrams), the document should be uploaded as a PDF file.
Applications not complying with the funding opportunity requirements may be rejected.
Document summaries
Je-S proposal form – please note that typing into a text box is not detectable by the system and is regarded as system inactivity. Please remember to save text regularly.
The same project title should be used when applying to each funder to ensure that it is clear which applications are linked.
Project leaders from Japan and the Philippines should be included on the Je-S form as co-investigators with the salary rate as zero. Costs for these investigators should be included on applications to the relevant funders (JST or DOST). These investigators will require an active Je-S account before they can be added to the proposal form. Please allow plenty of time to complete this step before the closing date. Find out more about setting up a Je-S account.
Details of the previous UKRI-funded GCRF or Newton Fund project that this proposal is based on should be included in the ‘other support’ section of the Je-S proposal form, including the UKRI grant reference number.
Entering overseas costs
- all overseas costs to be claimed from UKRI (eligible costs to enable the participation of partners from countries in south-east Asia on the DAC list of recipients, aside from the Philippines) must be entered into the standard proposal document as other directly incurred costs and flagged as exceptions
- non-UK co-investigators must enter their time allocation under ‘directly allocated’ but should enter the salary rate as zero. All costs associated with non-UK partners that are to be claimed from UKRI – whether salary, fieldwork, equipment, indirect costs or travel and subsistence – will need to be entered under ‘other directly incurred costs’ in the resources section of the form and the ‘exceptions’ box will need to be ticked for each item
- all overseas costs to be paid by UKRI must be entered into the Other Directly Incurred costs using the following format: In the description box you should enter – ‘Organisation: Country: Cost Category: Cost Description’. The cost categories for this funding opportunity are as follows:
- staff
- other directly incurred costs
- indirect costs
- travel and subsistence.
For example:
- University of Nairobi: Kenya: Staff: 1 x Network Manager
- University of Nairobi: Kenya: Travel and Subsistence: 4 x flights
- University of Nairobi: Kenya: Other Directly Incurred Costs: 5 x Workshops including catering and accommodation
Research ethics
All GCRF projects must be underpinned by a strong research ethic based on mutual respect and understanding for different cultural, ethnic, social and economic beliefs and practices. Solutions to any development challenge(s) must be rooted in, and acceptable to, the institutions, communities and societies where they will operate.
Applicants should use the ethical information section to demonstrate to reviewers that they have fully considered any ethical issues concerning the material they intend to use, the nature and choice, current public perceptions and attitudes towards the subject matter or research area. Describing potential issues gives confidence to reviewers that the applicants have thought carefully about the project. If ethical approval is not considered necessary, a statement should still be included justifying this decision. Each section of the ethical information must be completed. Applicants must clearly state how any potential ethical and health and safety issues have been considered and will be addressed ensuring that all necessary ethical approval is in place before the project commences and all risks are minimised.
The provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 must be observed. All UKRI awards are made on the absolute condition that no work which is controlled by the Act will begin until the necessary licences have been obtained. All work supported by a UKRI award must comply with the principals described in the document ‘Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research: expectations of the major research council and charitable funding bodies’. When collaborating with other laboratories, or where animal facilities are provided by third parties, researchers and the local ethics committee in the UK should satisfy themselves that welfare standards are consistent with the principals of UK legislation. Research involving the use of genetic resources must be carried out in accordance with the requirements set out in the Nagoya Protocol. Any research undertaken outside the UK must have both UK and respective country ethical approvals.
Investigators proposing the use of animals should provide an additional letter including the following information:
- a signed statement from both UK and partner country Project Leaders that:
- they will adhere to all relevant national and local regulatory systems in the UK and partner countries.
- they will follow the guidelines laid out in the document ‘Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research’ and ensure that work is carried out to a minimum of UK standards
- before initiation of the proposed research work, appropriate approvals from Institutional or central animal ethics committees will be obtained for experimental protocols to be adopted in their projects. Successful proposals may be expected to provide copies of these permissions before funding is released.
- Details on where the animal research will take place (UK or overseas) and through which funder the resources are being sought. Applicants should include confirmation that animal welfare standards at these organisations meet the requirements outlined above.
If applicable, applicants should also submit the MRC ‘use of animals overseas’ form(s) – please see section 4.4.6 of the standard MRC guidance for applicants and the use of animals overseas section of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) website.
Application summaries
As part of the government’s commitment to ODA transparency and in line with ODA reporting requirements, UKRI is responsible for publishing information about UKRI ODA grants including project titles and summaries via the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) registry and via FCDO’s national statistics.
The purpose of publishing information via the IATI registry is to make information about ODA easily accessible to governments, stakeholders and other relevant groups in beneficiary countries. All UKRI funded projects from this programme will be published in this way.
In addition the summary and impact summary sections will be made available on the Gateway to Research database and research council websites. Please therefore write your project summary and impact summary in such a way that they are meaningful and accessible to non-specialist audiences, following publication.
It is expected that the summaries are written in plain English and avoid the use of jargon and acronyms and avoid including confidential information.
Please also make clear in your summary how your project is ODA compliant, for example by identifying the development challenge(s) being addressed, the aims of the project and the beneficiary countries.
Case for support
The same case for support should be submitted to each funder. The case for support should be a maximum of 5 sides of A4 and comprise the following sections:
Vision and objectives
The overall vision and objectives of the project, setting out the proposal’s relevance to the funding opportunity and contribution to SDGs.
This should include a brief overview of the previously funded projects (including any key outcomes) and how this project will enable new perspectives and collaborations between these projects. You should describe the major sustainable development challenge(s) being addressed, the expected outcomes of the project and how it will build on and add value to the previously funded projects.
Capability of the team
Plans for the overall management of the project including how funds will be used to achieve the programme’s objectives. Details of the project leaders, including their proposed contribution to the programme and evidence they have the necessary diverse set of skills to deliver the vision and objectives.
Partnerships and collaboration
The strategy to enhance and build meaningful and lasting partnerships between the different projects and research groups involved and with other partners (business, third sector organisations, governments). This should include how the programme will facilitate and promote collaborative and cross-disciplinary ways of working and assemble the disciplinary expertise necessary to tackle the development challenge/s in question.
Part of the capacity and capability growth should be enabling groups and individuals to respond to future funding opportunities.
Each proposal should describe the history of the partnerships and collaboration. If an agreement has already been signed with the counterpart institution, it is better to give details of the agreement and current contact and interaction among the institutions.
Programme of activities
An outline of the planned activities, who the key stakeholders will be, and what outcomes might be generated from them.
Projects should also be aiming to set up a legacy of impact, for example, by working with non-academic stakeholders (practitioners, industry, governments etc.), and this section should detail how they will be engaged. This section should include how the planned activities will follow on from, build on and enhance the impact of the previously funded projects.
You must also detail your safeguarding policy in this section. UKRI condemns all forms of harm and abuse, including bullying and harassment.
We take a zero-tolerance approach to harm and abuse to any individual employed through or associated with our programmes in all contexts; whether in humanitarian or fragile and conflict-affected settings, in other field contexts, or within the international or UK research and development community which we fund.
We expect organisations to promote the highest standards in organisational culture and have in place the systems and procedures required to prevent and tackle all incidents of harm and abuse. Applications should detail how they will identify and manage safeguarding risks within their projects.
Justification of resources
The same justification of resources should be submitted to each funder.
A breakdown of all resources requested (directly incurred, directly allocated and exceptions, including principal investigators/project leaders time) from all funders should be provided along with an explanation of why these resources are appropriate for the activities proposed. This should not be simply a list of the resources required.
For items that would ordinarily be found in a department, for example non-specialist computers, a justification must be included both for why they are required for the project and why they cannot be provided from the research organisation’s own resources (including funding from indirect costs from grants).
A clear justification must be provided for the amount of indirect costs requested from UKRI for non-UK organisations and a breakdown given for how it will be spent.
Non UK component – ODA compliance statement
The ODA compliance statement should be a maximum of 1 page and explicitly demonstrate how the proposal meets key ODA requirements. It must answer the following 4 questions.
Please note the requirement to answer these questions does not supersede the need to discuss impact within your case for support.
Where necessary please ensure that you request appropriately justified resources to support these activities.
- Which country or countries on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients (DAC list) will directly benefit from this proposal and are these countries likely to continue to be eligible to receive ODA for the duration of the research? Please refer to the DAC list for information about countries that will be considered for graduation at the next review.
- How is your proposal directly and primarily relevant to the development challenges of these countries? Please provide evidence of the development need and articulate how the proposed activity is appropriate to address this need.
- How do you expect that the outcome of your proposed activities will promote the economic development and welfare of a country or countries on the DAC list?
- What approach(es) will you use to deliver development impact within the lifetime of the project and in the longer-term? Please consider the potential outcomes, the key beneficiary and stakeholder groups in the DAC list country/ countries and how they will be engaged to ensure opportunities for them to benefit and to enable development impact to be achieved.
Gender equality statement
Applicants are required to consider the impact their project will have on gender. Gender equality is not the same as gender balance, although it does include gender balance it is mainly concerned with the impacts of the proposed project.
This should be about the project specifically – the outputs and outcomes; the make-up of the project team; participants, stakeholders and beneficiaries of the project; and the processes followed throughout the research programme. It should not be a re-statement of your Institution’s policy, you may refer to the policy, but should show how the policy will be implemented in terms of the project.
The gender statement must address the below criteria, with an understanding that, depending on the nature of the research and innovation, not all questions will be applicable. If a question is not applicable, you will need to articulate the reasons why:
- have measures been put in place to ensure equal and meaningful opportunities for people of different genders to be involved throughout the project? This includes the development of the project, the participants of the research and innovation, and the beneficiaries of the research and innovation
- the expected impact of the project (benefits and losses) on people of different genders, both throughout the project and beyond
- the impact on the relations between people of different genders and people of the same gender. For example, changing roles and responsibilities in households, society, economy, politics, power, etc.
- how will any risks and unintended negative consequences on gender equality be avoided or mitigated against, and monitored?
- are there any relevant outcomes and outputs being measured, with data disaggregated by age and gender (where disclosed)?
Please see supporting documents within the Additional info section for more guidance for applicants on gender equality statements.
CV
CVs (2 pages per applicant, including publications) should be provided for the project leaders (principal investigator and co-investigators) from all countries. These should be provided to all funders.
Data management plan
UKRI recognises that plans for storing and sharing data will vary according to the type of data collected. Data sharing should be driven by scientific benefit and should also be cost effective. Data should be shared using established standards and existing resources where this is possible. The data management template provided in the supporting documents should be used.
Applicants should include details of:
- data areas and data types – the volume, type and content of data that will be generated
- standards and metadata – the standards and methodologies that will be adopted for data collection and management and why these have been selected
- secondary use – further intended or foreseeable research uses for the completed dataset(s)
- methods for data sharing – planned mechanisms for making these data available, for example through deposition in existing public databases or on request, including access mechanisms where appropriate
- proprietary data – any restrictions on data sharing due to the need to protect proprietary or patentable data
- timeframes – timescales for public release of data
- relevant institutional, departmental or study policies on data sharing and data security.
In addition to the Je-S submission
The Project Leader from the Japanese team must register their application information, legal compliance checklist and compliance agreement on the Cross Ministerial R&D Management System (e-Rad) platform.
An e-Rad guide for applicants (in Japanese) is available on “Application Form” below.
Further application instructions and guidance (available only in Japanese).
For Philippine applicants
Proposals must be submitted in the e-Proposal portal. All instructions for submission are available in this portal. Required supplementary files such as workplan, endorsement of the Head of the Agency, gender and development scoresheet, scientific basis/theoretical framework, among others shall form part of the submission.
Proposals and supplementary files must be written in English.
Proposals will be assessed as 1 application and applicants should therefore ensure that documents provided to different funders as part of linked applications do not contradict each other.
How we use your information
UKRI will use the information that you provide for the purposes of processing your application, making any awards, monitoring and review of any grants. We may share all application data with the Japan Science and Technology Agency and Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines (DOST) in order to assist with management of the application process. We will share anonymised aggregated information with the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Organisation details, where collected, are used for monitoring and evaluation and statistical purposes. Gender information and country of origin, where collected, is used solely for statistical purposes. If we need to contact you, we will do so using the contact details you have provided.
Further information on the UKRI data protection policy and UKRI privacy notice.
