WUN Research Development Fund 2020: Sustainable Recovery
19 Aug 2020
The WUN Research Development Fund (RDF) offers grants of up to £10,000*, for one year, to foster innovative, international collaborative research programmes among academic staff at WUN member universities.
This year’s theme is focused on Sustainable Recovery. As the world approaches investment in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing attention is being paid to doing this in ways that will be sustainable, which is aligned with WUN’s strategic goals and focus on sustainable development. Within this theme, identified areas of focus correspond to six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Proposals are encouraged that address one or more of the following Sustainable Development Goals:
- Good health and well-being
- Quality Education
- Affordable and clean energy
- Reduced inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Climate action
Applications previously submitted to the WUN COVID-19 call held in May 2020 are also eligible for submission.
Grants from the WUN RDF can be used to support exploratory research initiatives, planning workshops, data collection and the formation of collaborative networks. A complete list of how funds can be administered and details on financial and reporting obligations can be found here.
How to apply
The RDF is open to UCD academic staff and involves a two-step application process.
Step 1: UCD Internal Review of Proposals
If you intend to lead a WUN project as Principal Investigator, please download the WUN 2020 RDF Guidelines and complete the UCD Draft Proposal Application Form. Forms should be submitted to UCD Global directorucdglobal@ucd.ie by Friday 25 September 2020.
Applications to lead projects as PIs must be accompanied by:
- Program budget outlining key areas of expenditure.
- CV of the principal investigator (1 page maximum) with URL links to partner investigators.
- Short biographies of Co-Investigators including motivations for joining the Project
If you are approached to participate as Co-Investigator in a WUN RDF bid led by another institution and would like further information about UCD’s participation in WUN, please contact UCD Global directorucdglobal@ucd.ie.
UCD project proposals will be reviewed by a panel comprising representatives from UCD Research and Innovation and the UCD Office of Global Engagement. Each WUN member university may only submit up to two applications on which its academic staff are principal investigators (PIs).
Step 2: WUN Review of Proposals
On 9 October 2020, you will be notified if your application has been successful to proceed to review by the WUN Academic Advisory Group. Following this, you will be invited to draft a full proposal and submit this to WUN directly via an online portal by Friday 23 October (5pm GMT).
Timeline for Applications (2020 Scheme)
18 August: UCD opens call for Expressions of Interest: Principal Investigators to complete UCD Draft Proposal Application Form along with the budget and CV. Co-Investigators to provide a short biography including motivations for joining the project.
25 September: Internal deadline for receipt of Draft PI proposals to be submitted to UCD Global directorucdglobal@ucd.ie.
09 October: Announcement of (up to 2) RDF projects invited for full proposal.
23 October: (5pm GMT): WUN deadline for online submission of applications.
If you are interested in submitting an application and would like to discuss this further, please contact directorucdglobal@ucd.ie.
*Currency converter (set at 18 August 2020): GBP£1 = EUR1.11