A*STAR/MRC joint initiative to fund infectious disease research
- Background
- Objectives and remit
- Funding available
- Scientific priorities
- How to apply?
- Evaluation process
- Evaluation criteria
- Dates
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Contact
Background
In June 2008, a roundtable discussion jointly hosted by the UK Minister of State for Science and Innovation and the Chair of the Singapore Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), explored and identified opportunities for developing a strategic and coordinated approach to stimulating closer collaboration in infectious disease research with Singapore, UK and SE Asia. The discussions between infectious disease experts from the UK and Singapore looked at ways of applying new technologies in infectious disease research.
As a result of this discussion, a UK-Singapore joint research fund for infectious disease research was launched with a total pot of £2 million/Singapore(S) $5 million fund, to which the MRC and A*STAR have contributed equally.
Objectives and remit
The partnership aims combine the strengths of the MRC and A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) in infectious disease, as well as A*STAR’s Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) expertise in physical sciences and engineering. This inter-disciplinary approach, will boost A*STAR and MRC’s aims of fostering greater convergence of research between engineering, biology and medicine with the aim of tackling infectious disease. To aid these interactions, a full portfolio of A*STAR’s activity can be found at researchers.a-star.edu.sg and MRC’s activity can be found at www.mrc.ac.uk/ResearchPortfolio.
Funding available
The MRC and A*STAR will make up to £2 million available for this call. We aim to provide funding for joint projects between UK and Singapore researchers to “pump-priming” research projects of up to three years duration with a total combined cost not exceeding £300K ($S750K). It is expected that there will be an equal split between the UK and Singapore costs. As these are limited funds, we would not expect major equipment requests. The joint research projects must be lead by one UK based PI and one Singaporean PI and represent a mutually beneficial partnership. Funding will be for pilot grants with total amount requested from MRC and ASTAR between £100-300k in total.
Scientific priorities
This call is aimed at fostering closer collaboration for infectious disease research and any application within this field, utilising biomedical and bio-engineering research will be welcomed. Joint proposals may include but not limited to the following areas:
A) New and Emerging Infections
B) Molecular Basis of Pathogenesis
C) Applying Computing/Engineering and other Inter-Disciplinary approaches towards tackling Infectious Disease
D) Drug Resistance and Diagnostics for Infectious Disease
E) Genetics and Genomics of Infectious Disease
How to apply?
All applications must be submitted via the MRC’s electronic application form with the UK based PI as lead applicant and Singapore based PI as co-applicant. Other co-applicants will be allowed but please make clear in the case for support who will lead both the UK and Singapore research efforts. The deadline for submission of full applications will be 4pm on 25 June 2009 London time. Please bear in mind that all proposals have to be submitted via your research organisation’s administrative department (HEI). Please ensure they have sufficient time to complete their parts of the proposal before the MRC deadline date. Any late applications will be rejected.
All eligible lead research organisations must also be registered with the MRC to apply for funding via the MRC EAA. Eligible institutions include UK higher education institutions, Research Council institutes, and eligible Independent Research Organisations (IROs).
All IROs listed on the RCUK web page are eligible to apply and if they wish to submit an application must have pre-registered with the MRC EAA. Please note that the registration can take up to 10 working days. If you wish to register with MRC EAA please see the research organisations section on the using the EAA guidance.
The UK lead investigator must be entered as the Principal applicant and the Singaporean lead as the co-applicant. Co-applicants may create their own account on the MRC’s EAA system to view and amend your application in consultation with the UK applicant. Please read the instructions prior to creating an account (using the EAA guidance). Co-applicants may be assigned read/write privileges on their application, please contact the EAA helpdesk for further guidance (admin.eaa@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk).
When completing your proposal, applicants should select ‘Strategic Grant’ for the ‘Grant Scheme you are applying for’ ‘Managed Mode’ for ‘Are you applying in:’ and ‘New Application’ for ‘Type of Grant’.
Please note: All mandatory sections on the application, highlighted in yellow, need to be completed.
Within the Scientific Classification page, for ‘MRC Office Scientific Contact for your Application’ select ‘Dr Desmond Walsh’ from the drop down list. The MRC cannot guarantee that any application submitted to the incorrect Programme Manager will be considered and as a result may be declined.
Please complete all sections of the application form. Under ‘Resources requested’ enter all UK costs only, normal FEC rules apply for the UK arm of the proposal. All Singapore costs should then be entered on a separate form obtained from A*STAR and attached as a PDF document to the application as annex B, within the case for support section. The total amount requested in annex B must be highlighted clearly in $S and UK£ using an exchange rate of £1 to S$2.50. On the EAA form, the total amount listed in annex B must be entered, in £UK, under ‘project co-funder’ to clearly indicate the amount requested by their Singaporean counterpart to A*STAR.
The case for support should be a maximum of eight pages in length and should be set out according to the guidelines below and attached to the EAA application as a separate PDF document. Applicants are also advised to refer to the assessment criteria and the call for applications, when preparing their supporting information.
- Importance
- Scientific potential
- People and track record
- Environment
- Research plans
- Ethics and Research Governance
- Data Preservation for Sharing
- Public engagement in science
- Exploitation and dissemination
In addition, the Singapore-based PI are required to submit the necessary information in the following annexes and upload onto the MRC’s EAA website under the “case for support” (please also see special instructions for Annex B):
- Annex A: Ethical Declaration
- Annex B: Budget request and justification to A*STAR
- Annex C: Milestones and Key Performance Indicators
- Annex D: Declarations by Singapore-based PI, Head of Department and Host Institution (PDF copy of the signed form should be submitted)
These are only available on A*STAR’s website (www.a-star.edu.sg), and should be converted to PDF and attached within the case for support section of the EAA. It may be helpful to make annex C applicable to both the Singaporean and UK component of the project.
Applications will be considered by an expert scientific Panel together with referee’s opinions. In light of these, the applications may be short-listed. All applications on the final short list will be discussed by the expert Panel.
Please read the MRC applicants handbook and using the EAA guidance, which will guide you through the standard processes for preparing a proposal, costing your proposals and any ethical and regulatory requirements that may apply to the research.
Please note that this call differs from standard MRC applications in that all costs incurred by each investigator will be met by their country’s respective funding agency. Researchers must therefore abide by the terms and conditions set out by their home country’s research funder.
Evaluation process
Applications will undergo full, international peer-review, assessed and scored using MRC’s funding criteria. Funding decisions will be made by a specially convened panel of experts comprised of MRC Board members, A*STAR members and additional experts as appropriate, including representatives with an industry background. The panel’s decision is final and will not be open to appeal.
Funding decisions will be taken in October/November 2009. As well as scientific excellence, the Panel will be looking for true collaboration and partnership working above and beyond that already taking place. Applicants should highlight that, in the absence of the requested collaboration and funding, the planned research could not be undertaken to the required quality level or timescale.
Evaluation criteria
The applications will be assessed against the MRC’s and A*STAR’s usual criteria for importance, scientific quality and value for money, and also against the scheme’s aims of building productive partnerships.
In assessing this last area, the Panel will take into account:
- Added value that researchers will gain from the partnership. This could include: increasing critical mass, or increasing the speed of progress; providing access to new skills, facilities, or research resources; moving towards exploitation of discoveries or techniques;
- Presence of realistic plans for partnership working and collaboration above and beyond that already taking place;
- Realistic options for any follow-up work likely to be needed (especially for shorter-term awards).
Dates
- Closing date for submissions to both A*STAR and MRC is 4pm 25 June 2009 London time. Applications will not be accepted after this time.
- Peer review period – August – September
- Panel Meeting October/November 2009
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions and answers regarding eligibility, funding, assessment and ethics for the MRC/A*STAR collaborative projects in infectious disease research please see Frequently Asked Questions.
Contact
All enquiries from UK based researchers should be directed to Dr Desmond Walsh
Contact: Dr Desmond Walsh
Programme Manager, Infections and Immunity Board
Telephone: 020 7670 5372
Email: desmond.walsh@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
All enquiries from Singapore-based researchers should be directed to the following A*STAR email address (A-STAR_MRC_Grant_Call@a-star.edu.sg)
