ICMR-MRC Joint Initiative - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This document includes information on eligibility, application, funding, assessment, ethics and governance and communications of the above Call for Proposal. These notes are primarily aimed at the UK researchers.
Indian Principal Investigators should refer detailed queries to the Division of Non-Communicable diseases at ICMR. Contact details are below.
Eligibility
Q: Who is eligible?
A: Principal Investigators (PI)
This scheme is aimed at consortia consisting of researchers based in the UK and India. Proposals should be jointly-led by the UK and Indian sides, with two Principal Investigators, one from the UK and one from India.
Co-applicants
This call is primarily aimed at partnerships between researchers in the UK and in India. We would expect the majority of co-applicants to be from the UK and India. The MRC portion of funding can be used to fund costs outside of the UK if necessary.
MRC standard Terms and Conditions permit funding to be spent outside of the UK. We would expect most of the funding to be spent in the UK and India. However, if deemed necessary to the project, work outside those countries can be included. If your proposal includes this requirement please discuss this with MRC prior to submission
It will be the responsibility of each PI institution to provide costs to co-applicants and collaborators as agreed under the terms of the award. The awarded funds will be paid to each Principal Investigator (PI) (the host institute) by their relevant funding body; i.e. the Indian-based PI will be receiving their funds from ICMR and the UK-based PI from MRC.
Q: Is my institution eligible for MRC funding?
A: All UK lead research organisations must comply with MRC’s eligibility requirements. Eligible UK institutions include UK Higher Education Institutions, Research Council institutes, and eligible Independent Research Organisations (IROs). A list of eligible IROs is listed on the Research Councils UK web page:
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/Eligibilityforrcs.aspx
MRC units and institutes can apply to this call; usual rules for funding grants to MRC units and institutes will apply. If you are based at an MRC unit or institute please contact your local MRC research support office for further information.
For further advice on UK eligibility, please contact;
For information on eligibility requirements for ICMR funding please contact:
Dr Prashant Mathur
Scientist D
Division of Noncommunicable Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research
Ansari Nagar, New Delhi- 110029
Email: mathurp@icmr.org.in; drprashant.mathur@yahoo.com
Telephone: +91-11-26589544
Q: Are the funding agencies responsible for the Intellectual Property (IP) rights?
A: If you expect your proposal to generate IP, please note that for the MRC portion, the ownership of intellectual property, and responsibility for its exploitation, rests with the organisation that generates it. Further information is in the MRC and RCUK Terms and Conditions. Any MRC establishments or directly-employed MRC staff will need to discuss IP with MRC Technology.
UK applicants should discuss any IP issues with their Indian partners to ascertain their organisation’s position on IP on ICMR-funded work. A condition of the grant will be that the interested parties provide evidence that they have agreed an appropriate intellectual property management and exploitation agreement at least in principle before they can receive any grant that may be awarded.
Q: Can I submit an application which has previously been submitted to the MRC?
A: Yes, if a year has passed since the original submission or if you have specifically been given permission by MRC to resubmit an application within the 12 month period (proof will be required). However, it is expected that the proposal will have been substantially revised, taking into account the feedback/comments received, such that it is more competitive. Similarly, the funders expect that applicants would have significantly revised proposals that may have been previously unsuccessful with other funders.
All proposals should be tailored in response to the call specification.
Q: Can MRC units and institutes apply under this call?
A: Yes. The usual rules affecting MRC grants to MRC units and institutes will apply. Please contact your local MRC research support office for further information.
Application
Q: How do I apply to the call?
A: This call will have a Letter of Intent (LoI) phase with approximately two and a half months available for preparation from the launch of the call to the deadline.
Both the UK and Indian PIs should prepare a single joint a Letter of Intent (LoI) together. This joint LoI should then be submitted separately to their respective funding body i.e.:
The UK-based PI must submit one pdf copy of the joint LoI by email to the MRC at the following email address:
icmr-mrccall@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
In addition the LoI must be accompanied by a signed copy of the Declaration and Signatories form (pdf format) and a CV for each investigator.
UK-based applicants should refer to the MRC Applicant Handbook for general information about the MRC application process.
The India-based PI must submit one hard copy of the original joint LoI plus fifteen printed copies and a soft copy on a labelled Compact Disc (CD) to ICMR. In addition the LoI must be accompanied a CV for each investigator. These must be sent to the Secretariat at ICMR, New Delhi:
Dr Bela Shah
Scientist G & Head
Division of Noncommunicable Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research
Ansari Nagar, New Delhi- 110029
Envelope cover to be labelled as “ICMR-MRC Non-Communicable Disease Research Funding”
The Letters of Intent will be reviewed by panels of experts in India and the UK and the highest ranked will be taken forward to the full joint application stage.
Information about submitting a full proposal will be supplied to those applicants who are successful at the Letter of Intent stage.
Q: When are the deadlines?
A: Letter of Intent: 21 October 2010 at 12:30 for UK applicants (for Indian applicants 17:00 Indian Standard Time)
Decisions communicated to applicants: The Panel is expect to make their decision in January 2011 and that the decision will be communicated to applicants within one month of this date.
Full proposal (if you are invited to submit one): We will inform applicants within one month of the panel decision whether they will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Approximately two months will be available for preparation of full proposals.
Q: What guidance is available for applicants?
A: Details on the call and guide to applicants for this scheme can be found in the following documents:
- Call specification
- MRC Applicant Handbook (for UK-based applicants)
Q: What information/documents do I need to submit as part of my application for the outline proposal?
A: UK applicants need to complete the Letter of Intent form. Applicants also need to submit:
- A CV for each investigator; and
- Declaration and Signatories form associated with this.
Q: What is the page limit for the case for support?
A: For the Case for Support section of the Letter of Intent please do not exceed five sides of A4 (Point 10 Verdana) including references.
Q: Is there a restriction on the typeface/pitch on the case for support?
A: Yes, applicants should use Verdana point 10 for the content; which is the standard typeface on MRC applications.
Q: What criteria are outline proposals evaluated against?
Applications will be assessed and scored using criteria jointly agreed by the ICMR and MRC. When assessing the outline proposals, panel members for this scheme will consider questions such as:
- Does the proposal fit well within the objectives and scientific remit set out in the call specification?
- Is there a good medical or scientific rationale for pursuing the questions or gaps in knowledge that are being addressed? Is success likely to lead to significant new understanding?
- To what extent will this project contribute, directly or indirectly, to relieving the burden of disease;
- Is there added value in pursuing this work through UK-India researcher links?
- Is it feasible that the outputs of the research could be scaled up?
- Is there similar or complementary research underway elsewhere?
- Has the individual or group established a high quality track record in the field?
- How innovative are the proposals?
- Are the proposed methods appropriate and feasible for the delivery of the research question?
- Are the experimental plans realistic, given the aims of the research and the resources?
- Are the methods and study designs competitive with the best in the field?
- Have major scientific, technical or organisational challenges been identified, and will they be tackled well?
- Level of involvement (where appropriate) of clinical and non-clinical (community) health workers, other elements of civil society, industry, policy/decision makers and patient groups/families to increase the likely opportunities to scale-up the findings of the research?
Q: What happens if my application is received after the deadline?
A: Any proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.
The funders reserve the right decline any application that is submitted incorrectly.
Funding
Q Is this an MRC call for proposals?
A: This is a joint initiative between the ICMR and the MRC in accordance with the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two agencies for collaboration in areas of medical research relevant to both countries.
Q: How much funding is available under this call?
A: The MRC will provide funding to the UK applicants. Approximately £500,000 to £800,000 is available per project for the MRC-funded portion of the costs. Funding will be provided as per the usual MRC Terms and Conditions which permit UK institutions to spend MRC funding overseas when necessary.
ICMR will provide funding to Indian researchers for research based in India. Approximately 5-10 million Indian Rupees (50 to 100 lakhs) are available per project for its entire duration for the ICMR-funded portion of the costs. The funds are to be utilized in India only. Funding will be provided as per the usual ICMR Terms and Conditions.
Q: Will the awards be made under MRC terms and conditions?
A: Yes for the portion that is funded by the MRC. In addition, if relevant, any trials funded must comply with the MRC guidelines for good clinical practice in clinical trials and with all relevant local, national and international ethical, legal and regulatory rules. Indian applicants will be subject to the equivalent ICMR guidelines.
Q: What is the expected duration of grants under this call?
A: The funders are expecting to support a small number (3-4) of multi-faceted joint India-UK programmes each with an expected duration of three to four years (the fourth year of funding will be subject to a successful review in the third year).
Q: What support can I expect funding for?
A: You may request support for:
- All research costs that are attributable to the research. For example, scientific, technical and administrative staff; including statisticians, research nurses, trial managers etc; consumables; small items of equipment; data /sample handling and archiving; and travel.
- Please refer to the MRC Applicant Handbook for full details of eligible and ineligible costs for the UK applicants
Q: What level of my costs can I expect to be funded by the MRC?
A: The MRC will provide funding to the UK-based PI. Funding will be provided as per the usual MRC Terms and Conditions which permit UK institutions to spend MRC funding overseas when necessary.
Costs claimed by institutions based in the UK should be calculated according to the Transparent Approach to Costings (TRAC) methodology. These awards will be made on the basis of full economic costs (FEC) at 80 percent as per MRC usual Terms and Conditions.
You should include in your proposal the total estimated cost of the project, and the total estimated cost requested from this funding scheme, bearing in mind that UK institution costs are calculated at 80 percent.
Costs requested by UK institutions for work or resources undertaken outside the UK relevant to the project may be eligible for full economic costing (FEC) exceptions paid at 100 per cent. Indirect costs should be calculated as a maximum of 20 per cent of the direct costs.
The usual rules affecting MRC grants to MRC units and institutes will apply to this call. If you are based at an MRC unit or institute please contact your local MRC research support office for further information.
Q: Will the review panel recommend changes to costings for awarded grants?
A: Justification of resources requested will be considered at the LoI and full proposal stage. If the review panel recommends changes to the research plans or to the resources needed, they will propose a revised budget level.
Assessment
Q: What will be the composition of the assessment panel?
A: Details of the UK assessment panel membership will be available via this webpage in due course.
Q: Will the applicant be given the opportunity to respond to referee comments?
A: The opportunity to respond to the reviewer comments will be available only at the full proposal stage.
Ethics and governance
Q: Do I need full ethics permission and regulatory approvals for any human studies in the grant proposal? If so, when should I apply for this?
A: The funders do not require ethics permissions and regulatory approvals to be in place when you submit a LoI. If your research involves any form of clinical trials which may raise various ethical, legal and regulatory issues, applicants will are required to demonstrate that they have adequately considered these.
Early discussions with regulatory bodies may be required to ensure that all requirements can be met in a timely manner. It is the responsibility of your host institution to ensure that the appropriate approval(s) have been obtained and that no research requiring such approval is initiated before it has been granted.
Communications
Q: How will you let me know if my LoI has been approved to proceed to the full proposal stage?
A: You will receive notification of whether or not you have been successful at the LoI stage within a month of the decision being made.
All correspondence will be sent to the Principal Investigator using the email address that they provide in their application form.
Q: When can I expect to receive feedback on my application?
A: If your proposal is unsuccessful you will receive feedback within a month of the decision being made for the LoI stage. Current plans are that the decisions will be made around January 2011.
Q: Will you publish a list of the awards that are made?
A: Yes
Q: If my query is not answered by the FAQ’s, or I have a scientific query regarding my application to the MRC, how do I contact you?
A: The first point of contact at the MRC for the call is:
Contact: Mary Phillips
Email: icmr-mrccall@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
Telephone: ++44 (0)20 7670 5443