1. Organisation Background

Transcription

1 (30 Sept 2018) cara CALL FOR RESEARCH PROJECT APPLICATIONS Cara Syria Programme: Syria Research Fellowship Scheme (SRFS) 1. Organisation Background The Council for At-Risk Academics is a UK-registered charity founded in 1933 under the leadership of William Beveridge 1, to rescue academics suffering persecution under the rise of Nazism and facilitate their continued work in safety. Sixteen Cara Fellows from the 1930s and 1940s became Nobel Laureates, and many more were innovators in their fields, including Nikolaus Pevsner, Lise Meitner and Karl Popper. A number of Cara s founders and Council members also personally provided places and/or funds to help individual academics. Cara, known in the 1930s as the AAC, later the SPSL, was closely involved in the successful effort in 1933 to bring to London the Warburg Institute art library, which had been prohibited by the Nazis, and six of its staff. Cara has been a lifeline to academics at risk for over 80 years, as and when world events have placed them in the line of fire: Hungarian Uprising, Cold War, Apartheid South Africa, Iran, Latin American Juntas, Vietnam, Kosovo, DRC, Rwanda, Sudan, Zimbabwe etc. and, more recently Iraq, Yemen, Iran and Syria. Cara support is framed as temporary sanctuary offered at times of heightened risk. Cara Objectives To assist academics who have been, or are, or are at risk of being, subject to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to relieve needs among them and their dependants and ensure that their specialist knowledge and abilities can continue to be used for the benefit of all. To advance education by supporting academics and their educational institutions in countries where their continuing work is at risk or compromised, to ensure that such academics and institutions can continue to fulfil their critical role as educators for the public benefit. 2. Cara Syria Programme in Region The Cara Regional Syria Programme successfully completed a 12-month pilot (Phase 1) in Sept. 2017, working predominantly with Syrian academics in exile in Turkey, where the greatest number have sought refuge. Cara now has over 300 Syrian academics registered on its Syria Programme database, of which almost a third are actively involved in one or more of the Syria Programme activities. The aim of the Syria Programme is To nurture and enable future opportunities for Syrian academics by facilitating professional connection and collaboration and continued academic development and contribution whilst in exile, as a major part of Syria s intellectual and cultural capital and a group that is vital to the future of Syria. 1 Lord William Beveridge was Director of London School of Economics and Political Science from 1919 to 1937

2 3. The Syria Research Fellowship Scheme (SRFS) The SRFS (Strand 5) is one of 5 complementary and overlapping Syria Programme activities (Strands) that individually and collective respond to the overall Programme aim. This capacity-building initiative provides funding to support the Syrian members of core research teams (see Research Team Composition in the guidance notes) and direct research costs. It aims to facilitate their continued academic development and contribution whilst in exile, through connection to, and collaboration with, colleagues within the wider regional and international academic and scientific communities, replicating the very effective partnering model introduced during the Cara Iraq Programme ( ). The SRFS will fund up to 8 distinct pieces of research over an 9-month period, with awards of up to 15,000, subject to available funding. Funding should be used to support innovative and distinct pieces of research. Proposals for sums less than the maximum are encouraged. Only proposals demonstrating both likely impact and relevance to Syria or to Syrian populations in exile, and which support the integration of Syrian academics into the international arena will be considered. The Closing Date for submissions is midnight on 14 th October 2018 Successful Applications will be announced during the week of 12 th November 2018 Please note that for the purposes of this call, a university of international repute is defined as a university that sits within the top 1000 universities in the THE World University Rankings

3 A. GUIDANCE NOTES FOR APPLICANTS 1. Application Form Please complete and submit the Summary Application Form plus: a detailed proposal (max. 6 pages; double spaced; minimum font size 11), a detailed budget (max. 1 page), a detailed research timeline, CVs for each team member, a summary outline of institution(s) involved, and 1-page personal statements from each of the Syrian core team members (see Section B Additional Guidance for Supporting Documentation). The Application Form can be requested in English and Arabic shugairn@gmail.com PLEASE NOTE: ONLY PROPOSALS INCLUDING ALL LISTED ITEMS WILL BE CONSIDERED. The application should be submitted in English. In exceptional circumstances, where you believe this may prejudice the clarity of your submission, please submit in Arabic with a summary in English. 2. Eligibility & Applications may be submitted by academics based at any higher education or research institution, or previously allied to such an institution, provided they fit one of the required core research team profiles. 3. Research Team Composition To support the Programme aims, the core research teams must combine the following profiles: at least one senior academic in post at a university of international repute as Principal Investigator and two Syrian academics in exile in the Middle East as a result of the current Syria Crisis. The English language skills of core team members must be sufficient to enable communication with the non-arabic speakers involved in the programme. Applications are welcome from existing collaborators or from academics seeking to develop new partnerships. Proposals will be accepted where assistance might be needed to develop the required core team but must include at least 2 named team members at the time of submission, of which 1 Syrian. Cara may be able to identify missing core team members ahead of submission or following submission. If prior to submission, please shugairn@gmail.com outlining the core team-member profile being sought. If following submission, please tick the HELP box under Section III in the Summary Application Form. Individual Syrian academics wishing to be considered as possible members of an incomplete team are welcome to submit their CVs independently with a covering Submission Applications must be submitted to shugairn@gmail.com before the closing date of 14 th October Applications received after midnight on the closing date will not be accepted. 5. Project Management The research proposal must demonstrate that the team has the necessary expertise, facilities and time to bring the proposed research to a successful conclusion. This will be the responsibility of the Principal Investigator.

4 6. Research Quality Proposals will need to demonstrate appropriate frameworks and rigorous research methodologies capable of generating findings of clear value to users and beneficiaries and include evidence of a thorough knowledge of the extant international literature in the field. 7. Research Design and Methods The proposal must fully and clearly describe a research design and timeframe appropriate for the achievement of the stated objectives and include indicators and outcomes as part of the research design so that the success of the research can be measured. 8. Ethical Considerations It is expected that all proposals selected for funding will be submitted to the PI s institutional Ethics Committee, to verify compliance with relevant professional ethical guidelines and ensure that publication outputs are eligible for submission to peer-reviewed journals. 9. Relevance to Programme Aims to Syria or Syrian Populations in Exile Proposals need to indicate how they meet the Syria Research Fellowship Scheme aims: To nurture and enable future opportunities for Syrian academics by facilitating professional connection and collaboration and continued academic development and contribution in exile, as a major part of Syria s intellectual and cultural capital and a group that is vital to the future of Syria. 10. Value for Money Proposals must represent value for money relative to the anticipated outcomes. The requested funds must be necessary and adequate for the research. 11. Dissemination Proposals should outline target audience(s), and journal(s), as part of a communication/knowledge transfer strategy, and should list known dissemination opportunities that might arise during or on completion of the research. 12. Capacity Building Please note that selected teams will be required to participate in a 1-week induction/review workshop in Turkey, in line with the Syria Programme s capacity-building aims. This period will also allow for final review and refinement of proposal methodologies, indicators, outputs and dissemination opportunities. The aim will also be to facilitate cross-fertilisation and collaboration across the supported research teams. Additional funding is available for participation in the induction workshop. Additional 2- to 3-day workshops at key stages over the implementation period will allow for team review of issues arising, data analysis, write up etc. Where possible these will be combined with standing 2-3 monthly Syria Programme workshops in Istanbul. This will also facilitate networking, helping to increase the knowledge base and teaching and research capabilities. 13. INCOMPLETE Applications Applications received without all requested documents will be regarded as incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

5 B. Additional Guidance for Supporting Documentation 1. Curriculum Vitae (CV) a maximum of 3 pages The following headings and information should be included in your CV i Personal information Name, date of birth, nationality Contact details , telephone, postal address Language skills: Arabic, English, Other (reading, writing, understanding, speaking) ii University education: First degree (BA/BSc/BEng or equivalent), date of qualification, discipline, university, city, country. Postgraduate degrees (Masters, Ph.D or other) date of qualification, discipline, title of dissertation, university, city, country) iii Employment Job title, dates job held (from to), organisation or university (city and country) For each post, please include a brief summary of your primary responsibilities, eg. courses taught research activities (other than that undertaken for your degrees) iv Participation in international workshops and conferences: If you presented please provide: Title of paper/poster, date, place, title of conference/workshop v. Publication list In each case please give the year of publication, title of publication, name of volume editors if relevant, name of publisher and location, and language of publication. 2. Description of your Institution and Partner Institution(s) This should include: Name, location, type (university, research centre), public or private Size (ie. number of faculty and students) Departments International collaborations (if any) Details of the department to which team members are attached and its research profile. 3. Detailed Budget This should include a breakdown of all costs with text justifying the main areas of cost eg. Team member fellowships Percentage of their working time allocated to the research project Additional team members beyond the required 3 core team

6 Materials Travel Other expenses directly related to the research 4. Detailed Research Timeframe This should include a precise timeframe (beginning and end dates) for each stage of the research up to but not including post research dissemination 5. Personal Statements should be provided by each Syrian member of the team outlining how involvement in this research will benefit them and their future academic/research careers in the context of Syria.

7 C. Proposal Review and Selection Process: Summary 1. Initial Administrative Review: submissions will be reviewed to assess that all requested documents are included. Applicants will be notified of any missing documents. If not received before the closing date the proposal will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered. 2. Translation of Material Received in Arabic: all material received in Arabic will be submitted for translation and should be sent to Cara as soon as possible. 3. All complete proposals will be submitted for independent expert review to support feedback to principal authors. Only shortlisted applications will be subjected to independent review prior to the final decision. Feedback for unsuccessful for submissions will be provided in early December Assessment: All complete proposals and independent expert reviews will be considered by the Programme Advisory Committee to identify areas in need of further clarification and provide final recommendations, prior to consideration by the Syria Programme Steering Committee with whom the final decision rests. This last is composed of international academics from a variety of disciplines and includes two Syrian academics. 5. Notification of application outcomes will be made during the week of 12 th November 2018 unless additional clarification has been sought. 6. Selection Criteria: Overall scores will be on a scale of 1-5 taking account of the following: relevance to Syria or Syrian communities in exile likely impact, including capacity-building impact quality innovation feasibility team competence value for money dissemination strategy