UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH, PRODUCTION AND EXTENSION) DEANS RESEARCH GRANT ALLOCATION AND ADMINISTRATION GUIDELINES 2013-2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 BACKGROUND... 2 2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE GRANT... 2 3.0 ELIGIBILITY... 2 4.0 GENERAL GUIDELINES... 3 5.0 SPECIFIC GUIDELINES... 3 5.1 BUDGET... 3 5.2 INCOMPLETE, APPLICATIONS, FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION... 4 5.3 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA... 5 5.4 PRIORITY CONSIDERATION... 5 5.5 ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRANT... 5 5.6 MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING... 6 5.7 CONTRACT EXPIRATION AND TERMINATION... 6 5.8 TERMINATION OF THE GRANT CONTRACT OR FUNDING... 6 5.9 OBJECTIONS AND COMPLAINTS... 7 6.0 PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION... 7 6.1 USEFULL RESOURCES;... 7 Page 1 of 7
1.0 BACKGROUND The Government control and administration of the University of Nairobi is vested in the University of Nairobi Council. One of the functions of the Council is to receive on behalf of the University gifts, donations, grants or other moneys and to make disbursements there from to the constituent Colleges or other bodies or persons. The University Council deliberates on the amount of funding that can be disbursed for research purposes every year. The Deans Committee being a committee of the Senate, among other things was charged with the following functions; To make recommendations to Senate on allocation of available funds for research, To receive reports from recipients of grants through the heads of department on the use of research grants received from all sources To allocate research funds to individual applicants out of the funds voted by council for this purpose, and To formulate proposals for applications for research funds from external donors and to prepare annually a submission for the allocation of such funds from the University resources. The amount allocated for the Deans Research Grant depends on the amount of funding received from external sources and internal budgetary allocations. Many research projects have been funded by the Deans Committee and some useful results have been obtained. The University Management structure has established the Research, Production and Extension (RPE) Division headed by the Deputy Vice- Chancellor (RPE) under Statute VII with the aim of advancing the University s research profile. Hence, the administration and management of research infrastructure and resources, including the Deans Research Grant are now under the RPE Division. 2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE GRANT The purpose of the Deans Research Grant is to support research and capacity building in priority areas in relation to the National Development Targets and the University of Nairobi Strategic Plan. 3.0 ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for the Deans Research Grant for 2013/2014: i. Applicants must be full time faculty at the University of Nairobi; or ii. Employees of the University of Nairobi on staff development undertaking their postgraduate studies at the University or; Page 2 of 7
iii. Fulltime postgraduate students registered at the University of Nairobi. iv. In the case of (iii) above, the application for the grant must be lodged by the supervisor of the student. v. The proposed research work must be conducted at the University of Nairobi, except where the project has been declared as collaborative work between University of Nairobi and other institutions. vi. Where the proposed project is part of collaborative work with other institutions as (v) above, the appropriate collaboration documents must have been lodged with the University of Nairobi s Legal Office or Center for International Programmes and Links (CIPL). vii. The project must focus on the national development goals priority areas and/or the University of Nairobi strategic plan. viii. Applications must be received before the deadline. ix. Person(s) applying should have relevant qualifications and experience in the area of the proposed project (Applicants must have a minimum of Masters Degree). x. A researcher is eligible to make one application for funding at any given funding period. 4.0 GENERAL GUIDELINES The grant is awarded for a maximum of 3 years subject to submission of satisfactory progress reports and financial accounting at the end of every year. The standing amount awarded to approved projects is Ksh250,000.00 per year Applicants must declare any other funding that have been received or applied for towards the same project. The grant shall not be transferable to any other person or institution. The grant application form must be endorsed by the Head of the Department and the Dean/Director of the Faculty/School/Institute. Where the proposed project is from a research team, the Principal Investigator is the applicant for the grant, however all members of the research team must endorse the proposal and the application. Appendices containing supporting documentation are allowed, but must be clearly marked. 5.0 SPECIFIC GUIDELINES 5.1 BUDGET Approved projects will be eligible for funding for the specified time frame only. Funding for continuing projects will be subject to satisfactory progress and financial reporting Funds will be disbursed in two instalments: 60% initially and later 40% on satisfactory progress and accounting of the earlier amount. Page 3 of 7
The Budget should be clearly itemized and justified, drawn up using the allowable costs in (Ksh) in the following budget lines: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Consumables/Expendable supplies Documentation Local travel Extra personnel Other costs Consumables/Expendable supplies and equipments The budgetary allocation should lay more emphasis on expendable supplies. Purchase of equipments that are considered standard and should normally be available to the researcher will not be supported. The Grant does not support membership fees. Travel costs The Deans Research Grant does not support international travel but will support local travel and transportation related costs in line with the approved project activities. Local travel costs should not exceed 10% of the total award Travel cost and per diem costing will be based on existing University of Nairobi rates. The Grant does not support purchase of vehicles. Extra personnel The Grant will only support justifiable payments of contracted research assistants. The Grant will not cater for salaries. 5.2 INCOMPLETE, APPLICATIONS, FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION The application is the main source of information available for assessment. As such it must contain all the information necessary for assessment of the proposed project without the need for further written or oral explanation. All information in the application must be current and accurate at the time of application. Examples of false or misleading information in an application include; (i) Providing a dishonest statement regarding time commitments to the research for which support is being sought. (ii) Providing incomplete or inaccurate fact regarding other sources of funding. (iii) Providing fictitious track record. (iv) Falsifying claims in publication records (such as describing a paper as accepted for publication when it has only been submitted). Page 4 of 7
5.3 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Applications for funding will be assessed by reviewers according to the following three criteria; (i) Scientific quality (50%) This will include the clarity of the hypothesis or research objectives, the strengths and weaknesses of the study design and the feasibility. (ii) Significance and/or innovation (25%) This will include the potential to increase knowledge in the relevant area, or the application of new ideas, procedures, technologies, programmes, etc that will impact on national development goals or achievement or on the implementation of the University of Nairobi strategic plan. (iii)track record, relative to opportunity available to the researcher (25%) This will be considered in terms of whether the applicant s previous research demonstrates that the researcher (or team) is capable of achieving the proposed project and/or ability to deliver the project in terms of the appropriate mix of research skills and experience. Track record may also encompass the researcher s standing in terms of; Research outputs Contribution in the discipline or area Other research related achievements (iv) Members of a research team applying for funding will also be subjected to the assessment of track record 5.4 PRIORITY CONSIDERATION Subject to the ranking based on the assessment criteria at 5.3 above, priority will be given to applicants in the following categories; (i) Full time academic staff members who are employed on staff development scheme and are registered PhD students at the University of Nairobi (ii) Subsequent applications for the purpose of continuation of previously approved project, on condition that the applicant has fully complied with reporting requirements for the Deans Research Grant. 5.5 ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRANT The Deans Research Grant shall not be subject to any administrative costs, levies or fees. The Deans Research Grant shall be administered through the University of Nairobi Grants Office guided by the existing University financial management regulations. Researchers shall expend the funds to undertake research activities and adhere to the work plan, as set out in the approved research proposal Page 5 of 7
without any amendments except where there is a written approval by the DVC (RPE) for variation of the research work plan. The Grant shall be released only after the grant contract has been duly signed by the researcher and the DVC (RPE). Researchers will be obligated to participate in activities related to dissemination of the research findings as may be deemed necessary. 5.6 MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING The office of the DVC (RPE) shall carry out formative summative monitoring and evaluation of all funded projects. Researchers will undertake to adhere to the following reporting and monitoring mechanisms. (i) Submit progress reports to the Office of the DVC (RPE) at the end of each quarter during the project period. The progress report will indicate the milestones covered as per the approved work plan. (ii) Submit financial and progress reports to the Office of the DVC (RPE) and the Grants Office before disbursement of any batch of funds (iii) Submit final technical and financial report at the end of project in both hard and soft copies to the Office of the DVC (RPE). The structure of final technical report should follow internationally accepted format for presentation of technical and scientific works. The components of the report should be: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) Abstract Table of Content Introduction Methodology Results and Discussion Conclusion Recommendations Financial Statement References Appendices 5.7 CONTRACT EXPIRATION AND TERMINATION All projects will end on the date specified in the Grant contract and will not be extended or renewed without adherence to the continuation of the application process. 5.8 TERMINATION OF THE GRANT CONTRACT OR FUNDING (i) The Grant contract may be terminated by either party by giving a 30-days written notice to the other party, as specified in the grant agreement. (ii) Funding may be suspended or terminated if the researcher fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the Grant agreement. Page 6 of 7
(iii) In the event of suspension or termination of funding, the researcher will be required to refund moneys expended, where misappropriation or utilization of funds for purposes not related to the approved project is established. 5.9 OBJECTIONS AND COMPLAINTS Applicants may seek clarification on the outcome of their applications or state an objection to that outcome. The objection must be lodged in writing to the DVC (RPE) in the first instance. The objection must specify the nature and the grounds of objection. 6.0 PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION To maximize the benefits from research and as broadly as possible allow access by other researchers and the wider community, the Deans Research Grant beneficiaries are encouraged to publish and disseminate their findings. The Grantee should submit copies of any publications arising from research activities funded by the Deans Research Grant to the Head of Department, Dean/Director of the School/Faculty/Institute and the office of the DVC (RPE). All papers published must acknowledge Deans Research Grant and the University of Nairobi. 6.1 USEFULL RESOURCES; 1. Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology. National Council for Science and Technology. Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) Grant Guidelines 2010-2011. 2. University of Nairobi Academic Calendar July 2011 June 2012 3. Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grants Funding Policy. 2010. 4. KEMRI. Development and Conduct of Research. Page 7 of 7