Calls for Proposals

• Home
• Agreements
• Calls for Proposals

---

Public Call for Proposals (CFP) offering seed funding to support the exchange of researchers under the SPRINT Call – São Paulo Researchers in International Collaboration.

---

Summary:
There are three possibilities for designing the Proposal in International Collaboration:
• Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions that have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP and participate in this SPRINT edition (see item 2.1);
• Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions that do not have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP (see item 2.2);
• Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions that have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP, but the institutions are not joining the current SPRINT edition (see item 2.3).
Submission Deadline: June 26, 2023
Contact: sprint@fapesp.br

---

1. Objective

To promote the engagement of researchers affiliated to institutions of higher education and research in the state of São Paulo in partnership with researchers abroad in order to:

1.1. Further develop qualitatively the ongoing research projects; and

1.2. Work cooperatively aiming at the elaboration of joint research projects of medium and long term, for submission to FAPESP, by researchers from the state of São Paulo, and to the research funding agencies in the countries of corresponding partners, by their colleagues.

2. Rules for designing the Proposal in International Collaboration

This Call for Proposals considers the following partnership alternatives:

2.1. Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions that have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP and participates in this SPRINT edition:

a) Technische Universität Berlin, Germany

b) Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain

c) University of Surrey, United Kingdom

2.1.1. Specific information about fields of knowledge, maximum project duration, and grant value to support each selected proposal, must follow the procedures agreed by FAPESP and the respective partner Institution to which the partner researcher is affiliated. The procedures are described in the guidelines of the institutions listed below:

2.1.2. The foreign partner researchers must follow the additional instructions of their own institution for the submission of the project and for the clarification of doubts.

2.2. Proposals in partnership with researchers whose institution with researchers funded by institutions that do not have a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP.

2.2.1. FAPESP may receive proposals from researchers whose partners are from institutions with which FAPESP does not have a current Agreement. In that case, the Principal Investigator must present to FAPESP evidence of availability of matching funds, based on item 2.2.2 below, to be used by the partner researcher;

2.2.2. It will be considered on as a basis the matching funds equivalent to up to US$10.000,00 (ten thousand dollars) per year, for projects of up to two years duration;

2.2.3. In this mode, FAPESP will approve only those proposals for which the matching funds demonstrated are applied in a way consistent with the objectives of SPRINT;

2.2.4. FAPESP expects to support up to ten (10) proposals of this type.

2.3. Proposals in partnership with researchers funded by institutions thathave a current Agreement for Collaboration with FAPESP, but it is not joining the current SPRINT edition.

2.3.1. The proposal might be received under this call since the institution agrees on receiving the partner’s proposal. This condition will be under the provision made explicit by FAPESP at item 2.2.2 above and, if the proposal is considered meritorious, it can only be approved if the researchers are able to present evidence that they have adequate funding for their part of the collaboration expenses.

3. Eligibility to submit a proposal

FAPESP considers eligible to submit proposals to this call:

3.1. Principal Investigators of ongoing research projects funded by FAPESP within the following FAPESP funding modalities: Regular Research Awards (excluding mobility projects), Initial Projects (Pi), Thematic Projects, Young Investigators, Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPIDs), Engineering Research Centers/Applied Research Centers (CPEs/CPAs), Public Education Research Program, Research in Public Policies, and Research Partnership for Technological Innovation (PITE). Co-Principal Investigators of ongoing Thematic Projects, CEPIDs, CPEs, CPAs and PITEs are also eligible to apply.

3.2. Each researcher can present only one proposal to this Call.

3.3. The ongoing research project linked to this proposal must have a minimum of six months duration left by the scheduled beginning of the mobility project.

3.4. FAPESP may accept proposals submitted to this call linked to research proposals that are still undergoing merit review. However, if the research proposal is still under analysis or has not been approved by the time the proposals in this Call are selected, the related mobility proposal will be cancelled.

4. Eligible fundable participants

4.1. The proposals must aim to respect the principle of reciprocity with regard to academic qualifications of those who will take part in the exchange activities.

4.2.For the exchange activities within the scope of this Call for Proposals are eligible the team members of the related ongoing research award described above in item 3, when previously defined in the ongoing research project as:

a. Principal or Co-Principal Investigators;

b. Associated Researchers affiliated to Higher Education and Research Institutions in the State of São Paulo;

c. Post-doctoral fellows must have an ongoing FAPESP fellowship during the planned exchange mission

(i) Post-doctoral fellows funded by another agency, only if supervised by the PI or Co-PI of the ongoing research project and with presentation of an excellent academic record.

d. Doctoral or Direct Doctoral fellows must have an ongoing FAPESP fellowship during the planned exchange mission;

(i) Doctoral or Direct Doctoral fellows funded by another agency, only if supervised by the PI or Co-PI of the ongoing research project and with presentation of an excellent academic record.

PARTICIPANTS MUST BE FORMALLY DESCRIBED AS MEMBERS OF THE ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECT.

5. Funding principles and Duration of the Projects

5.1. Funds can be requested for the mobility of researchers, according to FAPESP standards, to accomplish the purposes set forth under item 1 of this Call for Proposals and must be must be requested individually for each researcher and per scientific mission :

a. Air tickets (www.fapesp.br/5835 - item 3.4.1);

b. Health insurance (www.fapesp.br/2921);

c. Living allowances (www.fapesp.br/12042).

5.1.1. Considering the quota of resources destined to the Call, requests for budget alterations will not be analysed.

5.1.2. It is the responsibility of the Grantee to verify with the competent consulate the need to obtain the specific visa, as well as to obtain it. It is also the Grantee's responsibility to verify that there are no restrictions on international travel from Brazil and that in-person activities at the institutions abroad have already been normalized, and that no quarantine is required in the country where the internship will take place.

5.2. FAPESP will support the researchers from the state of São Paulo in scientific missions at the Partner Institution, and the Partner Institution (or another funding body, for the cases under item 2.2) will support the researchers from the partner country carrying out scientific missions in the state of São Paulo;

5.3. Details on funding that are specific for each Partner Institution are described in the guidelines listed in item 2.1.1 of this Call for Proposals;

5.4. The grant can only be used for the exchange of researchers, visits for research planning, international workshops, and initial activities of data collection, always aiming to continue research collaboration and its consolidation;

5.5. The maximum duration of each project is 24 months, non-extendable and following the specificities described in the guidelines of each Partner Institution, listed in item 2.1.1 of this Call for Proposals.

5.5.1. Extension requests for up to six additional months under exceptional conditions will be received only upon submission of extension authorization from the partner institution. Requests should be submitted following the guidelines available at www.fapesp.br/565.

6. Proposal characteristics

The proposal shall be composed of:

a. A Research Project having a maximum of five (5) pages of scientific content, written in English jointly by the Principal Investigator to FAPESP and his/her colleague, the Principal Investigator at the Partner Institution. One copy of the Research Project (as described in the item 6.1 below) shall be sent to FAPESP and an identical copy to the Partner Institution;

b. Submission forms and additional documents , as required by FAPESP in the SAGe system and by the partner institutions in their guidelines.

6.1. The Research Project must include the following:

a. A substantive description of the exchange activities, emphasizing their relevance. The proposal must state clearly how the exchange activities to be carried out by each team will contribute to the ongoing research project funded by FAPESP, as described in the item 3.1 of this call) and to the research being carried by the partner researcher abroad;

b. Detailed schedule of the exchange missions to be carried out by the partner team at the São Paulo institution and the São Paulo team at the Partner Institution;

c. A description of each candidate’s contribution to the mission, explaining their expertise to carry out the foreseen activities;

d. Performance indicators for the planned activities, indicating the expected results;

e. Foreseen actions that will add to the impact of the exchange for the Partner Institution and for the Host Institution in the state of São Paulo, e.g. by means of seminars, short courses etc.;

f. Description of how the Principal Investigators in São Paulo and in the Partner Institution intend to prepare a joint research project, resulting from the exchange activities developed from the proposal submitted in this Call, to be submitted to research funding agencies accessible in their regions in order to create a medium-long-term collaboration (up to one page).

6.2. Documents required by the Partner Institution:

The Principal Investigator at the Partner Institution must consider the Additional Documents described in the Guideline of his/her funding institution. Guidelines for FAPESP Partner institutions are available in item 2.1.1 of this Call for Proposals. When the additional instructions in the Guideline include adaptations that need to be joint followed, the São Paulo researchers should also consider the terms and conditions set for in the respective partner Guideline.

7. Timeline

Closing date for submission of proposals	June 26, 2023
Successful proposals notified	September 29, 2023

8. Submission

1.1. The proposal must be submitted according to the deadline stated in section 7 above, both to FAPESP by the Principal Investigator from the State of São Paulo and to Partner Institution by the foreign Principal Investigator. Proposal submitted to only one Party will not be considered.

1.2. No additions or clarifications will be accepted, except those explicitly and formally requested by FAPESP or by the Partner Institution;

1.3. Submissions to FAPESP must be sent exclusively through SAGe System. Any other means will be accepted by.

9. Analysis and selection

9. Analysis and selection

9.1. Each Party will select the proposals according to its own procedures. Only the proposals selected by both Parties will be funded;

9.2. The proposals will be pre-qualified and, subsequently, analysed by way of a competitive process which will evaluate project merit and relevance, the potential contribution of the proposed project to the ongoing project funded by FAPESP, the proposed project capacity to leverage further research funding, and the strategic research aims of the Partner Institution;

9.3. Proposals that do not comply with the terms of this Call for Proposals will not qualify for analysis;

10. Result of the analysis

Final results will be announced at FAPESP website (www.fapesp.br) and at the webpages of the Partner Institutions and by means of a communication to the proponents.

11. Contract of the selected proposals

11.1 To FAPESP: selected proposals will be object of a Grant Term (FAPESP) to be signed by the PI and a legal representative of the Higher Education and Research Institution to which he/she is affiliated.

11. 2 Agreement between the Partner Institution and the Higher Education and Research Institution in the State of São Paulo to which the PI from São Paulo is affiliated, establishing how Intellectual Property rights, confidentiality, and publications will be treated jointly, in observance of the policies of each funding Party, considering SPRINT item 8.

12. Grant cancellation

FAPESP may cancel funding if, during the grant timeframe, a significant event justifies its cancellation in the assessment of the Joint Steering Committee, without prejudice of any other appropriate actions.

13. Information about this Call at FAPESP

The questions related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to sprint@fapesp.br

---

WARNING: Most frequent reasons for not qualifying or not approving a request under SPRINT

I) THE REQUEST INCLUDES SCIENTIFIC MISSIONS TO CANDIDATES WHO ARE NOT LISTED AS APPROVED BY FAPESP IN THE ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECT- SAGE SECTION 'PEOPLE INVOLVED'. Attention to item 4.2 of the call.

II) NOT COMPLYING WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PARTNER INSTITUTION’S GUIDELINE, WHICH MAY INCLUDE ADAPTATIONS TO BE ALSO FOLLOWED BY SÃO PAULO RESEARCHERS IN SUPERPOSITION TO THIS CALL. Attention to item 6.2 of the call.

---