Agreements
FAPESP - AKA Call for Proposals 2014
FAPESP - AKA (Academy of Finland) Call for Proposals - Materials Research in Electronics, Photonics and Communications Engineering
Note: On 2014/06/13, the Research Proposal Form (item 7.2.a) has been updated.
1. Introduction
The Academy of Finland and the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Brazil launch a call for joint research projects in the field of materials research in electronics, photonics and communications engineering. The aim is to promote and strengthen collaboration between researchers from Finland and the State of São Paulo in the field.
2. Research Themes
The joint call covers three broadly interpretable and intentionally overlapping themes:
2.1. Multimaterial platforms for future electronics
Performance tailored horizontal/vertical or areal electronics platform is a new approach for material, structure and fabrication designers requiring seamless research cooperation. Materials investigation should go hand in hand with electronics design challenging commonly used modelling environment. Furthermore, multimaterial approach requires deep understanding of interface properties of materials, carrier transport through complex disordered systems, morphology, ordering and self-organization etc.
The aim is to create new scientific knowledge for the next leap in electronics. Advantages to be created are able to support future electronics in the field of photonics, communication or sensing.
2.2. Energy efficient sensors
New innovations fuelled by materials research are needed to enable energy efficient sensing systems for e.g. in healthcare and environmental monitoring. This theme covers materials or material systems enabling sensing with energy harvest, storage, efficient power transfer, energy conversion or optimization of multi energy harvesters’ performance. The research structure can be based on one single material, or materials’ combination as in the theme 1.
The aim is to create knowhow in energy issues and sensing in parallel. Special interest is in magnetic or piezoelectric materials with amorphous or crystalline structures.
2.3. Advanced nanophotonics
Nanoscale materials and structures provide a wealth of opportunities for applications of photonics in several different contexts. In order to make significant progress in this research area, a number of different approaches need to be combined. Theoretical work will provide fundamental understanding of photonic behaviour and experimental work will be needed to synthesize the new material compositions, characterize their optical and spectroscopic properties, and to fabricate the actual structures.
The aim is to produce new scientific knowledge about novel materials for photonics and deep understanding of their optical and spectroscopic properties as well as their potential in many fields, including sensors, labels, light sources, etc.
3. Funding
The Academy is prepared to fund the projects with a total of EUR 1,2 million. FAPESP is also prepared to fund for the equivalent amount of EUR 1,2 million. It is not necessary that the requested budget for each proposal be equally split between FAPESP and AKA, especially because some proposals might have a request for salary payment on the Finnish side and FAPESP cannot fund salaries, which in Brazil are carried by the Higher Education and Research Institutions.
As a general rule, the funding is for three years with a contribution proportional to the effort on each side from the respective Agency, excluding salaries, as noted above.
The funding period starts 1st March 2015.
Applications will be reviewed by international peer reviewers in line with each Agency’s practices. The evaluation criteria are:
- scientific quality and innovativeness of the research plan
- feasibility of the research plan
- competence and expertise of the applicants from both countries
- added value generated by Finnish-Brazilian research collaboration
The mobility of researchers will also be considered in the review.
5. Joint Research Plan
The application shall include a Joint Research Plan written by researchers from Finland and the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The research plan shall involve a clear description of the planned collaboration (distribution of work and methods of implementation) and the added value to be expected from the collaboration. The research plan shall include both a joint budget and separate budgets for both partners (see item 8.1.1.a).
6. Funding principles and eligibility criteria
6.1. For the applicant researcher in the State of São Paulo, the collaborative proposal must be submitted to FAPESP as a Regular Research Award with maximum project duration of 36 months, non-extendable.
6.2. Applicants from Finland and from the State of São Paulo must satisfy the eligibility criteria of AKA and FAPESP respectively. For FAPESP these criteria are available at www.fapesp.br/137#4772 for the Regular Research Award. The applicant for Academy of Finland research funding (Principal Investigator) must have the qualifications of a professor or an adjunct professor (docent) or be a researcher with a doctorate.
6.3. The partners apply for funding from their respective funding agencies (with the agencies’ own forms). Finnish researchers follow the Academy’s guidelines and researchers from the State of São Paulo, the FAPESP guidelines along with the guidelines set out by this document. The deadline is 18th June 2014 in both countries.
7. Submission conditions specific to FAPESP
7.1. Submission to FAPESP will follow the usual rules of the Regular Research Award including eligiility conditions and available budget items.
7.2. The proposal, written in English (except when noted otherwise), shall contain:
a) Research Proposal form (includes a list of additional documents to be submitted) and the Researcher’s Registration Form (in Portuguese);
b) Summary of the Curriculum Vitae of the each proponent researcher from both sides;
c) Summary of the Curriculum Vitae of all participating researchers from the research teams in São Paulo and Finland and of all other members that will engage in research travel missions in the São Paulo team;
d) Research team description description table only for the São Paulo participants;
e) Joint Research Plan with a maximum of fifteen (15) pages of scientific content, according to the item 8.1.1.a. below;
f) Work plan for each technical training fellowships requested, if applicable;
g) Budget worksheets specifically designed for this Call;
h) Detailed justification for each requested budget item, including each research mission (travel budget must be indicated in the corresponding fields of the budget worksheets).
7.3. All proposals shall be sent to FAPESP in hard copy up to 18th June 2014 to the following address: Rua Pio XI, 1500, Alto da Lapa, CEP 05468-901 - São Paulo/SP, with “Chamada FAPESP/AKA 2014” written on the envelope. If sent by mail, only proposals with a stamped postmark date within the deadline of this Call will be processed. Online application is not available.
8. Submission conditions specific to the Academy of Finland
(more details at: www.aka.fi/en-GB/A/Funding-and-guidance/Apply-now)
8.1. Appendices to the application
8.1.1. Obligatory appendices:
a) Joint Research Plan, written in English, with no more than 15 pages, including:
i. A clear description of the proposed research and research collaboration (distribution of work and methods of implementation) and the added value to be expected from the collaboration;
ii. A joint budget, including separate budgets for both partners;
iii. A justification for the funding applied for;
iv. A description of any researcher training to be carried out within the project;
v. A mobility plan detailing the research project’s national and international mobility plans during the funding period; describing the involvement of foreign researchers in the project; and explaining other ways in which the project intends to transcend international, national, institutional and public/private sector boundaries.
b) Curricula Vitae for the Finnish applicant and for the State of São Paulo applicant.
c) Lists of publications by the Finnish applicant and the State of São Paulo applicant: in both lists, clearly indicate the ten most important publications in terms of the research plan.
8.1.2. Case-specific appendices:
a) Invitation by foreign university or research institute, if the research or part of it will be conducted abroad.
b) Statement by an ethics committee or the Committee on Animal Experimentation (if relevant); the ethical aspects must always be specified in the research plan.
c) Statement by a Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation, confirming that the application is affiliated with the centre and justifying the significance of the project for the centre’s operations.
d) Progress report on all Academy-funded projects headed by the applicant that have not submitted final reports.
e) Any other appendices indicated in the call text under Appendices.
NOTE: Only the requested appendices are appended to the application. The appendices shall be drafted in line with the Academy’s guidelines, see our website under Appendices. The maximum length indicated in the guidelines must not be exceeded. The appendices are drafted in English and appended to the application in the online services under Appendices. The only exception is the curriculum vitae for the Finnish PI, which is appended under Personal data/CV.
8.2. How to apply
8.2.1. The deadline is 18th June 2014 at midnight (Finnish time). The deadline is non-negotiable. Applications are drafted in the Academy’s online services (select Open calls > Joint project call: Materials research (Academy, Brazilian FAPESP)).
8.2.2. Draft the application so as to ensure that the Academy’s contribution to funding comes to no more than 70% of the estimated total project costs. See more details on our website under Full cost model. The costs of the Brazilian partner are indicated only in the research plan (under section 5, Implementation).
8.2.3. If the applicant is a consortium, see detailed guidelines on the Academy’s website under Consortium application. The application of the whole consortium will be processed only if the applications of all subprojects have been submitted by the deadline. The composition of the consortium cannot be changed after the deadline.
8.2.4. The research collaboration partner based in São Paulo submits its application to FAPESP in line with FAPESP guidelines.
9. More information
9.1. To AKA: Science Adviser Ms. Johanna Törnroos (Unit for Natural Sciences and Engineering), tel. +358 295 33 5124, johanna.tornroos@aka.fi
9.2. To FAPESP: Area Director Alexandre Roccatto by e-mail: chamada-fapesp-aka@fapesp.br
(The FAPESP e-mail above is no longer valid)