GCRF Small Grants Call 2020 BriefingBriefing will start at 14:02 to allow late arrivals

Please add any questions to the chat and I will answer at the end

Mary RyanClerk, UofG GCRF Coordination Group

International Development Coordinator, Glasgow Centre for International Development

What I’ll cover

• GCRF – a brief introduction• Our strategy• The call• The application• Tips and common mistakes

About GCRF

• In 2015 the UK Government made it the law that 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) as Official Development Assistance (ODA)

What is 0.007 of our GNI?

£12,000,000,000

About GCRF£12,000,000,000

80%Department for International Development

4.3%Business, Energy, Industrial 

Strategy

15%Department of Health

Foreign & Commonwealth OfficeHome Office

60%Global Challenges Research Fund

£300 million/yr

About GCRF

• 5‐year £1.5Bn fund and a key component in the delivery of the UK Aid Strategy: tackling global challenges in the national interest. 

• challenge‐led disciplinary and interdisciplinary research• strengthening capacity for research and innovation within both the UK and developing countries

• providing an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research need

Delivery Partners

• UK Research Councils• UK Higher Education Funding bodies• Academy of Medical Sciences• Royal Society• British Academy• Royal Academy of Engineering• UK Space Agency

GCRF Challenge Portfolios• Security, Protracted Conflict, Refugee Crises and Forced Displacement

• Professor Mark Pelling, King’s College London, Department of Geography• Dr John Rees, British Geological Survey, Director, Earth Hazards & Observatories• Dr Neelam Raina, Middlesex University, Associate Professor• Dr Laura Hammond, SOAS University of London, department of development studies

• Cities and Sustainable Infrastructure • Dr Jaideep Gupte, Institute of Development Studies

• Food Systems• Professor Nicola Lowe, University of Central Lancashire• Dr Tahrat Shahid University of Oxford

• Education• Dr Kelsey Shanks, Ulster University

• Global Health• Dr Helen Fletcher, London School of Hygiene and Tropic Medicine

Key Features of GCRF

• Challenges identified and proposals developed & driven through equitable partnerships with on-the-ground collaborators

• The team is built in response to the identified challenge

• The approaches are identified and developed to tackle the challenge in a novel way

UofG Strategy for Allocated GCRF

• Development and support for resilient, equitable and innovative research partnerships with the Global South

• Skills development• Support for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in the UK and the Global South

UofG Strategy for Allocated GCRF

• Interdisciplinary collaborative research• Pump priming• Capacity strengthening/network support• Research Capacity Strengthening• Diversifying our partnerships

The Call

• Research Projects• Meetings and Exchanges• Administrative Support for Networks• Capacity Strengthening• Masters Scholarships• COVID19 Supplement

Deadline: 09:00 on May 27thSubmit to: GCRF@glasgow.ac.ukSubmit as Word (application) and Excel(costing proforma) documents

The Process• GCRF Coordination Group oversees the process• Panels of 4 score each proposal• Each panel has 1 member from each College• Applications are scored from 0 (not eligible for funding) to 10 (absolutely must fund) by each panel member, along with a justification

• Scores are checked for panel differences in scoring, then collated and applications ranked by mean score

• Coordination Group meets and shortlists• Final decisions: likely June (whenever the final allocation is posted)

Some practical considerations

• Read the Highlight Notice. Twice.• You can submit a maximum of 1 Masters application, 1 COVID19 Supplement, 1 other application as PI

• There are no secret directions – provide the information requested

Some general considerations

• Working with LMIC partners offers different challenges and opportunities for success

• Milestones and objectives need to be realistic

• ODA obligations require more intensive oversight and due diligence than some other granting schemes

• Inter‐disciplinary ≠ Multi‐disciplinary• The panels know about what it takes to do this kind of research

Some general considerations

• Start a conversation…and listen• Develop ideas and proposals together• Build a team that addresses the challenge – who do you need? How do they fit? How will you work together?

• Demonstrate understanding of the local context and history• Collaborate with humility and respect

Filling out the Application - Investigators

• Only 1 PI per application• Provide ALL details requested for each investigator• Provide the legal name of any partner institutions

Filling out the Application – Summary of Activities

• Describe the challenge• Describe the proposed activities• What are the specific objectives?• This is where you show

• What you’re actually doing• How we will measure your success• The nature of the challenge

Filling out the Application – Investigator Roles

• Who is responsible for what elements• Who developed which aspects of the proposal• This is where you show:

• You have all the required expertise to address the challenge• You have developed the application through an equitable process

Filling out the Application – ODA Compliance

• What country or countries are affected by the challenge you have identified?

• What communities are impacted by the challenge?• How can you improve things through your research? • This is where you show

• You understand the context• You are pragmatic about your ability to drive change

Filling out the Application – Risk Mitigation

• What is your timeline• What risks exist?• How can you minimize risks?• This is where you show:

• You are realistic• You are informed• You can adapt• Feasibility

Filling out the Application – Outputs and Outcomes

• This is not a rehash of your objectives• What are the specific deliverables and changes?• How will you measure them?• This is where you show:

• The strength of your evaluation plan• That you have thought about the measurable elements of change• That you can prove you did something

Filling out the Application - Sustainability

• This is about the relationships and skills developed• Where will the relationship go from here?• What will people be able to do with their skills?• This is where you show:

• The project is about more than the small grant• There is a plan for follow-up

Filling out the Application – Capacity Strengthening

• Who is developing their skills and capacity?• How will you create opportunities for such development?• How you will measure this?• This is where you show:

• That you and your partners are thinking broadly about what capacity is needed in both the UK and partners countries

• That these skills are useful and their uptake can be measured

Filling out the Application – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion• How are you ensuring EDI in your team?• How are you ensuring EDI in the participants?• What impacts will your activity have on EDI in your

target communities?• This is where you show:

• Awareness of structural inequalities• Knowledge of local contexts• Strengths in study design

Filling out the Application – Environmental Sustainability

• What are the environmental impacts of your activity?• How can you reduce the environmental impacts of your

activity?• This is where you show:

• Awareness • Embracing of new technologies• Potential to create new ways of working

Filling out the Application - Training

• What training is needed?• Is it in your budget?• When will it happen?• This is where you show:

• Awareness of what is needed to work in challenging environments• Consideration of the intersection of capacity strengthening and health

& safety

Extra Bits for Masters

• Note the extra supporting documents required• Nominated Masters students will also need a conditional offer from Glasgow by May 30th

• The fit of the nominee, Glasgow team, project and strategic potential

• Note the expenditure timelines – different from the other options

Extra Bits for COVID-19 Supplement

• Externally-funded projects impacted by COVID-19• Use the correct application form• Demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 on your project

and how the supplement can mitigate that• You DO NOT need to have a no-cost extension

already approved

Eligible Costs

• Yes, that really is how much an RA costs• No academic conference attendance• No DA staff at ANY partner is eligible• You must discuss DA staff time with your

School/Institute• If you have questions about your costing proforma,

ASK. Please. Please ask before the deadline.

Don’t Forget• You must talk to your College Research Support Team before April 30thabout your intention to apply – they have your budget in their hands

• You will need a collaboration agreement with any partner you wish to send funds to – make sure they know this in advance

• Advance payments will take time and effort on the part of you and your partners – identify this as a need early

• It takes time to set up project budgets – in theory you can start from Aug 1 but in reality there is no chance of this

• It takes time to hire people – plan for this• Stay within the word limits

Common Mistakes

• Lack of interdisciplinarity when it is clearly warranted• Over ambitious• Not challenge driven• Failure to provide the requested information• Assuming the impact/value/importance of the work is already well understood outside your discipline

• Not eligible• Assuming a level of knowledge about the team/work/project

Tips for Success• Consider the panel – interdisciplinary• Consider the challenges and be realistic – time is not your friend• Build your budget around what the project needs, not how to spend the maximum amount

• Be open with your partners about what you both want from your project and how you will achieve it – it’s not just about a successful application, we want successful collaborations

• Remember – the panel doesn’t know what I know or what you know

Some random extras

• Letters of Support are welcome• There is no minimum or “right” amount of

countries/collaborators/partners• If you are sending funds to partners, identify the admin

contact on their end who will facilitate signing collaboration agreements and completion of Due Diligence

• Ask me for the “Crash Course” slides on Due Diligence and Subcontracts and Payments

COVID-19

• Things will not be “normal” in the foreseeable future• Focus on your project plan, risks and mitigation,

capacity requirements, technological needs and do not assume anything about the coming year.

Reporting

• Outcomes and Impact (against your planned outcomes/impact)• DAC Countries involved• Partner Organizations• Project Summary• Sustainability (what is coming next)• Deviation from spend• ODA Compliance

Ask for HelpMary Ryan: Mary.Ryan@glasgow.ac.uk

Join our mailing list: gcidadmin@glasgow.ac.uk

www.gla.ac.uk/gcid

@UofGGCID