Call for Proposals FAPESP and University of Illinois System – Brasillinois 2024
Launch of Call:
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December 2024
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Closing date for applications:
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15th February 2025
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FAPESP SUPPORT:
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Regular Research Grant for mobility and seed fund
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Announcement of results:
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End of June 2025
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Start of projects:
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From August 2025
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Duration of projects:
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2 years
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1. Introduction
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and University of Illinois System are pleased to launch this new Call for joint research projects. The aim is to promote and strengthen collaboration between researchers affiliated with Higher Education and Research Institutions in state of São Paulo and researchers working for University of Illinois System.
This is in collaboration with Brasillinois, an initiative that builds on the unique potential of the University of Illinois System to create a new model for collaboration between U.S. higher education and the Global South. The initiative leverages the already comprehensive hub of research collaboration to build a research and mobility network that includes other Illinois institutions, partners among the Great Lakes Consortium, and other institutional partners in North America. Brasillinois draws on faculty expertise and programs across the University of Illinois System to pursue collaborative research and mobility initiatives.
2. Research Themes
The present Call invites research proposals in any discipline, especially in areas related to (but not exclusively):
- Climate and Sustainability;
- Public Health and Medicine;
- Democracy and Inclusion.
3. Funding and duration
FAPESP and University of Illinois Systems will fund jointly up to USD 40,000 per project with a duration of 2 (two) years. FAPESP will fund up costs of the research team based in the state of São Paulo (up to USD 20,000) and University of Illinois Systems will fund the US-based research team (up to USD 20,000).
A total of five (5) proposals will be funded for this Call.
4. Eligibility criteria and funding principals
Applications should stimulate a balanced partnership. Each proposal should include one Principal Investigator (PI) from the state of São Paulo and one from University of Illinois Systems who unite strengths to execute a joint research project. Applicants are expected to propose a coherent research proposal, clearly showing added value for both partners, and the complementarity of both teams. The proposals must aim to respect the principle of reciprocity with regards to academic qualifications of those who will take part in the exchange activities.
4.1. FAPESP
a) Eligibility: The PI must be employed by a public or private Higher Education or Research Institution in the state of São Paulo and must meet the rules from Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular. Each PI can only submit one proposal;
b) Funding: Proposals must meet the rules and instructions of Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular, except for the maximum budget and duration, as specified in item 3 of this Call.
4.2. University of Illinois Systems
a) Eligibility: The PI should be an full time faculty or post-doctoral researcher at University of Illinois Systems with a contract of employment for the full length of the proposed project;
b) Funding: According to item 3 above, expecting balanced efforts from both sides.
4.3. For mobility, both FAPESP and UI will cover travel, daily allowances and insurance costs for eligible researcher from their respective regions.
4.4. Seed funds are also provided for a modest level of direct research costs, including consumables, third-party services, low cost equipment and access to facilities to support activities and extra expenditures for visitors. Workshops are also expected to be organized through the same funding items.
4.5. FAPESP will provide the selected proposals with funds for travel (economy class air tickets - www.fapesp.br/5835, item 3.4.1), travel insurance (www.fapesp.br/2921), and living allowances (www.fapesp.br/16590) for researchers from the state of São Paulo that will visit UI.
a) Daily allowances are guided by Portaria PR nº 35/2020 (www.fapesp.br/14018). When the period of the stay abroad is less than 30 days, a maximum of 10 per diems can be used for researchers. The monthly rate can only be applied if the stay abroad is for a period equal to or greater than 30 days, according to FAPESP´s current tables for researchers (www.fapesp.br/15942) and scholarship holders (www.fapesp.br/15939).
b) 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.
c) The FAPESP Grants will not be eligible to budgetary scholarships nor overheads (i.e. “Reservas Técnicas” and “Benefícios Complementares”).
d) Researchers and scholarship recipients must abide to the rules of their home institutions and FAPESP´s pertaining long term absent periods from their activities and ongoing Grants.
e) Considering the quota of resources destined to this Call, requests for budget alterations will not be analysed.
f) The grantee must to verify with the competent consulate the need to obtain specific visa, as well as to the related costs.
5. Submission
Proposals, in English, prepared by both research teams (maximum of 10 pages) must contain a clear description of the planned collaboration (distribution of work and methods of implementation) and the added value to be expected from the collaboration. Also, the summarized budget table (attached to this document) must be filled in to itemize the funds requested from FAPESP and the University of Illinois.
5.1. Submission and documents required by FAPESP will follow the general rules for the Regular Research Grants (Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular) and will be available for consultation in the SAGe system.
5.2. Submission and documents required by University of Illinois Systems: research proposal; research proposal submission form; budget summary table (a template can be found in annex 2); and CV of the PIs.
6. How to apply
6.1. Proposals must be submitted by 15th February 2025 to FAPESP by the PI from the state of São Paulo and to University of Illinois Systems by the PI from the US.
a) FAPESP submission
- The proposal must be submitted through the SAGe platform. The specific path for this Call is: Nova Proposta Inicial > + Outras Linhas de Fomento > + Acordos de Cooperação> + University of Illinois System > + Illinois - Projeto de Pesquisa - Regular > + Chamada de Propostas (2024);
- The PI from University of Illinois Systems must create a SAGe login and confirm participation in the project online. Please see Annex 1 at the end of the document for more information. It is strongly recommended to complete and submit the proposal well in advance.
b) University of Illinois Systems Submission
- The PI from University of Illinois Systems must submit the documents itemized in 5.2 by e-mail to sandora3@uillinois.edu.
6.2. FAPESP will not allow proponents to access any content from competing proposals, due to intellectual property rights and the confidentiality of ongoing scientific projects associated with them.
6.3. FAPESP will not be responsible for incomplete registrations due to IT technical problems, communication failures, communication line congestion, or other factors hindering data transfer.
6.4. Only registrations made through the FAPESP system (SAGE) and/or through the partner system will be accepted, in accordance with established rules.
6.5. Conditional, late, or submissions via postal mail, fax, or email will not be accepted.
6.6. It will not be possible to make registrations after the deadline specified in the Call for Proposals.
6.7. By submitting the registration, the proponent agrees to the rules and conditions established in this Call for Proposals and in the applicable legislation, and cannot claim ignorance or disagreement.
6.8. FAPESP's communication lines will be available for assistance between 9:00am and 4:00pm.
7. Analysis and selection
7.1. Each Party will select the proposals according to its own procedures. Only the proposals selected by both Parties will be funded. A joint committee will finalize the selection process.
7.2. Beyond regular review procedures by each Party, the evaluation criteria include:
- 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 US-Brazilian research collaboration.
7.3. The following criteria may be utilized to resolve ties:
- Proposals from researchers who have completed their PhDs within the last 10 years will be prioritized (periods of parental leave being excluded from the calculation of this time);
- FAPESP and University of Illinois will seek for distribution of proposals within the 3 research themes.
7.4. Proposals that do not comply with the terms of this Call will not qualify for analysis.
7.5. Considering the final results announced under this Call for Proposals, FAPESP and University of Illinois will not accept reconsideration requests.
8. Intellectual Property
To execute the research project, an agreement must be established between the partners, covering at least the following information:
- where and for how long the data generated during the project will be stored, how it will be protected, and who will have access to it;
- indication of the repositories where the data generated will be stored, including both those generated exclusively by Brazilian partners and those generated exclusively by foreign partners, with cross-references in both cases;
- the rules that will apply to the co-authorship of publications resulting from the collaborative research project;
- intellectual property issues: if the project results or the final report itself have commercial value or may lead to the development of a product or method involving the establishment of a patent, the exchange of information and the ownership of intellectual property rights will be governed by Brazilian Law No. 9,279 of May 14, 1996, Decree No. 9,283 of February 7, 2018, and FAPESP's Intellectual Property Policy. In the case of partnerships with foreign entities or institutions, the respective country's laws regarding the matter should also be observed.
The presentation of this document is not mandatory for signing the Grant Contract, however, FAPESP can request its presentation at any time.
9. Matchmaking
Foreign researchers interested in finding partners in the state of São Paulo can use the Virtual Library of FAPESP. It is possible to search for information regarding Grants and Scholarships awarded by FAPESP, including abstracts, as well as the names of participating researchers and their institutions. The team at Brasillinois can also be contacted for support with matchmaking between University of Illinois Systems and São Paulo state institutions via sandora3@uillinois.edu.
10. Contact
All questions related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to:
FAPESP: Fernanda Biondi: chamada-brasillinois@fapesp.br
University of Illinois: Angelina Sandora: sandora3@uillinois.edu
Annex 1 - Specific instructions on the use of SAGe
1. The PI of the proposal and all researchers of the team from the state of São Paulo (as well as the PI from the USA) must register in the SAGe system and confirm their participation in the proposal. We recommend to do so well in advance of the submission deadline.
(i) Researchers who do not have a SAGe registration must initially do so by accessing the SAGe page at https://sage.fapesp.br, clicking Not registered? and filling in the requested data. It is not enough to just register as a user. After accessing the system it is necessary to complete the mandatory registration data, marked with * in Personal Information > Update Personal Information.
(ii) Researchers already registered must login to SAGe with their usual identification and password to access the system.
(iii) All researchers from the state of São Paulo must be registered in the SAGe system and confirm their participation in the “Proposals in which I participate” option, in the “Proposals” item in the SAGe main menu.
(iv) The PI at University of Illinois Systems must be included in the team and must later confirm their participation through the option “Proposals in which I participate”, in the “Proposals” item in the SAGe main menu.
2. When submitting the proposal, pay attention to the mandatory completion of all items marked with *. It is necessary to submit the proposal at the end. A saved proposal does not mean that it is a submitted proposal.
3. In case of doubts, on the SAGe home page there is a link to the Manuals that can be used and, on the Manuals page, seek clarifications in the list FAPESP Investigators Guides. The system also provides an English version with manuals for user registration and confirmation of participation in proposals.
IMPORTANT: It is strongly recommended to complete and submit the proposal in the system well in advance and that the researcher periodically checks the pending proposals using the "Validate" option in SAGe. This can be done repeatedly as the proposal is constructed, allowing all necessary arrangements for submission to be made on time. When selecting the “Validate” option, the SAGe system will present the pending issues that impede the submission of the proposal considering the items that were inserted. In case of doubts about the use of SAGe, in addition to the Manuals, FAPESP also provides assistance through the Converse with FAPESP service at https://fapesp.br/converse.
Annex 2 – Budget Summary Template (only for UI PIs)