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UCL and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) are pleased to invite proposals to support collaborative research initiatives through a joint call for proposals.

The office of the Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement) at University College London (UCL) and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) are pleased to invite proposals to support collaborative research initiatives through a joint call for proposals.

Projects

1. This call invites proposals for a) UCL-Wits bilateral projects and b) trilateral/multilateral Wits-UCL-ARUA projects in areas of mutual interest and complementary strengths.Ìý
2. Proposals should be led by a Principal Investigator at each institution (one at UCL and one at Wits) and can include a wider group of participants at each partner, as appropriate to the activities proposed.Ìý
3. Applicants involving ARUA partners should demonstrate how they contribute to strengthening the African research narrative by enhancing connections and closer relationships between Wits, UCL and wider African research institutions.Ìý
4. Applications must demonstrate how the proposed activity will provide a platform for longer-term, larger-scale collaboration between UCL and Wits in the relevant field, for example, by providing a basis for ongoing joint research and education activity and / or applications to external bodies for research grant funding. Applications from any field are welcome.Ìý
5. Applications from UCL and Wits staff that meet the eligibility criteria under section 2 are welcome; those that build best practice across early career researchers and support emerging research collaborations are particularly encouraged to apply.Ìý
6. Up to six joint projects will be selected for funding (four awards for the UCL-Wits bilateral projects and two awards for the trilateral/multilateral Wits-UCL-ARUA projects).ÌýÌý
7. Proposals will be assessed by a committee composed of members from both institutions.Ìý

Eligibility

UCL

• Applications are open to UCL staff members with the following roles:
  • Professor or equivalent
  • Associate Professor/ Reader or equivalent
  • Senior Lecturer/Principal Researcher/Principal Research Associate or equivalent
  • Lecturer/Senior Research Associate or equivalent
  • Post Doc/Researcher/Research Associate or equivalent
• Applicants from UCL must have an open-ended Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ contract or a fixed-term contract which lasts until at least July 2025.
• Applicants are not required to have a doctorate to apply but do need to hold a role at one of the levels described above.
• PhD students are not eligible to apply but are encouraged to take part in the project.
• UCL Professional Service & VP Office staff are not eligible to apply but can take part in the project where this supports the aims and objective.
• Principal Investigators from UCL should be aware of changes made to the 2024/25 GE (Global Engagement) Partner Fund process relating to the number of applications that can be submitted per Investigator across all calls, the number of awards that can received, and eligibility for award holders from the 23/24 round. See further details in the information text box of the Partner Funds webpage here.Ìý

Wits

• The PIs at Wits must be:
  • academic / research staff or
  • post-doctoral fellows.
• Must have a PhD.
• Applicants from Wits must be permanently employed or on a fixed-term contract which lasts until at least July 2025.

Collaborative Activities

Funding can support a broad range of activities as appropriate to the aims and objectives of the collaboration. This includes, but is not limited to: Ìý

• Joint seminar(s)/workshop(s) with UCL & Wits partners (remotely or in person) which might lead to joint publications, future research collaborations, grant applications, or other follow up activity. Funding may be used for external services required to facilitate the event, e.g. professional moderation or technical support.
• Meetings, or preliminary scoping work and baseline research/data gathering, to underpin the preparation of a long-term collaborative partnership (e.g. preparation of a PhD summer school, double degree, future exchange agreement, etc).
• Stipends for research assistants and interns. UCL student casual wage costs for working on the collaboration can be covered, as can travel, accommodation and subsistence essential to the activity, in line with Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ expense policy, sustainability agenda and coronavirus guidance. Please note that teaching buyouts are not eligible.

What cannot be funded by the UCL-Wits Strategic Partner Funds?

• Activity which does not involve UCL & Wits partners; work for which there is already a significant existing funding stream; activity that has already happened.
• Costings should be appropriate and relevant to the activity, for example the provision of alcoholic beverages for partners is not considered a valuable use of funds, unless it can be described how hospitality is critical for the building of this relationship or necessary/culturally significant for an event e.g., a public exhibition.
• Items which would normally be included in a research or teaching grant. This seed funding supports and develops UCL & Wits collaboration and lacks the scale and resources to support the core components of a research or teaching project.
• A Work tribe costing for UCL applicants is NOT necessary for UCL-Wits Strategic Partner Funds.
• Teaching time buyout cannot be funded.

Value and Duration

The maximum funding that a successful project could receive would be £5000 for the UCL-Wits bilateral projects (roughly R119000) and £10000 (roughly R238400 for the trilateral/multilateralÌýWits-UCL-ARUA award). Funding will be jointly provided by UCL and Wits. However, only one proposal per project should be submitted.

Please note that British and South African universities have different financial years, and this will have an impact on funding schedule. Funds provided by UCL must be spent by 31 July 2025, whereas funds provided by Wits must be spent by 31 December 2025. Applicants should take this into account when planning their proposed activity.

Timeline

How to apply

1. For further inquiries and questions, we will be holding an online information session on 5th June 2024. Registration for the information session will be launched in parallel with the call launching on .Ìý
2. Proposals should be prepared and submitted jointly. Only one proposal should be submitted per project. Ìý
3. Proposals should be submitted through the 'Apply now' button below. Please note, only UCL applicants can access the online application system.Ìý
4. Proposals must be submitted by 21st June 2024.Ìý

Contact

At UCL:Ìý

Mustafa Sakr
Global Engagement Manager (Africa and the Middle East)
Email: m.sakr@ucl.ac.uk

At Wilts:Ìý

Dr Mahomed Moolla
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Email: Mahomed.Moolla@wits.ac.za

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