NEWTON FUND RESEARCHER LINKS WORKSHOPS GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS APRIL 2018 VERSION 1.1

NEWTON FUND RESEARCHER LINKS WORKSHOPS GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

APRIL 2018 VERSION 1.1

Overview of change(s) from previous version:

Countries included in this call are: Brazil | China | India | Jordan | Peru Call opens: 09 April 2018

Call closes: 08 June 2018 16:00hrs UK time

1. Background

The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with 18 partner countries to support their economic development and social welfare, and to develop their research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth. It has a total UK Government investment of £735 million up until 2021, with matched resources from partner countries.

The Newton Fund is managed by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and delivered through 15 UK delivery partners, which include the Research Councils, the UK Academies, The British Council, Innovate UK and the Met Office. For further information visit the Newton Fund website at www.newtonfund.ac.uk.

Tackling global challenges – such as extreme weather conditions, urbanisation, access to affordable health care, food and energy security, and meeting the social and economic needs of a growing population – requires an integrated research and innovation approach, bringing together communities from different disciplines, sectors, and countries in high-quality collaborations.

All Researcher Links-funded workshops will have the following three overarching objectives:

• Support international development-relevant research – Workshops are intended to support research areas relevant to the economic development and welfare of partner countries.

• Contribute to capacity building of early career researchers – The proposal must include a description of how the workshop will contribute to the personal and professional development of the participants. Workshop co-ordinators should indicate how they envisage this occurring, including any plans for long-term mentoring of early career researchers (either within each country, or cross-nationally).
• Establish new research links or significantly develop existing links, with the potential for longer term sustainability – Co-ordinators must outline the specific outputs anticipated from the workshop. The aim of the workshop is to stimulate longer term links between the UK and partner countries, as well as to contribute to the personal and professional development of the participants. The workshop proposal should include an explanation of the mutual benefits to the UK and partner country researchers and institutions. They should also explore any potential longer term benefit that might arise, thinking about who might benefit and how they might benefit and describing the actions that will be taken to ensure that potential impact is realised.

2. Overview of the funding opportunity

Researcher Links Workshop grants are designed to provide financial support to bring together a UK/partner country bilateral cohort of early career researchers to take part in workshops to meet the overarching objectives. The programme is supported by UK government and partner country funding and forms part of the Newton Fund:(http://www.britishcouncil.org/education/science/researcher-links).

Each workshop will be co-ordinated by two Leading or Established Researchers¹, (Principal Applicants), one from each country, and will focus either on a specific research area or on an interdisciplinary theme (for example ‘Sustainable Cities’). Principal Applicants can identify up to four additional Leading or Established Researchers¹ (two from each country) to be involved in the workshop and act as mentors, but the remaining participants must be researchers at an earlier stage in their career (either Recognised- or early-stage Established researchers¹).

Proposals in any discipline/multidisciplinary area will be accepted (including the natural sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities). However, some countries have specified priority research areas (see Appendix 1 for country specific guidance).

Not-for-profit higher education institutions or publicly-funded research organisations can participate in Researcher Links workshops. For-profit organisations and not-for-profit organisations can participate but are usually not eligible to apply for Workshop grants. For-profit organisations are not eligible to receive any grant funds. Please see list of eligible UK research institutions here. Please contact us at UK-Researcherlinks@britishcouncil.org if you are in doubt about the eligibility of your institution.

UK institutions can partner with institutions affiliated to other UK institutions, (e.g. an overseas campus) to deliver workshops provided that the workshops also include other eligible higher education institutions or research organisations in the partner country. Applicants will need to work closely with and include early career researchers from the institutions based in the partner country that are not affiliated to a UK university.

In the April 2018 call the following countries are inviting proposals for Researcher Links workshops:

• Brazil
• China

¹For an indication of profiles for the different categories of participants, we suggest applicants refer to the European Commission’s “Towards a European framework for Research Careers” https://cdn5.euraxess.org/sites/default/files/policy_library/towards_a_european_framework_for_research_careers_final.pdf “. Principal Applicants and mentors should be at ‘R4 – Leading Researcher’ level or ‘R3 – Established Researcher’ level, and early career participants at ‘R2 –Recognised Researcher’ level or at the beginning of R3 level.

• India
• Jordan
• Peru

Further countries may join the call later so please check the website periodically for updates and announcements.

3.  Relevance to economic development and social welfare

Researcher Links Workshops are intended to support research areas relevant to the development of partner countries.

We define research with development relevance as research (applied or fundamental) that has the potential to contribute to the economic development  and  social  welfare  of  low-  and middle- income countries², benefitting low income and vulnerable populations in these countries. In order to be considered for funding under this programme, all proposals must clearly articulate a plausible pathway showing how the research may lead to positive impact on these populations within a reasonable timeframe (within 3–15 years). Applications which do not meet this criterion cannot receive UK Newton Fund support.

In some disciplines, development relevance can be longer-term and less direct than in other areas and impact may be societal. In all cases, it is the responsibility of the applicant to articulate how the research area or activity proposed will meet these criteria. Applicants should not expect reviewers to make assumptions about development impact that is not clearly described within the proposal.

In order to show development relevance within the context of their proposed project, applicants must include reference to any local or national consultation, links to government policies, and  any links with government institutions.

For more on our approach to ODA, please see http://www.newtonfund.ac.uk/about/what-is-oda/.

Agreements for ownership and exploitation of intellectual property generated through project activities must be consistent with the primary aim of addressing development issues.

Under this call, the following research and innovation challenge areas will be given priority (unless specified further in Appendix 1 for individual countries). Multidisciplinary proposals are welcome, and may include social sciences and arts and humanities. The challenge areas are as follows:

• Agriculture, (e.g. irrigation, crop yields)
• Climate and environment, (e.g. climate change, green technology, sustainable development, ecosystem services, resource scarcity)
• Sustainable energy for all
• Education research for development
• Economic growth, (e.g. equitable growth, financial sector development, private sector development)
• Health, (e.g. HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, child mortality, maternal health)
• Water and sanitation
• Food and nutrition (including food security)
• Demographic change and migration

²As defined by the OECD DAC list of official development assistance (ODA) recipients. (http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/daclist.htm).

• Rural and urban development
• Infrastructure (including civil engineering, information and communication technologies, big data for social and economic development)
• Humanitarian disasters and emergencies, disaster risk reduction
• Resilient and connected communities
• Governance, society and conflict, (e.g. transparency, accountability, effective institutions, land and natural resource rights, poverty alleviation, social development, structural inequalities, violence and security, peace building, civil society)
• Development-relevant data collection, quality and access (including administrative data and macroeconomic statistics).

4.  Eligibility

Leading or Established Researchers may apply to be workshop Principal Applicants and must propose a theme for the workshop using the online application form (See Section 16. Application process). The proposal must be a joint application, with one Principal Applicant based at a UK institution and one based in the partner country. Applications must have the support of the home and partner institutions, confirmed by supporting letters uploaded in the online application. In this round, only one application may be submitted per Principal Applicant, but there is no limit to the number of applications submitted per institution.

Proposals must fulfil the following criteria in order to be eligible for funding under this Programme:

• Each proposal must have one Principal Applicant from the UK and one Principal Applicant from the partner country
• Both Principal Applicants must be Leading Researchers or Established Researchers
• Principal Applicants cannot assume role of workshop Mentors
• Principal Applicants must be permanent employees of one of the following (this means that Emeritus and Honorary Professors may not apply as lead):
  • A not-for-profit higher education institution unless specified otherwise in Appendix 1
  • A UK higher education institution (all UK higher education institutions are eligible)
  • A not-for-profit research organisation. A Catapult Centre (in the case of the UK Principal Applicant).
• Both of the Principal Applicants’ institutions (the ‘Lead Institutions’) must have the capacity to administer the grant where contracting requires
• Individual departments within a single institution can make multiple applications per call provided that the proposed activities are clearly different
• Principal Applicants may only submit one Researcher Links application per Researcher Links call.
• Principal Applicants that have received Researcher Links grants in previous years can submit further applications for Researcher Links provided the proposed activities are clearly distinct from, or build on, any already funded through the Newton Fund. In all cases the additionality must be clearly articulated in the application.
• Organisations affiliated to higher education institutions in the UK or any other country and based in the partner country, (e.g. an overseas campus) may apply as the Lead Institution in the partner country provided that other eligible higher education institutions or research organisations are also involved as Associated Partners in-country.
• Organisations cannot apply as Lead Institutions in Links with their own affiliates in other countries.

Not-for-profit higher education institutions or publicly-funded research organisations are eligible to  apply  as  Lead  Institutions.For-profit  organisations  and  not-for-profit  organisations  can participate in but are usually not eligible to apply for Researcher Links grants. Furthermore, for-profit organisations are not eligible to receive any grant funds.

If you are unsure about your organisation’s eligibility, for UK see the link at www.britishcouncil.org/education/science/current-opportunities/workshop-grants-newton-april- 2018

For partner countries, please contact the local British Council office.

Eligibility checks will be applied to all proposals on receipt. Proposals which are not led by a recognised not-for-profit higher education institution or a publicly-funded research organisation (unless specified otherwise in Appendix 1) will be rejected during these checks. Please see Appendix 2 for a full list of eligibility criteria.

5. Location of the workshops

It is expected that most workshops will take place in the partner country, (i.e. outside of the UK) unless indicated otherwise in Appendix 1. However, if there is a compelling reason for the workshop to take place in the UK, then this should be detailed in the proposal and agreed with the British Council.

6. Duration of the workshops

The minimum duration of a workshop is three (3) days and the maximum duration is five (5) days.

7. Timing of the workshops

Workshops must take place between 01 February 2019 and 31 January 2020.

Participation in the workshops

The two Principal Applicants must identify up to 4 Leading/Established Researchers (see  footnote on page 1 for a definition), two from each country, to act as mentors, but the remaining participants must be researchers at an earlier stage in their career. (Prinicipal Applicants cannot be identified as mentors as well). The maximum number of participants per workshop is 40 (including Principal Applicants, mentors and early career researchers). Participants must be based in the UK or in the partner country.

Workshop places must be allocated to early career researchers through an open call once the British Council has notified the applicants that their proposal has been successful. Criteria for the selection of early career researchers will be made available to Principal Applicants. However, we would expect early career researchers to have been awarded their PhD not more than 10 years prior to the workshop (or to have equivalent experience), but allowances can be made for career breaks or other extenuating circumstances. If a researcher does not hold a PhD but has research experience equivalent to a PhD holder and works in a field where a PhD is not a prerequisite for established research activity, they can still be considered eligible. Participants from for-profit organisations cannot be funded.

Role of the Principal Applicants: Principal Applicants submit the online application form along with a budget request, determine the workshop theme and shape the content/agenda of the workshop. Principal Applicants – overseen by the relevant British Council country office and in-country partners, if appropriate – will also be responsible for selecting early career researchers to participate in the workshop if the proposal is successful.

Under this call for proposals, Principal Applicants will be responsible for all organisational aspects of the workshop logistics (including travel arrangements for participants and booking of the workshop venue).

In most cases, the grant agreement will be signed by the UK Prinicipal Applicant’s home institution which will be responsible for the management of the grant (including financial reporting). However, in some countries this is subject to change and the final terms will be communicated to successful applicants.

Role of the Mentors: Established Researchers can give a limited number of keynote lectures but must also act as mentors to the early career researchers during the workshop. Ideally, they would also remain in contact with the early career researchers after the workshop has finished.

8. Language

Workshops will be held in English. It is expected that all participants will have a sufficient standard of English to engage fully in discussion. However, consideration should be given to non-native speakers.

9.  Thematic focus of the workshops

Workshops may be specific to a particular field of research or interdisciplinary in nature. Any relevant field of research can be covered, except where partner countries have indicated specific priority areas (please see Appendix 1 for country priority areas).

10.  Content of the workshop

Principal Applicants are expected to lead on developing the research content of the workshops. However, workshops are intended to be a career development opportunity with a focus on promoting international collaboration, and there are specific guidelines to facilitate this. The following is a brief overview, and more detailed guidance will be provided to successful applicants:

Sessions should be as interactive as possible, and all participants encouraged to share knowledge, experience and ideas. Principal Applicants and mentors should share their expertise.

Suggested sessions:

• Formal keynote lectures by thePrincipal Applicants and mentors. These must take up no more than a half-day in total (ideally spread over the workshop).
• Research sessions where the early career researchers are able to share their current research. This could be in poster format or oral presentations.
• Networking sessions where researchers are able to interact and explore opportunities for collaboration, (e.g. speed-networking sessions).
• Overview of the research base and funding opportunities: a brief introduction to the research base in the UK and partner country – how research is funded, size, strengths, international collaborative activity and links with industry.
• Career development opportunities in the UK and partner country. This could be an informal discussion amongst the researchers or a more structured look at career development.
• How to form international collaborations (intercultural skills, challenges, opportunities, best practice, ).
• Optional content within workshops (where appropriate these sessions would be welcome but applications will not be disadvantaged if they do not include them):
  • Depending on the research field or theme of the workshop, Principal Applicants may wish to include a session which invites industry or other non-academic partners to talk about cross-sector collaboration.
  • Public engagement activity/visit to a relevant research facility.

11. Recruitment of participants

Following the selection process, successful Principal Applicants will be responsible for recruiting participants to the workshops. Participants must be based in the UK or in the partner country.

Early career researchers recruited to participate in the workshop must have a PhD or equivalent research experience. There must be an open call for participants which must be disseminated through various defined channels³ (so that workshops are advertised as widely as possible). No more than a third of early career researchers from each country may be recruited from within the institutions of the Principal Applicants and mentors.

The selection of early career researchers to participate in the workshop must be fair and transparent. The British Council will provide a template application form for participants which Principal Applicants can adapt as appropriate, and British Council in-country teams will be available to offer advice and oversight where necessary.

The maximum number of participants per workshop is 40 (including Principal Applicants, mentors and ECRs).

Equal opportunities and diversity are at the heart of the British Council’s cultural relations ambitions. Principal Applicants are encouraged to work towards as equal a gender balance as possible, promote diversity, and ensure that no applicants are excluded from participation on the basis of ethnicity, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation or disability.

12.  Funding

The level of grant funding available from the Newton Fund depends on the country: please see Appendix 1 for country-specific limits.

A condition for accessing funds from the Newton Researcher Links programme is that match funding is secured from partners in some countries. For the April 2018 call, the British Council has secured match funding from most national funding agencies or other partners in each participating country. Please see Appendix 1 for more details for each country.

The grant contribution given to support the organisation of the Researcher Links workshops is calculated using a combination of flat unit rates per person and accountable costs.

Researchers and their institutions will be asked to keep and submit receipts and invoices to demonstrate their spend until 31 December 2027.

Full checks of supporting documentation will be carried out on a proportion of the grants.

Further monitoring and evaluation will also be carried out, to be specified in the grant agreement.

There are five budget categories: International travel, Domestic travel, Subsistence, Event costs per day and Additional workshop costs.

Please see Appendix 1 for maximum amounts that can be requested in each budget category. Applicants are required to provide a budget request upon submission of their proposal.

International travel

This is a contribution towards: travel costs to the country of the workshop visa costs, travel insurance and local transport to the workshop venue for international participants. It is calculated using a unit cost for each workshop participant, at the travel rate stated for the country where the workshop takes place.⁴ International economy class airfares should be booked by the workshop co-ordinators as far in advance as possible to minimise costs.

All workshop participants must take out adequate insurance. The British Council cannot take responsibility for any issues which occur when the participants are in-country.

³Examples of dissemination channels:

• Euraxess: https://wweuraxess.org.uk/
• UK Research Staff Association: https://wvitae.ac.uk/doing-research/research-staff/uk-research-staff-association

• British Institute at Ankara website: http://www.biaa.ac.uk/home/
• British Academy Africa Desk: http://www.africadesk.ac.uk/pages/home/

⁴Costs of any additional travel during the workshop – for international and domestic participants – may be covered using the subsistence budget.

Domestic travel

This covers costs of domestic travel to the venue for all workshop participants based in the country where the workshop takes place. The domestic travel contribution is calculated using a unit cost for each workshop participant and is specific to the country where the workshop takes place.

Subsistence

This covers the costs of accommodation, medical insurance and daily expenses such as phone and local transport. Subsistence is calculated using a unit cost for each workshop participant multiplied by the number of days of the workshop, and is specific to the country where the workshop takes place.

Event costs

This covers the costs of venue hire and meals. The event rate grant contribution is calculated using a unit cost for each workshop participant multiplied by the number of days of the workshop, and is specific to the country where the workshop takes place.

Contribution to additional workshop costs

Principal Applicants can request a sum to cover:

• Additional event costs not already covered, e.g. projector, flip charts and other materials needed for the organisation of the workshops (including networking and social activities).
• Administrative costs such as communications cost, printing costs and stationery.

Staff costs and honoraria cannot be covered by the Researcher Links grants.

Payment of the grant

The Newton Fund grant for Researcher Links workshops will be paid in 2 instalments: a 90% pre-financing payment will be paid within 30 days of signature of the Grant Agreement, and 10% post-workshop payment, or a recovery, on approval by the British Council of a final report submitted by the Principal Applicants. If the workshop has not been delivered as planned, or if fewer participants attended than originally envisaged, resulting in a reduction in costs, the final payment may be withheld and if necessary a proportion of the grant recovered.

The Researcher Links Grant Agreement will be signed by and the grant paid to one of the Principal Applicant’s home institutions, usually the UK. The grant recipient institution that signs the agreement will then be responsible for the management of the grant (including financial reporting). The final terms will be communicated to successful applicants.

Funding offered under the Researcher Links programme is intended as a contribution towards the costs of the workshops. Principal Applicants are expected to add a contribution in-kind towards the overall cost of the workshop by dedicating their time to the planning and delivery of the workshops.

Underspend

In cases where beneficiaries have spent less than the budget awarded, the underspend cannot be used for further research activity unless agreed by the British Council. Requests to utilise the underspend should be sent to UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org before additional expenditure occurs. Please note that you cannot request to repurpose the final 10% of the Grant where it is unspent at the time of preparing your final report. Requests to repurpose funding should be emailed to UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org no later than 31 January 2020.

13. Reporting

Principal Applicants must submit a final report within 30 days after the workshop as a condition of the grant. The final report template will be sent to successful applicants as part of the grant agreement and will include financial and narrative sections. Further details will also be provided to successful applicants in the detailed workshop guidelines.

Individual workshop participants will be asked to complete an online baseline survey, a baseline follow up survey six months after the workshop and a post workshop feedback questionnaire. Principal Applicants will be asked to send the link to the baseline survey to their participants and also to administer the post-workshop questionnaire.

14. Ethics and research governance

It is essential that all legal and professional codes of practice are followed in conducting work supported under this Programme. Applicants must ensure the proposed activity will be carried out to the highest standards of ethics and research integrity. Specifically, applications that involve research on animals, human participants, human tissue or patient/participant data must be accompanied by necessary permission certificates from the relevant local ethical review committees/authorities in the UK and the partner country, or an undertaking to obtain this permission in advance of the activity commencing. Failure to do so will result in applications being rendered ineligible and any funding already committed through this Programme being rescinded.

Please refer to the Research Councils UK ‘Policy and Guidelines on Governance of Good Research Conduct’ (http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/Publications/researchers/grc/), the InterAcademy Partnership report ‘Doing Global Science: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in the Global Research Enterprise’ (http://www.interacademycouncil.net/24026/29429.aspx) or contact us at UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org for further guidance.

15. Diversity

The British Council is committed to equal opportunities and diversity in all our activities. This includes avoidance of bias due to gender, disability, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or religious belief.

Co-ordinators are encouraged to work towards as equal a gender balance as possible and promote diversity, and must ensure that no applicants are excluded from participation on the basis of ethnicity, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation or disability.

Applicants may apply for funding to cover extra costs for such participation. Please email UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org with requested costs to cover the inclusion of under-represented groups for consideration, after you have submitted your application and quoting your unique application reference number.

Please contact us at UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org for further information on funding and for more on the British Council’s approach, see our Equality Policy at https://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/transparency/policies/equality-diversity-inclusion .

16. Application process

Applicants must submit a completed application form via the British Council online application system. Email submissions will not be accepted. The online form and a word  version      can           be                        found         on            the                opportunity                webpage (www.britishcouncil.org/education/science/current-opportunities/workshop-grants-newton-april- 2018 ). Word versions are for information only. Your application must be submitted using the online process.

Online application form: https://apply.gmt.britishcouncil.org/outreach/workbench.ofml

To commence your online application you will be required to register as a new user or if you registered in a previous call, simply log into your existing account with your login and password. As       a          new           registrant,      please             refer          to           our     Step     by          Step   Guide www.britishcouncil.org/education/science/current-opportunities/workshop-grants-newton-april- 2018 ). You will receive a password enabling you to log on to the application system. There are British Council application forms for several different programmes available.

Please ensure you select Apply for a Researcher Links Workshop Grant. (The system will only allow you to select one application so it is very important to select the correct application at this time).

The online application form allows applicants to enter information and save it for a later date until final submission. There are strict character limits for each section which cannot be exceeded.

In addition to filling in the online form, applicants are required to upload the following documents, as described, by the deadline. Late submission of supporting documents, or submission of documents which do not comply with these requirements, will render the application ineligible. Appeals against this decision will not be accepted. The documents are:

• Two signed letters of support for the workshop from the Head of Department (or equivalent). One letter   from   the   UK   institution   and   one   from   the   partner        (Letters must consist of approximately 400-500 words and be written on headed paper and uploaded in Word or pdf format. If the applicant is a Head of Department, another senior academic should sign the supporting letter).

The statements of support from the two Heads of Department must include reference to the Principal Applicants and comments on the following questions:

• Why is this research area important?
• Why do you want to make contact with the proposed partner institution?
• How will the link be sustained?

For the supporting letter from the home institution: if a researcher is not on a long term contract, please confirm that the research visit will result in a longer term collaboration

Please ensure the combined size of the documents does not exceed 5MB.

Any problems with the online submission system should be reported to the following email address: UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org.

Applicants must confirm on the online form that:

• Applicants have obtained permission to submit the application on behalf of the UK and partner country institutions
• The UK or partner country Principal Applicants’’ institution is willing to receive the funds and to sign a grant agreement with the British Council.
• Complied with British Council policies on prevention of fraud, bribery, money laundering and addressed any other financial and reputational risk that may affect a transparent and fair grant award process. See: https://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/transparency/policies/anti-fraud-and-corruption

Important: Once you submit, you will be able to edit your application up until the deadline (email UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org to request for your application to be re- instated). However, after the deadline you will not be able to edit your application in any way. Please also be advised that the UK Researcher Links Team do not have permission to make changes to your application. Any other documents sent late or separately will not be considered.

Once the online application is submitted, applicants will receive a confirmation email containing the application reference ID number and a pdf copy of the application and supporting documents. This acts as acknowledgement of receipt by the British Council system. This reference number must be used in all communications with the British Council. Applicants who have not received an automated email confirmation should contact the British Council at UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org.

17. Application assessment and notification of results

Applications will be assessed against the eligibility and quality criteria (Appendix 2 and 3). Applicants whose application is rejected at the eligibility stage will have one week to appeal against the decision.

18. Selection process

Selection begins with an eligibility check by the British Council against the eligibility criteria given in these Guidelines, including Appendix 1 and the Eligibility Checklist at Appendix 2.

Eligible proposals then undergo independent external quality review on the basis of quality, fit to development needs and country priorities and the overarching Researcher Links Workshops objectives.

Eligible workshop proposals will be assessed in the UK by one of five Review Panels:

• Arts and Humanities
• Biological and Medical Sciences
• Engineering and Physical Sciences
• Environment, Agriculture and Food Sciences
• Social Sciences.

Principal Applicants must indicate in their online application form which Review Panel their proposal should be assessed by, and the subject(s) their research covers. Up to 3 subject areas can be selected in priority order, but the applicant can indicate only one Selection Panel.

In the UK, Workshop proposals will be assessed by two reviewers against the quality criteria in Appendix 3. Each review results in a total score between 0 and 60. The final score will be decided by the Review Panel. Applications scoring less than 30 points will be considered not fundable. However, please note that achieving an average score of 30 or above does not imply that the proposal will be funded.

The final selection decision will be made in-country in collaboration with national stakeholders and partner funding organisations. National and partner research priorities will be considered in the final decision in addition to the general assessment criteria under this programme. Please  see Appendix 1 for priority areas by country.

As detailed previously in this guideline, only those proposals will be considered for funding that have clearly articulated relevance to the economic development and social welfare of low- and middle-income countries, benefitting poor and vulnerable populations in these countries.

Successful applicants will be notified approximately 4 months after the call deadline.

19. Call deadline

The submission deadline is 16:00 UK time on 08 June 2018. Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered for funding.

The deadline applies to all parts of your application, including upload of fully completed supporting documentation. Any applications which are not submitted in full by the deadline, with all required supporting documents, will be considered ineligible. Appeals against this decision will not be accepted.

20. Data protection

The British Council will use the information that you are providing for the purposes of processing your application, making any awards, monitoring and review of any award.

We shall share any necessary data on your application with the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and with our funding partners in your country in order to assist with management of the application process; any decisions on grants will be made in collaboration with them.

Organisation details, where collected, are used for monitoring and evaluation and statistical purposes. Gender information, where collected, is used solely in preparing statistical reports.

The British Council collects country of origin for reporting and statistical purposes and to contact you within your own country.

Under UK Data Protection law you have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold on you, and the right to ask us to correct any inaccuracies in that information. If you want more information about this please contact your local British Council office or the Data Protection Team at infogovernance@britishcouncil.org or see our website: http://www.britishcouncil.org/privacy- cookies/data-protection.

21. Applicant screening

In order to comply with UK government legislation, the British Council may at any point during the application process, carry out searches of relevant third party screening databases to ensure that neither the applicant nor any of the applicant’s employees, partners, directors, shareholders is listed:

• as an individual or entity with whom national or supranational bodies have decreed organisations should not have financial dealings;
• as being wanted by Interpol or any national law enforcement body in connection with crime;
• as being subject to regulatory action by a national or international enforcement body;
• as being subject to export, trade or procurement controls or (in the case of an individual) as being disqualified from being a company director; and/or
• as being a heightened risk individual or organisation, or (in the case of an individual) a politically exposed
• If the applicant or any other party is listed in a Screening Database for any of the reasons set out above, the British Council will assess the applicant as ineligible to apply for this grant call.

The applicant must provide the British Council with all information reasonably requested by the British Council to complete the screening searches. Please read the text to this effect on the application form and tick the box to show that you understand this.

22. Contractual requirements

• The contracting authority is the British Council which includes any subsidiary companies and other organisations that control or are controlled by the British Council from time to time (see:britishcouncil.org/organisation/structure/status).
• The successful applicants will be expected to undertake activities in the UK and in the Newton Fund countries listed in section 2 of the guidelines.
• The British Council is subject to the requirements of the UK Freedom of Information Act, (“FOIA”). Please indicate in your application whether FOIA also applies to your organisation, so that we can reflect this in the Grant Agreement should you be successful in your application.

• The British Council’s contractual approach in respect of the grant (Terms and Conditions of the Grant        Agreement)        (“Grant        Agreement”)        is        set        out        here: (britishcouncil.org/education/science/current-opportunities/workshop-grants-newton- april-2018 ). By submitting a response to this call for applications, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of these guidelines and the Grant Agreement without further negotiation or amendment.
• In the event that you have any concerns or queries in relation to the Grant Agreement, you should submit a clarification request to UK-ResearcherLinks@britishcouncil.org in accordance with the provisions of this call for applications by the application deadline. The British Council reserves the right not to make any changes to the Grant Agreement.
• The British Council is under no obligation to consider any clarifications / amendments to the Grant Agreement requested following the application deadline.

APPENDIX 1,  2 AND 3

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