Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute

Millennium Development Goals Research Grant

Funds will be provided to a bi-national research team to undertake public policy relevant research toward one or more of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals are as follows:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

For more information on the Millennium Development Goals please click here. Grant recipients will be required to disseminate their findings, both to the academic and broader community.

Value:

$80,000

Number of Awards:

One grant will be awarded in 2009 for January 2010 to May 2012.

Eligibility:

The lead applicant must be an individual researcher/faculty member or research team affiliated with a Canadian or Indian member institution of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. The applicant must have a partner in the other country.

Application Requirements:

• A completed application form
• A summary description of the project (maximum 2000 words) including goals, activities proposed, timeline, research methodology, involvement of business, government and civil society organizations (if any) and dissemination strategy
• Budget with detailed breakdown of expenses and contributions by the host institution and other funding institutions (if applicable)
• Curriculum vitae of the principal organizer(s) and partners
• Applications must be submitted by email to

Evaluation Criteria:

Applications will be peer reviewed. An adjudicating committee will make the final decision concerning successful applicants based upon the following marking system:

1. Potential impact of the research on public policy related to the Millennium Development Goals (20 points)
   • Is the research’s relevance to the Millennium Development Goals convincingly demonstrated?
   • Does the research have the potential to influence larger development agendas?
2. Scholarship of the researchers (20 points)
   • Do the applicants have the necessary academic background and history of research and collaboration in the area of the proposal to ensure the success of the project?
3. Research model (20 points)
   • Are the project objectives clear and easy to conceptualize in operational terms?
   • Is the methodology proposed appropriate and convincing for achieving the project’s objectives?
4. Budget (10 points)
   • Are the resources allocated in the budget a realistic amount given the project’s planned activities?
5. Timeline (10 points)
   • Is the timeline well structured and does it allot the appropriate amount of time to achieve the project’s goals?
6. Integration of gender equality as a cross cutting theme to the research (10 points)
   • Do the design and methodology of the research take into account different gender roles, perspectives, interests, and priorities?
   • Is the project’s potential impact assessed from a perspective that recognizes gender inequalities and imbalances?
7. Integration of environmental sustainability as a cross cutting theme of the research (10 points)
   • Is the project’s potential impact assessed from a perspective that recognizes the environmental consequences of the work being undertaken?
   • Does the project propose to build capacity in a way that will ensure that environmental resources are preserved for future generations?
8. Potential for training researchers (5 points)
   • Does the project propose to involve researchers early in their careers and provide them with mentorship opportunities?
9. Strength of partnerships to be developed with the non-academic world (10 points)
   • Does the project propose to partner with business, government or civil society organizations in order to accomplish its goals?
   • Do the proposed partnerships have long-term viability beyond the scope of the research project?
10. Quality of the dissemination strategy (5 points)
    • Does the dissemination strategy include dissemination through multiple venues (i.e. publications, workshops, conferences, reports, etc)?
    • Does the dissemination strategy ensure that the research will reach a wide audience within and outside academia?
    • Will the dissemination strategy ensure that that the results of the research are practically applied?

Acceptable Expenses:

Travel and accommodation for participants, meals, communications costs (audio, video conferencing, promotional materials), organizational support, translation, copying and printing, dissemination of research, research assistant allowance, reasonable out of pocket expenses.

Travel expenses may either be for Canadians going to India or for Indians going to Canada or domestic travel for research purposes.

The Shastri Institute is not allowed by the funding agency to pay institutional overhead.

Disbursement of Funds:

45% of the grant will be disbursed upon receipt of a signed contract followed by 45% upon acceptance of a mid-term report (May 1, 2011) and 10% upon acceptance of a final report (May 1, 2012).

Application Deadline:

August 31, 2009
Applications must arrive at the Institute’s office by 4:30 p.m. Calgary or Delhi time. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants will be notified of the results by December 2009.

Application Form:

Application Form

Contact:

For more information, please contact the Calgary office:

Shastri Calgary Office
Education Tower 1402
2500 University Dr NW
Calgary AB T2N 1N4
Phone: (403) 220-7467
Fax: (403) 289-0100
Email:

Funding:

Funding for the Millennium Development Goals Research Project is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Print this page