Italy-South Africa Joint Research Programme 2022: Within the framework of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the Republic of South Africa, signed in Pretoria on 15 January, 1998 and entered into force on 19 February 2000, the Directorate General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation – Office IX of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (herein after MAECI), and the South African Department of Science and Innovation (herein after DSI) and the National Research Foundation (herein after NRF), hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”, are opening a call for proposals for a new Executive Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the years 2023 – 2025, known as “ISARP – Italy-South Africa Joint Research Programme”.
When is the Application Deadline:
Consult the General Application Guide
Tell Me About Italy-South Africa joint Research Programme:
Within the framework of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the Republic of South Africa, signed in
Pretoria on 15 January, 1998 and entered into force on 19 February 2000, the Directorate General for
Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation – Office IX of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation (herein after MAECI), and the South African Department of Science and
Innovation (herein after DSI) and the National Research Foundation (herein after NRF), hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”, are opening a call for proposals for a new Executive Programme of Scientific
and Technological Cooperation for the years 2023 – 2025, known as “ISARP – Italy-South Africa Joint
Research Programme”.
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Structure and aims of ISARP
ISARP offers two different funding schemes implemented on a co-funding model between Italy and South
Africa. The two schemes to apply for are:
- Joint Research Projects (JRP) Funding Scheme: where research activities between researchers are co-funded by the two Parties. JRP grants are aimed at promoting collaborative projects with clearly defined goals involving at least one partner based in Italy and one based in South Africa. Applications should describe ambitious research activities and propose innovative approaches. Applicants are encouraged to ensure that their research have relevance and potential for impact beyond the academic world, such as in societal, technical, economical, or cultural realms. The research is to be carried out at the research facilities involved.
- Research Staff Exchange (RSE) Funding Scheme: joint research projects where only the expenses for researchers’ mobility are co-funded by the two Parties. RSE grants aim at supporting staff exchange within the context of bilateral joint research activities either selffunded or independently funded by other entities. Only expenses relating to mobility between the two countries are funded by both Parties under this scheme. This scheme is particularly indicated for emerging researchers (including postdoctoral researchers and researchers who are not older than 40-years on time of application and who have received their PhDs within the past 7-years).
Further details on each funding scheme, including priority research areas, are given in the following text.
Which Fields are Eligible?
Proposals, for both funding schemes, must be submitted in one of the following priority research areas:
- Agricultural biotechnologies
- Artificial intelligence and High Performance Computing (HCP)
- Astrophysics and radio astronomy
- Environmental technologies for water resources and/or integrated waste management
- Health research
- Renewable energy and community energy
Proposals outside the above-mentioned thematic areas of focus will not be considered for evaluation. Not all of the above listed research areas shall be necessarily funded, depending on the scientific quality of the submitted proposals.
What Type of Scholarship is this?
Research
Who can apply for Italy-South Africa joint Research Programme?
Each proposal under this Programme must have one main applicant based in Italy and one main applicant
based in South Africa; they are the Principal Investigators (PI) on the Italian and South African sides
respectively. They bear the main responsibility for the project including its technical and administrative
coordination as well as timely delivery of scientific and financial reports. The following eligibility criteria
also apply to all proposals:
- Proposals for both the JRP and RSE must be written in English.
- Proposals for both the JRP and RSE must have the same duration of the Executive Programme: 3
years (2023 – 2025).
Each PI is allowed to submit only one proposal and apply to only one funding scheme, under
penalty of exclusion.
- Additional partners based in Italy and/or in South Africa can also participate in the joint projects.
Applicants are allowed to collaborate with other partners such as NGOs or companies, but no
funding can be applied to these. - Former PIs are welcome to participate in the call however, the project should not only be a
continuation of the current/past project.
ITALY - The call is open to public or private (no-profit) research institutions.
- The PI must have Italian or any other EU nationality, legal residence in Italy, and must work in a
public or private (no-profit) Italian research institution with a permanent position or a temporary
position covering at least the entire duration of the proposed project. - The PI is invited to carefully check the eligibility of the South African counterpart (see following
paragraph and Annex 2). - For projects presented by IRCCSs, to accelerate the eligibility check process, the Ministry of Health
(MoH) will grant an eligibility clearance to the applicants before the submission of the proposals.
To that end the PIs must fill out and return an eligibility check form through Workflow della
Ricerca (WdR System), using ER communication code, before submitting their proposals to the
MAECI. Applicants therefore must adhere to the Italian MoH regulation reported in Annex 1.
SOUTH AFRICA - This call is open to working researchers residing in South Africa and affiliated with a recognised
higher education or research institution such as a university, university of technology, science
council, museum or other research institutions as declared by the DSI. - The South African applicants and co-applicants must be in possession of a PhD to be eligible.
- Private higher education institutions are not eligible to apply under this programme.
- Researchers from SMEs, private companies/industries, and NGOs cannot serve as PIs but can form
part of the joint projects and will be expected to meet their own costs of participation in the joint
projects. The NRF grants cannot be used to support these researchers. - South African PIs applying under the JRP Funding Scheme and based at historically advantaged
institutions are required to include, as part of the joint project, a research partner from any of the
historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs) in order to be eligible. - Applicants based at an HDI, science council (including any of the NRF research facilities), and
South Africa’s two new universities (i.e. Sol Plaatje and Mpumalanga) can act as PIs and submit
proposals without the involvement of and/or partnering with researchers based at historically
advantaged and disadvantaged institutions if they so wish. - Please check Annex 2 for further details about specific requirements for South African applicants.
Which Countries are Eligible?
Italy, South Africa
Where will Award be Taken?
Italy, South Africa
How Many Grants will be Given?
A maximum of 15 projects (5 JRP and 10 RSE) will be funded for this call
What is the Benefit of Italy-South Africa joint Research Programme?
Researchers should ensure that all expenses are calculated and covered in line with the rules and
regulations in force in each country (SEE IN LINK BELOW!)
How Long will the Program Last?
The projects will be supported for a period of three years, starting in 2023 till the end of 2025.
How to Apply for Italy-South Africa joint Research Programme:
SEE IN LINK BELOW!
It is important to go through all application requirements before applying.
