Call for Applications:

 

ESRC- ICSSR India-UK Scholar Exchanges 2010

 

 

The UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) invite applications from established scholars for funded academic visits of 1-3 months to recognised research organisations (ROs), including universities and research institutes, in either country to undertake clearly specified research collaborations between themselves and their own research centre and research centres in the alternate country (either India or the UK).

 

Applications may be made on the attached application form for periods of visits between 1 and 3 months:

a)   For Indian scholars to visit a UK research group or centre

b)      for UK scholars to visit an Indian research group or centre

 

 

1.            Applicants should be the Lead Collaborators in the host country that Exchange Scholars wish to make the visit to. The Lead Collaborator should be an established scholar of postdoctoral status who is a secure member of staff at the host Research Organisation, with a recognised international standing in their field. The Lead Collaborator and Exchange Scholar should work together to complete the application form, which should be submitted to the Council in the host country.

2.            Exchange Scholars must be ordinarily resident in the appropriate country and employed, with an appointment of at least three years, in a research or academic position in a recognised Research Organisation in that country.

3.            They must also hold a PhD or equivalent qualification, and have held this for at least three years by April 2010 (i.e. since at least April 2007).

4.            The Lead Collaborator in association with the host Research Organisation must attach a letter of invitation, indicating clearly that they welcome the visitor, and provide research facilities to him/her.

5.           The Lead Collaborator and the host Research Organisation should undertake to make all the necessary practical and administrative arrangements for the exchange visit, and to provide the lead intellectual partner or mentor role for the exchange scholar during their visit. In addition, by supporting the application the host research centre or group makes a commitment to work towards research collaboration with the visiting scholar and the partner Research Organisation. Successful applications will normally be based in departments with clear international recognition in their fields.

6.                  Previously successful applicants under this scheme are not invited to re-   apply.   

 

7.         The purpose of this scheme is to strengthen the quality and potential of research in both countries by building greater research interaction. This scheme is for staff after the initial period of academic or research appointment, up to senior professors.

 

8.         The Councils are particularly interested in applicants about to be able to make major contributions in their research area.  In this first round of exchange grants, the Councils are concerned to encourage applicants who have established, begun to establish, or are on the verge of establishing, international recognition in their research field.

 

9.            Applicants are not expected or required to be working on research topics specifically concerned with India or the UK (though this is not excluded), but on any topic across the whole social sciences or related areas (see 12 and 13 below).

 

10.            Applicants should be able to demonstrate:

§         The strength of their own personal research and that of their research group / centre in the proposed area of collaboration

§         The potential added value of developing and strengthening the link between their own work, and that of their group/centre, with that of the related research group(s) or centre(s) in India or the UK

§         The particular research work they would undertake during their scholarship exchange, and the potential added value of this

§         The potential longer term value of collaboration which might be expected from building collaboration between the two research groups

 

11.       ESRC and ICSSR will provide:

§         Reasonable international travel costs between the two Research Organisations

§         Related costs such as visa arrangements, travel and medical insurance

§         The costs of residential accommodation to be provided by or on behalf of the host Research Organisation for the period of the stay

§         Some internal travel costs for the period of the stay where a case is made for links with related groups in other parts of the country

§         Additional subsistence and support costs up to a maximum of £1,500 in the UK and 100,000 rupees

§         The total value of the grant may not exceed £8,000 for visitors to the UK or 500,000 rupees for visitors to India

 

12.       The Councils expect to be able to make up to 10 grants during 2010, with arrangements for the visit to be completed by not later than December 2010, and the visit to be taken up during academic year 2010-11. The Councils expect but do not require that five of the exchange visits will be to the UK and the other five to India.

 

13.       The grants for all the costs covering the exchange visits in the host country will be made directly to the host Research Organisation in the country to be visited. These will be made by the ICSSR to host Research Organisations in India, and by ESRC to host Research Organisations in the UK. The cost of international travel for British scholars will be covered by ESRC and for Indian scholars – by ICSSR.

 

14.       There is no fixed focus to the subjects in which the exchanges might be based, and the Councils are interested in these across the social sciences - covering economics, economic and social history, education, demography, development and area studies, environmental studies, human geography, law and social science, linguistics, management and business studies, pedagogy, political science, psychology, social anthropology, sociology, social policy, social statistics, and computing for social sciences.

15.       The Councils will however be particularly but not exclusively (as indicated above) interested in applications in such areas as:

            i.            Survey research and social & economic data analysis;

            ii.            Economic restructuring and social equality and integration;

            iii.             Environmental sustainability, resources and climate change;

            iv.             Emerging issues in the measurement of health and wellbeing;

            v.             Education, learning and childhood development;

            vi.             Population mobility and workforce changes.

 

16.            Application for Indian scholars wishing to visit UK should be sent by the UK Lead Collaborators and host Research Organisations to Records Management in hard copy and email attachment to ESRC international and ICSSR.  Application for UK scholars wishing to visit India should be sent by Indian Lead Collaborators and host Research Organisations to ICSSR and ESRC international via email. They must reach ESRC or ICSSR by not later than:

            4pm (16.00) on Tuesday 13 April 2010.   

 

17.            Applications will be acknowledged.  If they are not acknowledged within 10 working days of submission applicants should not assume that they have been received. Applications to the ESRC will be shared with the ICSSR who will eventually fund any grants to India, and similarly those to the ICSSR will be shared with the ESRC

 

18.       If you need any further advice or information about the scheme before applying you may contact:

           

At ESRC

Stephanie Remola

e-mailstephanie.remola@esrc.ac.uk

          Telephone +44 1793 41 3146 or

CraigCraigBardsley: mailto:craig.bardsley@esrc.ac.uk

At ICSSR

Dr  K N Jehangir

e-mail:  knjehangir@hotmail.com  

Telephone +9111  2674  2351

 

19.       It is intended to make announcements about outcomes by not later than 31 August 2010. Grants will need to be taken up during academic year 2010-11, and at the latest by 30 September 2011, or the offers will lapse.

20.       All applications will be referred to the ICSSR-ESRC Joint Advisory Committee for final decision. The ICSSR-ESRC Joint Advisory Committee will consist of a number of senior academics across the social sciences. Panel assessors (or specialist advisors appointed for them) will evaluate the proposals on the basis of academic merit, taking into account originality, relationship to existing research in the field, the scholarly importance of the research proposed, the suitability of the methodology, the feasibility of the research programme, the specificity of the scheme of research, the presentation, and the intended outcomes. Assessors will evaluate the ability of the investigator(s) to undertake the proposed research, taking into account their track record of scholarly publication and their academic standing. They will particularly look at the potential for building strong collaborations of potentially leading-edge international work on the back of the proposed exchange.

21.       Grants to Indian host Research Organisations will be made by the ICSSR, and similarly grants to UK host Research Organisations will be made by ESRC. The Councils will however make joint decisions on all applications.  While the aim is a balanced set of exchanges in each direction to and from both the UK and India, the final outcome will be determined by the quality of applications.  

22.       Successful applicants will be required to provide:

1) An End of Grant Report submitted three months after the end of the grant; it will provide the information required by the ESRC in order to pay the final claim on the grant.

2) A new and succinct Impact Report will be submitted 12 months after the end of the grant. This will ask for information about the project’s scientific and (where appropriate) practical impact.