The World Academy of Sciences
- for the advancement of science in developing countries
TWAS RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAMME
IN BASIC SCIENCES
FOR
RESEARCH UNITS
IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-LAGGING COUNTRIES *
GUIDE
Applicants are advised to read this guide to ensure that they fulfil all the requirements in preparing
applications and are familiar with TWAS general policies and guidelines concerning grants.
General Information
• The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) - for the advancement of science in developing countries –
www.twas.org – is an autonomous international organization founded in Trieste, Italy, in 1983. TWAS
represents the best of science in the developing world. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and
excellence for science-based development in the South.
• The administrative and financial operation of TWAS is undertaken by UNESCO, in accordance with an
agreement between UNESCO and the Italian government for TWAS.
• Since 1986, TWAS has been supporting scientists and institutions in developing countries through a wide
range of programmes that include providing merit-based grants to research projects.
• The TWAS Research Grants Programme in Basic Sciences for Research Units has been established in
response to the needs of research team leaders in developing countries, particularly those attached to
institutions that lack appropriate research facilities.
• Under this scheme, heads of research units in 81 Science and Technology Lagging Countries (S&TLCs)
working in the basic sciences are awarded grants to enable them to purchase the research equipment and
facilities they need to enhance their productivity.
• The specific aims of the programme are to encourage the pursuit of scientific excellence in S&TLCs by
identifying and supporting the best scientists in these countries; to reinforce and promote scientific research in
the S&TLCs; to strengthen the endogenous capacity in science and technology; and to counteract the brain
drain thus reducing the exodus of scientific talent from the S&TLCs.
• The TWAS Research Grants Programme in Basic Sciences complements that of the International Foundation
for Science (IFS). The two organizations maintain close contact to ensure the complementarity of the two
schemes and to avoid duplication.
• The programme is generously supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
(Sida) and the Italian government.
• A research grant to a research unit amounts to a maximum of US$30,000. Additional funds are available for
one of the young scientists within the research unit to attend one international conference during the lifetime
of the grant; for assistance with publishing in open access journals; and to support a full-time MSc student.
• A grant is normally provided for a period of 18 months.
• A grant may be used to purchase scientific equipment, consumables and specialized literature (textbooks and
proceedings only). The grant does not cover salaries of researchers and/or students, or field expenses. In
addition, the purchase of laptop computers and laboratory animals are not supported.
Subject Areas
• The Research Grants programme provides support for research projects in the following fields of basic
sciences: chemistry, mathematics, physics and basic biology.
Eligibility of Applicants
• Leaders of research units must be nationals of developing countries with a PhD and significant research
experience. The research unit should operate in a university or research institution in one of the 81 S&TLCs
and should include a minimum of the Principal Investigator (group leader), plus at least two PhD-qualified
researchers and a number of PhD and MSc students, technicians, etc. No age limit is applied to the unit’s
leader.
• Research units that submit a satisfactory final report on a previous grant may apply for a renewal.
Agreement
• On selection by an expert committee and approval by the TWAS executive director, a written agreement is
made between TWAS, the grantee and his/her institute. The institute undertakes to administer the grant
according to the agreement and to provide laboratory space, salaries and other facilities necessary for the
project. Equipment, consumables and literature provided for the project through the TWAS Research Grants
Programme remain the property of the institute after the project is completed.
• The research grant funds are kept at TWAS for the purchase of all items requested by the grantee. TWAS
contacts the supplier(s) upon receipt of proforma invoices submitted by the grantee in accordance with the
itemized budget.
• Research unit leaders are required to submit a final report within one year of receipt of the last items
purchased.
How to apply
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Complete the electronic application form using Microsoft Word or any other word-processing programme.
The first page of the application must be signed.
If extra space is needed, please attach separate Word or pdf documents.
Leaders of research units should send separately, as attachments, 2-4 page CVs and a full list of publications
of all scientists (including graduate students) working for the unit and who will be involved in undertaking the
proposed research project.
A researcher may only submit one application at a time and for only one kind of grant (e.g. individual,
research unit, research consortium or TWAS-COMSTECH) for consideration by TWAS.
Incomplete and/or unsigned applications cannot be considered.
Complete application form(s) together with CV(s) and list(s) of publications should be sent by email to
mahdavi@twas.org
TWAS will acknowledge receipt of an application within two weeks. If you do not receive an
acknowledgment within this period please contact:
Mrs M.T. Mahdavi
TWAS — ICTP Campus — Strada Costiera 11 — 34151 Trieste — Italy
Phone: +39 040 2240325 — Fax: +39 040 224559 — E-mail: mahdavi@twas.org
When to apply
• The deadline for receiving applications is 31 August each year. However, we strongly recommend that you
do not wait until the deadline but submit your application as early as you can to enable us to process your
application as quickly as possible.
Notification of TWAS decision
• The TWAS Research Grants Committees will meet at the end of March of the following year. Notification of
the results will be made shortly afterwards.
* COUNTRIES ELIGIBLE FOR THE GRANTS
Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape
Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, DPR Korea, Kyrgyzstan, the Lao People's Democratic Republic,
Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,
Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South
Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Tajikistan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,
Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Research Grants in Basic Sciences – Research Units
Application Form, page 1
PLEASE REPLY TO ALL QUESTIONS
AND ATTACH COMPLETE CVs AND LISTS OF PUBLICATIONS
This application is for a grant in (please select only one)
Biology ; Chemistry ; Mathematics ; Physics
This application is (please select only one)
First time application ; Renewal
1. Applicant (applications for grants to research units should be completed by the unit leader)
Select title and gender: Dr.
Prof.
male
Family name (as it appears in the publications)
female
Name and postal address of department and institution where the
project will be carried out
Personal name(s)
Nationality
Place of birth
Date of birth (Year/Month/Day)
Applicant’s coordinates
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Name of head of institution
Mailing address if different from the above institute
Name / position of immediate supervisor
2. Education (post graduate degrees earned after BSc)
MSc (date and institution)
PhD (date and institution)
3. Research Project
Project title
Short summary of the project (200 words max.)
Keywords (3 – 5 concepts)
Estimated budget for the proposed project (US Dollars)
Signature of the applicant
Date and location
SUPPORTING STATEMENT OF HEAD OF INSTITUTION
This application is approved and the facilities of the institution, including personnel, buildings, equipment and financial
resources will be provided to the applicant in accordance with the specifications within this application. I also agree that our
institution will comply with the ‘Declarations’ below.
Printed name and title
Place and date
Signature
4. Present Position
Position: Permanent ; Temporary ; Starting date:
Amount of time devoted to:
Teaching
%
Administration
%
Number of staff supervised:
Researchers
Graduate students
Research area(s) and/or other
responsibilities
Research
Technicians
%
Research Grants in Basic Sciences – Research Units
Application Form, page 2
5. Previous Position(s)
From – To (year/month)
Name and address of employer
Research area(s) and/or other responsibilities
6. List your 10 principal publications (also attach your CV and complete list of publications to the form)
7. h-index 1
Value
Source
8. Results already achieved by the applicant within the proposed project
9. Related work already in progress at your institution or at a cooperating institution
10. Objectives, scientific problems/hypotheses and expected outputs of the proposed research project
11. Relevance of the proposed research project to the institution and country
12. Project description, research design, time schedule and justification of the required equipment
13. Other members of the research unit (please attach 2-4 page CVs and a full list of publications for each person)
Surname, name
Date of birth
Gender
Position (PhD student, technician, etc.)
,
,
,
,
Highest degree awarded /
date
/
/
/
/
14. Referees (Give 2 or 3 names and addresses, including email addresses, of potential referees, preferably from outside your
institution, who are familiar with your work or subject area. TWAS may choose to contact these or other referees to review
your proposal).
Name:
Name:
Name:
Affiliation:
Affiliation:
Affiliation:
Email:
Email:
Email:
15. Previous support given to applicant
If yes, please specify below the type of support and the programme under which it was awarded.
TWAS ; ICTP ; IFS ; ISPP ; Other (specify)
1
The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar.
The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications. There are several
online resources you can use to directly calculate the h-index. The most established are ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus, both of which require a
subscription (perhaps via your institute), but there are free options too, one of which is Publish or Perish. Note, different databases, may provide slightly
different h-index values.
Research Grants in Basic Sciences – Research Units
Application Form, page 3
If under TWAS, please provide additional information (programme / year of award)
16. Facilities and funding for the research project
Facilities (localities, equipment) available for the research project. Other major costs supplied by the institution (salaries, etc.).
Other funding organizations (excluding applicant’s institution) from which applicant has received or applied for funds. Any
funding to the institution for proposed or related research (please specify name(s), date of application(s) or approval,
amount(s)
17. Estimated budget for the proposed research project
Items needed (please specify)
a.
Total cost (US$)
Amount requested (US$)
Equipment *
Subtotal a
b.
Consumable laboratory supplies
Subtotal b
c.
Literature (books or conference proceedings only):
Subtotal c
TOTAL (a+b+c)
* Requests for major pieces of equipment (costing more than US$3,000) should be supported with a suitable quotation.
18. Support for attending international conference
New for 2013: During the 18-month period of the grant, a young scientist (under the age of 45) working within the research
unit (i.e., listed in no. 13, above) may attend an international conference in their field. Up to US$2,500 is available to cover
airfares (by the most direct, economic route), visa and associated costs, registration fees and accommodation expenses. These
funds will be retained by TWAS until required but must be used within the 18 months of the grant award. They are not
transferrable, e.g. to buy equipment or consumables.
c.
a.
Proposed research unit member who will travel
b.
Proposed conference
Location (country/city)
Dates
Estimated travel expenses
d. Estimated visa costs
Will you be able to obtain a visa for the desired destination from an embassy/consulate within your country: Yes
e. Expected registration fee (if any)
f.
; No
Estimated accommodation costs
TOTAL (c+d+e+f)
USD
19. Support for publishing in open access journals
New for 2013: During the 18-month period of the grant, awardees are encouraged to publish their research results in open
access journals (a comprehensive list is available at ww.doaj.org). These funds will be retained by TWAS until required but
Research Grants in Basic Sciences – Research Units
Application Form, page 4
must be used within the 18 months of the grant award. They are not transferrable, e.g. to buy equipment or consumables.
a. Have you published in open access journals before: Yes
If ‘Yes’, which journals:
b.
; No
From your research proposal, which journal(s) might you expect to publish in
c.
How many papers do you expect to publish in the next 18 months?
d.
Estimated costs for publishing in the journal(s) list in ‘b’, above (in USD).
TOTAL estimated publishing costs (during 18 months of grant)
;
;
USD
20. Support for MSc student
New for 2013: During the 18-month period of the grant, research units may appoint an MSc student to the group.
If known, please provide the following details for 3 potential MSc fellowship candidates. (Full details will be requested from
successful applicants).
Brief summary of the MSc research project, including how it fits with the major proposal outlined in ‘10’ and ‘12’ above
(max. 250 words):
Surname:
; Name:
Date of birth:
Gender: male
Surname:
; Name:
Date of birth:
female
Gender: male
Surname:
; Name:
Date of birth:
female
Gender: male
female
Highest degree awarded:
Highest degree awarded:
Highest degree awarded:
Grade obtained:
Grade obtained:
Grade obtained:
Date obtained:
Date obtained:
Date obtained:
Awarding institution:
Awarding institution:
Awarding institution:
Estimated costs for: Registration
; Tuition
; Monthly stipend
; Other (please specify)
DECLARATIONS
Grant support from TWAS is contingent on the applicant adhering to international conventions and
declarations, especially with regard to ethical approval of medical or health research projects:




Projects involving human subjects must provide evidence of ethical approval by a responsible
authority in the country concerned;
In addition, projects involving clinical trials of drugs, vaccines or other pharmaceutical
preparations must provide approval by a drug regulatory authority or other responsible authority
in the country concerned. As the TWAS Research Grants in the Basic Sciences programme is
supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), in cases
where it is proposed to test Swedish products, approval from the Medical Products Agency
(Läkemedelsverket) in Sweden is also required;
Projects involving experiments with animals will be required to submit the approval of a
responsible authority in the country concerned or asked to justify why no such approval can be
submitted (e.g. in cases where no such authority exists). Note: TWAS does not provide funds for
the purchase of experimental animals.
If changes or additions are made to the original project plan, renewed ethical approval will be
required; and
Research Grants in Basic Sciences – Research Units
Application Form, page 5

In all award letters it will be made clear that the recipient scientist/institution is responsible for
ensuring that ethical approval in accordance with the above-mentioned rules is obtained before
the study is started and that Sida and TWAS retain the right to require that the recipient
scientist/institution has provided proof of ethical approval before the grant is disbursed.
Note: If available, such approvals should be submitted together with the application to TWAS.
Applications for projects without such prior approvals will be reviewed by TWAS’s expert committees.
However, appropriate documentation will be required before the provision of an award letter and funds
being made available.
Grant support from TWAS is also contingent on the researchers adhering to international conventions
and declarations with regard to intellectual property rights.
Namely:
 As regards patents and know-how, institutions and researchers collaborating in any research
project shall have access to all results and know-how obtained within the collaborative project.
Each party that has participated in the cooperation shall have the right to the patent in their own
name and at their own expense.
 The registration fees for any patent shall be divided equally between the participating
institutions. The participating institutions shall decide where any patent is to be registered.
 Should one of the collaborating institutions choose not to exercise its right to apply for a patent,
the other institutions will be given the option to do so in their own name and at their own
expense.
 Participating institutions shall have the right to equal shares of any revenue derived from grant
of user licences to third parties if the patent is registered by mutual agreement. The grant of user
licences and patent(s) shall be determined in each case by mutual agreement between the
participating institutions provided the participating institutions agree in delegating such a task to
one party.
ENCLOSURES CHECKLIST
Your application should include all the following items:
1)
Completed application form with signatures on page 1
2)
Any additional sheets
3)
Your 2-4 page CV plus a full list of your publications
4)
2-4 page CVs of others involved in the Research Unit, plus a full lists of their publications.
OTHER INFORMATION
How did you find out about TWAS Research Grants Programme? (please select only one)
Direct mailing to institution
TWAS website
TWAS poster, brochure or advertisement
Email announcement/circular
Word of mouth from colleagues
Other (please specify)