Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – DAFM Call for Research Proposals 2015
1.
What is the timeframe for awarding funds under the Call?
Following receipt of the application forms (deadline for submission for all applications Thursday, 10th
December 2015 @1pm), acknowledgements will be issued. Stage 1 (Preliminary Assessment) of the
evaluation process will then be carried out and following on from this, Stages 2 and 3 (as outlined in
the guidelines) will be undertaken in Q1 2016 with a view to awarding funding in Q2 2016.
2.
Can RPOs in Northern Ireland participate?
DAFM has an agreement with DARDNI, which is undertaking to provide funding, subject to budget
availability, to Agri-Food Biosciences Institute, Queen’s University Belfast and University of Ulster in
successful projects that involve elements of Funding Instruments I to V only in Table 1 of the Call
Specification document and address those topics denoted by an asterisk (*) in Section 5 of that
document (further information on this is available from Ann McMahon, Science Advisory Branch,
DARD, email Ann.McMahon@dardni.gov.uk ). Please note that the NI grant request must be
included in ‘Max. Grant Request’ figure in € as set out in Table 1 of the Call Specification document.
3.
Can Industry participate in this Research Call?
Under the eligibility requirements for Call 2015, industry involvement is encouraged and welcomed
on a self-financing basis subject to not compromising the ‘public good’ nature of the research and
compliance with the national IP Protocol. In addition, as stated in the Call Specification, in the 2015
Thematic Coordination Network (Pilot), “the involvement of a no. of agri-food companies, in
particular SMEs and /or umbrella representative organisations is also encouraged”.
Essentially for now, if you want to become engaged in a DAFM supported research project, it must
be via collaboration with an approved RPO and must be self-financing unless you are able to provide
a service required by the project which no public RPO eligible for funding under this call is able to
provide (in which case you can get funded as a provider of external assistance to a public RPO under
contract).
4.
When is external assistance/sub-contracting permitted and on what terms?
As these are ‘public good’ measures primarily targeted at research institutions, every effort must be
made in the first instance to assemble all the expertise, services & facilities needed to undertake the
project from within the public institutions. However, where such expertise/service/facility does not
exist in a public research institution eligible for funding under this call, it may be included (and
funded) on a contract basis. In such circumstances the contractor will be deemed as simply
providing a service in exchange for an agreed fee (detailed breakdown required in Budget
Sheet/Table) paid through the public research institution. The contractor will have no entitlement
whatsoever to any knowledge, intellectual property, authorship of Journal peer review papers, etc
emerging from the project. The estimated cost, including a breakdown of costs for individual items
is required however a possible supplier should not be named at the application stage as the relevant
procurement rules will have to be adhered to, should the application be successful.
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5.
Where Institutions have multiple sites throughout Ireland, does each individual site
qualify as a public RPO is its own right?
No. In this situation it is the overarching RPO body that is the designated RPO. The individual sites do
not qualify as RPOs in their own right.
6.
Has DAFM set aside a certain amount of money for each type of project categorised in
Table 1 of the 2015 Call Specification document?
Monies have not been ring-fenced/distributed for each type of project categorised in Table of the
2015 Call Specification document (i.e. Small, Standard project etc.). The distribution of monies
between types of projects will depend on the project proposals received by DAFM and the outcome
of the assessment of these project proposals.
7.
Will a desk study proposal only be accepted where specified in the Call Specification?
No. Desk studies can be submitted for any research area, however if a desk study has been specified
then only a desk study will be accepted.
8.
Are the academics on the expert evaluation panel (stage 2 of the assessment of proposals)
based in Irish research institutions?
Academics on the expert evaluation panels are internationally recognised in their field and are from
institutions outside of Ireland. All members of the expert evaluation panels sign confidentiality
agreements and where necessary sign conflict of interest statements.
9.
Is it acceptable for project to have more than one Project Coordinator?
No. Only one Project Coordinator per project is allowed. Under no circumstances will more than one
Coordinator be permitted.
10.
Can the Principal Investigator be a Contract Researcher?
No. The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a permanent member of staff.
In addition the employment status of staff working on a project in collaborating institutions is not a
matter for DAFM. It is the responsibility of the Project P.I./Coordinator to ensure that staff involved
in collaborating institutions have contracts of sufficient duration to cover the tasks.
11.
Will more than one project in a specific area be funded?
Clearly we do not plan to fund more than one project dealing with any single specific research issue.
However it is possible, when due consideration is given to where there are real differences in the
scope of fundable projects in the same area and depending on the size of the fundable projects that
more than one project may be funded subject to the budget available to DAFM. Accordingly, limited
amounts of general subject overlap may arise but this will be kept to a minimum and any
unnecessary and improper duplication eliminated. Furthermore it could give rise to the need to
merge parts of or even full projects at the contract negotiation stage.
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12.
Would DAFM favour more PhDs on a project or more Masters Students?
For a small project the preference is for Masters Students. For mainstream projects DAFM are not
looking specifically for Masters Students.
13.
With regard to Desk based studies, are taught Masters or Research Masters acceptable?
Both are acceptable however a research Masters is preferable.
14.
With regard to Thematic Research Area B.1.1 there are a number of topics listed. Does a
single proposal have to cover all these topics?
No, these are all individual topics within a research area, therefore proposals can address these
topics individually however a single proposal addressing one or more of these topics is also perfectly
acceptable.
15.
Is it possible to combine two Thematic Research objectives in one application?
Yes. Both Research objectives should be referenced in the application form.
16.
With regard to Research Plus applications does the proposal have to relate to a specific
FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project?
Yes. An objective of the Research Plus programme is to build on and add value to the outputs of
recently completed (within the last 24 months) or nearly completed (within the next 12 months)
FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD projects.
17.
Will more than 1 Research Plus application be considered that relates to a single previous
FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project?
Multiple applications relating to a single previous project will be considered however one application
would be preferred.
18.
Do DAFM fund programme managers?
DAFM will only fund a programme manager under funding instrument V.
19.
Are there guidelines on the costing of the programme manager?
The costing of the programme manager should be commensurate with their role and contribution to
the programme. The costing should be clearly justified and will be robustly evaluated as part of the
overall proposal.
20.
Does DAFM fund employer pension contributions?
DAFM does fund employer pension contributions (where applicable) under these competitive
programmes so employer pension contributions should be included in your budget, if applicable.
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21.
What Overhead rates are applicable?
DAFM will fund up to 30% of direct costs of scientific type research not including equipment and
subcontracting costs and up to 25% for desk-based socio-economic /policy type analysis, and
Research Plus.
22.
What pay scales should be applied when costing staff for the proposal?
DAFM will fund contributions to salaries of staff contracted to work on the project, commencing at
the minimum point of the appropriate pay scale for new entrants. While in general, our research
funding programmes are primarily focused on early stage researchers DAFM recognises that staffing
must be commensurate with the scope and nature of the research involved.
Accordingly, recognising that the complexity, sophistication, and responsibility of some research is
such that a more experienced individual is warranted, DAFM will, in a limited number of cases
consider a more senior researcher again at the minimum point of the appropriate scale. The
proposed use of more experienced researchers must be comprehensively justified in the application
proposal i.e. it must be demonstrated that the research work is sufficiently complex, sophisticated
and/or involves a significantly higher level of responsibility and this will be taken into account as part
of the evaluation process.
23.
Will equipment be funded under the Research Call?
Yes (with the exception of the Research Plus initiative), provided all proposed equipment is
demonstrated to be wholly necessary for the project and that all other options (e.g. sharing existing
facilities) have been fully explored. In order to assess the availability of large pieces of research
equipment in Ireland, the HEA’s large items of research equipment database should be interrogated
(http://www.hea.ie/content/large-items-research-equipment-database). The estimated cost,
including a breakdown of costs for individual items is required however a possible supplier should
not be named at this stage as the relevant procurement, where appropriate, rules will have to be
adhered to, should the application be successful. Also the need for the proposed equipment will be
assessed as part of the evaluation process.
24.
Will the Department fund any servicing of equipment or maintenance contracts?
No. The DAFM contribution towards Overheads should cover such costs.
Research & Codex Division
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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