Form OERRG3A
A.
2015
CASE FOR SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH PROJECT
In the application package to be submitted, Tiers 1 and 2 applicants are to include a Case for
Support of no more than 20 A4 typewritten pages - full-sized type font (not Arial Narrow), font
size 10-12, double-spaced, with a margin of at least 2 cm on all sides. There is a maximum
allowance of 4 additional pages for references, appendices and any tables or diagrams.
Tier 3 applicants are to submit a Case for Support of no more than 23 A4 typewritten pages,
including a write-up that provides details of the different phases of the proposed project.
Descriptions of the aims, milestones and deliverables for each phase should be included, along
with clear and compelling justifications for the requested budget in each of these phases. There is
a maximum allowance of 4 pages including references, appendices and any tables or diagrams.
It is the prerogative of the review committee to reject proposals that do not meet the page limit.
In addition, it is important for all applicants to address most, if not all, the issues highlighted
below:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Engage in substantive literature review in a particular area of foci;
Develop a coherent argument for why certain trends and gaps arising from the literature
review and situational analysis in the local context are needed;
Design studies to address these gaps with clear articulation of the research goals;
Propose a number of interventions to bridge these gaps;
Specify the manpower requirements according to a proposed timeline to successfully
complete points 3 and 4; and
Delineate the key deliverables and KPIs which can be expected from this funding.
Your Case for Support should also include the following items:
I.
Purpose
State the objectives of the research, their order of importance, the novelty and timeliness
of the research, and if collaboration is involved, an assessment of the possible benefits of
the collaboration. The objectives can be copied and pasted from above but additional
explanation is expected here.
II.
Relevant Findings to MOE / NIE / OER’s Goals and Directions
Explain how the research is related to MOE / NIE / OER’s strategic research thrust and
programmes and / or how it is situated in the larger picture of MOE / NIE / OER’s research
roadmap (refer to the Research Programme and Niche Areas in Appendix A of the MOE
Academies Fund Guide – OERRG3A - 1) in the proposed areas. If possible, state how it fits
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Form OERRG3A
2015
with other existing MOE / NIE / OER projects in contributing to the MOE / NIE / OER’s
research programmes.
III.
Literature Review
If your project is motivated by concepts that you have gleaned from research literature,
please offer the reviewers an insight into such research literature and a literature review of
related work. However, if the basis of your project is either your past professional
experience in research, teaching, policy and implementation or relevant work
elsewhere/collaborating agency, you may include them in this section to give credibility for
the application of the current project.
This section must give the reviewers a clear indication that your research is well founded
and based on solid principles.
For those who have indicated “On-going” or “Continuation of Previously Completed
Project” under “Type of Application” (section 1o), please explain how the previously funded
projects provide the basis and justification for this application.
IV.
Research Design
(i)
Research Questions
State the phenomenon to be studied, and elaborate the research questions to be
answered by the proposed research. Ensure that the research questions are clear and
specific. Provide details on how the research questions stated would be addressed. If
the research questions are emerging, please justify.
For baseline studies, describe where the gaps are and how you intend to address
them for literature review.
For intervention projects, whenever applicable, describe the refinements,
adaptations and changes, with regard to:
a)
Design specifications
b)
Professional development work / framework
c)
Curriculum and assessment resources / package
d)
Prototypes
e)
Scale-up plan
f)
Elaborate on how your research might align with OER research agenda; refer to
Appendix A of the MOE Academies Fund Guide (OERRG3A - 1) for the list of
Niche Areas of the 3rd Tranche of funding.
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Form OERRG3A
2015
Note: Figures / diagrams / pictures or any other extra information can be attached as
Appendices.
(ii)
(iii)
Research Methodologies
Clearly and briefly describe and justify the research methodologies to be used,
showing what alternatives have been considered and why the chosen methods were
preferred; strengths and appropriateness of the chosen research methodology;
whether the investigation is to occur in stages and if these will be sequential or in
parallel; known constraints that may affect the research.
Research Implementation Schedule
Describe the research stages and tasks. List the on-going milestones and the final
deliverables for the project. Milestones should indicate concrete progress expected
on the project (e.g. 75% of data collection complete, artefacts from two schools
scanned and catalogued); deliverables are evidence of that progress (e.g. transcripts
filed, artefacts documented). In some cases, the milestones / deliverables will
overlap; in all cases these must be identifiable and traceable as they will be used to
assess the yearly progress of the research as well as the satisfactory completion of
the project as a whole. Examples of possible deliverables (in alphabetical order) are
the following:

Appointment of staff (advertisements placed, Research Associates/Assistants hired,
trained etc)

Attendance at conferences (proposals submitted, proposals accepted, presentations
given)

Completion of interim reports

Completion of technical report, manuals etc

Consultants’ advice

Data collection / data entry (number of schools in progress, number of schools
completed; percentage of data collected etc)

Data entry / analysis (percentage of data entered, type and amount of data analysis
completed)

Dissemination of preliminary results (progressive) and how

Selecting research site and participants

Transcription (percentage of transcripts contracted, completed, verified)

Writing of papers (papers submitted, papers published)
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Form OERRG3A
2015
Please refer to the Gantt chart template below. Please indicate the estimated timeline
for the project in the template and upload it to ROMS.
V.
Competitive / Comparative Advantage
Indicate the competitive / comparative advantage the research team has in the proposed
areas of research. The research experience of the applicant and the team members
should be specified.
VI.
Description of Principal Investigator’s and Team Members’ (including Co-Principal
Investigators, Collaborators and Consultants) Effort Level in Project
Justify the needs and the roles of the team members, including Principal Investigators, coPrincipal Investigators, collaborators and consultants, and provide quantitative and
qualitative descriptions of their commitment to the projects. The quantitative information
can be provided in Section (2a) of the MOE Academies Fund Form (OERRG3A) but prose
descriptions are also expected.
* The contribution is based on number of hours per week the team members contribute
to the project. The number of hours is based on 4 hours or multiple of 4 hours for each
team member e.g. 4 hours per week and 8 hours per week. Collaborators, who are NIE
staff members, are not expected to spend more than 4 hours per week on the project. PIs
are required to give detailed explanation of the number of hours on the project.
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Form OERRG3A
2015
B. CASE FOR SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
In the application package to be uploaded in the Research Operation Management System
(ROMS), Tiers 1 and 2 applicants are to include a Case for Support of no more than 25 A4
typewritten pages (including references, appendices and any tables or diagrams) – full-sized type
font (not Arial Narrow), font size 10-12, double-spaced, with a margin of at least 2 cm on all sides.
Tier 3 applicants are to include a Case for Support of no more than 30 A4 typewritten pages
(including references, appendices and any tables or diagrams). It is compulsory for Tier 3
applicants to include in the Case for Support, an appendix (not more than 3 pages in length) that
provides details of the different phases of the proposed project. Descriptions of the aims,
milestones and deliverables for each phase should be included, along with clear and compelling
justifications for the requested budget in each of these phases. It is the prerogative of the review
committee to reject proposals that do not meet the page limit.
Your Case for Support should broadly cover the following items:
I.
Purpose
(i)
State the overall purpose and the clear outcomes/deliverables of the development
describing clearly what you intend to develop, their order of importance, the
novelty and timeliness of the development. If collaboration is involved, please
provide an assessment of the possible benefits of the collaboration. The objectives
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Form OERRG3A
2015
can be copied and pasted from the application form but additional explanation is
expected here.
(ii)
Challenges/Problem
Elaborate on the challenge(s)/problem(s) the project aims to address.
(iii)
Solution
Elaborate on how the proposed solution will be carried out in your project and
what are its advantages over other solutions.
Note: Figures / diagrams / pictures or any other extra information can be attached
as Appendices.
II.
Relevant Findings to MOE / NIE / OER’s Goals and Directions
Explain how the development is related to MOE / NIE / OER’s strategic thrusts and
development programmes. If possible, state how it fits with other existing MOE / NIE / OER
projects in contributing to the MOE / NIE / OER’s research programmes (refer to the
Research Programme and Niche Areas in Appendix A of the MOE Academies Fund Guide –
OERRG3A - 1).
III.
Review of Research Literature or other Relevant Past Experience
If your project is motivated by concepts that you have gleaned from research literature,
please offer the reviewers an insight into such research literature and a literature review of
related work. However, if the basis of your project is either your past professional
experience in research, teaching, policy and implementation or relevant work
elsewhere/collaborating agency, you may include them in this section to give credibility for
the application of the current project.
This section must give the reviewers a clear indication that your research is well founded
and based on solid principles, especially the nature of development (i.e. ideation/proof of
concept, translation, scaling, and knowledge management).
For those who have indicated “On-going” or “Continuation of Previously Completed
Project” under “Type of Application” (section 1o), please explain how the previously funded
projects provide the basis and justification for this application.
IV.
Development Design
Implementation Plan
Elaborate on the implementation plans by making reference to the Gantt chart below.
Describe the key development stages and tasks. Include the on-going milestones and the
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Form OERRG3A
2015
final deliverables for the project. Milestones should indicate concrete progress expected on
the project (e.g. 75% of software development complete, artefacts from two schools
collected); deliverables are evidence of that progress (e.g. software designed, artefacts
documented). In some cases, the milestones / deliverables will overlap; in all cases these
must be identifiable and traceable as they will be used to assess the yearly progress of the
research as well as the satisfactory completion of the project as a whole. Examples of
possible deliverables (in alphabetical order) are the following:

Appointment of staff (advertisements placed, Research Associates/Assistants
hired, trained etc)

Attendance at conferences (proposals submitted, proposals accepted,
presentations given)

Completion of interim reports

Completion of technical report, manuals etc

Data collection / data entry (number of schools in progress, number of schools
completed; percentage of data collected etc)

Data entry / analysis (percentage of data entered, type and amount of data
analysis completed)

Development of the project
development framework)

Dissemination of preliminary results (progressive) and how

Selecting development site and participants

Transcription (percentage of transcripts contracted, completed, verified)

Writing of papers (papers submitted, papers published)
(e.g.
curriculum
packages,
professional
Also elaborate on the sort of implementation issues that you anticipate and the
measures you are going to take to address them. If it is a scaling project that you are
embarking on, indicate how the project will be implemented in an increased number of
schools in an efficient manner. Please upload Gantt chart to ROMS.
V.
Evaluation Phase of the Development
Elaborate on how you will evaluate the success of its outcome. Elaborate and justify the
designs behind the evaluation approaches to be adopted, showing what alternatives have
been considered and why the chosen approach(es) were preferred through an evaluation
of the strengths and appropriateness of the chosen evaluation approach(es). Also
elaborate and justify the data collection and analysis methods/procedures so that you
could evaluate the attainment of your development outcomes.
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Form OERRG3A
VI.
2015
Competitive / Comparative Advantage
Indicate the competitive / comparative advantage the team has in the proposed areas of
development. The development experience of the applicant and the team members
should be specified.
VII.
Description of Principal Investigator’s and Team Members’ (including Co-Principal
Investigators, Collaborators and Consultants) Effort Level in Project
Justify the needs and the roles of the team members, including Principal Investigators, coPrincipal Investigators, collaborators and consultants, and provide quantitative and
qualitative descriptions of their commitment to the projects. The quantitative information
can be provided in Section (2a) of the MOE Academies Fund Form (OERRG3A) but prose
descriptions are also expected.
* The contribution is based on number of hours per week the team members contribute
to the project. The number of hours is based on 4 hours or multiple of 4 hours for each
team member e.g. 4 hours per week and 8 hours per week. Collaborators, who are NIE
staff members, are not expected to spend more than 4 hours per week on the project. PIs
are required to give detailed explanation of the number of hours on the project.
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Implementation Schedule, Milestones, and Deliverables (Gantt Chart Format)
Indicate (using ‘X’) the project timeline and KPIs by quarter.
2015
2016
Implementation Schedule,
Mar
Jun
Sep Dec Mar
Jun
Sep
Milestones and Deliverables
May Aug Nov Feb May Aug Nov
2017
Dec
Feb
Mar
May
Jun
Aug
Sep
Nov
2018
Dec
Feb
Mar
May
Jun
Aug
Sep
Nov
2019
Dec
Feb
Mar
May
Jun
Aug
Sep
Nov
Dec
Feb
Estimated start date: (dd/mm/yyyy)
The start date is defined as the first date on which the project commits
or incurs expenditure. The date included here is an estimate only.
Estimated completion date:
(dd/mm/yyyy)
A project, once approved, must start within 60 days of approval. The
date included here is an estimate based on the start date and proposed
length of the project.
Duration of project:
(No. of years)
E.g. 1.5 years, 2 years or 3 years.
Please include the task for getting NTU Institutional Review Board (IRB)’s approval and MOE approval for data collection in your Gantt
chart (at least 3 months before data collection begins). Also take note that the process of hiring of RAs can take approximately 3
months.
27 Apr 2015 – Office of Education Research, NIE
Estimated start dates for 14 Request for Proposals:
Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects: Nov 2015
Tier 3 and MOE-Contracted Projects: December 2015