How to Apply for UHAS Research Fund 2019

The Institute of Health Research is pleased to announce the 1st Call for proposals with support from the University of Health and Allied Sciences Research Fund (URF).

The award of these university-funded research grants are part of the continuous efforts by the University to encourage its senior members to actively engage in cutting edge research that would contribute to the achievement of its first strategic objective: “to consistently push the limit of our academic curiosity in health research and earn an enviable reputation for the wide-reaching impact of our research on the knowledge and practice of health and wellbeing”. In addition to doing cutting edge research, it is the expectation of the University that funded projects will be capable of addressing pressing national and developmental issues and offer recommendations that would be relevant to policy makers and all stake holders. This is the maiden call for applications.

TYPES OF GRANTS

Two types of grants are available as follows:

1. SEED GRANTS: This is for exploratory/small proposals and would normally not exceed GHC 7,500. Such grants would be awarded for a period not exceeding one year and – to enable awardees explore new ideas to apply for bigger grants in the future.

2. INVESTIGATOR-LED GRANTS: These grants would normally not exceed GHC 25,000 and shall be for a period of not more than two years. Grants of this nature are awarded to senior members with a clear research question they want to answer.

UHAS RESEARCH FUND ELIGIBILITY

All grant applicants must be full-time Senior members of the University of Health and Allied Sciences. The following additional eligibility requirements also apply:

1. Senior members applying in the investigator-led category must have completed probation with UHAS.

2. Collaborators from institutions outside the University of Health and Allied Sciences must provide a letter of support from their institution.

UHAS RESEARCH FUND APPLICATION PROCEDURE

All interested and eligible senior members must make an application for the grant by accessing the online research grant application system available at the following link: https://apps.uhas.edu.gh/grant . Applicants will be able to track the progress on the processing of their application after it has been submitted.

Please see the guidelines for using the online research grants application system for further information on how to put in an application.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS CALL.

APPLICATION CONDITIONS

1. No paper applications will be accepted.
2. Applicants are required to indicate in their application which other grants related to their proposed research topic they currently hold.
3. Senior members on post-retirement contract cannot be Principal Investigators but are encouraged to serve as mentors on research teams which is led by a “younger” senior member.

CRITERIA FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS

There shall be a review process managed by IHR with a review team made up of selected experts in the field. All qualifying proposals shall be independently reviewed by reviewers with the relevant expertise and experience in the proposal’s subject area. The review will normally be based on the following criteria:

i. IMPORTANCE
ii. SCIENTIFIC POTENTIAL
iii. JUSTIFICATION FOR RESOURCES
iv. EVIDENCE OF POTENTIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS
v. RESEARCH TEAM

GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR ACCESSING UHAS RESEARCH GRANTS

1. All applicants should note that the primary purpose of the University Research Fund is to encourage research output. Senior members who are awarded grants would have to demonstrate enhanced research output as evidenced by publications in refereed journals.

2. In view of the limited funds available, the UHAS Research Fund can only approve one proposal (that meets all the requirements for funding) per person or multi-disciplinary team per year.

3. Proposals submitted without the endorsement of the Head of Department and Dean shall not be considered.

4. The decision of the Review Panel on proposals submitted for UHAS Research Funding shall be final.

5. All items purchased with funds from the grant shall remain the property of the University Department to which the Principal Investigator is affiliated and not of the person to whom the grant is made. However, the PI will have first use of any such items.

6. The assistance of the University of Health and Allied Sciences must be acknowledged in all publications resulting from any research that it finances. Copies of all publications should be submitted to the Research Operations Office, Institute of Health Research.

UHAS RESEARCH FUND APPLICATION DEADLINE

The Online Research Grant Application System will be available until 11:59 PM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019. Please take note that applications that are started but are not completed before the deadline will be automatically deleted and will not be available to the applicant after the date and time indicated above.

Any questions on this call may be addressed by email to [email protected]