Introduction
As part of the drive to promote the University of Ghana as an institution of Research and Higher Learning, the University Council decided that starting from the 2008-2009 academic year, a portion of the University's budget shall be earmarked to encourage and promote cutting edge research from faculty members. As part of the continuous process of re-defining the University of Ghana as a research-driven university and encouraging its faculty members to actively engage in research activities that would enhance the image of UG, the Research, Innovation Directorate (RID) has the responsibility of announcing a Call for Proposals every year; with support from the University of Ghana Research Fund (UGRF).
In addition to doing cutting edge research, it is the expectation that UG will be able to fund projects that are capable of addressing pressing national and developmental issues and offer recommendations that would be relevant to policy makers and all stake holders.
A total of eight (8) Calls for Proposals have been announced since the 2008-2009 academic year and sixty-three research projects have so far received funding.
LEVELS OF GRANTS
Currently there are three levels of grants available as follows:
- EARLY CAREER: 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 are targeted at faculty members at the early stage of their career to enable them to explore new ideas to apply for larger funding or bigger grants in the future.
- MID-CAREER: These grants would normally not exceed GHC 40,000 and shall be for a period of not more than two years. Grants of this nature would be awarded to multi-disciplinary research project with at least one collaborator from another UG department/Faculty.
- MULTI-DISCIPLINARY GRANTS: These shall not exceed GHC 120,000 and are for multi-disciplinary and inter-faculty research projects which specifically address a national developmental issue and are also capable of shaping or influencing policy in Ghana. Grants of this nature shall normally not be awarded for more than 2 years and would be awarded to a multi-disciplinary research team. Only two grants will be awarded under this category for this call for proposal.
Eligibility
All grant applicants must be full-time Faculty members of the University of Ghana. Faculty members applying in the investigator-led and multi-disciplinary categories should have at least A YEAR'S service with the UG. Collaborators from institutions outside of UG must provide a letter of support from their institution.
Non-Eligibility
The following faculty members are not eligible to apply:
- Previous recipients of UGRF whose work are on-going.
- Previous recipients of UGRF who have not submitted their final technical and financial reports.
- Previous recipients of UGRF who have not published their findings in peer reviewed journals.
Application Procedure
The application procedure has gradually evolved from paper applications to only email submissions to a pre-defined email address.
Frequency Of Calls
A call for proposals is normally made once a year.
Submission and Review of Applications
Applications are reviewed using a two-step process.
Step 1:An assessment by the RID Research Administration Unit for confirmation that each proposal meets all guidelines.
Step 2:Proposals that meet all requirements are coded and independently reviewed by reviewing panels set up by RID.
Proposals are reviewed based on the following criteria:
- RELEVANCE OF RESEARCH QUESTION
- SCIENTIFIC MERIT OF METHODS, DESIGN AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
- POTENTIAL TO IMPACT POLICY
- JUSTIFICATION FOR RESOURCES
- CAPABILITY OF RESEARCH TEAM
After the review, feedback from the review is provided to all applicants. The final decision and announcement is subject to the approval of the RID Management Board.