2016
FIG Foundation Academic Research Grants

OUTLINE

The FIG Foundation
will be providing research grants of up to 30,000 euros spread over three
years.

Applicants shall:

be
based in a surveying/geomatics academic programme that teaches surveying1) in a country listed by the
World Bank as a low-income, lower-middle or upper-middle income economy2)
have an
established record of published research – at least two articles in good
quality internationally recognised peer reviewed journals serves as a
useful guideline, and
have
experience in managing postgraduate students.

Grants will be
awarded to a
focussed research project. The grant holder is expected to conduct the bulk of
the research themselves (it is not a research manager’s grant), but at the same
time the development of highly qualified personnel (HQP) should be a major
component of the project. Postgraduate students should be full time students,
and this grant should provide financial support for their degree studies.
However, the principal investigator should be intimately involved in the work.

There are two rounds to the competition. In the first round, applicants
will provide the documents listed below. Second round applicants will provide a
detailed application in a format similar to the Canadian NSERC or SSHRC
requirements.

Applications will be judged on the quality of the application and need. In the
event that two excellent applications are judged to be of equal quality, applications
from low-income and lower-middle income countries will be preferred.

Applications are to be sent to fig.foundation@fig.net with “FIG Foundation
Academic Research Grant Application” shown in Subject Line. Applicants are not
to contact Foundation members individually. Decisions are final. No
correspondence will be entered into during or after the competition.

1) See FIG Definition of the Functions of the Surveyor http://www.fig.net/general/definition.htm

2) See World Bank Country & lending Groups http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups

FIRST ROUND DOCUMENTATION

Deadline 1 March
2016.

Applicants should
submit the following set of documents in English as a single file in PDF
format:

A cover
sheet showing the candidate’s personal details and those of his/her
institution.
A 200
word abstract. This should be written in terms understandable to the lay
person; similar to a press release and which the FIG Foundation could
actually use as a press release in the event of a successful application.
A one
page research proposal as per the template below on A4 size paper using 25
mm (1” margins). Note that the one page limit will be strictly enforced;
material that extends beyond one page will be deleted.
A list
of peer reviewed journal publications over the last 6 years using the
International Journal of GIS reference list format. See Notes for Authors
on the IJGIS website.
A list
of research funding obtained over the past 5 years, indicating which
grants are peer reviewed or not.
A list
of highly qualified personnel whom the applicant has supervised over the
last 6 years, Postdoctoral, PhD, Masters, senior undergraduate.
A
description of research compliance, the research account and activity
auditing structures and processes in their institution. For example, if a
scientist spends money inappropriately, are there structures in place to
refund the granting agency?
A
description of the structures and processes in their institution that
pertain to research ethics, in particular ethics relating to research
involving human subjects, if that is relevant to the grant application.

A preliminary budget
and a one page justification of the budget. Note that as a general rule,
equipment will not be funded. Travel to FIG Conferences to present results may
be included in the budget. Per diems for field work will not be funded, but
reasonable actual costs of field work are refundable.

Suggested Reading – Sources of Useful Information for Writing a Proper Grant
Proposal:

A simple internet search on how to write a good NSERC or SSHRC proposal should
yield a number of useful articles. Here are some suggestions:

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/simonpj/papers/proposal.html

http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/ikbarberschool/research/infofac/sshrc-instructions.html

SECOND ROUND
DOCUMENTATION

Second round
applicants will provide a detailed application in a format similar to the
Canadian NSERC or SSHRC requirements.

GOVERNANCE

Funding will be
released quarterly. Grant holders are expected to file quarterly progress
reports in the stipulated format. Continued funding will be dependent on
satisfactory progress. In the event of unsatisfactory performance, the grant
holder will be expected to return all unspent funds.

Grant holders’
institutions should submit annual certification that the due compliance with
normally accepted practice has been demonstrated in the use of grant funds.

FIG Foundation
grants do not pay University overhead. Successful applicants will have to seek
exemption if their institution requires a portion of research grants for
overhead.

PROPOSAL

Please provide your
proposal to the FIG Foundation no later than 1 March 2016 using the proposal
template.